Othello

Iago is one of the most complex and interesting characters in this play. He is in the Venetian army and is General Othello’s trusted aide. He is married to Emilia, who is Desdemona’s’ (Othello’s’ wife) care taker. Iago is well acquainted with Othello, Rodrigo Cassio and Desdemona, and hence all these puppets are infected by his evil manipulations. Iago uses several linguistic and psychological techniques to achieve his ends. Now I shall discuss Shakespeare’s portrayal of Iago, his manipulating techniques, and how the audiences respond to his portrayal.

The time, in which this play is set in, the Venetian society is racist against coloured people. The role of women of Desdemona’s status was not equal to that of the men. They were the properties of their fathers, to be sold into marriage, and interracial relationships were considered disrespect to the family. They were meant to be innocent virginal, saintly souls. Many themes are introduced into the play Othello, which mostly compare the contrasts in life. There is Darkness and Reality, Appearance and reality, Love jealousy and hatred.

Iago has white skin colour, but has a dark black and merciless heart, where as Othello has black skin, and has a noble and honorable heart, a white heart. Iago is portrayed, as the symbolism of evil but is still only a human in reality. Iago is jealous of Cassio and yet understands acknowledges it. Othello loves Desdemona, yet when poisoned by Iago he starts to become jealous and later on hates her, which is proved from his attempt to murder her. Iago is a very cunning villain of the play.

He does not attack the characters physically, but he seems to be gifted with a demon like power of evil intelligence, which allows him to judge a persons character quickly, and hence allow him to, manipulate them into down a continuously narrower path, to their demise. He uses carefully thought up vulgar, brash and words, which shock his listeners and the audience to be enraptured into his thoughts. All this makes Iago possibly the most interesting character of the play, which one would think unlikely since Othello is the hero, and Iago is the villain.

Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as a racist character, and since there is only one coloured man, his racism is hence focused with full force onto Othello. Also since he is cunning, and does not resort to physical violence to destroy Othello, he uses the fact that Othello is black to help accomplish his goals, by using brash, disgusting, and crude language when discussing about the sexual conquest of Brabantio’s white daughter by the black Othello.

Brabantio was hence horrified to hear from Iago that a ‘barbary horse’ (Othello) was ‘making the beast with two backs’ with Desdemona. Here Iago is saying that Othello is having sex with Desdemona, but notice the language he uses to shock all the people around him, and since his main goal in the play is to destroy Othello, these words aid him, by first disrespecting Othello, and reminding everyone he is a black man, and hence has the barbaric manners that were thought typical in the society those days.

The audiences response to this racist man would not have seemed different because in those days slavery and racism were very real and it was abnormal not to be racist, as a Moor would have been associated with brutality, ignorance evil, and sexual immortality. Iago hates Othello and is looking to seek his revenge, because Othello gave Cassio the job that he thinks he deserves. He uses racist words such as ‘the moor’ and insults him behind his back by making fun of his ‘thick lips’. Shakespeare has also made Iago admit ‘I hate the Moor’ many a time throughout the play.

Although Iago does not dare speak these vile descriptions near Othello, since it would not be a cunning card to play as it would make all the crystal plates delicately spinning upon his fingers to waver and crash to the floor. He uses insults such as ‘old black ram’ when talking to Brabantio against Othello to rouse him against Othello, and possibly have him hanged for ‘making the beast with two backs’ with Desdemona. We can see by this that Iago is using these racist words to make other characters hate Othello, which is very cunning, because it brings down his reputation as an honest and noble man.

Also the audience would have probably shared these prejudiced thoughts by Iago, and hence approved of the villain, which is rare for Shakespeare’s range of stories, where he usually makes the hero approved by the audience. Iago is an expert judge of character, which gives him an advantage. One example where he utilizes this example is with Roderigo where he knows how madly in love he is for Desdemona, and acts as if he is helping her in making Desdemona his, when he is actually fooling him into giving him money for a job he is not doing.

Cunningly Iago says even says that ‘thus do I ever make my fool my purse’ where Roderigo is the fool, and by manipulating this fool he is making money to add to his purse. Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as an opportunist. One example would be when Cassio is asking for Desdemona’s help for reuniting him with Othello, but then when Iago and Othello come, he walks off to avoid confrontation. Iago, knowing Othello’s greatest weakness to be Desdemona. He undermines Othello’s faith in her by saying ‘Ha! I like not that.

This is extremely cunning and dastardly of Iago, to have used this opportunity of what seems like Cassio sneaking away after having a romantic talk with Desdemona, to destroy Othello, by making him doubt his faith, in love. But what makes Othello trust Iago so much in the first place the audiences might wonder. It is because Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as ‘honest Iago’ and Iago repeatedly says these words in a humble manner, to act as propaganda, so that people do think him as an honest and faithful man.

Though this is not true at all, this is just another of Iago’s cunning techniques in manipulating people, he manipulates their judgment of his character. Iago is the ultimate deceiver, during the play, excluding the end; rarely does anyone question Iago’s true motives. This is because through his cunning techniques, of putting up false, yet believable fronts, he does not allow them too. He uses Roderigo; by deceiving him with lies of how Desdemona is close to being his, and fools him and keeps on mining money out of him.

Though Roderigo later begins to question Iago. I think it is getting a bit scurvy and begin to find himself stuck in it’ and he also says that Iago is beginning to get stuck in his intricate web. Iago, realizing the danger, with his quick mind, and a immortal like intelligence he quickly tries to prove that he is faithful to Roderigo by promoting and agreeing to murder Cassio to aid Roderigo aim of getting Desdemona, since Cassio is his competitor for Desdemona. Roderigo agrees at once, and he himself becomes stuck in Iago’s web. This example shows us how cunning Iago is, and what a good improviser he is, at such evil deeds. Iago uses characters weak points to destroy them.

Othello’s weak point is Desdemona, and his faith in her love, as he says ‘my life upon her faith’ Hence Iago targets this. He undermines Othello’s faith in her by feeding him lies, about her having sex with Cassio, and how he Cassio later dreams of those encounters. This throws Othello into such a jealous rage he goes crazy, and then when he encounters Desdemona, he does not believer her, because he is caught up in the imagery given by Iago of her in bed with Cassio. Iago’s linguistic power is something of amazement, and this proves he is the most cunning and evil character of the play.

Iago has no guilt, none at all. He destroys relationships, leads characters down paths with a terrible end, and even steals from his own friends. He is like a devil, and he has so many superficial motives, it is clear, he truly has none at all, and is just a sadistic demon, who finds pleasure in creating anarchy. Iago’s main aim in the play is to destroy Othello and his relationships. Hence he has to destroy other people too, to achieve the final aim. One of the characters he exploits, other then Roderigo is the gullible Cassio.

He knew that Cassio could not ‘handle his drink’ well, and becomes aggressive when drunk. Hence he persuaded him into drinking, and making him get into a fight, which led him to be fired from his position by Othello. Not only does Iago disgrace Cassio, he also tells Cassio to go to Desdemona to solve his problem, and that she will help because she has a good heart: ‘she holds it a vice in her goodness not to be more than a requested’ Iago later turns the encounter into what seems as a secret affair between Desdemona and Cassio, which does not please Othello at all.

In conclusion Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as an extremely cunning, jealous, subtle, sadistic racist, motiveless and manipulative devil-like human being. Who jumps at the opportunity to use anything to help him reach his goals, which in to destroy Othello, his relationships, and the friends who surround him. Iago symbolizes evil in everyway, though not the typical evil of brute anarchical strength, but the tactful evil which is much more productive with its method, to psychologically destroy a person through preying on their weaknesses.

