Insight through the Art of Poetry No.1

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By Amirat Sanusi

I am a loud observer 
In the eyes of others
I feel the pressure to perform

but really I'd like to be a spectator 
a performer must at some point retire from the stage

so allow me
to observe these small faint gestures exchanged through the aligned hearts of others
to catch glances thrown across rooms
to watch as fingertips intertwine in corridors

to be seen observing others 
rather than the others observing me

allow me to retreat from the sight of the audience
allow me to fade temporarily

give me a break,
I hate being on stage.

An exploration of Albanian literature by Johnny Mortimer: 1. Via Politica by Luljeta Lleshanaku

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  1. An exploration of Albanian literature with Johnny Mortimer 

Luljeta Lleshanaku: Suppression of the youth 

“A country where a man is afraid to criticise another one is no socialist country”.

-Enva Hoxha 

Revolutions can often be cruel. Despite normally being a fight for freedom from an oppressive force, they usually end up widening a wound instead of stitching it up. Albania serves as the perfect example of this, with the Balkan nation spending post-war Europe in the tight clutches of the Albanian communist party or, more specifically, Dictator Enver Hoxha. Hoxha’s form of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism, which was labeled Hoxhaism, was often regarded as ‘extreme Stalinism’ and centred around the oppression of the people through isolation from the outside world. By marginally industrialising rural Albania and closing the country, Hoxha was able to create the idea that Albania had entered an age of affluence under his rule. This brainwashed people into devoting their lives to the dictator who, for them, was the saviour of Albania. Under Hoxha’s rule, an extension of the civil service was added, The Sigurimi. Akin to the Gestapo of Nazi Germany or the Stasi of the Soviet Union, The Sigurimi was tasked with stopping the ‘corruption’ of their country by oppressing artists, democrats, Muslims, Christians, musicians, and, of course, poets. In the dictatorship, it was the state that chose if you went to university, not your grades or ability, but your suspected loyalty to the country and the party. Unfortunately for young Luljeta Lleshanaku, her application was tainted by her family. In an interview with Viktor Berberi, Lleshanaku remembered her family ‘was marked as enemies of the regime and suffered imprisonment and marginalisation as a result,’ including a period of forced labor. After being denied the right to an education, Lleshanaku found work in a factory despite having a burning passion for poetry. Lleshanaku was only able to pursue her passion after the fall of the communist regime in 1990. Her work was soon published and translated into several languages, and in 2009 she won the Crystal Vilenica award for European poets. She is widely considered Albania’s best poet, with her most emotionally moving and famous poem, ‘Via Politica,’ being praised as one of the best poems of the 21st century.

Via Politica 

By Luljeta Lleshanaku

Translated by Ani Gjika 

I grew up in a big house

where weakness and expressions of joy

deserved punishment.

And I was raised on the via politica

with the grease of yesterday’s glories,

a thick grease collected under arctic skies.

I was lit up. My notebooks, my hair, my heart reeked of

smoke.

That’s when we saw each other clearly.

Or rather, what remained of us.

Damaged like lottery numbers

scratched away with a blade.

How different we were!

Those with round faces were righteous;

those with narrow faces were cautious.

One listened secretly to Puccini,

another to silence, the music’s music.

The oldest one declaimed monologues

inside a ten-by-ten-foot cell

he had built for himself.

And the mysterious one

simply had diabetes.

But how similar we were in severe circumstances!

Alarmed like a flock of magpies

that the smallest stone sends into the sky

toward the mouth of the abyss.

Then it became obvious there wasn’t enough space for everyone.

We separated. Some went on living in via verbum,

telling of what they knew, what they witnessed,

and so, through their narrative,

creating their own grease.

The others crossed over the ocean.

And those in particular who went farthest away

never speak of their annoying history

of wretched survival, burying it

in the darkest crevices on their being.

Unfortunately, as with perfume, its scent

lingers there for much, much longer.

The poem from the start orchestrates the pain in remembering, “where weakness and expressions of joy deserved punishment,” creating an initial traumatic theme that is explored throughout the whole poem. It seems that the speaker is still haunted by the feelings she felt as a girl. The oppressive nature of the poet’s upbringing, where vulnerability and genuine happiness were discouraged or punished, is one shared by many Albanians of the same generation. This reflects the atmosphere of fear and repression that characterised life under communist rule in Albania, where individuality was stifled and frowned upon.

The mention of being raised on the “via politica” (which translates to “political street”) carries the metaphorical weight of growing up within the realm of politics, and perhaps more specifically, socialism. It signifies that the political ideology and its influence permeated every aspect of the poet’s life. The “grease of yesterday’s glories” collected under arctic skies further emphasises this idea, as it represents the remnants of past political triumphs or propaganda that lingered in the collective memory as Lleshanaku recounts her childhood.

The line “My notebooks, my hair, my heart reeked of smoke” vividly depicts the pervasive impact of the political environment on the poet’s personal and emotional existence. It suggests that the poet’s thoughts, identity, and emotions were steeped in the smoke, representing the influence and suffocation of creativity symbolised in the notebook, while also possibly referencing the speaker’s time spent working in a factory which she despised.

The poem then shifts to what can be interpreted as a realisation by the speaker: “That’s when we saw each other clearly” implies that it is through the hardships and severe circumstances they faced that true understanding and recognition of each other occurred. The difficulties they encountered stripped away superficialities, allowing for a deeper insight into their shared experiences and the impact of those around them.

The subsequent lines, “Damaged like lottery numbers scratched away with a blade,” employs a metaphor to describe the individuals. It suggests that they have been marked or scarred by their experiences with socialism, resembling lottery numbers that have been partially erased or obscured. This image conveys the lasting effects of their struggles and the sense of pain and perhaps trauma that they carry. These lines could also be interpreted as remembering the times after the fall of communism in Albania when the veil of affluence was destroyed, and individualism flourished.

“One listened secretly to Puccini” suggests a hidden passion or personal indulgence in music. It implies that amidst the challenging circumstances, there was someone who found solace or escape in the beauty of music, specifically Puccini’s compositions, which were banned in Albania. This line speaks to the resilience of the human spirit, as even in difficult times, individuals seek out sources of joy and inspiration.

