ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Beatrice's accusation of slander against Claudio and Don Pedro to examine the narrative and productive aspects of slander in Othello as a legal concept and as a central mode of discourse and dramatic force that compels Emilia's ethical response to Desdemona's death. It briefs history of slander in the courts of England, drawing on the work of Martin Ingram, Laura Gowing, Tim Stretton, and Lawrence Stone. A study of cases brought before the Church Courts in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries shows that the narrative of sexual slander is enabled by the fragility of female reputation in the period, and adultery is often cited in divorce petitions. To help us understand the work of slander in the play, Iago and Othello, the chapter argues that, like Much Ado, the play uncovers the reciprocal male bonds and competitions that are embedded in military relations and that enable both Iago's story and Othello's belief of it.
