This paper has three main interconnected foci: (a) the relationship between phi-losophy and fiction; (b) the distinction between Othello (the work) and Othello (the character); (c) the difference between poetry and rhetoric (or a certain ma-nipulative use of rhetoric). As for (a), it considers as inadequate any philosophical approach to the play that looks at it as an illustration of a (pre-established) philo-sophical position and/or (b) does not distinguish between illocutionary and perlo-cutionary speech acts. As for (c), it goes back to the distinction proposed by Kant (he himself an admirer of Shakespeare) between a manipulative use of rhetoric and poetry: while these two linguistic functions are materially indistinguishable (they are instantiated by the same words), they should be distinguished on a for-mal level, depending on the presence/absence of “spectators [that] are always in their senses” (S. Johnson). Only on this condition can the aesthetic dimension of the play (the difference between Othello and Othello) emerge.
Othello vs Otello: filosofia, retorica, poesia / Velotti, Stefano. - In: STUDI DI ESTETICA. - ISSN 0585-4733. - ELETTRONICO. - 9:IV(2017), pp. 19-32. [10.7413/18258646025]
Othello vs Otello: filosofia, retorica, poesia.
Stefano Velotti
2017
Abstract
This paper has three main interconnected foci: (a) the relationship between phi-losophy and fiction; (b) the distinction between Othello (the work) and Othello (the character); (c) the difference between poetry and rhetoric (or a certain ma-nipulative use of rhetoric). As for (a), it considers as inadequate any philosophical approach to the play that looks at it as an illustration of a (pre-established) philo-sophical position and/or (b) does not distinguish between illocutionary and perlo-cutionary speech acts. As for (c), it goes back to the distinction proposed by Kant (he himself an admirer of Shakespeare) between a manipulative use of rhetoric and poetry: while these two linguistic functions are materially indistinguishable (they are instantiated by the same words), they should be distinguished on a for-mal level, depending on the presence/absence of “spectators [that] are always in their senses” (S. Johnson). Only on this condition can the aesthetic dimension of the play (the difference between Othello and Othello) emerge.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
Velotti_Othello_2017.pdf
accesso aperto
Tipologia:
Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza:
Creative commons
Dimensione
160.75 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
160.75 kB | Adobe PDF |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.