Context (OCR A-Level English Literature): Revision Notes
Context
Understanding context in your exam
Context is a crucial element of your English Literature study, assessed through Assessment Objective 3 (AO3). This objective accounts for approximately 24% of your overall marks, making it essential to understand and apply contextual knowledge effectively.
What is AO3?
AO3 requires you to demonstrate an understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. In other words, you need to show how the ideas in Othello relate to the world in which Shakespeare wrote the play.
Types of context
Context can encompass various factors:
- The author's background and life experiences
- The historical period in which the text was written and the period in which it is set
- How audiences received the text when first published or performed
- Literary contexts, such as genre conventions (Othello draws on elements of Greek tragedy)
- How different audiences through the ages have engaged with the text
- Performance history, including original staging and modern productions
Applying context in your essays
The most important principle for using context in your exam is relevance. Context should be woven throughout your response to support your argument, not simply added on at the end of paragraphs. Examiners want to see how contextual factors illuminate your understanding of the text, not a list of everything you know about Shakespeare's England.
For Shakespeare's plays, which were written over 400 years ago, understanding the original audience's knowledge and perspectives is particularly important. This helps you grasp references and ideas that might not be immediately clear to modern readers.
Background information
Shakespeare's life
William Shakespeare is widely regarded as England's most famous playwright and poet, yet remarkably little is known about his personal life. He was born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon to glove-maker John Shakespeare and his wife Mary. Although his exact birth date is uncertain, his birthday is celebrated on 23rd April.
Shakespeare would have attended the local grammar school, where he learned Latin and studied classical writers including Virgil and Ovil. The influence of these ancient authors is evident throughout his plays and sonnets. At 18, he married Anne Hathaway from a nearby village. He died in 1616, also on 23rd April, aged 52.
At some point, Shakespeare moved to London and by 1592 had established himself as a successful playwright. He wrote his plays for an acting company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, which later became the King's Men when their patron became King James I. He remained with this company for nearly 20 years, writing for their leading actor Richard Burbage.
Shakespeare's works are generally divided into three genres:
- Histories (such as Henry V)
- Tragedies (such as Othello)
- Comedies (such as A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Othello was written in 1603, with its first recorded performance in 1604.
The Renaissance period
Shakespeare wrote during the English Renaissance, a cultural movement spanning from the 15th century through to the mid-17th century. The Renaissance saw a flourishing of Latin and Ancient Greek philosophy and knowledge across Western Europe.
This period profoundly influenced Shakespeare's work in several ways:
Classical influences: Shakespeare drew on Greek and Roman classical writing in his use of genre and references. The structure and themes of his tragedies show clear connections to ancient dramatic traditions.
Psychological depth: Renaissance writers explored the inner workings of the human mind in unprecedented detail. Shakespeare's characters are psychologically complex, with detailed motivations and internal conflicts.
Language development: The Renaissance was a period of linguistic flourishing. Many words and phrases appear in writing for the first time in Shakespeare's works. Whilst he may not have coined all these expressions himself, their appearance demonstrates how language was developing and expanding during this era.
Theatre as entertainment: Theatre performances were extremely popular during the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods. Queen Elizabeth I herself was a generous patron of the arts, and Shakespeare's company was often invited to perform at court during the 1590s.
Shakespeare's sources for Othello
Despite his fame, Shakespeare drew inspiration for his plots from earlier sources. The main story of Othello comes from Gli Hecatommithi by Cinthio, a collection of short stories written in Italian and first published in 1565.
Cinthio's version:
In the original story, Disdemona (the only named character) marries a Moor captain. The Moor's Ensign falls in love with Disdemona and, when she rejects him, plots to convince the Moor that she has been unfaithful with the Corporal. The plot proceeds similarly to Shakespeare's version until the ending, where the Moor kills Disdemona by beating her with a sand-filled stocking. The Moor and the Ensign then turn on each other, with the former being tortured and killed by Disdemona's relatives.
Shakespeare's changes:
The aspects Shakespeare altered or added are particularly significant for understanding his intentions:
Iago's character: Shakespeare's Iago is far more ambiguous and therefore more sinister than Cinthio's Ensign. Whilst the Ensign has a clear motive (rejected love), Iago's motivations remain unclear despite his many soliloquies. This makes him appear bloodthirsty and merciless for seemingly little reason, creating a more psychologically complex villain.
Additional characters: Shakespeare adds Brabantio and Roderigo to the story. Brabantio's opposition to Othello and Desdemona's marriage provides another source of Othello's insecurity and helps explain why he might succumb so readily to Iago's manipulations. Roderigo serves to demonstrate the extent of Iago's manipulative web and his willingness to destroy anyone in his path to ruin Othello.