The following line, “another to silence, the music’s music,” contrasts the previous experience. It suggests that while one person sought solace in music, another found comfort and meaning in silence itself. It implies that silence can hold its own kind of music or profound resonance, representing a different means of coping or finding connection amidst adversity. This could even represent the mixed feelings the people had with communism in Albania. Despite the modern negative perspective of communism in Albania parts of the country, especially the rural areas, still supported socialism. In fact, a socialist government was elected only 6 years after the fall of the one-party communist state which is still in power today. Although this current government is far from Hoxha’s its shows Albanias unhealthy trust in the past and unwillingness to move forward and try something new, an idea crafted by long periods of time Albania spent in isolation.

The line “The oldest one declaimed monologues inside a ten-by-ten-foot cell he had built for himself” introduces the idea of confinement and isolation, perhaps hinting at the speaker’s family who had been in and out of prison during the regime. It describes the actions of an individual who, in the face of restrictions or physical confinement, resorts to internal dialogues or self-expression within the confines of their own mind. This highlights the resourcefulness and resilience of individuals in finding ways to assert their identity and maintain a sense of agency, even within oppressive circumstances.

The structure of the poem is oddly free verse, lacking a strict rhyme scheme or meter. This form of poetry allows for greater flexibility and creativity in expressing ideas and emotions. By avoiding traditional rhyme and meter, Luljeta Leshanaku can focus on conveying the essence of her experiences and ideas with more freedom and spontaneity. Additionally, the poem exhibits a narrative quality, as it recounts the poet’s personal experiences and observations. This narrative structure helps to engage the reader by creating a sense of storytelling and inviting them to accompany the poet on her journey. Moreover, the use of vivid imagery throughout the poem, such as the references to “grease,” “smoke,” and “lottery numbers,” serves to create strong visual and sensory impressions. This imagery enhances the reader’s emotional connection to the themes and experiences conveyed in the poem.  

Returning to the poem itself, the lines “But how similar we were in severe circumstances!” emphasises a shared experiences and the common ground that emerged among the people depicted. Despite their differences and diverse challenges, they were united in their endurance and resilience in facing the severe circumstances they encountered. On the other hand, this line could be interpreted as praise for the regime. Communism was able to unite the country which had previously been understood as a mixing pot by the Ottoman’s with Lord Byron writing “no nation is so detested and dreaded than Albania, the Greeks hardly regard them as Christian’s or the Turks as Muslims, and in fact they’re a mixture of both and sometimes neither.” If Hoxha was able to unite such a fragmented nation then perhaps he deserves some credit despite being ruthless actions? A moral dilemma deserving of its own blog post I think.

 The subsequent lines, “Alarmed like a flock of magpies that the smallest stone sends into the sky toward the mouth of the abyss,” utilise vivid imagery to portray the collective reaction and vulnerability of the individuals. The imagery of a flock of magpies startled and flying upwards in response to a small stone alludes to the heightened state of alertness and fragility of the people in the face of potential danger or uncertainty. It emphasises the sensitivity and responsiveness that arises in severe circumstances.The following lines, “Then it became obvious there wasn’t enough space for everyone. We separated,” indicates the realisation that the available resources or opportunities were limited, leading to the necessity of separation or divergence. This acknowledges the harsh reality that not everyone could remain together or access the same opportunities and hints subtly at Albanian immigration which remains a prominent issue both in Albania and oversees.

The poem recognises the impact of external circumstances and the paths individuals take and the choices they make. The final lines, “Some went on living in via verbum, telling of what they knew, what they witnessed, and so, through their narrative, creating their own grease,” describe how some individuals chose to continue their lives on “via verbum,” the street of politics. They used storytelling and narration as a means of creating their own “grease,” signifying their own sources of inspiration, influence, and narrative. This highlights the power of storytelling and the resilience of the human spirit in finding agency and creative outlets even in challenging circumstances. However this could also be meant as a criticism of those who dwell on the past leaving themselves to be unprepared for the future.

 The line “the other crossed over the ocean” alludes to the Albanian Civil unrest of 1997 in which con artists working for pyramid schemes were able to steal money from hard working Albanians who had little understanding of how capitalism worked. This was allowed to happen by a weak government who offered no assistance in restricting these schemes even when told to by the IMF. This crashed the Albanian economy and plunged the country into a brief civil war referred to in Albania as the “troubled period” as the country descended into chaos and required UN peace keeping forces to take back half the country. The troubles resulted in a mass migration of Albanian people who clung themselves to ships and planes leaving the country in a desperate attempt to escape to the EU. This line clearly references this. The mention of those who went farthest away and “never speak of their annoying history of wretched survival” points to the idea that some individuals who migrated tend to distance themselves from their troubled past. Stripping themselves of their cultural identity. 

The line “burying it in the darkest crevices on their being” suggests a deliberate act of suppressing or hiding their difficult history within themselves. Perhaps for the writer this trauma has resurfaced. This can be interpreted as a coping mechanism or a way to move forward and focus on their present lives in a new environment. However, the line also highlights that the scent of their history lingers, similar to perfume, “for much, much longer.” This implies that despite their attempts to bury or forget their past, the impact and traces of their experiences continue to shape them. This can be seen as a metaphor for the lasting effects of the migration crisis and the civil unrest, both on the individuals who migrated and on the collective memory of the nation.

In conclusion, the poem explores the poet’s  melancholic past and delves into themes of suppression, resilience, shared experiences, and the lasting impact of historical events. Through vivid imagery, personal narratives, and introspective reflections, the poem captures the oppressive atmosphere of the poet’s childhood, where vulnerability and expressions of joy were punished. It portrays the individuals within the poem as marked by their experiences, but also united by their shared endurance and resilience in severe circumstances. The poem also raises several important questions such as how to combat growing trauma, at the start of the poem I would argue the poet suggests that the healthiest way to dismiss it is to recount what had happened however this is contrasted later in the poem when the poet criticises the people of Albania for dwelling on it for too long and therefore suffocating the future. The use of two such contrasting ideas perhaps hints at the idea of there being a healthy middle ground between the two extremes which is only achievable through experiencing both methods first.    

Essential Terms for Poetry

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Hi all,

Here’s a quick post noting how to identify rhythmic meter and a few poetic structures.

Rhythm, Feet and Metre

Rhythm — Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line

Feet — Units of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line.

