Richard II - Biblical Betrayals/Act 4, Scene 1 Information

• Richard always compares himself to Christ who betrayed and ultimately crucified in the New Testament
• Richard compares those who are on Bolingbrook’s side to Judas. “Three Judases” – mirroring.
• Richard compares the rebels to Pontius Pilate, the Roman judge who sentences Jesus to be crucified

The Christ Comparison:

• Richard sees himself as a Christ like figure – a martyr who thinks he is going to be avenged by God. However, Richard is not a Christ like figure. Shakespeare suggests that the problem with such a comparison that is actually the opposite of Richard.
• Christ received a crown – instead of having it taken from him. It was a crown made of thorns nevertheless, it’s a crown. Roman soldiers placed the crown of thorns on Christ’s head.
• Richard talks non-stop about his suffering and Christ never had his uncle killed and did not run an entire kingdom into the ground.
• This is an example of how vain and deluded Richard is.

The Mirror:

• After losing his title, he looks into the mirror and expects to find wrinkles but he does not and he is unchanged
• He thinks the glass is flattering him or making him look better and healthier
• He tells Bolingbrook to look at how sorrow has ruined his face
• Richard’s face isn’t ruined – it’s the mirror that has broken so now Richard’s reflection looks awful and distorted as Richard feels on the inside.
• Richard’s way of showing us his loss of the crown is by shattering the mirror to pieces.

Richard II - AO3 Features

Monarchy Context:

• The monarch at the time of writing was Elizabeth I who was in many ways, similar to Richard.
• She had taken the throne when she was just a child.
• She also surrounded herself with flatters and influential favourites.
• Senior members were scared to depose her, as such the deposition scene (Act 4) was redacted from the play
  • Uncensored versions were shown for £2 extra.

Shakespeare Himself:

• Many critics at the time argued that Shakespeare had lost his touch and Richard II was not going to solve it.
• The play was unpopular but once it was released in print for, it got a following and remains popular today

Government:

• The reigning monarch was Elizabeth I and she governed the nation from London.
• Law and order was maintained by the land-owners and enforced by their deputies.
• Average man had no vote and women had no rights.

Religion:

• England was a Christian country and all children were baptized as soon as they were born and were born into the Church of England and were taught the essentials of Christian faith and instructed their duty to God.
• People were forced to attend Church and those who didn’t got a fine.

Education:

• Boys went to school to learn basic reading and writing, they went to Grammar Schools afterwards where they learnt Latin.
• Girls stayed at home and acquired domestic and social skills such as cooking, sewing or even music. The lucky ones might read and write.

Drama:

• Boys had to play the role of women too.
• Most theatres had lots of disease, especially in summer as there was lots of plague.
• Plays were forced to have comedy in to keep the common people entertained.

Theatre:

• Hexagonal in shape, three roofed galleries.
• Balcony useful for a musicians gallery or the acting of scenes above.
• Pillars forming a canopy which seems to have been painted with the sun, moon and stars for the heaven.
• Stage props important for establishing the scene e,g torches symbolised night.
• Actors wearing second-hand clothes. 
   Works Cited: Oxford School Shakespeare Richard II

Richard II - Three Important Themes

Power:

• Richard believes he has power because of his belief in the Divine Right of Kings
  • “not all water in the rough, rude sea can wash the balm off an anointed King”
• Bolingbrook’s power and dominance over Richard in the court scene.
  • AO2: Mirroring how he will dominate over Richard during the course of the play by later usurping him.
  • Further shown by how Richard does not speak during the court scene yet Bolingbrook does.
• Gaunt’s power as Uncle to Richard to warn him about his kingship and to prophesise about the state of the nation.
  • “This earthly isle is now leased out, I die out pronouncing it to you”
  • Is the tragedy of Richard caused because he failed to heed the warnings of Gaunt and surrounded himself with flatters.
• Bolingbrook’s power to heed support from the “common people”
  • “Observe his courtship with the common-people, look at how he did dive into their hearts with such humble and familiar curiosity”
• Richard’s power to allow him to leave the country in a time of crisis almost as though he is running away from the crisis he has caused. He unknowingly acknowledges that he has run the country into the ground and thus runs away so he does not have to face up to his problems.
  • Shows the signs of a bad king who won’t be able to rule for much longer.
  • “We will for Ireland and tis time, I trow”
• Bolingbrook asserting his power over Bushy and Green through their execution

