Venice in Othello's time

Summary

In Shakespeare's "Othello," Venice is depicted as a powerful, secure, and grand city-state, yet vulnerable due to its reliance on foreign military leaders. The story begins with Iago and Roderigo alerting a Venetian senator, Brabanzio, that his daughter has eloped with Othello, a Moor. As Brabanzio rushes to the Duke to annul the marriage, tensions rise with the Turks threatening Venice’s territories in the Mediterranean. Despite its power, Venice employs non-Venetians to lead its military, highlighting a blend of prestige and insecurity. The play scrutinizes these dynamics, emphasizing the unease when an outsider, like Othello, integrates too closely into Venetian society.

Highlights

• Iago and Roderigo stir trouble under Brabanzio's windows in the dead of night. 🌙
• Brabanzio, a powerful senator, learns his daughter has eloped with Othello. 💔
• Venice appears grand and secure but faces constant threats from the Turks. ⚠️
• Venetian military might relies heavily on foreign leaders like Othello. 🌐
• Tensions arise when Othello, a military outsider, marries into the Venetian elite. 💍

Key Takeaways

• The play opens with intrigue and elopement, setting a dramatic scene in the heart of Venice. 🎭
• Venice, a powerful but insecure republic, relies on foreign military expertise. ⚔️
• The blend of grandeur and vulnerability is key to understanding the city's role in "Othello." 🏰
• Othello, as an outsider, reflects the tensions inherent in Venice's reliance on non-native leaders. 🌍
• The story highlights the thin line between insider prestige and outsider threat. 😮

Overview

The play "Othello" kicks off with a moment of chaos and surprise as Iago and Roderigo wake the Venetian senator, Brabanzio, with alarming news. They're not just being rowdy; they claim his daughter, Desdemona, has eloped with Othello, a Moorish military commander. This revelation sends ripples through the Venetian power corridors, setting the stage for drama and intrigue.

Venice, at the time, is depicted as this grand and secure republic nestled in the heart of the Mediterranean’s power dynamics. Yet, it faces ongoing threats from the Ottoman Empire, showcasing a fascinating blend of stability and vulnerability. Venice employs foreign, skilled military leaders like Othello to maintain its dominance — mercenaries who are both celebrated and somewhat unsettling to the native elite.

As the plot unfolds, these tensions simmer. The story peels back layers of societal elegance to reveal underlying insecurities. Othello's presence magnifies this contrast; as an outsider whose intimate relationship with Desdemona brings the fears and prejudices of Venetian high society to the forefront. His integration into this aristocratic world challenges the status quo, making the societal divides all the more prominent.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Opening Scene in Venice The chapter "Opening Scene in Venice" describes the beginning scenes of Shakespeare's Othello. It is set in the dark streets of Venice, where characters Iago and Roderigo attempt to create chaos. They do this by informing Brabanzio, a distinguished senator, that his daughter has secretly married a Moor. The scene captures their disruptive shouting in the night, accusingly calling out "thieves" to rouse Brabanzio's attention.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Brabanzio's Indignation The chapter titled 'Brabanzio's Indignation' revolves around Iago's remark about causing a commotion as if there is a fire in the populous city, versus Brabanzio's response. Brabanzio indignantly emphasizes that his house is in Venice, not in a rural farmhouse, highlighting the city's nature - its power, security, grandeur, and the absence of threat. The narrative not only sets the location but also illustrates Venice's characteristics through Brabanzio's pride and indignation.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Desdemona's Elopement In the chapter 'Desdemona's Elopement,' Brabanzio, a senator, initially dismisses concerns for his daughter, Desdemona, but soon discovers that she has eloped with Othello, a Moor. Othello, who was previously invited to Brabanzio's home to share his life story, formed a bond with Desdemona that developed into love, leading to their elopement.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Brabanzio Seeks Justice The chapter 'Brabanzio Seeks Justice' opens with Brabanzio, a powerful figure and father, outraged by his daughter's elopement. He plans to go to the Doge of Venice, the ruler of the republic, to demand legal action and seek the annulment of the marriage. Brabanzio believes he has the authority to achieve this due to his status.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Venetian Oligarchy and Political Crisis This chapter delves into the political structure of Venice, characterized as an oligarchy—a system where power resides in the hands of a few elite noblemen. Among these elite is Brabanzio, who is portrayed as confident in presenting his grievances, illustrating the procedural norms where power and influence are concentrated. Brabanzio's journey to the Duke's palace, the central seat of power in Venice, highlights the operational dynamics of Venetian governance, where the elite are both the decision-makers and the individuals subject to its protocols. The narrative sets the scene in front of the grand Ducal Palace, a symbol of authority, and opens up to broader events brewing in this political landscape.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Venetian Military Leaders The chapter titled 'Venetian Military Leaders' revolves around a political crisis in Venice. During a moment of grandeur and security for the city, there is an urgent need to locate Othello, who is with his bride, Desdemona, in an inn. The urgency stems from threats facing the Venetian Republic, emphasizing its might as a powerful political entity. Messages are being dispatched from the Ducal Palace to find Othello due to the emerging crisis.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni The chapter discusses the control of territory by a certain power throughout the eastern Mediterranean, including places like Rhodes and Cyprus. It highlights a crisis with the people at the fringes of this power's reach, particularly with another major power in the region: the Turks, under the leadership of the Turkish sultan.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Threats at the Edge of the Empire The chapter titled 'Threats at the Edge of the Empire' delves into the setting of a Shakespearean tragedy, which unfolds at the distant borders of a vast empire. It explores the strategic and military preparations undertaken by Venice, as it prepares to confront the Turkish forces. The narrative highlights Venice's reliance on its naval power and the competence of its military leaders to address the impending threat.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Outsiders in Venetian Military The chapter discusses the prevalence of non-Venetian military leaders in Venice's history. It highlights that Venice often hired external military commanders to lead their battles, rather than relying on native Venetians. This is illustrated by the notable statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, a renowned condottiero, which is one of the few prominent statues of military leaders in Venice, none of whom were native Venetians.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Othello's Intrusion into Venetian Society The chapter 'Othello's Intrusion into Venetian Society' discusses the atmosphere at the beginning of the play 'Othello'. It begins with a focus on a statue that celebrates a man from Bergamo who was hired by the Venetians to lead their forces, drawing a parallel to Othello, an outsider leading the Venetian forces. The setting shifts to the doge's palace where Venetian senators are depicted anxiously discussing the imminent threat at the edge of their empire in Cyprus. This scenario sets the stage for Othello's presence within Venetian society and highlights the tensions and concerns of the empire.