Metre — Amount of repeated feet in a line

Heteronym — Words that change meaning depending on where the stress is placed.

Two Syllable Rhythms: Iambic, Trochaic, Spondaic, Pyrrhic

Iambic —

  •  ti tum x / = 1 foot
  • Unstressed + stressed (rising metre)
  • Skipping beating, soothing, opening syllables, mimics natural speech

Trochaic —

  • Tum ti / x = 1 foot
  • Stressed + unstressed (falling metre)
  • Abrupt metre, dynamic, opening syllable

Spondaic —

  • Tum tum / / = 1 foot
  • Stressed + stressed (irregular metre)
  • Emphasis, fills metric gaps

Pyhrric —

  • Ti ti x x = 1 foot
  • Unstressed + unstressed (irregular metre)
  • Softening, fills metric gaps

Metre

1 foot = 1 metre = monometer

2 feet = 2 metres = dimeter

3 feet = 3 metres = trimeter

4 feet = 4 metres = tetrameter

5 feet = 5 metres = pentameter

6 feet = 6 metres = heptameter

7 feet = 7 metres = septameter

8 feet = 8 metres = octameter

Catalexis: Incompleteness usually in the last foot of a line in metrical verse; lacking a syllable at the end ( tum ti/ tum ti/ tum ti/ tum ti/ tum)

Poetic Structures

Blank verse. Blank verse is poetry written with a precise meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does not rhyme.

Free verse. Free verse poetry is poetry that lacks a consistent rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form.

Epics. An epic poem is a lengthy, narrative work of poetry. These long poems typically detail extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past.

Narrative poetry. Similar to an epic, a narrative poem tells a story. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” exemplify this form

Pastoral poetry. A pastoral poem is one that concerns the natural world, rural life, and landscapes. These poems have persevered from Ancient Greece (in the poetry of Hesiod) to Ancient Rome (Virgil) to the present day (Gary Snyder).

Sonnet. A sonnet is a 14-line poem, typically (but not exclusively) concerning the topic of love. Sonnets contain internal rhymes within their 14 lines; the exact rhyme scheme depends on the style of a sonnet.

Petrarchan Sonnets have 14 lines, divided into 2 subgroups: an octave and a sestet. The octave follows a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA. The sestet follows one of two rhyme schemes—either CDE CDE scheme (more common) or CDC CDC..

Shakespearean sonnets have 14 lines divided into 4 subgroups: 3 quatrains and a couplet. Each line is typically ten syllables, phrased in iambic pentameter. A Shakespearean sonnet employs the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

A Spenserian sonnet is a variation on the Shakespearean sonnet, with a more challenging rhyme scheme: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE

“Miltonic” sonnets are an evolution of the Shakespearean sonnet. They often examined an internal struggle or conflict rather than themes of the material world, and sometimes they would stretch beyond traditional limits on rhyme or length.

Elegies. An elegy is a poem that reflects upon death or loss. Traditionally, it contains themes of mourning, loss, and reflection. However, it can also explore themes of redemption and consolation.

Ode. Much like an elegy, an ode is a tribute to its subject, although the subject need not be dead—or even sentient, as in John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

An ode poem is traditionally divided into three sections, or stanzas:

  1. The strophe. In a Greek ode, the strophe usually consists of two or more lines repeated as a unit. In modern usage, the term strophe can refer to any group of verses that form a distinct unit within a poem
  2. The antistrophe. The second section of an ode is structured the same way as the strophe, but typically offers a thematic counterbalance.
  3. The epode. This section or stanza typically has a distinct meter and length from the strophe and antistrophe and serves to summarize or conclude the ideas of the ode.

Pindaric ode consists of a strophe, an antistrophe that is melodically harmonious, and an epode. Pindaric poems are also characterized by irregular line lengths and rhyme schemes.

Horatian ode consists of two- or four-line stanzas that share the same meter, rhyme scheme, and length. Unlike the more formal Pindaric ode, the Horatian ode traditionally explores intimate scenes of daily life.

Irregular ode. Irregular odes follow neither the Pindaric form nor the Horatian form. Irregular odes typically include rhyme, as well as irregular verse structure and stanza patterns.

Limerick. A limerick is a five-line poem that consists of a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme, and whose subject is a short, pithy tale or description.

Lyric poetry. Lyric poetry refers to the broad category of poetry that concerns feelings and emotion. This distinguishes it from two other poetic categories: epic and dramatic.

Ballad. A ballad (or ballade) is a form of narrative verse that can be either poetic or musical. It typically follows a pattern of rhymed quatrains.

Villanelle. A nineteen-line poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain, with a highly specified internal rhyme scheme. Originally a variation on a pastoral, the villanelle has evolved to describe obsessions and other intense subject matters,

War of the Worlds Contextual Information

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Hello all,

Below are a set of notes taken from the Massolit lectures on War of the Worlds. I hope they’ll serve useful as application in any of your prose essays on The Handmaid’s Tale and The War of the Worlds. If you’re looking for further information of the former, I’d recommend either the advanced York notes guide for a simplified exploration of the Handmaid’s context and themes, but if you’re looking for some complex analysis then you might want to check out Bloom’s modern critical interpretations. If you’re not looking to purchase anything, I’d also recommend that you take a visit to your local library (or Norwich’s Millennium Library specifically) for their selection of texts on literary analysis where they’re bound to have a number of critical accompaniments to Atwood and the Handmaid’s Tale. You may struggle also to find relevant texts explicitly on War of the Worlds, but have a survey through the index of general literary guides on science-fiction or Victorian literature and you may find some further tidbits of information that you can add to your essays, or even just contribute to your general understanding of the texts and the periods in which they were produced.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION

  • Works in context of debates within science and religion that date back to the 1860s in the aftermath of Darwin’s Origin of Species.
  • Clashes between groups that wanted to hold onto the dominance of religion, like T.H.Huxley who recognised that we had to re-organise or revise our view of the world following the discovery of evolution.
  • The Curate seems very much intended as a critique of religion. Weak-minded, whiny, and fragile; he undercuts classical notions of muscular Christianity that emphasised patriotic and manly duty of empire-building men who were capable of self-discipline and could export these attributes outward into the world and into the empire.
  • This form of Christianity is contrived to exclude and eliminate all that is to do with effeminacy. He is a weak person, both physically and mentally in the comparison to female hysteria in ‘silly woman’ and the narrator even says to him, ‘Be a man.’
  • The Curate is diametrically opposed to the artilleryman wherein the curate, it seems, represents religion and the artilleryman seems to represent science.
  • In one sense, in the artilleryman’s description of an underground movement of the last of humanity, H.G.Wells seems to endorse science over religion.
  • However, he does make an attempt to bring science and religion together as the narrator describes:
  • “The bacteria, or the humbles creatures that God in all his wisdom, has put upon the earth.”
  • The narrator speaks of a divine intervention of behalf of humanity. Although natural selection is the mechanism that saves them from the Martians, in some sense, it may be connected to a higher purpose.