The audience’s response to this portrayal ranges from interest, awe, shame and disgust. Iago interests the audience with his plans and how he implements them, he awes the audience with the magic like power he has to manipulate characters to their own destructions, and Iago disgusts the audience by how he revels in his destructive plans, and the anarchy he implements.

Othello’s race and colour are explored in the play, especially in terms of his interracial marriage with Desdemona and therefore are very important and significant. The play ‘Othello’ generates dichotomy views on the issue of race at that time and the different confrontations of it allow us to acquire a perspective on Elizabethan attitudes as well as to consider our own argument.

One could argue against the importance of Othello’s colour like A.C. Bradley who introduced a contention, which acquaints us with such an argument. However, even though Bradley’s aspiration to respond to race in a humane manner is hesitant, it is reasoned as he focuses on character and motivation.

Bradley fails to observe the racial issue a very significant one and considers it to be: ‘unimportant in regard to the essentials of Othello’s character.’ He does not find Othello’s colour damaging to his dignity either: ‘He comes before us, dark and grand, with a light upon him from the sun where he was born’ and recalls that in his view an Englishman would have been as much a victim as this Moor in these circumstances.

An interesting issue that many critics debate about is Othello’s precise ethnic origins, taking great pains to prove that Othello would have been Arabic in appearance. What Bradley explains on this issue is: “Perhaps if we saw Othello coal-black with the bodily eye, the aversion of our blood…would overpower our imagination”. He most probably had in mind a very dark skinned African Othello, which he argues would be inappropriate for the play.

A further argument against the importance of Othello’s race could be seen from Jane Adamson who recalls nothing on the debate about the exact shade of Othello’s skin, apart from the fact that it is absurd. She assumes that the significance of race in the play: “has usually been over-emphasised by 20th century critics and producers”. I too agree with her acuity of the matter and furthermore stress to highlight the unsuitable overemphasis on the aspect of Othello’s skin colour because other elements in the play such as the tragedy of the play are being isolated.

On the basis of being against the importance of Othello’s colour and race, it could be argued that Shakespeare presented a black hero instead of a white one to introduce the idea of difference or simply included it as a stage decoration, and from Bradley’s point of view if anyone congratulated Shakespeare on the “accuracy of his racial psychology” – he would have laughed!

It is also fair to argue that Othello’s race is a very important and crucial issue that many would say interferes with the ethics of the Elizabethan principles at that time, but some chose to find justifications in order to come to terms with Othello, his race and his presence in the play. In his criticism Calderwood focuses on Othello as an extreme outsider amongst the Venetians: “Moors were simply outsiders, the other who is not like us” however he concludes by awarding Othello his acceptance due to Othello’s Christianity.

Throughout his criticism Calderwood does not stop supporting the idea of Othello being an outsider, by calling him a ‘sub-human’ and emphasising his Moorish and demonic qualities by stating that the Venetian people were ‘honest citizens’ and Othello was a ‘deceitful infidel’ who was more closely related to animals and the ‘Prince of Darkness’.

Nevertheless Calderwood contradicts himself as he jumps from criticising Othello about his race to excusing his dislocation in Venice by accepting the Moor based on his Christianity and his similarity with the Venetians in religion and affirmative actions. Calderwood goes on to reinforce his viewpoint by saying that with his new Christian attitude and lifestyle Othello essentially belongs in Venice “because he is newly washed in the Blood of the Lamb” and he is not actually an evil enemy amongst honest citizens. He also insists that although Othello is from a different race that comes with many negative associations as well as that he was a former ‘infidel’, he should be accepted based on his positive Christian characteristics.

Bearing in mind the argument put forward by Calderwood, it is necessary to consider the subsequent viewpoint: Could it be argued that perhaps due to the criticisms, needless and false comments from different characters like Iago on the subject of Othello’s race and his marriage to Desdemona a negative transition occurs from a noble Christian to a traditional black Moor? The pressures of Othello’s marriage and the negative reactions of those around him do add to his downfall, all of which race is a major factor of, and that underlines the importance of Othello’s race in the play.

Calderwood set up Othello as a terrific monster, and attempted to renovate him as a Christian, who was worthy of being accepted into his surroundings, however in my opinion, in attempt to explain why he feels Othello deserved the acceptance because of his Christianity, Calderwood’s contention is unconvincing but interesting as its an intriguing justification for such a important question of matter in the play as ‘race’.

It is difficult to settle on one aspect of the dispute as the contentions introduced by Bradley, Adamson and Calderwood seem to evolve into an assumption against the importance of Othello’s colour and race. I must however stress to extend the argument in favour of the importance of Othello’s race and colour.

All criticism of the marriage is based solely on ‘racial considerations’ and this provokes characters to turn against Othello. At the beginning of the play Othello sees himself as worthy of Desdemona’s love and his self-perception is that of equality with Desdemona. He accentuates this when he says: ‘She had eyes and chose me’ (III.3.192). Othello begins as a respectable Christian general, however, with extensive criticism such as Brabantio’s, Othello loses confidence and becomes easily persuaded by Iago who views Othello as a ‘violently jealous fool like all Africans’ and ‘a lascivious moor’ (I.1.125).

With his insight on the nature of Othello, Iago’s menacing and insidious racism deteriorates throughout the play and causes the obliteration of the black and white harmony that existed before and causes Othello to behave in an artificial way setting him into an utterly destructive fury that destroys himself and his marriage.

When Iago annihilates Othello’s positive perception of Desdemona, Othello starts to feel the threat towards his honour and articulates his anger by speaking of his colour in a cynical way: “Her name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face” (III.3.389-91). It is a good example to show how Othello’s unawareness of the significance of his race changed by Iago’s racism and cruel intentions, turned him into a completely different person, conscious of his displacement and Desdemona’s infidelity.

Desdemona alone has always acknowledged Othello’s inner worth: ‘I saw Othello’s visage in his mind’ (I.3.252), and even when his morality was concealed she preserved her vision: ‘…his unkindness may defeat my life, but never taint my love’ (IV.2.162). She is unswervingly loyal to Othello and even when she dies, she declares her love for the inner, obscured Othello, saying: ‘Commend me to my kind lord’ (V.2.126). Desdemona identifies her husband’s jealousy as ignorable and continues to give him her love to the fullest extent: ‘…my love doth so approve him, that his stubbornness, his checks and frowns …have grace in them’ (IV.3.19).

Considering the controversial notions, it is also crucial to analyse attitudes to race in the Elizabethan era, as historicist or Elizabethan attitudes to race in the 16th century were very different to the attitudes now. One could argue that Othello’s race, being black in colour, had a shock value effect on Shakespeare’s audience.

To the Elizabethans Othello’s skin colour would not only have displayed a ‘visual ugliness’, but moral inequalities. His interracial marriage with Desdemona – a white female, also added to the antipathy of the audience, but also to their interest and excitement as it could be seen that the contrast in their skin colours would in fact provide the exciting theme of forbidden love, but it is the subplot which indicates the threatening atmosphere of hate and distrust in the play.

In Vaughn’s argument, the critic’s focus is on the reaction of the Elizabethan audience towards Othello. She states that Othello’s dark race proved to be “visually significant to the reaction of the audience” and that his physical nature gives visual evidence of him not belonging to his Venetian surroundings.

Vaughn reveals that Elizabethans were fascinated by Othello’s experiences and related his black colour with “negation, dirt, sin and death”. His explorations and adventures also contributed to his ‘otherness’ and his ‘foreignness’ with the connections to ‘nakedness, savagery, and general immorality’. It is true to say that at that period of time the Elizabethans would recognize having black skin as having satanic qualities and perversion, and would link the vilest qualities to African and Moorish people.