Venice in Othello's time Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 STEPHEN GREENBLATT: Shakespeare's Othello opens in Venice, where we're standing now. It opens in the darkness, under the windows of a house, where Iago and Roderigo are trying to stir up trouble by telling the master of the house, the important senator, Brabanzio, that his daughter has eloped with a Moor. They start shouting up in the darkness, thieves!
• 00:30 - 01:00 Iago says, make it sound like there's a fire in the populous city, and so forth. And Brabanzio comes and says indignantly, this is Venice! My house is not a grange. I'm not in the country, in a farm house. This is Venice, he says. It's a way of not simply of telling the audience where the play is located, but saying something about the nature of the city-- its power, its security, its grandeur, the absence of threat,
• 01:00 - 01:30 the ridiculousness of trying to frighten him. And then he learns that he should indeed, as a father, be frightened. His daughter has eloped. And not only has she eloped, she's eloped with the Moor, Othello, someone that Brabanzio, the senator, had invited to his house to tell the story of his life. And there, Othello and the senator's only child, his daughter, Desdemona, have made their acquaintance, which has developed into a love,
• 01:30 - 02:00 and which has now led to her elopement. That's the opening situation. Brabanzio, the father, outraged, says he will rush off to the doge of Venice, the duke, the ruler of the whole republic, the senior figure. And he'll demand legal satisfaction, the annulment, in effect, of the marriage. And he declares that he has the kind of power to do this. He's one of the most powerful figures-- Brabanzio-- in the city.
• 02:00 - 02:30 Venice was an oligarchy. That's to say, it was ruled by a small number of noblemen. And Brabanzio is one of them. So he goes off, confident that his complaint will be heard. Where does he go? He goes to find the duke in the duke's palace, the doge's palace. And that's where we are, at the moment, in front of the great Ducal Palace in Venice. Now, it happens that we also learn that Brabanzio is not the only one rushing
• 02:30 - 03:00 off to the Ducal Palace. They have sent messages from the Ducal Palace trying to find Othello. Why are they trying to find Othello, who is in fact, at that moment, in an inn with his bride, Desdemona? They're trying to find him because there's a political crisis. On the one hand, we have Venice, the city, in all of its grandeur and security. On the other hand, we have a threatened empire. Venice was a very powerful republic.
• 03:00 - 03:30 It controlled territory, not only in its immediate surroundings, but throughout the Mediterranean, as far east as the eastern Mediterranean, places like Rhodes and Cyprus. And there's a crisis-- a crisis with the people at the outer edge of Venetian power, namely the other great power in the Mediterranean, the Turks, the Muslim power under the Turkish sultan.
• 03:30 - 04:00 The background of Shakespeare's tragedy is what happens at the outer edge of a great empire, when the forces of Venice have to meet and encounter the forces of the enemy Turk. For that encounter, Venice relies on its navy and on its military leaders.
• 04:00 - 04:30 Those military leaders were not, by any means, always Venetians. On the contrary, for the most part, they were people from outside of Venice, hired by the Venetians especially to conduct their battles. In Venice, there are very, very few statues of Venetian-born military leaders. The greatest statue in Venice of a military leader is of Bartolomeo Colleoni, a great condottiero as they call it, a great military commander.
• 04:30 - 05:00 And that statue is a celebration of a man who was from Bergamo, a different city in Italy, hired by the Venetians to lead its forces. And that's the situation we find at the beginning of Othello, when we enter the rooms in the doge's palace, find the Venetian senators anxiously talking to each other about the threat out at the edge of their empire, in Cyprus. That's the situation that is evoked at the beginning of Othello,
• 05:00 - 05:30 in which the Venetian senate tries to decide whom it should send to command its garrison in Cyprus. The Venetians are powerful, one of the most powerful states in Europe. They have a great city. They have wealth. They have confidence. But they need military power, and their military power depends upon foreigners-- foreigners like Othello; like the character of Marcus Luccicos, who seems to have a Greek name
• 05:30 - 06:00 and is in Florence; like the Florentine Cassio; like Iago, who has a Spanish name. Virtually all of the Venetian military figures appear to be foreigners, mercenaries in the employment of Venice. So on the one hand, we have a tight, cozy, wealthy, confident oligarchy in Venice. On the other hand, we have military leaders who are from outside of Venice, and who help the Venetians oppose their deep enemies,
• 06:00 - 06:30 their frightening enemies, the Turks, the Muslim forces. And all of that works more or less fine, until we have the critical moment that's depicted in the play, in which one of these outsiders, namely Othello, gets alarmingly close to the center of Venice, namely the daughter of one of the leading senators of the city, Brabanzio's daughter, Desdemona.
• 06:30 - 07:00 And at that moment, the outsiders in the employment of Venice suddenly seem as frightening or more frightening than the enemy Turks out there at the edge of the republic.