“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

“Analyzing Iago's Speech in Shakespeare's Othello”

    Nimer Abuzahra and Rami Salahat from Hebron University, Palestine, share an analysis of Iago’s speech: his words choices and metaphors throughout the play specifically. The authors employ several methods of analysis in their study. Through these methods, the authors break down Iago’s use of animal metaphors, how his words connect to gender, identity, and race, and his use of rhetorical questions and manipulative language. In short, the authors claim that the purpose of Iago’s dramatic use of animal metaphors throughout the play is to degrade and even dehumanize several characters in the play in order to accomplish his plans. He also uses his words as weapons to create dissent among the characters regarding Othello’s race and heritage, sowing discord and doubt wherever he goes. The authors also analyze Iago’s misogynistic views through looking at his words, metaphors, and assertions of the other sex which are backed up in his actions. One example is Iago’s assertion, “Come on, come on; you are pictures out of doors, bells in your parlours, wild-cats in your kitchens" (Shakespeare 2.1.108-109). The authors assert, “Sanders (2003) points out that Iago's statement is a proverb which means that women are in church saints, abroad angels, and at home devils. This suggests that Iago has a bad view of women in general, that they don’t seem what they really are” (Abuzahra & Salahat 191). Finally, the author’s discuss Iago’s uses of rhetorical questions and other speaking techniques to persuade and misguide many characters, showing how words have power to manipulate with negative impacts.

Abuzahra, Nimer, and Rami Salahat. “Analyzing Iago’s Speech in Shakespeare’s Othello.” Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, vol. 2, no. 2, April 2018. SemanticScholar, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/79ca/1d951902872db1ece17094a01a8bf70fc606.pdf. 

- Mathew Stephens