I believe that the Elizabethan audience could have been appalled by the joining of such ‘contrasting figures’ and probably viewed Othello’s blackness as being associated with dirt, filth, and the devil as in the Elizabethan mind Othello’s race proved him inferior and unworthy of Desdemona and all her positive Venetian qualities. Whereas in modern day criticisms, such a matter would not be concerned as an issue worthy debating about, because ethnic groups became very accepted in England and the different approaches to the issue of race help us acquire different interpretations.

Elizabethan environment at the time of the play was tense and the generalizations that were made during that time. Her observation on these generalizations helped to clarify and explain the stereotypes made during the play. Despite the insight into the reaction and thoughts of the Shakespearean audience, the article tended to be repetitive by restating the negative qualities that were associated with Othello’s race instead of explaining why they were associated with one another.

Concluding could it be argued that Shakespeare made Othello black in order to explore dislocation along with opposition and the consequences of such issues? It would be inconsiderate to ignore the importance of Othello’s race in the play because it is most definitely a significant matter. In order to slightly captivate his audience, Shakespeare could have easily added a slight feature in Othello’s complexion to add the foreign affect that would be enough, or he could have even made him completely white, nonetheless Shakespeare insisted upon the blackness of Othello as otherwise there wouldn’t be the mention to intentionally repellent imagery.

In this essay, I will be exploring how Iago brought about the change in Othello up until act 3 of the play. This play is about a black Venetian soldier who elopes and marries a young white girl called Desdemona, who he shares an empathic case of mutual love that overcomes many prejudice and objections. But his love for her soon changes to jealousy and murderous thoughts created by Iago, his most “honest” ancient. Iago plants crude images of Desdemona and Cassio, his former lieutenant, having an affair, and this soon chases away all the sanity in Othello.

Until the mid-point of the play, Othello composes himself in a dignified manner and expresses unbounded faith in the transcendent love that he shares with Desdemona, a bond that reaches over differences in race, age, and social status. Nevertheless, Othello begins to change his mind about his young wife in the corruption scene of Act III (scene iii) and by the end of the act, he has completely made up his mind about Desdemona’s faith and trust, and from this point, Othello is completely preoccupied with the mission of avenging himself on Desdemona and Cassio for an adulterous affair Iago claims they are having.

In Othello, many events are more significant than others because of mental or psychological reasons. Shakespeare uses images to give contrasted thoughts to different parts of the play. Another thing is how a character changes his feelings in a brief moment. In the play, examples of these are, how Othello changes his trust from person to person, from Desdemona to Cassio to Iago. Another is how he changes his opinion of Desdemona’s faith. Also there are the mental changes of Iago and his motives. The first we hear of Othello and Desdemona being together is in Act 1 Scene 1, when Iago calls out to Brabantio, Desdemona’s father.

He calls “you’re robbed” claiming that Othello has kidnapped Desdemona when, in actual fact, they have eloped. At this point, we get the impression that Othello and Desdemona are in a young, innocent, romantic love, but Iago calling “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” ruins this perfect image. Here, Shakespeare uses crude sexual images and refers both Othello and Desdemona as animals, which makes their love sound profane and physical. Iago provokes Brabantio by telling him these graphic stories of Othello and Desdemona.

No father wants to hear about his daughter like that, so it’s obvious that Brabantio gets angry with Othello. When Othello hears of Brabantio’s anger, it is here we hear him talk about Desdemona for the first time. We see that he really does “love the gentle Desdemona” and this is shown quite precisely in Act 1 Scene 3. Here, Othello assures the court Brabantio has summoned him to, that he has not won Desdemona’s love through “spells and medicine” and “witchcraft”, but with tales of heroic defeats, and he loved her that “she did pity them”.

Othello describes his courtship of Desdemona in a dignified and persuasive speech (76-93) that even the Duke is persuaded that this tale “would win” his daughter also. By his speech, it becomes clearer that Othello’s love for Desdemona is not passion, but a love whose quality is reflected in his tone when he speaks – calmly, with dignity, serenity, simplicity and stature. While Brabantio is still not convinced, Othello believes in his and Desdemona’s love so much, and their unbreakable bond of trust and faith that he asks the Duke to send for her, so that she may speak for him.

This shows that he trusts his life “upon her faith” even to speak against her own father. It also shows that he sees her more as an equal than a presence of a woman, since he sends for her to speak in a court, in a time where women weren’t that high on the power scale. Speaking to the court is when we are first introduced to Desdemona and realises that she is little more that a girl inexperienced in the way of the world who is taken in by Othello’s stories. Desdemona speaks gently outlining an argument so strong that finishes the whole debate.

Hearing her argument, you can’t help but wonder if her love for Othello is submissive love, generated by seeing “his visage in his mind” and fuelled by her delight in his “honours” and “valiant parts”. She speaks so fondly of him, yet hardly knows him; nonetheless, as she defends her newly born love for Othello, she uses much personal language such as “me” and “I” portraying personal feelings, which makes her love much more convincing. “My heart subdu’d/ I saw Othello’s visage in his mind/ Did I my soul and fortune consecrate”.

O my fair warrior” shows the equality of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship once again when the two arrive in Cyprus. In Cyprus (Act 2 Scene 3), Cassio starts a fight under the influence of alcohol and Iago’s “master plan”. Because of this, Othello’s evening with Desdemona is disturbed, and we see him for the first time, expressing the emotion of anger. Up until this scene, Othello has always been portrayed with calm and serenity, but here, his mood dramatically changes showing the audience how easily his emotions can be swayed and affected.

This is proven again at lines 245-249. Here his mood drastically changes again from angry to calm when he sees Desdemona. Othello acts with embarrassment and disappointment to the situation and describes it a “Christian shame”, which is ironic, because he is yet to commit a sinful act. After the incident, Othello demotes Cassio, even though he is obviously a close friend of his, “Cassio I love thee, but nevermore be officer of mine”. This is strange because Othello trusted Cassio a great deal and was also close with him, and yet, he demoted him on the spot.

This is a sign of how Othello’s emotions can affect him and cloud his judgment, making him think on his feet and act spontaneously. At the start of Act 3 Scene 3, Cassio is first mentioned to Othello by Desdemona to play with his mind (non intentionally of course). His tone in this scene tells us that he is annoyed with her constant pester and her interest in Cassio by calling her an “Excellent wench”, but he “do love thee” still. We also see that Othello depends on Desdemona, maybe a little too much for it could cost his sanity. “And when I love thee not, chaos is come again”.

He quotes “I deny thee nothing” which shows us that he cannot refuse her and he still cares for her deeply, and it almost assures the audience he always will. Desdemona is not a strong character, and lacks solidity in her persona, but, despite the fact of this, we see here that she is a huge weakness in Othello’s character, even through his annoyance for her at this point. She is almost able to wrap him around her little finger without intending to, and Othello allows this to happen because of his love and his insecurities about it.

From noticing Desdemona’s unwariness of this, we might come to the conclusion that she could possibly seen as the type to liase around with other men. Yet we are most certain that she wouldn’t, from the way she respects Othello and, regards him as first priority in her life, before her own father. The tragedy of love misunderstood is exposed at the end of Act 3 Scene 3, where we now see Othello in reverse role. Unlike in Act 1, Othello is able to think clearly and compose himself as polite, kind, and noble.

Soft phrases and the use of a variety of literary devices such as, alliteration, pitiable stories, and flattering phrases towards Desdemona allow a calmer reflection of Othello. This is the contrary of how he acts at the end of Act 3. He seems to revert to his more primal nature of fighting and “glorious war”. War is a huge vulnerability to Othello, which we see when he finally accepts Iago’s lies and is convinced that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Here his first reactions are of death and destruction, as he makes sure that “Cassio’s not alive”.