The ending: Shakespeare's ending differs significantly, with Othello smothering Desdemona and then taking his own life when the truth is revealed.
Textual and production history
Different versions of the play
The First Folio, published in 1623 (seven years after Shakespeare's death), was a collection of 36 of his works compiled by two of his friends, John Heminges and Henry Condell. Before this, some plays had been published individually in cheaper editions called quartos. Without the First Folio, approximately half of Shakespeare's plays would have been lost.
Two separate versions of Othello exist: the Quarto edition and the Folio edition. The Folio version is about 160 lines longer, though we do not know the reason for this discrepancy. Most modern editions follow the Folio version, though you may notice editorial notes in your copy indicating differences with the Quarto.
Performance history and casting
Original performances:
Although enjoyed by high society, including the monarch, Shakespeare's plays were also popular with working-class audiences. At the Globe Theatre in London, those who could not afford seats paid one penny to stand in the pit. These audience members were known as groundlings.
Shakespeare often included comedic subplots with bawdy jokes to entertain groundlings and less-educated audience members. These scenes could also provide comic relief and undermine the main plot. However, Othello remains sombre throughout, maintaining an intense focus on Iago's manipulations and Othello's breakdown.
The first recorded performance of Othello took place in 1604 at the Banqueting House, James I's London palace. The play was also performed at the open-air Globe Theatre. In 1612, the King's Men performed it at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth (daughter of James I) and Frederick V. The fact that it was chosen for this important royal wedding demonstrates its popularity and success.
Original casting:
All roles, including female characters, were played by males. Young boys took the women's parts. Richard Burbage, the leading actor in Shakespeare's company, almost certainly first played Othello, performing in black make-up and a wig made of black lambswool.
Historical casting practices:
For most of the play's history, white actors in make-up portrayed Othello. Ira Aldridge was the only actor of African heritage to play Othello in Europe during the 19th century. In the early 19th century, English actor Edmund Kean performed the role wearing light brown make-up, suggesting an interpretation of Othello as North African rather than sub-Saharan African.
Only from the 20th century onwards did black actors more commonly take up the role, and that remains the standard practice today.
Modern perspectives on casting:
The fact that a character of African origin was written by a white Jacobean Englishman for another white Englishman to portray in blackface raises important questions about the play's depiction of race. This undermines the credibility of Othello's characterisation and leads us to question whether he represents a genuine portrayal of a black man or merely perpetuates stereotypes.
We do not know whether Shakespeare knew any African people or what stereotypes he and his audience held. Hugh Quarshie, who played Othello in the RSC's 2015 production, initially questioned whether he should accept that "a play written over 400 years ago by a white Englishman for another white Englishman in blackface make-up is an authoritative and credible profile of a genuine black man."
International adaptations:
Different cultural adaptations offer fresh perspectives on the play. Indian director Vishal Bhardwaj produced Omkara (2006), a Bollywood version set in Western Uttar Pradesh. By transposing the play to an Indian setting, Bhardwaj explored colourism, the caste system, and cultural and religious differences in India. In this version, both Othello and Desdemona are Indian, but Desdemona is light-skinned whereas Othello is darker.
Patrick Stewart played Othello in an otherwise all-black production in the United States in 1997. This version allows audiences to consider the text as a play about outsiders and cultural difference generally, rather than specifically about anti-blackness.
Setting
Venice
Othello begins in Venice before moving to a Venetian military outpost in Cyprus by Act II. In 16th and 17th century England, Venice had a particular reputation as a cosmopolitan and diverse city, characterised by wealth and political stability.
Republican government:
Venice was a rare example of a contemporary republican government, a continuation of the Ancient Roman tradition. As the Tudor era approached its end with the heirless Elizabeth I, there was widespread interest in alternative forms of governance. The successful and unique Republic of Venice therefore captured public attention and fascination.
Diversity and trade:
Venice was known for the diversity of its population, home to people from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This included individuals like Othello who had immigrated and adopted Venetian and Christian values. The city bustled with trade and opportunity. Although Ottoman-Venetian Wars raged throughout the 16th century (forming the backdrop of Othello), trade and cultural exchange continued between Venetians and Turks.
Exotic fascination:
For Shakespeare's English audience, Venice represented a place simultaneously associated with exotic excitement and dangerous otherworldliness. It seemed alluring and almost mystical in its exoticism, yet also sat on the edge of civilisation and was therefore something to be feared.
