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What does the phrase "with suspect allegiances required to combat a powerful enemy" mean exactly here?

English Language & Usage Asked on December 13, 2020

"It [The Tragedy of Othello] would rewrite Henry V by offering another version of the story of an ambivalent heroic warrior with suspect allegiances required to combat a powerful enemy, who is pushed to his physical and emotional limits and marries outside his community." (Jerry Brotton, This Orient Isle- Elizabethan England and the Islamic World)

One Answer

That text could do with some commas to make it a little easier to parse, IMO. Eg

"It would rewrite Henry V by offering another version of the story, of an ambivalent heroic warrior with suspect allegiances, required to combat a powerful enemy, who is pushed to his physical and emotional limits, and marries outside his community."

So, the segment you asked about is now part of two different phrases:

It would rewrite Henry V by offering another version of the story,

of an ambivalent heroic warrior with suspect allegiances (the warrior's allegiances are suspect, ie under suspicion)

and that warrior experiences the following things:

  1. he is required to combat a powerful enemy
  2. he is pushed to his physical and emotional limits
  3. he marries outside his community

Correct answer by Max Williams on December 13, 2020

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