Earlier in the scene, when first hearing of Desdemona’s ‘affair’, Othello seems quite intent on only believing Iago’s words with some kind of proof. “I’ll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove” Yet Othello fails to keep his word as he becomes angered by the mere thought of his wife deceiving him. It is due to this, that Othello asks Iago to “set on thy wife to observe”. Basically he asks Iago to seek the truth, yet the truth never is found causing him to doubt. We see that Othello has doubt because of his soliloquy in this act.

This is the first time he has one which surprises the audience and adds emotion and energy to Othello’s character more than usual. This could be a sign of his emotions swaying unlike in the Acts before, where he always seems open and composed. His soliloquy shows that he is confused and no longer speaks his mind as he did in the previous acts. During this soliloquy, Othello doubts his marriage, regrets that he is black, notices he’s much older, and he also doubt in himself. “Haply, I am black”, “I am declined the vale of years”, “O curse of marriage”

Another sign of distrust is, when Desdemona asks Othello if he is “not well”, and Othello replies “I have a pain upon my forehead here” instead of saying what he thought, as he usually would. The horns he speak of may symbolise the horns a cuckold would possess, which is also a sign of Othello’s mind wandering and doubting. You can tell that he is not self-assured and as confident as he once was. Shakespeare uses this technique to show us that Othello has lost his confidence and is no longer self-assured.

As he becomes more and more angry his control through his speech begins to slip, no longer does he speak in long flowing sentences but now in exclamations, which hints at his loss of capability to loose his temper. He is also speaking in a similar way to Iago, This may symbolise that he has come to think in the same manner. These images show us the depth of Othello’s jealousy, the woman he loved he now disparage. The change in Othello is very sudden. He makes a very quick transition from love to hate. In Act 3 Scene 3, Othello states, “if she be false, O then heaven mocks itself”.

Yet only not long after, he says “I’ll tear her into pieces”, and says that his mind will never change from this “tyrannous hate”. At the end of Act 3 Scene 3, we see that the relationship is no longer equal, and we see that Othello has risen above Desdemona and has belittled her. Othello treats her, and continues on treating her with great disrespect he would never have done before. Before, their relationship was mutual and equal but at this point in the Scene, Othello does not give Desdemona the chance to justify her actions, this reflects his egotistic, and is an example of how easily influenced he is.

Iago is evil personified, and to say that he is motiveless in this play could be quite true, as the audience never get to know his one true motive as it mentally changes and progresses as the play develops. He is ruthless, sinister, and will stop at nothing. Iago is the whole reason why there is conflict in the play. All the problems caused are through Iago and his lies, treachery, manipulation, and deep mysterious hate, which is fuelled by jealousy and revenge and maybe love. A lot of motives there.

He is a two faced liar smiting and betraying his fellow characters, while also being “honest Iago” as he wants to be known. He plays many parts of the story because of this. While at one point, he is the best comrade a person could have, yet another where he is a two faced, backstabbing liar. Throughout the play, we see him lie from one to the next, but he is only able to do this because he is shown to be a very accurate judge of character. He understands how everyone works, and how their minds function. He understand perfectly his “sick fool” Roderigo’s vanity and foolish hopes.

He knows that Desdemona’s generous personality will lead her to plead on Cassio’s behalf. He knows that Cassio’s ambitiousness will lead him to use Desdemona to regain Othello’s trust, and he knows that ” the Moor is of a free and open nature/ that thinks men honest but seem to be so”. He knows all this yet he spins a web of lies (with consummate skill) to turn everyone against one another. In the play Othello, Iago influence and uses two people purely for leverage. One of those is Michael Cassio, who is in a very contradicting relationship with Iago.

While Cassio trusts Iago and thinks that he has the best intentions for him in mind, Iago is actually plotting against him, persuading him with “good advice”, all in the while, ensnaring Cassio into a love innuendo he’d rather not be in. One of Iago’s more successful schemes is within Act 2 Scene 3. This scene opens with Othello bidding Cassio to inspect the guard during the night. He also warns him “not to outsport discretion”. Ironically, Iago will trick him beyond discretion, leading to his fall in this scene, the most important aspect of Iago’s plan.

Cassio proves his noble nature early on in the scene by refusing Iago’s persistent offer of wine, admitting that he “does not drink well”. Hearing this, Iago persists until Cassio finally gives in to his weakness. It takes Cassio “but one cup” to get drunk and gets into a fight with Roderigo. When Othello arrives on the scene Iago takes him aside and, being the persistent liar he is, pretends to be good friends with Cassio and pretends to care for him so that nothing will “wrong him”, nonetheless blaming him for everything, but subtly, subconsciously.

By sticking up for him, Iago soon befriends Cassio and tells him to seek Desdemona and ask her to plead for his rank and trust back with Othello. This is the most important point of persuading Cassio, because this is the main leverage for the whole plan. Here, he knows that Cassio’s ambitions will make him persistent and unaware of anything else, as does he know that Desdemona’s loving nature will help him. Iago plays with the subconscious a lot, as it is a conniving and cunning way to persuade someone. This is also shown on his lackey, Roderigo.

Iago also manipulates Roderigo, not part of any plan, but just as a lucky opportunity for money. For the foolish Roderigo, and his foolish hopes makes him an easy target for Iago. The phrase “put money in thy purse” repeatedly as Iago plays with Roderigo’s subconsciousness, and installs in Roderigo, a sense of trust in Iago. This convinces him that Iago is helping him, and that he is plotting against Othello purely for “sport”. “Sport” makes the whole situation sound like a game, a bet perhaps, so therefore money doesn’t seem like a big issue.

Iago’s soliloquies are probably just as important as anything else in the play, and he uses a lot of them. This allows us to see at once early on in the play, Iago’s motives and intentions, and that some promises go no where, like with Roderigo and his plans to woo the “gentle Desdemona”. Through soliloquy is when the master of deception is open to the scrutiny of the audience, that we may admire, horrified, the progress of his scheming. We see that he is an opportunist and amoral, “the moor already changes with my poison”.

In his soliloquies, Iago uses a level of expressiveness rarely presented in his public speeches such as, emotion, thoughts, and even insecurities, which are shown when he is convinced that Othello is sleeping with Emilia, his wife. In a soliloquy, Iago expounds the “divinity of hell”. He is delighted to see that his evil plan is working perfectly. Othello has many traits that make him nai??ve and insecure, and Iago plays on this. “Ha! I like not that, sneaking away so guilty like”.

This makes Othello question many things, but most of all, his marriage and his wife’s faith “I think my wife be honest, and think she is not”, this shows that Othello is confused and questions himself, he shows hate for her but at the same time loves her. His mind rages from one extreme to the other in his fit of emotions showing he has lost his control. Desdemona is rich and noble, furthermore, she has gone out of her social sphere to marry Othello and he is aware of this. When he speaks of his marriage, there is a hint of uncertainty, like it’s almost too good to be true.

However, this insecurity is buried dormant and non fatal. It would not rise by itself to produce a tragedy, but needs someone who sees its existence and uses it. Iago plants jealousy into Othello, but its mostly Othello’s pride that provides a fertile ground for these insecurities to nurture it’s growth. Iago plays with Othello’s uncertainty building it up by talking of jealousy and betrayal, “O, beware my lord, of jealousy! “/”It is the green eyed monster”, and then more specifically about the unnatural nature of their marriage “Her will, recoiling to her better judgement”.