Revenge:

• Bolingbrook’s revenge for Richard taking his land. Gathers his supporters very quickly which speaks of his character and comes back to entice his revenge.
• Bolingbrook is as much as a villain as Richard is. Both use power incorrectly (Richard throughout the play and Bolingbrook at the end)
  • What right does Bolingbrook have to usurp the anointed King.
• Possible to interpret the view that Bolingbrook takes revenge because Richard remains in his own world.

Remorse:

• Richard feels the utmost remorse during the mirror scene when it all comes crashing down and he realises that he has wrongfully compared himself to Jesus and ran his country into the ground.
  • His speech returns, his noble actions return and he willingly gives away the crown.
• Bolingbrook’s remorse at the end of the play when he also flees the country
  • Cyclical structure which adds to this showing that there is no catharsis as Bolingbrook also runs when Richard ran.
  • Shakespeare is trying to suggest that ultimately, England will not be destined under greatness in the House of Lancaster.
• Gaunt’s remorse of how England will turn out. Gaunt feels pity and sympathy but gives a bad appraisal, not just of how England will turn out, but also the tenure ship of Richard’s rein on the throne.
• Richard’s remorse at having to leave his wife.
  • “betwixt my wife and me”
  • Unusual because Richard’s wife does not appear much in the play suggesting that family ownership is ultimately more important than relation.

Richard II - AO2 Features

Structure:

• The tragic progression of a King who is at the height of his power already vs his downfall.
  • Shakespeare’s authorial intent that we have to see Richard up until his death – which is largely pointless.
• The uneventful play where there isn’t much action, one battle and we don’t see much of the action involved
  • Shakespeare’s intention of choosing to ignore the drama and battle by replacing it with discussion.
    • Is this why Richard is such a good speaker in the play vs Bolingbrook is about action?
• Start off with Richard on the throne, we see his downfall, the rise of a new King and end with a new King on the throne.
• The presentation of Richard’s guilt in the early part of the play to allow his regal suffering in prison later on in the play
• The double complementary plot which sees Richard’s downfall with the uprising of Bolingbrook

Setting:

• The constant changing setting which shows the unfamiliar surroundings in which Richard is going to fine himself confined to.
• Windsor Castle: Where we start the play, a lot more familiar. Pomp and circumstance in this setting
• Ely House: Gaunt’s dying wish.
• Ireland: Represents the dying and already dead. A pointless place for the pointless war.
• Pomfret Castle: Represents the imprisonment of Richard who is trapped behind four walls. Leads to him thinking about what he has done to the country.

Dialogue & Voices:

• Richard’s word which speak actions. Richard who is perhaps scared to use action (unlike Bolingbrook) but feels more comfortable using words.
• Gaunt’s dying words as a prophecy for Richard and England. His harsh words which always come back to haunt Richard.

Language:

• The nobles who speak in iambic pentameter and the lower classes who speak in prose.
• Almost every line is written in blank verse
• Richard speaks the most soliloquies emphasising his perception as a man of thought and reflection
• Religious imagery: Ties into divine right of Kings. How Richard views himself as God’s representative on Earth.
• The language of betrayal: Most characters betray their own family. The Queen is who is not made aware of what the King is doing up until the Garden scene.
• Richard’s language is so powerful that it essentially becomes law
• Richard and the power of speech. Richard who uses speech instead of action whilst Bolingbrook is the opposite. Uses speech to enact peace but it has the opposite effect.