EVOLUTION AND ETHICS

  • Evolution is a prominent theme in the War of the Worlds
  • Martians are sexless beings, devoid of both digestive systems and body. Here, Wells poses an evolutionary future for humanity, quite an ugly one at that
  • In early descriptions of the Martians, for the purpose of sensationalism, they are repulsive creatures, like hopping heads and the size of a bear
  • Text is preoccupied by ethical implications of evolution. Previous to publication — debates on what evolutionary theory means for human society. 
  • One view is that we should take the model of competition that is apparent in human nature and apply this to human society, associated with Herbert Spencer an economic individualist. Those that have had success and made money are the ones that should be allowed to breathe and procreate. This philosophy can be observed in artilleryman’s speech of the underground movement
  • T.H.Huxley argued that humanity need not work like nature, instead we should have ethical evolution which is a form of cooperation that fits as many people for survival as possible. Wells, who was taught by Huxley, endorses this view.
  • Wells says that from the building blocks of life, co-operation has always taken place as part of evolution. A part of the Martians superior evolution is signified by the fact they co-operate in how they mourn their fallen comrade.
  • This is contrasted by the savage and fragmented response of the human species to the Martian attack which is a critique of the individualism advocated by Spencer. The War of the Worlds show how when social bonds of cooperation break down, we break down into savage anarchy. (Chapter 16 — exodus from London)
  • A human mimicry of nature will take on the worst aspects of natural life (“Yet a kind of eddy of people drove into its mouth: weaklings elbowed out of the stream, who for the most part rested but a moment before plunging into it again.”)
  • This is contrasted by one particular image in this chapter that Wells approves of, “[…] With two friends bending over him, lay a man with a bare leg, wrapped with bloody rags. He was a lucky man to have friends.” Holding out onto human culture and decency.
  • Parodies of economic individualism (“The man was writhing in the dust among his scattered money, unable to rise, for the wheel had broken his back, and his lower limbs lay limp and dead.”)  With the Martian invasion, money and commodities become worthless. The system of exchange and monetary system is destroyed by the Martians.
  • The moral purpose of the story picks apart the so-called survival of the fittest. The fittest in this text are the Martians, in terms of being the strongest and most advanced and the most technologically advanced but they are not suited to the environment, and this is why they fail.
  • This follows onto a point made by Huxley that should the temperature of the Earth adjust even slightly, or should the tilt of the Earth change, then a different species might emerge to dominance. So, by making the Martians killed by bacteria, the smallest entities most capable of collapsing the evolutionary hierarchy

WARFARE AND NARRATION

  • Black smoke that the Martians use to defeat the artillery is a version of the poison gas that would later be used in WW1
  • The text relates to the discourse of time on the future of warfare. It was thought that the machine gun, for example, would spell the end of the use of cavalry in warfare.
  • “They wiped us out — simply wiped us out,” with the fore quarter of a horse atop of me “futuristic weaponry like the machine gun and the heat ray changes the nature of warfare
  • It also relates to contemporary debates about warfare. One such dispute concerned the use of volunteers meaning that Britain had a smaller army comparatively, resulting in the focus on volunteer forces being drawn up to enhance British military strength.
  • Another prevalent aspect is upon restrictions of the navy. Britain was the eminent naval force in the 19th century, evidenced in the success of the Thunder Child in disabling two Martian machines 
  • We observe that the rest of the navy, although vigilant and standing by, is not actually able to intervene in the attempt to fight the Martians (“steamed up and ready for action but perilous to prevent the Martian invasion).
  • The artilleryman draws the comparison between “men and ants” “ Bows and arrows against the lightning” these metaphors convey the total disparity of power within this war.
  • In one sense, it is a war of vegetation in the fact that it’s the red weed that invades the Earth and that it is the Earth, as an organic entity that defeats the Martians. Frequently, the Earth is described as Mother Earth, almost as a creature being invaded or poisoned by the Martian cylinder (“Sticking into the centre of our old planet Earth like a poisoned dart, was this cylinder. But the poison was scarcely working yet.”)
  • Narrator is a traumatised survivor of this invasion in that he has nightmares, sees ghosts, and when we look at the text, we have a third-person god-like persona. Often, we forget that this narration belongs to the first person.
  • Unreliable narrator — in the first section the Martians are almost attributed with omniscience, but further within the text, the narrator asks, “Did they grasp that we in our millions were organised, disciplined and working together?” It must be kept in mind that the narration is not as objective a narration as might be thought.

ANTHROPOCENTRISM

  • Anthropocentrism refers to the view that human beings are at the centre of meaning and Wells is very much in critique of this sentiment.
  • From Darwin’s theory of natural selection on the Origin of Species (1859), it had been interpreted that mankind, despite all other animals changing, mankind was moving towards perfection
  • Wells’ early fiction takes the view that human beings need to recognise their relative insignificance in a cosmic scale from a cosmic perspective in order to proceed as a species
  • “As men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.” This takes an ironic edge as Ogilvy, an astronomer, is completely oblivious to the fact that Martians are observing them
  • This way in which anthropocentrism is critiqued relates to an article Wells wrote in 1896 called ‘Intelligence on Mars’ where he makes the point that Martians would not look like human beings but have different organs, possibly even different essential abilities.
  • The expectation that a man might emerge from the Martian cylinder is in fact a critique of human vanity in itself
  • Wells is even a proponent of animal rights in the continuous references between the human species and various animals at various stages of evolution in the bacteria, dodos, Tasmanians and then humans at the top.
  • One character who embraces the Martian invasion by suggesting that the human race could be reinvigorated by becoming something akin to a large species of degenerate rat
  • Wells essentially wants to have the human race recognise its insignificance in order to then cooperate and move forwards as a species. He says that “most of the universe swims in a vacancy of empty material”
  • The Martian invasion robs us of the self-delusion that had been in place prior to the Martian invasion of human supremacy
  • The narrator hints towards the possibility of another Martian invasion, so whilst anthropocentrism might have been shaken up momentarily, there is still a fundamental sense that the human race is beginning to look inwards again rather than recognise its newfound place of reduced importance