More importantly, he addresses jealousy as a major theme. The “green eyed monster” becomes a symbol representing Othello’s dark feelings, a spectre lurking in his mind and beginning to steer his behaviour, while Iago lead him with lies “And will as tenderly be led by th’nose as asses are. ” This creates an image of an animal being led away so easily by something so simple. Iago uses a serious case of reverse psychology just to build up the confusion and uncertainty in Othello. Iago says that Cassio is “honest”, which sets Othello off, and Iago’s fake uncertainty in his tone makes Othello think that Cassio lies.

Words such “sneak” and “guilty” sets the scene for private affair, and gets Othello’s mind racing. Othello becomes suspicious and starts to get annoyed with Iago, as it seems Iago knows something and is not telling Othello, Othello says, “Show me thy thought”. By not telling Othello the “secret” not only makes him want to know even more, but it also makes Othello feel like an outsider, already he is separated from the group, but now even more as there are a secrets revolving around that he knows nothing of.

These are all tactics, which Iago uses (among others) to break down Othello and all the people around him. One of his most successful tactics is how he drops hints about Desdemona and Cassio. He does this very well by not actually stating fictitious stories but by suggesting, and not giving Othello a clear image. This is somewhat worse because if his mind is left to wander and imagine, it can come up with the wrong answer. He also plays on the fact that Desdemona has already once deceived her father and “may thee”. This makes Othello question her faith and if he is first priority anymore.

Othello trusts Iago because Iago puts forward the fact that he knows all and is a kind loyal friend for he says, and I quote “I am your own forever”, even though we all know he despises the moor. But this way, Iago gets into Othello’s trustees list, which is a helpful asset to his plan. Gaining that trust, Iago acts out many sympathetic, expressive roles, gives much advice and fulfils Othello’s greedy ears with what he wants to hear, therefore, proving his loyalty. Throughout the play, there is a steady stream of racism. It originates from not one, but rather several characters in the play.

Most characters in the play exhibit some type of racism toward Othello. His blackness is not only a mark of his physical alienation but a symbol, to which every character in the play, he himself included, must respond. Iago and Roderigo speak the most obvious racial slurs against Othello. Roderigo refers to the “thick-lips”, “gross clasps of a lascivious moor”, and the “gross revolt” of Desdemona (Act 1 Scene 1). He also labels Othello as a “wheeling stranger”. Iago makes several references to Othello’s race as well, referring to him as an “old black ram”, a “devil”, and a ” Barbary horse”.

This is also associated with excessive sexuality when Iago tells Brabantio that his “daughter and the Moor are [now] making the beast / with two backs”. This cultural perception contributes to the racist atmosphere; Othello’s sexuality is connected to his race, which is perceived as degenerate and disgusting. Iago and Roderigo are not the only characters with outright disdain for Othello’s race and culture. Brabantio also projects the negative images associated with blackness. Desdemona’s father invites Othello to tell tales, but refuses to accept him as a son-in-law.

Brabantio shows his anger when he refers to Othello as “too true and evil”, a “foul thief”, and “Damn’d”. He is disgusted that Desdemona would “run from her guardage to the sooty bosom / Of such a thing as thou–to fear, not to delight! ” and “fall in love with what she fear’d to look on! ” In addition, Brabantio claims that the only possible way Desdemona could fall in love with Othello is if he used black magic. These statements reveal a racism similar to that of Iago and Roderigo. Desdemona communicates an even more subtle form of racism.

She falls in love with Othello not for his outward appearance but for his words. She states that she saw “Othello’s visage in his mind”, but she does not say that she found his physical form attractive. By not referring to his physical state, Desdemona confirms her father’s belief that she should fear to look on such blackness. Othello even attests to this when he agrees with Iago’s statement that Desdemona “seem’d to shake and fear your looks”. All of these quotes suggest that even Desdemona realizes there is something unnatural about her love for Othello due to his physical appearance.

The use, or lack thereof, of Othello’s name is important for racial reasons as well. Calling someone by name is a sign of respect. The characters in the play sometimes refer to Othello by his name, but often by the term “Moor. ” The amount of racial hostility the character has for Othello usually dictates the mode of address. Iago refers to Othello by name but only a few times in the play, usually when he is talking directly to him, while he calls him Moor over the rest of the play. Coincidence plays a big role in the play Othello, as everything happens almost out of coincidence.

From Iago’s plan, to being at the wrong place at the wrong time, everything adds up to coincidence. An example of this is when Cassio chooses to meet with Desdemona at that certain point in the play, just as Othello is returning. This is when Othello first has his doubts about Desdemona. Iago sees this and plays on that fact “Ha, I like not that/ he would sneak away so guilty like”. I think that Iago persuades Othello in a very convincing way. Although, the way that Othello changes so suddenly makes it less convincing.

This may just be that he is a very nai??ve character who “trusts men easily”. This may also be due to his insecurities. Iago knows Othello will never be completely embraced in society, and he knows that Othello also knows that. By playing on this, he skilfully convinces Othello that his wife might not love because of his race. Othello is obviously hurt by this and his change is drastic, yet somehow convincing. I think it’s the way that you see all the persuasions and lies planned by Iago, then you watch it happen. This lets us understand and see the development.

A domestic tragedy takes place in a personal setting. In Othello, the men are in Cyprus to fight a war. However, the tragedy is the events within the relationships of the central characters. There is little discussion of the war and, although Desdemona blames state matters for Othello’s change in behaviour, the real problems Othello faces are matters of the heart. The women in the play have no part in the war, but still their presence contributes to the downfall of both Othello and Iago, creating repercussions for the state.

The historical context of the play is important when considering the female characters contained in it. The play was first performed in 1604 at the start of the reign of King James I. It is generally thought that wives were expected to be obedient to their husbands at this time, and play the “maiden never bold”, as Desdemona is described by her father in Act One, scene three. However, the time of the play’s first performance was shortly after the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth never married and is known to have been of strong character. It is therefore likely that a strong-willed female character would have been accepted by an audience of this time.

A feature of the play that should be considered is the misogyny shown by the male characters. In the first scene of the play, the language used by Iago to describe the sexual acts of Desdemona and Othello is coarse,

“an old black ram

Is tupping your white ewe”.

The sexuality of women is valued little by the men in the play, except for Othello who seems to over-romanticise it. Iago is coarse and rude. Cassio is seen as a ladies man, but uses women for sex. Roderigo shows very little knowledge of Desdemona but loves her for her beauty. Othello is similar to this, he idealises Desdemona, showing little understanding of her as a person. As Leavis says, Othello has a “preoccupation with his emotions rather than with Desdemona in her own right.” The three men, Othello, Iago and Cassio, all have a typically male profession, that of a soldier. They are all, including Othello (despite his romanticism), very masculine characters. Othello’s lack of understanding and failure to attempt to understand, the complexity of women contributes greatly to his downfall.

The character of Desdemona is a complex one. She has strong beliefs and shows complete devotion to Othello. Her main belief is in true love, and her views on this never falter. She will do anything to maintain her love with Othello. Her first appearance in the play shows bravery, a true love of Othello and complete trust in him. It is here she first expresses her views on love.

“to his honours and valiant parts

Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.”

Desdemona believes that to love someone is to give oneself to them completely. She has a very idealistic view on love and this is shown again in Act Four, scene three when she is discussing unfaithful women with Emilia.

“Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia –

That there be women do abuse their husbands

In such gross kind?”

It is her innocent and na�ve views that show what Desdemona represents in the play. In ‘The Othello Music’, Knight says “In Othello, pure love is the supreme good”. Desdemona’s main belief is in pure love. This leads to the conclusion that Desdemona represents goodness and purity within the play, as when she is dead, Knight says “pure love lies slain.”

Another value Desdemona possesses is compassion. When Cassio loses his status as Othello’s Lieutenant, it is Desdemona that he goes to for help, under the instruction of Iago. Even though Iago is doing this to benefit himself, what he says to Cassio of Desdemona is entirely true.

