No Man is an Island: Shakespeares Othello i skæringspunktet mellem patriarkat og geopolitik
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Artiklen præsenterer en læsning af Shakespeares tragedie Othello, The Moor of Venice (1603/1604) som en blanding af ”domestic tragedy” og historisk drama om de venetiansk-osmanniske relationer før, under og efter osmannernes erobring af Cypern i 1571. Indledningsvis ses Othello som et af de engelske ”tyrko-barbareske” skuespil, der fra slutningen af 1500-tallet og begyndelsen af 1600-tallet reagerede med en blanding af fascination og bekymring på de muligheder for geografisk og social mobilitet, som fulgte i kølvandet på Englands udvikling til en handels- og søfartsnation. Hovedpersonens forvandling fra nobel til grusom maurer diskuteres i lyset af den anglo-marokkanske alliance, samtidige marokkansk-mauriske skuespil – en undergruppe af de tyrko-barbareske – og den engelske oversættelse af Gasparo Contarinis The Commonwealth and Government of Venice, der udgør en af kilderne til Othello. Ifølge artiklens overordnede argument udfoldes der i Othello en refleksion over de domestiske (nationale, familiestrukturelle og sociale) effekter af nationens – ”øens” – voksende forbundethed med fremmede lande, kulturer og markeder.
This article offers an analysis of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, The Moor of Venice (1603/1604), by interpreting it as a convergence of domestic tragedy and historical drama about the Venetian-Ottoman interactions before, during, and following the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571. Initially perceived as one of the English “Turco-barbaresque” plays that emerged during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Othello is examined in terms of its complex response to the allure and anxiety provoked by the opportunities for geographical and social advancement associated with England’s emergence as a dominant trading and maritime power. The protagonist's evolution from a noble figure into a cruel Moor is scrutinized against the backdrop of the Anglo-Moroccan alliance, contemporaneous Moroccan-Moorish dramatic works – a subcategory within the Turko-barbaresque genre – and the English rendition of Gasparo Contarini’s The Commonwealth and Government of Venice (1599), one of the primary source materials informing Othello. In accordance with the overarching argument posited in this article, Othello is elucidated as a reflection on the repercussions on domestic (national, familial, and societal) spheres stemming from the nation’s – or the ‘island’s’ – deepening interconnection with foreign territories, cultures, and markets.
This article offers an analysis of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, The Moor of Venice (1603/1604), by interpreting it as a convergence of domestic tragedy and historical drama about the Venetian-Ottoman interactions before, during, and following the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571. Initially perceived as one of the English “Turco-barbaresque” plays that emerged during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Othello is examined in terms of its complex response to the allure and anxiety provoked by the opportunities for geographical and social advancement associated with England’s emergence as a dominant trading and maritime power. The protagonist's evolution from a noble figure into a cruel Moor is scrutinized against the backdrop of the Anglo-Moroccan alliance, contemporaneous Moroccan-Moorish dramatic works – a subcategory within the Turko-barbaresque genre – and the English rendition of Gasparo Contarini’s The Commonwealth and Government of Venice (1599), one of the primary source materials informing Othello. In accordance with the overarching argument posited in this article, Othello is elucidated as a reflection on the repercussions on domestic (national, familial, and societal) spheres stemming from the nation’s – or the ‘island’s’ – deepening interconnection with foreign territories, cultures, and markets.
Original language | Danish |
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Article number | 2 |
Journal | Norsk Litteraturvitenskapelig Tidsskrift |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 2 |
Pages (from-to) | 107-124 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISSN | 0809-2044 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
- Faculty of Humanities
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