Othello Notes

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Hello all,

Considering that all Y13s have now completed their drama A-level this last Wednesday, I thought it would be apt to upload my own notes on Othello. Although I never completed this set of notes, I hope that they’ll serve useful to anyone hoping to decipher the play.

othello-notesDownload

These notes make up an eclectic mix of language and structural analysis, essential contextual points, and some critical quotes that one can employ in essays.

Byronic Poetry

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Hello all,

I was looking through my files and found the following files on Byron’s poems ‘So We’ll Go No More a Roving’ and ‘On this Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Years.’ Unfortunately, I don’t have an electronic copy of my notes on Skull Cup so I’m afraid, dear readers, that you’ll just have to be content with the two. I hope that they come in useful!

on-this-day-i-complete-my-thirty-sixth-yearDownload
so-well-go-no-more-a-rovingDownload

Social Class in Othello

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Hello all,

Below I’ve just dumped an essay plan on the presentation of social class in Othello. A tricky question that should anyone be inspired to write an essay of their own on this topic, I hope the following will provide some useful ideas.

Please look forward in the next few weeks for the next crop of talent to take over the English blog with their own writings and talents. But, in the meantime, enjoy the following piece!

EXPLORE THE PRESENTATION OF SOCIAL CLASS IN OTHELLO

Abstract Ideas

  • Essential part of reputation in Venetian life – delegates power, respectability, and morality. In this way, Iago defrauds the corruption inherent to even Venetian society, forming a microcosm for the larger social landscape through Othello’s Venetians. Reputation is a greater quality than the merit of one’s character or achievements – Iago implies Cassio was promoted through corrupt favoritism, not merit.
  • Linguistic barrier of classes through the ability to employ blank verse in appropriate settings, e.g., “Rude am I in my speech and little blest with the soft phrase of peace,” connoting civilized conversation
  • Iago as an indigenous member of Venetian society: white, married, respectable who is passed over for promotion by the aristocratic, Cassio
  • CONTEXT: The portrayal of Othello as existing within the uppermost ranks reflects the contemporary ethnic diversity of Venice in which the interchange between Europe, Africa, and Asia became common – in Venice, many African moors achieved the highest ranks in society, such as Allesandro de Medici who ruled Florence.
  • Ralph Berry says ‘class as motivation is central to motivation in Othello.’ In relations between military rank and social class lie the cause of tragedy. Enlarging the miliary dimension of the play, reversing the relative military standing of the from his source, Shakespeare thickened the motivational texture of the play that makes the class relationships between the principle characters of the play significantly freshened.

CRITICAL RESPONSE: If Berry is correct to assert that the causes of tragedy in the play lie in the relationships of ranks and class, then it is imperative to believe that Iago’s initial and foremost motivation is to secure military promotion and thus seek to discredit Cassio to obtain the promotion he was denied originally, or even seek to destroy Othello to punish him for choosing Othello in his place. Indeed, both outcomes do occur, but not necessarily for the reasons that Berry suggests. It would appear that he neglects the ‘motiveless malignity’ that A.C. Bradley suggests and warns of Iago’s intrinsic unreliability of his communications, “I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am.” [1.1.63]

IAGO – ICON OF MERITOCRACY (?)

QUOTATIONSMEANINGCONTEXTCRITICAL VIEW
“I know my price: I am worth no worse a place.”All Iago’s intelligence, efficiency, and caprice have availed him nothing for he remains ‘his Moorship’s ancient.’ The genesis of this tragedy, thus, is in his determination to secure justice for himself, restore the hierarchical order to one of ability and merit; rather than find recourse in law, in which he is aware that there is no resolution, he takes affairs into his own hands and devotes all his intelligence and ability to his own interpretation of executive justice.Iago’s conspiracy against Othello might be interpreted as an allegory for civil unrest and rebellion, as in the Gunpowder Plot against James I in 1605. Shakespeare condemns the corruption that runs throughout the veins of long-standing, infallible institutions, like military organization.  

Perhaps, the blasphemic nature of Iago’s speech is what really denotes the radicalism of his ideology, even discounting an invocation in the divine providence of God to be the base of the Venetian social order. Such ideas would have likely struck a discordant chord with the more plebeian, theological tastes of contemporary audiences.    

Venice worked powerfully on English imaginations during the Renaissance as an object of desire, evoking wealth, art, and Italian sophistication, but also as an object of repulsion, evoking Italianate greed and decadent sexuality. The collusion between civilization and primitivity makes for the perfect cause of Iago’s machinations, exposing this society for all of its hypocrisies and insidious effects – “There’s many a beast then in a populous city / and many a civil monster.”		John C.McCloskey – “His tragic intrigue has its genesis, consequently, in his determination to secure justice for himself.”
“His Moorship’s ancient,” “Curse of service,” “In following him, I follow but myself.”Discarding the social norms dictated by hierarchical status, Iago makes a mockery of the subservience demanded of him through the pejorative term, ‘Moorship;’ he reciprocates the same disrespect he believes he has received in the passing over of his name for promotion. When confronted with injustice, he chooses to emulate it rather than reject it.   The impulse that governs Iago is a keen awareness of the ordering of the Venetian social ladder.   The phrase, “I follow him to serve my turn upon him,” suggests that altruistic love is impossible: all loyalties are founded on ulterior, egotistical motives. Here, Shakespeare might be alluding to the emerging system of capitalism, implying that all human relations are corrupted by the need to compete for survival. Pun upon. ‘serve’ interweaving duplicity and loyalty.
“Tis the curse of service; / preferment goes by letter and affection, / Not by the old gradation.”Shakespeare undermines all gradations of meritocracy in Venetian, or contemporary English, society; he suggests that favoritism, nepotism, and elitism are the values that underpin our society. The “curse of service” is that that social class – the boundaries that prescribe social relations – are the inevitable consequences of unequal power, egotism, and greed (See: Cassio and “Reputation, reputation, reputation. I have lost the eternal part of my soul, and what remains in bestial”); here, A.C. Bradley’s description of Iago’s ‘motiveless malignity’ appears rather a reduction of his cynical thought. Iago is not merely a malcontent, intent in inciting chaos, but a symbol for the discontentment of the lower classes. Iago, an ensign, is subordinate to the majority of characters in the play: he desires to uncover the “pitch” that lays beneath the naïve “virtue” of the Venetian cast.
“In Venice they do let God see the pranks / They dare not show their husbands. Their best conscience / is not to leav’t undone, but keep’t unknown,”Iago is a fierce critic of the decadent sensuality of Venice as the, “Pleasure capital” – he condemns “unbittered lusts” and the “fruits of whoring.” He is a keen opponent of the sexual and moral liberties within Venice, and the façade it perpetuates (a habit that he returns in “I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am.”)  In this way, Iago is a conservative traditionalist, preaching the inherent dangers of sexual desire and falsehoods whilst pushing for the change of his own personal liberties. Above all, in his paradoxical sense of progressivism, Shakespeare presents Iago’s ideology as ultimately shaped by egotism. He is in no way a moral guardian, but intelligently seeks self-benefit in social anarchy.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IAGO AND CASSIO