“She is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, that she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested.”

As Knight states in ‘The Othello Music’, Desdemona “is typically feminine in her attempt to help Cassio, and her pity for him.” Othello also tells the Senate in Act One, scene three that he loved Desdemona “that she did pity” him for the dangers he had passed. It is femininity that Desdemona also represents in the play. She is loved and admired for her girlish innocence and feminine compassion.

Emilia represents a more down-to-earth, common sense woman. Her personality, like Desdemona’s is feminine in many ways. For example, she is highly protective over Desdemona, acting as a mother figure to her. The femininity she represents is more mature than Desdemona’s. As she is older than Desdemona, and has been married to Iago for a longer time than Desdemona to Othello, she is far more knowledgeable about love and life. She is also more cynical and far less romantic in her views. In her conversation with Desdemona about unfaithful women, she openly admits that she would be unfaithful to her husband if the whole world were her reward.

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“who would not make her husband a cuckold, to make him a monarch?”

Emilia knows that love and men are not as ideal as Desdemona believes them to be. When Othello’s behaviour towards Desdemona changes, Emilia, unlike Desdemona realises that something is wrong with the relationship and that Desdemona should not let Othello treat her in such a way.

“I would you had never seen him.”

She stands for strength and common sense, and her views about marriage show this clearly.

“Let husbands know

Their wives have sense like them”.

Bianca represents a quite impure love within Othello. She shows that she loves Cassio, but her lifestyle as a prostitute also shows this as quite corrupt. She represents the opposite of the innocent and na�ve Desdemona. She is a woman with no responsibility to anyone but herself in the play. She has a relationship with Cassio but her reputation does not allow this to be taken seriously by anyone, including Cassio himself. She represents a love with few morals. Desdemona believes in completely faithful, perfect love, Emilia believes that being unfaithful is acceptable for a large price and Bianca, although she seems to care greatly about Cassio, has still made her living as a prostitute. She may show strong character in some areas, for example, when Emilia insults her, she comes back with,

“I am no strumpet, but of life as honest

As you that thus abuse me.”

This shows that she is prepared to stand up for herself and her lifestyle, implying that she believes it is right.

It is important when performing Desdemona to a modern audience to portray the strength of her beliefs. Bradley has described Desdemona as “helplessly passive” and I believe that this view of Desdemona should be avoided. To achieve maximum impact with a modern audience, it is important not to show Desdemona as a helpless victim of abuse, or too stupid to do anything about her unhappy relationship. For Desdemona to be admired and sympathised with, it would be necessary to show her stronger qualities. The reason she allows Othello to treat her with such disrespect is not because she is passive or helpless.

She has already shown courage when she first appeared in the play, betraying her father for her love of Othello, and speaking out in front of the Senate. Her dogmatic nature, belief in pure love and loyalty to Othello are the qualities that would achieve a maximum impact with a modern audience. However, it would also be important to show her youth and innocence, being careful not to confuse this with stupidity. She always knows what she is doing, even though it is sometimes misconceived. When standing up for Cassio to Othello, it would be important to show her feminine charms and kind intentions. This would make it believable for Othello to suspect her of adultery, as her nature is so friendly.

Emilia appears to be the most modern character of the three women in Othello. Her views on marriage would be much appreciated by a modern audience and her cynicism and wit would be found amusing. Many modern women could easily relate to Emilia. Portraying her mature, worldly personality would be very effective with a modern audience. It would also be important to show her loyalty, especially to Iago. It is clear that Emilia loves Iago as she stands by him throughout the play, until she discovers the real truth about him. According to Bradley, Emilia “remains perfectly true to herself”, but this is not true. Iago has a great influence over Emilia’s actions, and because of Iago, Emilia compromises her own judgement.

In stealing Desdemona’s handkerchief she is doing something that she knows is wrong, but she does it all the same, just to gain the love of her husband. Showing his power over her would create sympathy for her. Her belief in her husband’s honest nature, along with everyone else’s, is part of the tragedy of Othello. At the end of the play however, Emilia’s common sense returns and her most important scene would need to be performed effectively to create maximum impact. To do this it would be necessary to show Emilia’s anger, frustration, hurt and disgust. The character of Emilia is very likeable with a modern audience, and it would be important not to lose any of her strong, amusing and loyal qualities.

Performing Bianca would be a difficult task. Her character has little substance and it would be easy to lose her in a performance. Within the play she is mainly ridiculed and insulted. A modern audience could show admiration for her when she approaches Cassio about the handkerchief he gave her. As an actress, it would be important to show Bianca’s strength here, and her belief in herself. Bianca could also be sympathised with as her love for Cassio is unrequited and despite her attempts to woo him, he only ridicules her.

In general, a modern audience can sympathise with all the women in the play. All, despite their strengths, suffer at the hands of the men in their lives. Desdemona’s unfaltering belief in pure love only results in Othello’s killing her. Emilia’s loyalty and strength leads her to being murdered, also by her own husband. Bianca’s love for Cassio only brings her ridicule. In a modern society this supports the radical feminist view that no relationship with a man is beneficial to a woman. Each woman displays different feminine qualities. Desdemona’s approach is obedience, Emilia’s is loyalty and Bianca’s, persistence, but none of these bring them any rewards.

The women in Othello are so often misunderstood. The majority of criticism on the play is written by males and there is very little comment on the female characters at all. This has led to difficulty in performing these characters to create a

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maximum impact with a modern audience. However, their roles are clear. They all show the negative qualities in the male characters, but at the same time have an effect on their lives. The play is a domestic tragedy but the effects of the domestic lives of the characters are shown in all aspects of their lives. The misunderstanding of Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, within the play and in audiences has led to misinterpretations of their characters. To create a maximum impact with a modern audience, the female characters need to be given their own personality, and the effects they have need to be shown. Without the women going to war with their husbands, the tragedy of Othello would be a very different one.

Analysing the male and female relationships in William Shakespeare’s Othello it is clear the sexes fail to understand each other, particularly on the men’s part. Whilst the women are more mature and tend to overestimate the men, the men are consumed by their vanity and reputation and cannot accept women honestly.

Desdemona and Othello’s lack of understanding for each other contributes to their miscommunication. Othello cannot fully trust Desdemona because his love his too idealistic and he fails to comprehend her honest and realistic approach to love:

She loved me for the dangers I had passed

And I loved her that she did pity them.

This implies that Desdemona’s affections fuel his ego and he loves her for this more than anything else. Othello’s worshipping of Desdemona prohibits him from truly understanding her:

O my fair warrior!

…If it were now to die,

‘Twere to be most happy; for I fear

My soul hath her content so absolute

That not another comfort succeeds in unknown fate.”

He does not perceive her as human and capable of fault:

…And when I love thee not,

chaos is come again.

Desdemona on the other hand does not romanticise Othello, but approaches their love realistically and maturely. She loves Othello for the person he is and does not shy from the topic of consummation:

I saw Othello’s visage in his mind.

That I did love the Moor to live with him,

… if I be left behind…

The rites for which I love him are bereft me…

However, as much as Othello cannot understand her honest approach to love, nor can she comprehend his connection between their love and his honour. In this respect she overestimates Othello and fails to see his capacity for jealousy:

…I think the sun where he was born

Drew all such humours from him.

Unwittingly, she wounds his pride by lying about the handkerchief and pursuing Cassio’s disposition:

I say it is not lost…

This is a trick to put me from my suit.

Pray you let Cassio be received again.

