Shifting Religious Identities and Sharia in Othello
Despite twenty-first century research advances regarding the role of Islam in Shakespeare's plays, questions remain concerning the extent of William Shakespeare's knowledge of Muslim culture and his use of that knowledge in writing Othello. I suggest that the playwright had access to numer...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
MDPI
[2019]
|
In: |
Religions
Year: 2019, Volume: 10, Issue: 10 |
Further subjects: | B
Othello (Game)
B Honor B Islam B Shakespeare B Sharia B Religion B Revenge B Muslim |
Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
MARC
LEADER | 00000caa a22000002 4500 | ||
---|---|---|---|
001 | 1688012702 | ||
003 | DE-627 | ||
005 | 20240409124118.0 | ||
007 | cr uuu---uuuuu | ||
008 | 200122s2019 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c | ||
024 | 7 | |a 10.3390/rel10100587 |2 doi | |
035 | |a (DE-627)1688012702 | ||
035 | |a (DE-599)KXP1688012702 | ||
040 | |a DE-627 |b ger |c DE-627 |e rda | ||
041 | |a eng | ||
084 | |a 1 |a 0 |2 ssgn | ||
100 | 1 | |e VerfasserIn |0 (DE-588)136377106 |0 (DE-627)582063914 |0 (DE-576)300989857 |4 aut |a Johanyak, Debra |d 1953- | |
109 | |a Johanyak, Debra 1953- |a Johanyak, D. L. 1953- | ||
245 | 1 | 0 | |a Shifting Religious Identities and Sharia in Othello |c Debra Johanyak |
264 | 1 | |c [2019] | |
336 | |a Text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
337 | |a Computermedien |b c |2 rdamedia | ||
338 | |a Online-Ressource |b cr |2 rdacarrier | ||
520 | |a Despite twenty-first century research advances regarding the role of Islam in Shakespeare's plays, questions remain concerning the extent of William Shakespeare's knowledge of Muslim culture and his use of that knowledge in writing Othello. I suggest that the playwright had access to numerous sources that informed his depiction of Othello as a man divided between Christian faith and Islamic duty, a division which resulted in the Moor's destruction. Sharia, a code of moral and legal conduct for Muslims based on the Qur'an's teachings, appears to be a guiding force in Othello's ultimate quest for honor. The advance of the Ottoman Empire into Europe with the threat of conquest and forced conversion to Islam was a source of fascination and fear to Elizabethan audiences. Yet, as knowledge increased, so did tolerance to a certain degree. But the defining line between Christian and Muslim remained a firm one that could not be breached without risking the loss of personal identity and spiritual sanctity. Denizens of the Middle East and followers of the Islamic faith, as well as travel encounters between eastern and western cultures, influenced Shakespeare's treatment of this theme. His play Othello is possibly the only drama of this time period to feature a Moor protagonist who wavers between Christian and Muslim beliefs. To better understand the impetus for Othello's murder of his wife, the influence of Islamic culture is considered, and in particular, the system of Sharia that governs social, political, and religious conventions of Muslim life, as well as Othello's conflicting loyalties between Islam as the religion of his youth, and Christianity, the faith to which he had been converted. From Act I celebrating his marriage through Act V recording his death, Othello is overshadowed by fears of who he really is uncertainty bred of his conversion to Christian faith and his potential to revert to Islamic duty. Without indicating Sharia directly, Shakespeare hints at its subtle influence as Othello struggles between two faiths and two theologies. In killing Desdemona and orchestrating Michael Cassio's death in response to their alleged adultery, Othello obeys the Old Testament injunction for personal sanctification. But in reverting to Muslim beliefs, he attempts to follow potential Sharia influence to reclaim personal and societal honor. | ||
650 | 4 | |a Islam | |
650 | 4 | |a Muslim | |
650 | 4 | |a Othello | |
650 | 4 | |a Shakespeare | |
650 | 4 | |a Sharia | |
650 | 4 | |a Honor | |
650 | 4 | |a Religion | |
650 | 4 | |a Revenge | |
773 | 0 | 8 | |i Enthalten in |t Religions |d Basel : MDPI, 2010 |g 10(2019,10) Artikel 587 |h Online-Ressource |w (DE-627)665435797 |w (DE-600)2620962-7 |w (DE-576)348219067 |x 2077-1444 |7 nnns |
773 | 1 | 8 | |g volume:10 |g year:2019 |g number:10 |
856 | |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/10/587/pdf?version=1571652260 |x unpaywall |z Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang |h publisher [oa journal (via doaj)] | ||
856 | 4 | 0 | |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/10/587 |x Resolving-System |
856 | |u https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10100587 |x doi |3 Volltext | ||
951 | |a AR | ||
ELC | |a 1 | ||
LOK | |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 | ||
LOK | |0 001 3578569437 | ||
LOK | |0 003 DE-627 | ||
LOK | |0 004 1688012702 | ||
LOK | |0 005 20200122100553 | ||
LOK | |0 008 200122||||||||||||||||ger||||||| | ||
LOK | |0 040 |a DE-Tue135 |c DE-627 |d DE-Tue135 | ||
LOK | |0 092 |o n | ||
LOK | |0 852 |a DE-Tue135 | ||
LOK | |0 852 1 |9 00 | ||
LOK | |0 935 |a ixzs |a ixzo | ||
OAS | |a 1 | ||
ORI | |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw | ||
REL | |a 1 | ||
STA | 0 | 0 | |a Islam,Islam,Muslim,Muslim,Mohammedan,Moslem,Othello (Game),Religion,Religion in literature,Religions,Religion |
STB | 0 | 0 | |a Islam,Islam,Musulman,Musulman,Othello (jeu),Religion,Religions,Religion |
STC | 0 | 0 | |a Islam,Islam,Musulmán,Musulmán,Religión,Religión,Religión |
STD | 0 | 0 | |a Islam,Islam,Musulmano,Musulmano,Religione,Religione,Religione |
STE | 0 | 0 | |a 伊斯兰教,伊斯兰教,回教,回教,宗教,宗教,穆斯林,穆斯林 |
STF | 0 | 0 | |a 伊斯蘭教,伊斯蘭教,回教,回教,宗教,宗教,穆斯林,穆斯林 |
STG | 0 | 0 | |a Islã,Islã,Muçulmano,Muçulmano,Religião,Religião |
STH | 0 | 0 | |a Ислам (мотив),Ислам,Мусульманин (мотив),Мусульманин,Религия,Религия (мотив) |
STI | 0 | 0 | |a Θρησκεία,Θρησκεία (μοτίβο),Ισλάμ (μοτίβο),Ισλάμ,Μουσουλμάνος (μοτίβο),Μουσουλμάνος |
SUB | |a REL | ||
SYE | 0 | 0 | |a Islam , Muslimin,Muslime,Mohammedaner,Mohammedanerin,Moslem,Muselman,Muselmann,Moslemische Frau,Muslimische Frau,Muslima,Moslemin,Mosliminnen,Moslem,Mohammedaner,Muselman,Muselmann,Muslime , Religion,Mystik,Mythologie |