This duality appears in the play's treatment of Othello. Iago uses anti-black derogatory language to describe him, yet white Venetian characters are intrigued by his backstory. Desdemona listens with a "greedy ear" to Othello's speech in Act I Scene III, where he details "the story of my life." Although the Venetians seem to hate and fear Othello, they are simultaneously fascinated by his 'exotic' upbringing and experiences.
Why set Othello abroad?
Venice functions as a place that is both familiar and exotic, making it an ideal setting onto which English anxieties and preoccupations can be projected and explored. Literary critic Andrew Hadfield called Venice "a critical utopian space" – a seemingly ideal society where tensions brew beneath the surface.
This is certainly evident in Othello. On paper, Othello is happy and successful despite being an outsider, holding a senior military position. However, he is also the subject of hatred from Brabantio and Iago. The racism and fear of outsiders we witness, such as Iago's derogatory language, most likely reflects English fears and behaviours as much as Venetian ones.
Cyprus
Much of the play's action occurs in Cyprus, at a war outpost. This setting is even further removed from the English audience, both geographically and symbolically. Whilst Venice sat at the edge of 'civilisation', Cyprus was more unknown, more dangerous, and closer to the Arab and Turkish world. The further the play moves from Western Europe, the more civilisation and honour break down.
Race and otherness
Africans in Tudor and Jacobean England
There are records of some Africans living in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. For example, a trumpeter at the court of Henry VII appears in the Westminster Tournament Roll of 1511. Therefore, Shakespeare and his audience could have known some black people, though we cannot be certain. However, people of colour were a very small minority in Tudor England, and for the most part their lives and stories remain unknown.
Defining Othello's race
It is not possible to define Othello's race with certainty, and it is questionable whether we should attempt to do so. Although today we might assume that the term 'Moor' refers to an Arab inhabitant of North Africa, in Shakespearean England the term had numerous definitions and could describe people from any region in Africa.
In some ways, pinning down Othello's specific race is unimportant. His precise origins do not matter to the other characters. They are aware of his otherness, and the very fact that he is not white and European is enough to set him fully apart.
Blackness and morality
Othello is repeatedly described as black throughout the play, most often by Iago. To Shakespeare's audience, this does not necessarily mean he is of sub-Saharan African origin; his blackness simply means he is not white.
Crucially, in the 16th and 17th centuries, black could refer to both morality and race. White stood for purity and innocence, whilst black was its antithesis. The quote "when devils will the blackest sins put on" (Act II Scene III) explicitly confirms the association between morality and blackness – the very worst sins are the very "blackest". This association of blackness with evil is one reason why Othello and his otherness are feared by white Venetian society.
Iago's references to Othello's blackness are therefore loaded with moral undertones. As well as describing physical appearance, he is calling him evil. Even the Duke of Venice defends Othello's marriage to Desdemona by saying "Your son in law is far more fair than black" (Act I Scene III). This suggests the Duke must look past Othello's colour to describe him as a good, moral person – he behaves as if he were "fair" (white). The quote also indicates the constant conflation of blackness and evil that both Shakespeare's audience and his characters assumed.
Othello's treatment
Othello is treated with a mixture of respect, fear, and fascination, all connected to his race. Despite being respected as a military leader, he is ultimately purged from the white European society to which he only ever partially belonged. Yet as an ethnic minority, Othello is also a source of fascination for European characters. This is most evident in his speech recounting his backstory in Act I Scene III, when everyone eagerly listens to stories of faraway and unknown places.
Dramatic context: representations of Moors
Understanding how Moors and people of colour were typically depicted on the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage helps us appreciate how Shakespeare's characterisation of Othello might conform to or challenge contemporary expectations.
Typical dramatic conventions
The general dramatic convention was that Moors were menaces intent on destruction. When they appeared on stage, they represented a threat to moral, social, and political order.
Example: Aaron in Titus Andronicus
Aaron, a Moor in Shakespeare's earlier play Titus Andronicus, embodies pure evil. He takes pleasure in causing pain and suffering, confessing: "Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things / As willingly as one would kill a fly, / And nothing grieves me heartily indeed / But that I cannot do ten thousand more" (Act V Scene I). He is a caricature of remorseless evil, almost comically extreme in his characterisation. This represents a typical depiction of Moors on the Elizabethan stage.
Othello's characterisation
Othello's character is starkly different from this stereotype. He is the play's protagonist and initially appears as a noble and honourable man. In some ways, Shakespeare's characterisation certainly contrasts stereotypical depictions.
However, we can still see echoes of typical characterisation in Othello. He succumbs very quickly to jealous rage and ultimately murders his innocent, white, and pure European wife. You must decide and argue how you think Shakespeare characterises Othello: Is he a noble man reasonably led astray by Iago's manipulations, or does he succumb to jealousy too easily because Shakespeare partly follows the typical characterisation of a Moor on the Elizabethan stage?