QUOTATIONSMEANINGCONTEXTCRITICAL VIEW            
“One Michael Cassio,   a Florentine,” “That never set a squadron in the field, nor the division of a battle knows” “Mere prattle without practice is all his soldiership”Here, Iago’s worlds might elicit surprising sympathy amongst a naïve audience for the voices the typical antipathies of doers and thinkers, men of action and mere scholars, workers and bosses. Still, such a complaint in motivated by hatred and fed by jealousy and resentment, thus intrinsically unreasonable, even in perfectly egalitarian society it is not expected that soldiers who have fought, “At Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds” are only qualified for command positions. We recognize that to serve, and command entails completely different abilities and responsibilities.Bradley wrote that Iago was not of gentle birth or breeding. For all his powers, he is a vulgarian, schooled in the barrack-room raconteurs by which Iago talks about Othello’s marriage-night (“He’s made forever”) even in the sexual connotation of ‘boarded’ that Iago intends to convey.    
The word ‘knave’ by which Iago repeatedly dubs Cassio, had its origin in class, being often used in contrast with the word ‘knight; and developed to mean ‘a base and crafty rogue.’ This context indicates that Iago means to impugn the gentlemanliness that so clearly distinguishes Cassio from him. He brings Cassio to his social level first in words, only secondly in deeds.   Elizabethans knew well from campaigns in Ireland, the Netherlands and at Cadiz the hazards of inexperienced gentlemen being appointed to command positions.		Ralph Berry says ‘class as motivation is central to motivation in Othello.
“It must not be. If Cassio do remain, he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly.”Iago’s self-serving speech suggests that he is deeply hostile towards Iago: a hostility that perhaps stems from class antagonism. Class is the single-most and defining aspect of the relationship between Iago and Cassio.
Iago: “Faith, he to-night hath boarded a land carract. If it prove lawful prize, he’s made forever.” Cassio: “I do not understand.”The central feature of this passage is in emphasizing that Cassio and Iago have a communication problem: “I do not understand.” Iago shrouds his communication in metaphor. Arguably, Cassio understands Iago’s words, but rejects the register of the discourse and its attempts to situate Cassio within Iago’s linguistic milieu. When Cassio claims not to understand Iago’s communication, he rejects the offensive code employed of someone by a lower social status.  Key in this is that Cassio and Iago employ different speech codes based on social class.
Cassio: “Let it not gall your patience, good Iago, That I extend my manners; ‘tis my breeding that gives me this bold show of courtesy.”Shakespeare confirms Cassio’s social superiority in the gentlemanly courtesies he extends to the wife of a colleague of a lower social class, even commenting on the gaping social gulf between them.
Cassio: “Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation, I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!”Desperate repetition of ‘reputation’ – importance of one’s reputation, social standing as a man of status – long-living, more so than the corporeal body. Self-interestedness of the personal pronoun, ‘my.’ Exclamative – devastation at loss of his status. This loss of respectability is mirrored in Shakespeare’s choice of prose rather traditional meter.  Essential part of reputation in Venetian life – delegates power, respectability, and morality. In this way, Iago defrauds the corruption inherent to even Venetian society, forming a microcosm for the larger social landscape through Othello’s Venetians. Reputation is a greater quality than the merit of one’s character or achievements – Iago implies Cassio was promoted through corrupt favoritism, not merit. 

CONSENUS BETWEEN OTHELLO AND IAGO – VALUE OF EGALITARIANISM AND ACHIEVEMENT

QUOTATIONMEANINGCONTEXTCRITICAL VIEW
Othello: “My parts, my title, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly. Is it they?”Ordinarily, we might accuse such certainty of his services to the state as being hubristic, but his racial status relieves him of such a label. He demonstrates a belief in the show of his history of achievements and ability ‘broils and battles’ that Iago believes he has been denied.The portrayal of Othello as existing within the uppermost ranks reflects the contemporary ethnic diversity of Venice in which the interchange between Europe, Africa, and Asia became common – in Venice, many African moors achieved the highest ranks in society, such as Allesandro de Medici who ruled Florence.‘Othello’s tragedy is that he lives according to a set of stories through which eh interprets the world…He is living the life of a chivalric warrior in a world run by money and self-interest.’ – Sean McEvoy
Iago: “Not to affect many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion and degree, whereto we see, in all things nature tends”Iago awakens Othello’s mind to the alien nature of his relationship, of early prejudices to racial miscegenation as a gross betrayal of a ‘natural order’ – Othello’s fragile self-image, inextricably tied to how Desdemona validates him, collapses at thought of his social inferiority. Iago exposes Othello to realizing the gap in age, sympathy, and manners between him and Desdemona – this incongruity lends some credence to the insinuation that the marriage cannot last. According to the racialized prejudices of the Jacobean audience, which stress the supremacy of white characters, Othello’s very presence as a military commander, sitting at the top of the social strata and married to a white woman of high wealth and esteem would all appear very ‘unnatural’ – the tragedy of Othello meets at this intersection of race and class.

