Essay about emilias intelligence in shakespeares othello. Emilias role in othello is central to the action of the story, a point that can be made clearly. Emilia serves as one of two foils to desdemonathe other is bianca. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in othello, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. A feminist reading william shakespeares othello can be read from a feminist perspective. Each monologue entry includes the characters name, the first line of the. Emilia s role in othello is key, her part in taking the handkerchief leads to othello falling for iagos lies more fully. Yes, a dozen, and as many to th vantage as would store the world they played for. When emilia hands over the handkerchief to iago, the plot against othello quickens. In the play othello the moor of venice, by william shakespeare, emilia s speech 4. Othello the moor of venice william shakespeare with related readings the emc masterpiece series access editions emcparadigm publishing st. Iago kills emilia, but not before othello has learned what has been done. She rails against othello and proclaims desdemonas innocence over and over.
Read the monologue for the role of emilia from the script for othello by william shakespeare. Considering that this was written in the early 1600s, emilias monologue is about as close as we will get to a feminist manifesto. Unlike the other women in the book, emilia understands men and their thinking. William shakespeares othello can be read from a feminist perspective. Emilia wonders if othello is jealous, then comments on how fickle men are towards women. A feminist analysis of the play othello allows us to judge the different social values and status of women in the elizabethan society. Emilias monologue, othello, verse, act iv scene iii emilias monologue in act iv scene iii lines 8299 articulate her views that women and men are not so different, and that what is acceptable for the men, is too for women.
Othello tells emilia that he has killed des for the cheating that iago informed him of, leading emilia to share the deception and damage iago has done. In the deliberative part of her speech, she refers to no one by name. As the men leave, othello bids his wife go to bed and dismiss emilia. I came to othello late in my shakespearean education, meaning after id graduated with an english degree and moved to new york and started work and sank into a pit of intellectual ferment and general postcollegiate malaise. Before leaving, he orders desdemona to go directly to bed and to dismiss emilia. Worldlywise and mistreated by her husband, who suspects her of infidelity and regularly humiliates her in public, she is not the happiest of women. This reading has value as it expresses the point of view emilia is coming from in regards to desdemonas death. Cassio finds the handkerchief, and he asks bianca to make a duplicate of it. Postcolonial perspective in your opinion, why does this reading have value.
She follows iago in wifely duty, but during the play develops a strong loyalty to desdemona and, at the end, denounces iagos lies to defend desdemonas reputation. Othello commissions iago to kill michael cassio, and then smothers desdemona in her bed. In an attempt to unite the sexes with equality, her expression conveys a somewhat different meaning. Reading through the original othello soliloquy followed by a modern version and should help you to understand what each othello soliloquy is about. Othello commits suicide, and iago is taken into custody. It provides a thorough exploration of the plays plot, characters and main themes, including womens position in society, racism and the genre of the revenge play. Emilia is so loyal to desdemona that she refuses to respect and obey othello after he has killed desdemona. Introduction othello is unique among shakespeares great tragedies. But i do think it is their husbands faults if wives do fall. Allusion is a literary device in which the character, narrator, or author refers to another work of literature or piece of writing. In shakespeare, she is named emilia, is the wife of. Unlike hamlet, king lear, and macbeth, which are set against a backdrop of affairs of state and which reverberate with suggestions of universal human concerns, othello is set in a private world and focuses on the passions and personal lives of its major figures. In an attack of jealousy, since she trusts that this cloth is confirmed that cassio has another sweetheart, bianca makes a scene before cassio, othello, and others to declare that she. Venice, so it is likely that he relied on books to help him cre.
Symbolism in othello sometimes objects of very little value to some have monumental value to others. Character analysis of emilia in othello english summary. The thought of emilia and othello together gnaws like a poisonous mineral at iagos innards. Othello convinces roderigo that desdemona and cassio are sleeping together, and later that he should kill cassio. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Say that they slack their duties and pour our treasures into foreign laps, or else break out in peevish jealousies, throwing restraint. Emilias rhetoric of selfresistance in othello dialnet. Allusion is a popular literary device used in othello.