The Great Gatsby: AO2 Features

Narrative Perspective:

• Nick is the main narrator, but this allows him to cloud his views about Gatsby which leads to him becoming a flawed narrator.
  • “I am one of the few honest people I know” already clouds his judgement.
  • How much time went before Gatsby’s death and Nick writing about the events.
  • Nick actually thinks Gatsby is great but he has had time to think about events so he must be flawed.
• Jordan briefly takes over as narrator accrediting to her sensibility and trustworthiness that she does not lie. She is a true narrator where Nick fails.
• It is Nick’s invisible character trait of reserving judgement that makes me an invisible narrator. One that almost like a third-person character

Setting:

• The elite East Egg which is full of money. The rich snobbery of Americans who believe they are the elite and no-body else is above them.
  • The fact that Tom is here signifies that he feels threatened when somebody from outside this circle threatens his marriage.
  • The fact that Tom is from East Egg serves to demonstrate how he can use his status to commit adultery and get away with it.
• West Egg which represents hope and freedom in that anybody can make money and maintain a good status.
  • The only bad they see is the bad perception they have among East Egg.
• America which represents hope and freedom. Everyman is equal in America. This is what makes Gatsby thrive, without the setting of America, there would be no Gatsby and he would certainly not be great.
• Valley of Ashes represents the worse of the American Dream in that the two Eggs dump everything there. It is the land where dreams go to die. The rich disregard it as a dumping ground and are unable to see it as anything but. Even the government agree as there is no train station.

Language:

• Dramatic Irony: All the characters are aware of Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship. All the characters but Tom. This puts him on the backfoot. Where Tom was once ahead of the playing field, in this one, he is behind it. But it shows his character that he still ends up with Daisy mere moments after this scene.
• Symbolism: Green light which represents Daisy. Green represents hope and growth which Gatsby hopes he can achieve under Daisy but when he finally has her, the green light goes away, as does his relationship with Daisy
• Flashback: Provide exposition and background information. Often used to elevate suspense by revealing key elements of the plot e.g Jordan who tells us the backstory of Daisy and Gatsby.
• Metaphor: Comparing Daisy to a rose. A rose represents purity, joy and light. When Nick and Gatsby learn more about Daisy, they come to realise just what a gross thing a rose is. The white rose has been contaminated with the “valley of Ashes” of the American dream which corrupts Daisy.
• Symbol of Doctor TJ Eckleburg who is like a God to the poorer people watching over them. The poorer people believe that the rich will one day get their tragic ending through all the bad they do to the poor. Just like Gatsby.

Dialogue and Voices:

• The voice of “Owl eyes” who cannot believe that Gatsby has pure materialism about him but actually has books in his library. Owl eyes represents the reader who may believe that Gatsby is not real but turns out he is.
• Tom’s voice in bursting out against Daisy in the first chapter trying to show his arrogance and how threatens he feels.
  • Tom has got to make his point. He can’t have Jordan or Daisy speak better than him. He has to assert his dominance over the characters and the readers themselves. He essentially forces his hand into the story than be “introduced”.

Structure:

• Nick’s narrative starts in the present and from chapter 4, he integrates stories from Gatsby’s past.
• Non-chronological order in order to build the mystery surrounding the character of Gatsby.
• Repeating of patterns which thread their way throughout the story and adds richness to the novel as the whole.
  • We should include the way Nick interrupts the dialogue during this with this own information about characters and past events.
• The introduction of Gatsby shows Nick’s moral need for improving his life.
  • Gatsby is to Nick what Dan Cody was to Gatsby

The Great Gatsby - Do Notions of Love Cause The Tragedy?

