Othello (3 of 3)

[@johnk8174]

This is masterful teaching.

[@ChristosGoulios]

agreed he does a great job >.>

[@semper-egoauditor-tantum9451]

Thank you. I found these lectures very illuminating and stimulating (esp the cross references) and highly entertaining too.

[@ryancostea933]

55:10 "Behold the Lion"

[@joeruf6526]

such a strange way to read the play. How can one assume Shakespeare would undermine his own drama to hide many of the points Prof Cantor makes? Shakespeare wasn't a 19th century German nor a Straussian nor did he presuppose a liberal "self interest".

[@jamesduggan7200]

Deconstructing "Othello" one could reasonably conclude that the proof of his humanity is the process of his arrival at the determination to kill Desdemona. His response (using Derrida's terminology) to Iago's stimuli is a thinking process rather than one of mimesis. He acts according to deliberation, not reaction, or animalistic instinct.

[@TheWhitehiker]

Othello commits murder, you forget. Also, Cantor analyses clearly in terms of psychological weaknesses instead of 'deliberation,' as you put it.

[@jamesduggan7200]

@@TheWhitehiker Yes, Othello does in fact murder his wife, Desdemona. However, one should respect the character of the general who arrives at a decision based on the information he has, rather than simply dangle at the ends of some strings as Iago would wish. In short, he is portrayed as a moral actor in control of his life. The tragedy is that he is not smart enough to recognize that the betrayal which stimulates his action comes from Iago not Desdemona. He is actually hampered by a primitive superstition that leads him to give extra weight to the strawberry handkerchief.

[@TheWhitehiker]

@@jamesduggan7200 I think me must assume that Othello is both intelligent and not subject to 'primitive superstition,' as you put it. Otherwise the tragedy would be a melodrama of a dismal sort.

[@TheBraunzone]

I love this, but. Every time the professor talks, he reveals a bias against Othello and Desdemona that is telling about both Shakespeare and himself that any man of color or of honor can plainly see as a reflection of Iago hinself.

[@jamesduggan7200]

Having just listened to part 2 of 3 on "Othello" I feel tempted to record an overlong post here. I will resist that temptation and limit my comment to the observation that Shakespeare criticism fills entire aisles of university libraries. There is nothing new to say, and students sometimes overreach in the desire to be recognized.