The women are seen by the men as possessions and criteria for their honour. Othello cannot conceive that Desdemona is her own person and could have emotions and opinions separate to his. She shows her assertiveness when she defends Cassio, but in doing so questions Othello’s judgment. “You’ll never find a more sufficient man.” Where sexuality is concerned, he seeks complete control over her. Her faithfulness is not only needed for his ego, (“Cuckold me!”) but the possibility that Desdemona has sexual desires frightens and bewilders him:

…O curse of marriage

That we can call these creatures ours

And not their appetites!

Iago also reflects this possessiveness over his wife. He accuses Cassio and Othello of having leapt into his ‘seat’ which implies he owns Emilia, and is astounded when she defiantly reveals his malice at the end:

I will not charm my tongue…

What, are you mad? I charge you get you home.

Brabantio’s response to his daughter’s marriage holds a similar attitude. Desdemona, a “maiden never bold,” so still and quiet that she was scared of her own shadow, has been “stolen” from him. He clearly does not understand his daughter well for we soon see she is strong and assertive:

That I did love the Moor to live with him.

My downright violence and scorn…

May trumpet to the world.”

Throughout the play Roderigo’s behaviour is a prime example of how the men view the women as possessions. Hopelessly romanticising Desdemona, (who is not aware of his existence, let alone his love for her) he relentlessly pursues her attempting to purchase her through Iago:

Therefore make money…

I’ll sell all my land.

Iago speaks of Othello’s marriage in terms of piracy and of Desdemona as a treasure ship, reinforcing his ideas of women as possessions:

…he hath tonight boarded a land-carack.

Interestingly, Emilia comments on this weakness of all men. In contrast to the men’s complete misconceptions about women, Emilia shows awareness and perceptiveness of the opposite sex. She does understand that men stereotype women and forget they have their own minds:

…Let husbands know

their wives have sense like them: they see and

smell,

And have palates for both sweet and sour

As husbands have.

She recognises the jealousy of men’s natures.

They are not ever jealous for the cause,

But jealous for they are jealous.

However, although she succinctly predicts what is behind Othello’s behaviour, for all her worldliness, she fails to pinpoint the blame to her own husband. This suggests that maybe she doesn’t know him that well to consider him capable of such malice. “The Moor’s abused by some most villainous knave.”

Preoccupied with honour, the men categorise women into either ‘whores’ or ‘Madonnas,’ and fail to recognise them as individuals. Desdemona, a real ‘lady,’ is continually referred to as “divine” and all the men greatly esteem her. Their respect is close to worship. Casio says:

You men of Cyprus, let her have your knees.

Hail to thee, Lady!

Roderigo swears he loves her enough to “incontinently drown” himself. Even Iago says “Now I do love her too…” and suggests he would like to sleep with her.

Bianca, on the other hand, is immediately shunned for being a prostitute and is not worthy of such high regard. The play’s humanisation of her undercuts the men’s one-dimensional perception:

I am no strumpet, but of life as honest

As you that thus abuse me.

Unlike Desdemona, men cannot align their honour with such a woman as she has been ‘used’ and is no longer ‘pure.’ In contrast to his approach to the ‘divine Desdemona’ Cassio says of Bianca, “I marry her! What! A customer!” He is indifferent to her love for him, and Bianca does not realise that he will never take her seriously but always see her as a whore:

‘Tis such another fitchew! Marry, a perfumed one!

Desdemona does not understand how men can label women ‘whores’ for she insists that such a woman does not exist, and she therefore does not understand men’s preoccupation with honour:

-tell me, Emilia –

That there be women do abuse their husbands

In such gross kind?

Misogynistic attitudes perpetrated by Iago and eventually developed in Othello reveal a distrust of women, and affirm the lack of understanding between the sexes. To Iago, all women are whores. “You rise to play and got to bed to work.” He is rude to his own wife and unhesitatingly kills her. “Villainous whore!” (He stabs her.) With Iago’s manipulation, Othello adopts these views and his ‘divine’ Desdemona falls straight from Madonna to whore. She has tainted his reputation and wounded his ego, (or so he believes) and he must kill her before she corrupts other men. “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men.” His words to her become bitter and scathing:

I took you for that cunning whore of Venice

That married with Othello.

The combination of their honour and misunderstanding of women makes the men easily jealous. We see this in their quickness to damn their wives as adulteresses without concrete evidence. Othello is so distrusting, the absence of a handkerchief becomes the ‘ocular’ proof, when ironically he has seen nothing. His jealousy makes him willing to condemn. “Damn her, lewd minx!” Iago also accuses his wife with unfounded suspicion of sleeping with Cassio and Othello:

He’s done my office. I know not if it be true,

But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,

Will do as if for surety.”

The men and women in Othello do not understand each other. The men’s preoccupation with honour and romantic ideals of love, leads them to misunderstand women viewing them as either whores or Madonnas and possessions for men. The women, in contrast, are more mature and realistic. However women such as Desdemona overestimate the men and are unable to empathise with their attitudes, or recognise their jealous natures.

“It is through Iago’s soliloquies that the audience gain most insight and enjoyment” How far do you agree with these views and what is your opinion? Iago’s soliloquies feature throughout the play Othello and allow the audience to see the true feelings he has for other characters and his motives for his evil actions throughout the play. These two critical opinions show contrasting views of the value these soliloquies have to the audience and to the play itself.

When Shakespeare wrote Othello, actors on the stage would often interact with the audience and involve them within the play. Soliloquies were an opportunity for an actor in his role to explain his motives and way of thinking to the audience. This is shown when Iago asks ‘and what’s he then that says I play the villain? ‘ directly asking the audience to question their opinion of him or become accomplices of his evil plan. To a modern audience this interaction with the actors is rare and outdated so to many Iago’s soliloquies just appear to be a man speaking to himself on stage.

This can be embarrassing for the modern audience and also the actor playing Iago who has to deliver the lines convincingly. Another problem for the actor is that in Shakespearean times plays would be performed in open-air theatres during daylight with the audience stood right in front of the stage. This is different to modern day theatres that are enclosed and dark with the audience sitting further away from the stage. This makes the relationship between actors and audience less intimate, which may make the soliloquy less effective and therefore outdated.

At the end of his soliloquies Iago ends in a rhyming couplet such as in Act 1 Scene 1: ‘hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to light’ which to modern audiences is slightly outdated and may associate Iago with a stereotypical villain in a pantomime who plots against the ‘good’ guy, in this case Othello. In pantomimes, the villain similarly interacts with the audience and uses hyperbolic language with rhymes, dark imagery and rhetoric questions as Iago does. Therefore, Iago’s soliloquies may be perceived as outdated and embarrassing for an audience who see Iago’s representation as a villain as stereotypical and childish

Iago’s soliloquies may seem outdated and embarrassing for an audience due to his racist language repeatedly referring to Othello as ‘Moor’ and as a ‘devil’. A modern audience may not understand the racial term ‘moor’ due to it being out of date, particularly as other characters use it a non racial way. The way his soliloquies are set out in blank verse and in iambic pentameter may also be embarrassing for the audience and increase Iago’s association with the pantomime villain. When Othello was first staged, blank verse would indicate a serious, important part of the play and the audience would understand this switch from prose.

Modern audiences without understanding the literary device may therefore find it outdated and fail to understand why an actor would be talking in a regular rhythm only when he was alone on the stage. The view that Iago’s soliloquies add little to the play can be justified as Iago never fully shares his plan with the audience often formulating it in his head and claiming that ‘it is engendered’ or that ’tis here but yet confused’. Instead the audience only gets to see the beginning of the plan and who he plans to use to deceive Othello.

The soliloquies can be seen as unimportant as Iago produces more motives that are unlikely to be true such as his claim that Othello has slept with Emilia, in order to justify his original lies. This can begin to get repetitive and tiring to an audience. Without the soliloquies the audience would not lose out on the plot, only on Iago’s insight so it can be argued that they are unnecessary. However, the second critic’s view that Iago’s soliloquies are insightful and enjoyable can also be explored.