• Love causes Gatsby to be disillusioned from the rest of society.
  • “can’t repeat the past, why of course you can.”
  • Absurd that he even believes in this notion. Love blinds him to so much that he only focuses on material love on Daisy
• Tom’s abuse of love to get his own way
  • “I see you’re an Oxford man”
  • Tom does later feel remorse and shows signs that he did actually love Daisy
    • “Once in a while, I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself but I always come back.”
  • This contrasts with Daisy who does the same and later has to have to ended because Tom feels threatened that “Mr Nobody from Nowhere” is about to steal his wife.
• Myrtle’s love for Tom is ultimately lust but will always remain that for Tom.
  • Similar to Gatsby, Myrtle to blinded by her lust and does not stop until the very end when it is forced upon her through death.
• Daisy’s lack of love for her child.
  • Shows that she knows about society and the plight of women if she knows that women were more likely to become “beautiful fools, that’s all she’ll ever be, a beautiful little fool”
• Gatsby’s love for money
  • “her voice was full of money” which shows how material he is about love
• Nick’s love for Gatsby.
  • “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”
  • Gatsby plays a role akin to Dan Cody which Cody himself played for Gatsby.
  • Possible feelings for Gatsby
• Willison’s death which reinforces the idea that love causes tragedy
• Nick’s love for Jordan which is intended to symbolise a new kind of love but cannot as Jordan cannot provide for him.

Othello - How to answer section A/extract questions

As there are 50 marks in total for Othello, it's important to know how to answer the extract question (section A) so you can gain the best marks. Below is a small checklist. 

• Significance is not importance
• The question is asking “why is the extract significantly tragic and how does it contribute to the tragedy as a whole and to the tragic events?”

What To Talk About:

• Presentation of characters
  • Dialogue: How they speak
  • Appearance: Physical appearance
  • Actions/attitudes/behaviour: What they do and how
  • Relationships: How they behave with others
  • Thoughts: How they speak – more a AO2 point.
• Dramatic Setting
  • Country – external. Venice, Cyprus, street
  • Internal setting: Bedchamber
  • Time of day – day or night?
• Other relevant aspects
  • Tragic flaw present
  • Structure of a tragedy – how does this contribute to the tragedy e.g exciting force leading to the climax.
  • Context – within the text. Not just the social, historical context but the context of tragedy.

Key Terms:

• External pressure, ordered society, sympathy, metaphor, imagery, antagonist, protagonist, tragedy, blank verse, dramatic irony, foreshadowing, renaissance, tragic genre and chaos/disorder.

Othello - Three Important Themes?

Motives:

• Iago’s professional jealousy in that Cassio got the lieutenant job over when Cassio is an “arithmetician” who cannot lead a squad into battle.
  • Iago’s professional jealousy in that he is not the general?
• Iago’s sexual jealousy in that Othello has “twixt thy sheets, done thy office” – he feels that he has acted upon his skin colour and slept with Emilia. Why should Othello have the right to sleep with my wife because he is above me?
  • Othello is reminded that Desdemona is Italian and is therefore likely to cheat with someone of her own “complexion and clime”
• Desdemona’s motives for leaving her father. Wrongfully made a mother figure once her mother died.
• Emilia’s motives for being an oppressed woman. Speaking about the plight of women “I will not charm my tongue, I am bound to speak”.
  • But stole the handkerchief in order to mark Iago’s affection. Jealous of what Desdemona and Othello had.
• Roderigo’s motives for wanting Desdemona. Unknowingly worked with Iago and was a pawn in his game of Chess.

Jealousy:

• Roderigo is jealous about Othello’s superior position in his married life – racism?
• Iago’s jealousy about the relationship Othello has with himself and with Desdemona
• Professional jealousy shown by Iago
• Othello is possibly jealous about being a cultural outsider being of “royal men of siege”
• Othello’s jealousy about Desdemona and Cassio which leads to him falling into a trance and the “green eyed monster which mocks him” the green eyed monster is Othello himself, he is giving birth to his own jealousy for no reason. Acts out of jealousy and asks for the ocular proof.
• Brabantio is jealous about Desdemona’s elopement with Othello – racism? “this accident is not unlike my dream”

