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Othello

“[Othello] comes dangerously close to recognizing his status as a text, and it is precisely this recognition that the play as a whole will reveal to be insupportable. But, at this point, Othello is still convinced that the text is his own”. (S. Greenblatt)

OTHELLO: “Was this fair paper, this most goodly book,

Made to write ‘whore’ upon?”

“The writing is done by [the male characters in Othello] – they take Desdemona as a blank page for the versions of her that they want. She is written into a script that is organized through the perceptions and needs of male dominance in heterosexuality and patriarchal relations”. (A. Sinfield)

To what extent are Othello and Desdemona the writers of their own scripts, taking into account their specific social, racial and gender positions? Please substantiate your arguments by close reference to the play, as well as to any essays in your Dossier that you consider relevant.