Iago is the most important character in developing the plot as without his conniving plans to ruin Othello, Othello’s and Desdemona’s marriage would probably have survived. It is through his soliloquies that we see how his mind works and how he abuses people’s good nature in order to ruin them. The soliloquies allow us to see into Iago’s mind, which allows the audience to gain great insight into what he is doing. In Act 1 Scene 1 his first soliloquy reveals a great deal of his opinions of other people and it is though Iago is taking off a mask, suddenly revealing a darker side than we have seen so far.

The audience see his true opinion of Roderigo as being a ‘fool’ who he is only associating with for ‘sport and profit’ and that he is impatient with his idiotic and defeatist talk. He also reveals his reason for bringing about the downfall of Othello is due to rumours he has heard of Othello sleeping with Emilia, which he continues to mention in other soliloquies, claiming ‘the lusty moor hath leaped into [his] seat’ in Act 2 Scene 1. Other than this motive, which is possibly a lie in order to justify his evil nature, his other motives are selfish and unfair.

Iago intends to ruin Cassio in order to ‘get his place’ and later reveals a jealousy for Desdemona. He only expresses his motives within his soliloquies making them insightful to the audience even if they are only to defend himself. Iago manipulates Cassio’s ‘smooth dispose’ in order to use it against him and convince Othello that ‘he is too familiar with his wife’. He abuses people’s good nature in order to defeat them and the audience can see this through his soliloquies. He knows that Othello will ‘prove to Desdemona a most dear husband’ and is ‘of a free and open nature’ but plans to use this good nature in order to bring his downfall.

The audience sees that he is totally evil by regarding his manipulation of people and their lives as a game, structuring his plan carefully in order for him to cause great damage. His plan to ‘pour… pestilence into [Othello’s] ear’ shows how he intends to use the trust he has developed with Othello to advise him against Cassio and Desdemona. He again, uses Desdemona who he believes to be ‘virtuous’ and ‘fruitful’ enjoying the fact that he will ‘turn her virtue into pitch’ by using her ‘goodness’ as the ‘net that shall enmesh them all’.

The audience can get a true insight into Iago’s nature of being spiteful and wicked, which would not be as clearly seen if the soliloquies were removed. The audience can almost see the way his brain is working and his language shows this. He uses repetition such as ‘How? How? ‘ as he puts together his plan and there are often small pauses and contemplative moments such as ‘let me see now’ to reflect his plan coming together. His dark mind is reflected through his language with images of ‘hell’ ‘devils’ with the ‘blackest sins’ and poison. For the audience, this can be exciting as they are involved in his plan, almost acting as accomplices.

They hold a greater awareness of what is going on in the play than the rest of the characters and so can foreshadow Othello’s downfall. The audience are far more likely to be sympathetic for Othello by knowing the true evil nature of Iago through his speeches, particularly in knowing that even Iago, who sees the worst in people admits that Othello is ‘of constant, loving, noble nature’. In my opinion, the second critic’s view that Iago’s soliloquies are insightful and enjoyable is the most justified. Without his soliloquies the audience would be unaware of how Iago’s plans come together, his motives or how he views the other characters.

When he is with other characters it is almost as if he is wearing a mask to cover up his true feelings. He plays the honest and trustworthy friend and it is only when he is alone does his true nature show and the audience discovers that this is a clever manipulating method that he uses, knowing Othello ‘thinks men honest that seem to be so’. The first critics opinion that Iago’s soliloquies are embarrassing and outdated can be a problem due to modern audiences not being used to this device. However, it can also be refreshing for an audience to experience this different way of acting and enjoyable to be involved in Iago’s plot.

As a modern audience we should understand that the play was written in a society that was different from today and therefore be less judgemental on how outdated it is. The critic’s view that they ‘add little to the play’ is, in my opinion less justified. The soliloquies may not be essential to the actual plot of the play but they provide a great by giving the audience an opportunity to understand Iago’s character. As an audience we can foreshadow the upcoming events in the play and therefore be more interested as it all unravels.

An audience will feel more hatred towards Iago due to his soliloquies and therefore feel more sympathy for the other characters as he causes their downfall. Instead of providing little to the play, they provide a great deal by stirring up the audiences emotions to the characters. Overall, I believe Iago’s soliloquies to be of great insight and enjoyment to the audience as they allow an audience to see into his mind and be aware of his plot to bring Othello’s downfall. Instead of being outdated and embarrassing they are insightful and enjoyable as audiences can directly witness his harsh and wicked nature.

The passage in Act 3, Scene III of Shakespeare’s , where Othello cracks down on Iago and demands proof from him of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness, is the turning point of the play. Iago has Othello in the palm of his hand, and has Othello’s entire fate planned out. He has done this by making him think that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. In this scene, Shakespeare employs the use of three literary devices to construct the scene as a turning point and push the play forward. Firstly, the use of metaphors are essentially to provide the atmosphere of the scene.

Then, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to foreshadow what Iago is going to do. Finally, the setting is used to position and set up the scene as the turning point where will be exposed. All of this helps to achieve the purpose of showing how this is the turning point in the play. The first literary device used is vile metaphors. Othello, who is the one who talks the most during this passage and uses very contemptible language, which is quite different to how people talk before this point. Othello’s harsh language serves to heighten the tension in the atmosphere.

In addition, it demonstrates the decay of Othello’s character by the theme of jealousy and its power. The first place in the passage where Othello demonstrates this is near the beginning of the passage by saying, “Thou hast set me on the rack. ” Othello’s metaphor between his torture and medieval torture shows not only the seriousness of the situation, but that his character would refer to such heinous instruments. Furthermore, Othello blatantly threatens Iago when he says, “Thou hadst been better have been born a dog/ Than answer my waked wrath! This language would be unbecoming of a gentleman, during Shakespeare’s time, thus it demonstrates that Othello’s character has degraded completely because of the jealousy planted by Iago. The second literary device used by Shakespeare is that of dramatic irony. However, it is in its most extreme form. This is shown in the passage when Othello tells Iago, “Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore! / Be sure of it. Give me the ocular proof. ” Here Othello is demanding Iago to prove that Desdemona unfaithful with visual evidence.

The ocular proof is Othello’s entire basis for killing Desdemona, and the proof is coming from Iago, thus putting him in control of Othello’s fate. The handkerchief is the ocular proof that Iago produces in order prove Desdemona a cheater and a liar. This makes the passage a turning point in the play when Iago gains total control over Othello, while Othello doesn’t realize he’s being played, and will only after the plan is complete. Finally, the third literary device used is setting. The passage is in the middle of Act 3, which would place it close or right on top of the climax, for a standard 5-part play.

At the beginning of the scene, Cassio was talking to Desdemona about getting reinstated, and with Iago’s help Othello misinterprets it and thinks that Cassio is sneaking around behind his back. This shows that Iago has started to mold Othello into a jealous monster that will eventually lead to his downfall. This scene is the turning point because Iago has had the opportunity to have Othello see Cassio in Othello’s bedroom, talking to Othello’s wife, while whispering like a snake to him, that perhaps there’s something more between Desdemona and Cassio than meets the eye.

In conclusion, these three literary devices, metaphors, dramatic irony, and setting allow the scene to ascertain itself as being the turning point of the play. Othello has the seeds of jealousy planted within him now, and Iago is gulling both Othello and Roderigo. The effect on the audience is that they feel Othello’s emotions and can see the complete degradation of Othello’s character, allowing the audience to get in the mood for the downfall of Othello.