Remorse:

• The lack of remorse from Iago at the end “demand me nothing, what you know, you know, from this time forth I will never speak word” – links with “motiveless malignity” - Iago is pure evil, a “demi-devil who ensnared my soul and body”
  • In effect asking the audience what they know because they know full well that such a relationship would not work in the future and so Iago broke it off before they did anyway.
  • Iago acting on state orders breaking the foundations of their marriage just as they had broken the foundations of society. Uses soliloquys to show the audience agree with him.
• Othello’s remorse in that he kills himself. Seen as the heroic thing to do at the time. “I will meet her in contempt”.
  • Consumed by jealousy, victimised and followed her situation. A quick “Desdemona” role happened to him.
• Emilia feels remorse for how she treated Desdemona and this ultimately makes her an admirable woman.
• Cassio feels remorse even though he did not do anything. Speaks of his character and shows he will be a good general.
  • May feel guilty about getting drunk and starting off the whole chain of events with the “net that shall enmesh them all”
• Absence of Roderigo’s remorse as he wants to break the marriage. Unaware that he is an unknown advisory to Iago’s plan

AO2 - Structure of Othello

1. Exposition: Describes the mood conditions existing at the beginning of the play. Time, place and setting will be identified as well as the main characters.
2. Exciting Force: “Gets things going” The conflict can begin and will continue throughout the play
3. Rising Action: Series of events leading to the climax. Progressive intensity of interest for the audience. Will involve more than one act.
4. Climax: Turning point of the story. From this point onwards, the Shakespearean hero moves to his inevitable end
5. Falling Action: Includes the events occurring from the time of climax up to the hero’s death. Will show both advances and declines in the various forces acting upon the hero
6. Catastrophe: Concerns the necessary consequences of the hero’s action (death). Should be brief and simple.

In Othello:

• Act 1: Exposition, exciting force and rising action
• Act 2: Rising action
• Act 3: Rising action, climax and falling action
• Act 4: Falling action
• Act 5: Falling action and catastrophe.

Types of Conflict:

Internal Conflict:

External Conflict:

Man vs Self: Main character is torn between two or more ideas/courses of action

Man vs Man: Main character finds themselves in conflict with another character. Can be psychological, physical or even philosophical.

Man vs Society: Main character has a conflict with a larger group – a community, society or culture

Man vs Nature: Main character finds themselves in conflict with nature which serves as the antagonist

Structure in Othello:

• Othello is universally recognised as the best constructed Shakespeare tragedy.
• Action starts no less than 10 lines into the play.
• 3 part structure:
  
  
  1. Marriage of Othello
  2. Poisoning of Othello’s mind by Iago
  3. Othello’s murder of Desdemona and his discovery of being duped by Iago
• Each party rises naturally from the last and carries forward the themes relevant to it’s conclusion
• Within these three mentioned above, Shakespeare puts the exposition, rising & falling action as well as the climax and catastrophe.

Exposition:

• Reveals the general situation from which the plot arises.
• Opens with a conversation which is seen to already be in progress.
• Shakespeare’s authorial intent is to delay the appearance of Othello whilst making the audience focus their thoughts on Othello himself.
• Instead we are introduced to Iago who we will learn about throughout the play but learn initial factors about first.
• Brabantio is introduced to present the elopement of Desdemona through a hostile point of view whilst Iago is able to keep up a façade of liking Othello by is “the green eyed monster”
• Shakespeare authorial intents is to this because so when they silence their enemies, their triumph seems to be greater
• As Brabantio warns Othello, he seeds doubt into his mind that only the audience notes because we’ve seen how others treat him when he is not present.

Rising Action:

• Often the longest part of a play
• Unusual in Othello because Othello is weak before Iago maintains his position. The conflict is seemingly coming to an end when the Duke allows Desdemona to go to Cyprus.
• The conflict and climax are superficial because the real action does not lie with Othello and Desdemona but with Iago poisoning Othello’s mind.