Religion: Christianity and Islam
Religious conflict as backdrop
Othello explores the relationship between Christians and Muslims in the late 16th century. The play is set against the backdrop of ongoing wars between the Christian Republic of Venice and the Muslim Ottoman Empire, which raged throughout the 16th century.
At the beginning of Act II, we learn that the Turkish fleet has been destroyed by a storm, giving the Venetians success. Shakespeare's source material was set in Florence rather than Venice or Cyprus, so his decision to set the play specifically during these wars was deliberate. This religious conflict provides important background to a play whose protagonist is a convert to Christianity from Islam.
The wars serve as a subtle reminder of the conflict between Christians and Muslims and provide yet another reminder of how Othello stands apart from his society. Although his fighting against the Ottoman Empire indicates his dedication to Christianity, his Muslim background is another cause of the Venetians' subtle distrust. Religiously-fuelled hatred may be another motive for Iago's destructive manipulations.
The Great Chain of Being
One key concept of the Elizabethan and Jacobean period grounded in religion is the Great Chain of Being. This concept informs several of Shakespeare's works and represents a hierarchy of all creation:
- God (at the very top)
- Angels
- Kings and other men
- Animals
- Plants
In Othello specifically, this hierarchy informs Iago's derogatory descriptions of Othello. He frequently compares him to animals: "black ram," "Barbary horse," "the beast with two backs" (Act I Scene I). Since animals were considered lower than humans in the Christian hierarchy ordained by God, Iago perceives Moors and people of African descent to be less than human in his eyes and in the eyes of God.
Women and marriage
Position of women in society
Women were subordinates to men during the 16th and 17th centuries, and this reality is reflected throughout Othello. When they married, everything they owned became their husband's possession. Wives themselves were even considered among their husband's possessions.
Marriage arrangements:
Fathers were expected to choose husbands for their daughters, as Brabantio expects to do for Desdemona. He considers her to be under his ownership and accuses Othello of being a "foul thief" (Act I Scene II) who has stolen her.
Desdemona's position
Desdemona has few rights and is subordinate to her husband. In her first lines, she says she is "bound" to both her husband and her father, and owes him a "duty" (Act I Scene III). Although Desdemona is strong-willed and does defy Othello when convincing him to forgive Cassio, she is ultimately a passive character who is powerless in the face of her husband's anger.
Emilia's position
Emilia is even more oppressed than Desdemona – by her husband, her mistress, and to an extent Othello as well, since she serves under him. She is powerless throughout most of the play. Despite her distrust of her husband, knowing he is "wayward" (Act III Scene III), she still takes Desdemona's handkerchief as he demanded because, as his wife, she is bound to him according to the social order.
However, by the end of the play, Emilia speaks the truth. She exposes Iago's manipulations, insisting "I am bound to speak" (Act V Scene II), even when he threatens and eventually stabs her. By the final act, the normal social order has been so disrupted by Othello's murder of Desdemona that Emilia is now free to speak up and contradict the patriarchal hierarchy.
Yet her exposure of the truth comes too late to achieve real change. Desdemona is dead, Othello kills himself in regret and grief, and Emilia herself is killed by Iago for her disobedience.
Venetian stereotypes
Venice was thought of as a city famous for the freedoms and liberality it offered its inhabitants. As a result, it was also considered a place of sexual freedom. This reputation manifests in Othello when male characters quickly assume their wives are unfaithful. Othello rapidly believes that Desdemona has cheated on him and calls her the "whore of Venice" (Act IV Scene II). Iago is also suspicious that Emilia has slept with Othello. The reputation of Venice as a hub of prostitution and sexual freedom may be one contributing factor to why they believe this so readily.
Key Points to Remember:
- Context accounts for approximately 24% of your marks – it must be directly relevant and integrated into your analysis, not simply added on.
- Shakespeare wrote Othello in 1603 during the English Renaissance, drawing on classical influences and exploring psychological depth.
- Venice represents a cosmopolitan, exotic, yet dangerous setting that allows Shakespeare to explore English anxieties about race, religion, and otherness.
- The term 'Moor' had various meanings in Shakespeare's time; Othello's otherness is more important to the characters than his specific origins.
- In the 16th and 17th centuries, blackness was associated with evil, whilst whiteness symbolised purity and innocence – this deeply affects how Othello is perceived.
- The Great Chain of Being positioned humans above animals in God's hierarchy; Iago uses animal imagery to dehumanise Othello.
- Women were subordinate to men and considered property of their fathers and husbands; this patriarchal structure underpins the tragedy of both Desdemona and Emilia.