“The ‘Double Time’ Crux in Othello Solved”

Sohmer, Steve. “The ‘Double Time’ Crux in Othello Solved.” English Literary Renaissance: Studies in Drama and Culture, vol. 32, no. 2, Spring 2002, pp. 214-238. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43447633. Accessed 10 July 2021.

Sohmer suggests that Shakespeare intentionally linked the action in Othello to holy dates in the conflicting Julien and Gregorian calendars, and that several weeks—not several days—passed during the play. Since 1849, when John Wilson called the dramatic plot shifts in Othello “double time,” there has been as ongoing debate among scholars about the inconsistencies in the play (214-216). Sohmer provides a detailed explanation of why two different calendars were used during Shakespeare’s lifetime, and illustrates that audiences had access to both calendars through the popular Farmer’s Almanac (217-220). He shares examples of how a voyage from (Catholic/Gregorian) Venice and (Julien) Cyprus could last four or five weeks and result in routine temporal anomalies (225-226). Sohmer cites examples from the text of the play, as well as from scriptures prescribed by the church for specific dates, to support the idea that Othello and Desdemona had been married for many weeks.

--Jess Fraser

"Re-‘Turning’ Othello: Transformative and Restorative Romance"

Britton, Dennis Austin. “Re-‘Turning’ Othello: Transformative and Restorative Romance.” ELH, 
vol. 78, no. 1, 2011, pp. 27–50. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41236533. Accessed 14 July 2021.

            Current Othello critics focus on Othello’s identity as an outsider and on his race; however, Britton argues Othello’s identity as a Christian is more important to the transformative romance popular during that time period, especially in Italy. Britton focuses on transformative romance to emphasize Iago’s goal of restoring Othello’s original religious identity. To emphasize his point, Britton examines other works during this time period that featured the incorporation of non-European people into society, namely Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto and The Moor of Venice by Giraldi Cinthio. One feature of the romance genre is the ability to transform identity. Romance’s ability to convert was popular because Venice encountered people from other lands, so transformation meant acceptance into Venetian society. In order to destroy Othello, Iago cannot only focus on Othello’s race, and Iago, ultimately, failed in doing so in the first Act of the play. Iago must dissimilate Othello’s identity as a Christian since this is what permits him acceptance into Venetian society. Ultimately, Iago succeeds in eliminating Othello’s Christian identity and restores the other feature of the romance genre: the ability to return to the original identity.

- Tracie Yule

Othello Circumcised: Shakespeare and the Pauline Discourse of Nations

Lupton, Julia."Othello Circumcised: Shakespeare and the Pauline Discourse of Nations." Representations, vol. Winter, no. 57, 1997, pp. 73-89, www.jstor.org/stable/2928664. 

Lupton asserts that at the beginning of the play, Shakespeare's intent was not to racialize Othello and Desdemona's relationship but to classify this (through Brabantio's perspective) as a cultural difference; Othello being a Gentile and Barbarian and Brabantio's as a Christian convert (from Judaism); with Brabantio's focus on the "family clan" being disrupted from an outsider (Othello), even though Othello is also a Christian convert. (Lupton 76) Lupton supports this premise with writings from "St. Paul's division of humanity Greek, Jew and barbarian..." (74). The Pauline ideology essentially stated that Jews and Muslims were culturally more in common with each other than Christians; a clear contradiction, but apparently justified because of Othello's opaque ethnicity. The author supports part of this premise with the cultural practice of circumcision. 

Because of their similarities, this placed both of them (religions) under equal suspicion during the Renaissance. Othello was a "converted" Christian. Shakespeare draws this connection through Othello being circumcised as him being of the Abrahamic class, at least visually. Despite this, Pauline's ideology argues that religion is in one's heart and not necessarily any outward appearances (circumcision). Because Othello hadn't originated from Europe, he had to come from one of two places; the west of Venice, meaning he would have been a possible Gentile/Barbarian, a pagan along with carrying over barbaric and violent tendencies of the darker west of Africa or east of Venice, (Middle East) denoting an Islamic origin, a lighter color, and closer parallels with Judaism. (Ibid)

In effect, Othello was villainized both racially and ethnically/culturally; it didn't really matter where he came from, he was an outsider and ultimately unwelcomed during the Renaissance. His murder of Desdemona supported the "barbarity" of his supposed western background, his ideology of "permanent justice" for Desdemona's purported adultery arises from his possible eastern influence of Abrahamic justice, but his suicide provided some measure of Christian redemption, allowing the Venetians to focus on his service provided for them. (83-4)

--David Kase

“Desdemona, Woman Warrior: ‘O, These Men, These Men!"

Holmer, Joan Ozark. “Desdemona, Woman Warrior: ‘O, These Men, These Men!" (4.3.59).” Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, vol. 17, 2005, pp. 132–164. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24322724. Accessed 28 June 2021.

Summary of the article:

In the article by Joan Ozark Holmer for Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, Holmer argues that Desdemona is perhaps the bravest warrior ever presented on stage. She is “literally a warrior in the Christian sense, with faith as her shield” and figuratively a warrior in a secular sense, with her tongue as her sword (133). What follows is a critical analysis proving that Desdemona is a perfect Christian warrior as per Erasmus’s The Handbook of the Christian Soldier, with several arguments as to Desdemona’s heroics. One such argument is how she is a warrior in front of Othello, by testifying on his behalf before her father and the Senate, and by imploring the Duke to let her stand by his side in Cypress. Further testimony from Holmer is that Desdemona learns through adversity when she discovers that Othello is not as pure of mind as she had thought, and she fights for Cassio. She does this not for herself, but for Othello’s own good, knowing that Cassio loves Othello. The most substantial argument from Holmer that Desdemona is a woman warrior is that she ultimately does not rebuke Othello for her own murder, but continues to love him and tries to save both his reputation and his soul. In her final lines, she cries out that she has been falsely murdered. She cries this out to Othello, so that he might know his misdeed and repent for it, but when asked by Emilia to confirm who has killed her, she lies as though she has committed suicide, thus saving her husband’s reputation and tarnishing her own. That she would focus so much effort on redeeming her husband’s soul and continuing to love him to the last, argues Holmer, shows that Desdemona is indeed a woman warrior.

-- Wes Wingert