Climax:

• Is Act 3, scene 3. Has 3 phases
  
  
  1. Cassio meets Desdemona, she accepts his proposals and will ask Othello.
  2. Desdemona is as good as her word. She is unmindful of Othello and just asks him
  3. Iago’s duplicity is seen as he does not claim that Cassio does not part with Desdemona.
     
     
     • Iago uses Brabantio’s previous words to systematically poison Othello’s mind. This works so much that Othello thinks Iago not revealing everything he knows.
       
       
       • Now Desdemona drops her handkerchief and Emilia picks it up.
     • Othello is as helpless as a fish caught in a net and Iago is for once open and forthright in his accusations and agrees to bring about Desdemona’s death.

Falling Action:

• Othello’s tragic murder of Desdemona and the discovery that he has been duped by Iago.
• Othello’s retributive justice is rushed which makes the structure in Othello unique across tragedy and Shakespearean tragedy

Iago’s Soliloquies:

• Contribute to structure as they bring clarity and consistency of the motivation linking the various events of the play.
• Links the various events of the play in a coherent chain of cause and effect.
  
  
  • If Iago was “motiveless”, as Coleridge claimed, the structure of Othello would be weaker.
  • The soliloquies of Iago express his motivation
  • The soliloquies of Othello reveal the varying states of minds

Double Time:

• Shakespeare’s structure extends to a device which is a problem as there is no physical possibility in terms of time for Desdemona and Cassio to elope.
• Shakespeare has done so by resorting to ‘double time’, that is, by constructing the plot as though the links in time are managed by two different clocks, one indicating ‘long time’, and the other showing the normal passage of time.

Economy and Harmony:

• Structure is strengthen by an economy which is impressive with beautiful harmony
• Granville-Barker: “Othello’s precipitate fall from height to depth is tragically appropriate to the man he is, as to the man he is made because the fall must be precipitate. And that we may rather feel with Othello in his suffering.”
  
  

  Works Cited: https://neoenglish.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/the-structure-of-%e2%80%9cothello%e2%80%9d/

Othello - Aspects of Tragedy Revision Notes

A03 - Context:

• The play challenges stereotypes and values of the Renaissance era.
  • Women were submissive and had no rights. Emilia challenges this by speaking. Desdemona is not confined with the domestic setting.
• Black people were assumed to be lusty and dangerous. Othello challenges this by being a general.
  • Othello fuels Iago’s anger but Shakespeare’s authorial intent is to undermine these stereotypes by making Othello measured. Othello is nothing like the projection of Iago.

AO2:

• Dramatic irony, emotive language, asides and soliloquies
  • Invites the audience to reflect the character’s action e.g Othello sacrificed himself for the common-man.
• Comedy to heighten tragedy e.g clown scene – claiming the relationship between Cassio and Desdemona is actually fake. A mockery of what Iago said.
  • The audience can identify the dramatic irony and mock it.
• Soliloquy: Character is alone on stage, saying their thoughts to the audience
• Aside: Saying his/hers thoughts but other characters are on stage where they are obivlious to what they are doing.
  • Iago uses this to deceive the character right beside them. It is a joke to him, shows his duplicity.
• Venice: Law, order and justice. Othello is virtuous here.
• Cyprus: Disorder, chaos but is the island of love. Iago’s plan comes here.
  • The fact that Othello takes Desdemona with him here shows he cannot separate his personal and political life leading to his tragedy.

Contextual Interpretations of Iago – AO5:

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Iago has a sense of self-importance, entitlement with a lack of empathy
• Anti-social Personality Disorder: Deceitful and manipulative to gain personal profit or pleasure.
  • Iago is malcontent with the need for revenge for not being promoted – professional jealousy
• Gibson: “Othello is a provision of the struggle of the black man.” 
  Works Cited:  https://kieurevision.blogspot.com/2017/06/aspects-of-tragedy-othello.html