“The Turn of the Shrew: Gendering the Power of Loquacity in Othello.”

Ganguly, Swati. “The Turn of the Shrew: Gendering the Power of Loquacity in Othello.” Multicultural Shakespeare: Translation, Appropriation, and Performance, vol.9, no. 24, 2012, pp.1-13. 

 

SUMMARY 

Ganguly’s claim is informed by many other scholars’ work, but focuses primarily on the enigma of Iago and Emilia.  Although each section has its own claim, of sorts, throughout she argues that Iago and Emilia defy gender conventions. Ganguly pulls from our critical authors from week two: Neely and Woodbridge.  She also references other authors and their claims about Iago, Emilia, and Desdemona.  In doing so, Ganguly focuses on where their readings “fell short” or missed something that she interprets to support her points.  The essay is divided into bolded sections that develop Ganguly’s thesis.  After defining Bakhtin’s notion of the “grotesque” (female) body, she moves into historical context around punishments for shrews (which was an illegal offense in Shakespeare’s England).  She then moves into her analysis of play, focusing on Iago as a shrew or “gossip” character.  From here she focuses primarily on Emilia exploring how she goes from silent shrew, to strong challenger of patriarchal norms. There were two ideas of note in her section on Iago.  First, is the idea that Iago is a “malcontent” archetype in the vein of Malvolio or Caliban.  However, these are roles of powerlessness – like women.  After explaining that a gossip is gendered as female, she makes the claim that Iago is a powerless, feminized, character (gossip) that uses the shrew’s power (the tongue) in order to gain a sense of control.  Additionally, Ganguly makes an underdeveloped, yet interesting, symbolic connection between the penis and the tongue.  In this way the woman’s “unruly” tongue is her source of power, like a man’s “unruly” penis.

*Ben Mathews

"Malcontented Iago and Revenge Tragedy Conventions in Othello"

 Cressler, Loren. “Malcontented Iago and Revenge Tragedy Conventions in Othello.” Studies in

Philology, Volume 116, Number 1, Winter 2019, pp. 73-100.

 

In “Malcontented Iago and Revenge Tragedy Conventions in Othello,”  Loren Cressler makes the argument that Othello can be considered a revenge tragedy in a manner unique to its contemporary works of the same genre by offering “successful scaffolding” with which to build a new dramaturgical category that combines the traditional model with domestic tragedy. Cressler focuses on the play’s principal revenger, Iago, and his role as a type required of revenge tragedies—that of the Malcontent. Cressler claims Iago has many motivations for his vengeful actions albeit few specifically defined goals, contrary to what some scholars have referred to as Iago’s “motiveless malignity.” The article argues that Iago’s lack of moral obligation for his revenge makes him a more human villain than the stereotypes presented in other plays of the genre (hence, the “scaffolding” of a new kind of drama), and outlines Iago’s reasons for retribution, explaining how they fit within the characteristics of the revenge tragedy as outlined by Wendy Griswold.

--Leslie Leffers

-----------------------------------------------------------------

In “Malcontented Iago and Revenge Tragedy Conventions in Othello”, Cressler writes that “Shakespeare’s Othello began its textual and dramatic life as a thoroughly typical revenge plot,” and that he will argue that “it is because of, not in spite of, the formulaic plotting of the revenge play that the genre succeeds and suggest, moreover, that revenge tragedies enable the development of new genres by providing a functional and successful scaffolding on which to build dramatic innovation” (Cressler 74). Or in other words, in Cressler’s essay, he is going to argue how although Othello does not match how we traditionally view the classic revenge plot, the revenge tragedy actually helps the genre succeed and provides a place for new genres to develop. Cressler first fleshes out the character of Iago, and how he believes that he is the beginning of malcontents, before showing the fall and end of malcontents. He then goes into detail about the black tragedies in Othello stating why Shakspeare probably made Othello black. 

      

Priscilla Adams