New Historicism In Othello

1636 Words7 Pages

Research on the following literary theories: • New Historicism - New Historicism is a school of literary theory that first developed in the 1980s, primarily through the work of the critic and Harvard English Professor Stephan Greenblatt, and gained widespread influence in the 1990s. - When I looked for a definition for New Historicisms I found that it is seen as the every expressive act that is embedded into a network of material practices. - When we look at the Historical Criticism in a novel or a movie it is important to look at the author’s biography and social background, the ideas circulating at the time as well as the cultural era. - New Historicism is concerned with the political function of the literature and also the concept of …show more content…

In Othello, Othello and Desdemona are both characters that are struggling with their identities. In the beginning of the play we find Othello as a respectful man that is successful, but then we get Iago that manipulates him to make him seem as the bad guy. We also find Desdemona that turns against her father and the Elizabethan society to marry Othello, but we also find that she is respectful and obedient to Othello. We find both racial attitudes towards Othello even though he is a man that works hard to get what he wants. The racial attitude is only because of the era that they live in, the Elizabethan era in …show more content…

Feminism includes to look for equal opportunities for women in education and employment. - Feminism movements fights for the rights of women for example the right to vote, to be able to do the work that men do, to earn equal pay as men, to receive the same education, to have equal rights in a marriage, etc. Feminists are also seen as a “right” that women have that will help them to stay safe from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence, etc. - In other words Feminism is seen as a group of women who have the same goals. The women all want to fight for their rights to have the same rights as men. Feminism in A Thousand splendid suns - While reading the novel I could see at the beginning of the novel that this novel can be examined with a feminist lens. The first thing that I saw in the novel is that the main character of the novel is played by a young girl (Mariam) as well as a girl who is growing up in a less fortunate condition. While reading the novel it was obvious that in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” men have authority over women, domesticity, which states that women belong at home, and the representation of elderly women as bitter, and