“My parts, my title, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly. Is it they?”

INTRODUCTION: Through Othello, Shakespeare explores all the gradations of social class that colored his contemporary society, revealing the corruption that courses throughout long-standing, once infallible institutions like military rank. Shakespeare depicts Iago as an insurrectionist, impelled to the destruction of such a hierarchy from the inside and determined to bring about the anarchy and order in which all notions of authoritarian power are destroyed. The class antagonism between Iago and Cassio emphasizes the falsehoods upon which the exterior walls of Venetian class society were built: the communicative codes of blank verse necessarily exclude the ‘vulgarian’ figures of Othello and Iago. Othello’s assimilationism into the world of gentility and manners produces resentment and jealousy in Iago; the former betrays the value of egalitarianism that Iago holds sacred. Thus, the genesis of the tragic course lies in the hierarchy of social class – an inevitable consequence of greed, egotism and power relations – and the attempt to destroy its bearings in the colony of Cyprus.

– Tara Flynn

Character Analysis of Desdemona

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Hello all,

Below is an essay plan on the portrayal of Desdemona in Othello. I hope it’ll be able to provide some inspiration for some essays of your own. In the lead-up to exams, it’s always a good idea to plan out potential essays; there is particular impetus to plan one out for Desdemona considering a character question on her has yet to appear in past exam papers. I hope the rough plan below will be useful!

Explore the presentation of the character Desdemona in the play.

General Ideas

  • Softness of speech and spirit (“His unkindness may defeat my life but never taint my love”) vs. hardened visage in defense of her own purity (“No, as I am a Christian. If to preserve this vessel for my lord from any hated foul unlawful touch be not to be a strumpet, I am none.”)
  • Her own slowness to suspect that she might be suspected does frustrate the audience – dramatic irony that assures us of her perfect innocence, even to the point of annoyance – Othello: “The handkerchief!” / “I pray, talk me of Cassio.” [3.3.90]
  • Interesting structural point at hand – in Venice, she wields the most power – she talks freely in a court of men, free exchange of blank verse – “My noble father, I do perceive her a divided duty. To you I am bound for life and education.” As the play moves into Cyprus, continuing unto her marriage, she confines more to the role of the perfect woman – idealized wife – versus a climate of sexual permissiveness (“Goats and monkeys!”)
  • Class dimension – wealthy, high status, caliber of education that far surpasses Othello’s – splendor of moral virtue – unquestioned in Venice.
  • Audience response: moral culpability of all onlookers, even the audience ourselves. Even though Iago engineers this tragedy, he is enabled by Venetian customs. We cannot condemn the passivity of men that condone this male-female violence without condemning ourselves.
  • Sole guiltless character in the text, even where others succumb to vice and temptation.

ESSAY PLAN

“O these men, these men! Dost thou in conscience think […] that there women do abuse their husbands in such gross kind.”

Main argument = Desdemona is a character in whom love endures, even empowering her being – this virtue renders her a paragon of wifely virtue. However, the key to her undoing is that whilst she loves Othello, she does not fully understand him, and her venetian sympathies only estrange her further from their marital course. That is not to say, however, that she lacks affection for Othello. A.C. Bradley’s understanding of Desdemona as “helplessly passive” unfairly diminishes her character, in setting the example of Christian kindness regarding how to avoid hate of self or other, she upholds Erasmu’s conception of the woman warrior.

Dramatic function = Despite subscribing to the patriarchal dogma of her age, in her Venetian confidence of her own merit, und innocent to even the suspect of jealousy, she is tragically unaware of the dangers of the masculine ego: she maintains that her husband is better than such a base emotion, even when faced with the violence of his fury and is ultimately killed upon its altar. In this way, she commits herself to the fate of martyrdom. The ironic truth of her faithfulness turns her death into a call to arms for women. In death, Desdemona becomes a saint: “heavenly true.”

Sub-argument one: Self-assertion of earlier scenes – interference in military matters and Cassio’s reinstatement – compared to her seeming passivity of the latter half of the play – dichotomized person.

Despite Brabantio’s characterization of her as a “maid never bold” (Act 1, Scene 3), there are key moments in the play that present Desdemona’s assertiveness and self-assuredness.

Desdemona: “Why then, tomorrow night, or Tuesday morn; On Tuesday, noon or night; on Wednesday morn! I prithee name the time, but let it not exceed three days.” [3.3.63] [Bv]

Desdemona takes liberties with her husbands that refute the patriarchal standard for female subservience, a public notion as Cassio declares her ‘Our great captain’s captain,’ that in her request for Cassio’s reinstatement she oversteps her boundary – military affairs do not involve her. Her officiousness in military matters might even be interpreted as a colonial attitude. The pushiness implicit in the repeated time frames could be taken as emasculating.

Desdemona: “My noble father, I do perceive her a divided duty. To you I am bound for life and education:” / “And so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father.” [1.3.180] [Bv]

The transfer, however, is represented not as a violation or betrayal but an affirmation of traditional order. In moving from father to husband, Desdemona claims to be reenacting the movement of her own mother from her father to Brabantio himself. In this exchange of loyalty and duty, she nowhere affirms her own rights against the prerogatives of male authority and therefore does not seem to challenge but reinforce the structure of order on which Brabantio’s own authority is based.

CRITICAL VIEW: ‘Desdemona becomes a stereotype of female passivity.’ – Lisa Jardine

Sub-argument two: Cultural estrangement from husband – naïve disconnectedness. Although Desdemona is secure among Venetians, she is insecure and uneasy in her marriage to a man she does not fully understand e.g., even she refers to Othello as the ‘moor’ implying estrangement.

Desdemona: “I saw Othello’s visage in his mind and to his honours and his valiant parts.”/ ” If I be left behind, a moth of peace, and he go to war, the rites for which I love him are bereft me.” / “Let me go with him.” [1.3.254] [Bv]

This implicit denial of physical attraction shows that Desdemona tries to separate Othello’s essential humanity from his appearance, but it also shows that she is sensitive to and disquieted by the insinuations that there must be something unnatural in such a love. She does not say that she found Othello’s blackness beautiful but that she saw his visage in his mind

Emilia: “Is he not jealous?” / Desdemona: “I think the sun where he was born drew all such humours from him.” [3.4.30]

Naivety and uncertain racial assimilation; pathetic irony of Desdemona’s claim that the ‘sun where he was born drew all humours from him,”  linkage between hot climates and hot passions was an Elizabethan cliché.