Synopsis of act 4 scene 3 this quiet bedroom scene is the calm before the storm. Emilia s superbitter take on her married life with iago contrasts with desdemonas temporarily idealistic marriage to othello. Emilia s one dishonest act towards desdemonastealing her special handkerchiefturns out to have devastating consequences. See results from the emilia s monologue from othello, act iv quiz on sporcle, the best trivia site on the internet. In scene iii of act iv, a woman called emilia makes a. Othello is out of his mind and her dying words must protect his loving, innocent heart, still beating beneath the madness. Act, scene, line click to see in context speech text. Othello serves as an example to demonstrate the expectations of the elizabethan patriarchal society, the practice. He hath commanded me to go to bed, and bade me to dismiss you. Im pretty happy with the shape its starting to take, though there are of course bits that id like to work on. You can browse andor search so you can find a monologue whether you know which one you want, or youre looking for monologue ideas. Before othello lets the handkerchief fall from his brow, we have neither heard of nor seen it. When emilia discovers othello in the act, she confronts him and explains that it was iago who tricked them all. These soliloquies expose iagos intentions, and frustrating desire to take revenge by controlling othello and taking advantage of othello s open nature.
The monologues are organized by play, then categorized by comedy, history and tragedy. In my performance of emilia in the university of louisvilles february 2015 production of. It has been a while, but ive finally done a bit more work on this monologue. Scene 2 cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. While othello conducts business with lodovico, he tells desdemona to go to bed and send emilia away for the night. Explain what this extract suggests about iagos relationship with emilia. Emilia at first appears to be one of her husband iagos puppets. As desdemona intends to follow othello to the war, the latter requests that emilia become his wifes attendant. In shakespeares tragedy, othello, emilia expresses her underrated intelligence to prove others beliefs against her. A bombastic, or overblown, speech meant to avoid the. Ovid was born in sulmo modern sulmona, in an apennine valley east of rome, to an important equestrian family, on 20 march, 43 bc emilia monologue othello essay topics.
When iago wants to set up the appearance of inappropriate behavior between cassio and desdemona, he decides that my wife must move for cassio to her mistress 2. Emilia s monologue from othello, act iv quiz stats by hatshepsut play quizzes adfree. She speaks disparagingly of men, but, until the last scene, she supports her husband when needed. In act i, scene iii, 393, the soliloquy i know his trumpet delivered by iago where his relates to othello, clarifies that iago knows the weak points of othello, and he intends to utilize. This speech of emilias announces the beginning of othello s handkerchief plot, a seemingly insignificant eventthe dropping of a handkerchiefthat becomes the means by which othello, desdemona, cassio, roderigo, emilia, and even iago himself are completely undone. Emilia is iagos wife, and desdemonas maid, a woman of practical intelligence and emotional resilience. Emilia, who is iagos wife and desdemonas handmaid, serves to advance the plot of othello in significant and dramatic ways. His soliloquy is quiet, and he seems to be more an agent of justice than the jealous cuckold. Emilia even bravely challenges othello when she discovers he has murdered desdemona.
To focus on character analysis has long been out of fashion, but in what. Womens monologues in othello shakespeares monologues. The soliloquies from othello below are extracts from the full modern othello ebook, along with a modern english translation. The play is a tragedy that revolves around the main characters of othello, who is a general in the venetian army and the treacherous iago. Emilia cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. There, the character is described as young and virtuous, is referred to simply as the ensigns wife, and becomes desdemonas companion in cyprus. Read the summary of act iv, scenes iiiii take a study break. Analysis of emilias speech in act iv of othello the play othello, the moor of venice has been written by william shakespeare.
Emilia unexpectedly ruins her husbands plan, which suddenly alters the outcome the story. Othello, i strove to redefine emilias traditional role. If wives do fall video to mark the 400th anniversary of shakespeares death, we asked leading actors to perform key speeches from his plays. Spoken by iago act 1 scene 3 more othello soliloquies coming soon. Is othello justified in making this highly dramatic speech. And indeed it is her that provokes inquiry into the whole matter leading to her husband being guilty of the whole plan. Othello serves as an example to demonstrate the expectations of the elizabethan patriarchal society, the practice of privileges in patriarchal marriages, and the suppression and. Desdemona is asleep in her bed as othello enters, carrying a candle. Wedding rings, for example, hold very little material value, and unless the ring is yours. In my analysis of othello i found that the play shows many points of interest including battles of good vs. Emilias monologue from othello, act iv quiz stats by. How is the character emilia related to the theme of loyalty vs.
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