CRITICAL VIEW: ‘She sees the image of her ideal warrior, is liable to experience moments of revulsion from the strange passionate creature she as yet knows so little.’ – Maud Bodkin

Sub-Argument three: Bewilderment, out of her depth, but not necessarily defeated in her marriage – Christian warrior in her charitable courage of sacrificing her reputation or honour, not dared by any male in the play, as a self-proclaimed suicide to save Othello.

Desdemona: “These men, these men! Dost thou in conscience think – tell me Emilia – that there women do abuse their husbands in such gross kind?” [4.3.60]

Loving and being loved means everything to Desdemona. When she believes she has lost Othello’s love, she loses herself; unlike her self-assertion in earlier scenes, she seems unsure and even infantile as she laments her lost love rather than recognizing the precarity of Othello’s mental state. Desdemona’s incredulity about sexual promiscuity reflects the patriarchal demands of Renaissance men; she sees it as an absolute that is worth more than her life.

Othello: “Are you not a strumpet?” / Desdemona: “No, as I am a Christian. If to preserve this vessel for my lord from any hated foul unlawful touch be not to be a strumpet, I am none.” [4.2.84]

CRITICAL VIEW: [Desdemona] ‘accepts her cultures dictum that she must be obedient to males and is self-denying in the extreme when she dies.’ – Marian Cox

QUOTATIONANALYSISCONTEXTCRITICAL VIEWS
Cassio: “A maid/ That paragons all description” (Act 2, Scene 1)Key element of Desdemona’s characterization is her innocence, virtue and loyalty that all denote her status as the perfect ‘maiden.’ The sole sin that she might possess is her ignorance of the machinations of military culture, inevitably creating friction between her and Othello.Pathetic irony of Desdemona’s claim that the ‘sun where he was born drew all humours from him,”  linkage between hot climates and hot passions was an Elizabethan cliché.  

Subordination of women to men; all that they owned would become their husband’s possessions.  

Venice was though of as a city notorious for its sexual liberties it offered to its inhabitants e.g., Othello calls Desdemona the “whore of Venice.”		“[Female] characters divide into virgins and saints or whores and devils.” -Marian Cox

“[Desdemona] accepts her culture’s dictum that she must be obedient to males and is self-denying in the extreme when she dies.” – Marilyn French  

Play is “a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level of intrigue but at the very deepest level of human dealings.” – John Bayley

Emilia: “Is he not jealous?” / Desdemona: “I think the sun where he was born drew all such humours from him.” [3.4.30]Desdemona is tragically unaware of the dangers of the masculine ego: she maintains that her husband is better than such a base emotion, even when faced with the violence of his fury. Her naïve outlook on married life is dichotomized with the incredulity of her female counsel, Emilia.   Her cultural estrangement from her husband – even if she finds it alluring – might explain the critical paradox in Desdemona’s behavior: the contrast between her independence and aggressiveness in Venice and her helplessness and passivity in Cyprus.
Desdemona: “My noble father, I do perceive her a divided duty. To you I am bound for life and education:” / “And so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father.” [1.3.180]Much like her husband, Othello, Desdemona is often placed in the middle of tensions: for instance, between Othello and Brabantio, and Othello and Cassio. Her diplomacy and empathy is brought to the forefront. She is altruistic to the extreme. And so, in these ventures, the conflicts of the play eventually meet their forceful ends at her death.
Desdemona: “Prithee, tonight lay on my bed, my wedding sheets; remember, and call my husband hither.” [4.2.107] [Bv]Although Desdemona is secure among Venetians, she is insecure and uneasy in her marriage to a man she does not fully understand.” She responds to Othello’s jealousy with the tragically inappropriate reflexes of a Venetian lady. Asking Emilia to make the bed with their wedding sheets, these gestures are intensely ironic because they reflect her lack of understanding of Othello. ,
Othello: “Are you not a strumpet?” / Desdemona: “No, as I am a Christian. If to preserve this vessel for my lord from any hated foul unlawful touch be not to be a strumpet, I am none.” [4.2.84]Despite Brabantio’s characterization of her as a “maid never bold” (Act 1, Scene 3), there are key moments in the play that present Desdemona’s assertiveness and self-assuredness.
Desdemona: “I saw Othello’s visage in his mind and to his honours and his valiant parts.”/ ” If I be left behind, a moth of peace, and he go to war, the rites for which I love him are bereft me.” / “Let me go with him.” [1.3.254] [Bv]In the beginning of the play, Desdemona’s love has the ability to lift her spirits and liberate her from the rigorous demands of the Venetian state. Love empowers he in this regard in the declarative that she makes to the senate: “Let me go with him.” Her unconditional love endures to the very end. She is faithful to him in mid and body, rendering her a paragon of wifely virtue.  
Desdemona: “If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me one of these same sheets.” [4.3.24]At the end of the play, Desdemona commits herself to the fate of martyrdom. Her dialogue increasingly becomes morose and mournful, a key departure from the colorful imagery from earlier. Her compliance with her fate might be interpreted as a surrender, or even as a strength of will. The ironic truth of her faithfulness turns her death into a call to arms for women. In death, Desdemona becomes a saint: “heavenly true.” (Act 5, Scene 2)  

CLASS INTRODUCTION

Below is the introduction to an essay on Desdemona that was planned out in Mr Durrant’s class so note that it doesn’t correspond to some of the ideas written in the plan above.

“I have not deserved this.” [4.1]

According to Marilyn French, Desdemona possesses a “masculine assertiveness” that is opposed by an “obedience to males,” which interprets Desdemona as a character “divided.’” Caught between the Elizabethan hegemonic ideal of masculinity and her own latent sense of liberty, even female rebelliousness, which is more obviously embodied in Emilia. Desdemona functions as a tragic victim of these divisions, fulfilling by act five the view that she is little more than a ‘passive character’ overwhelmed by the misogyny of the male characters.