Together with Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, Othello is ...



Along with Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, Othello is one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies and thus a pillar of what most critics consider the apex of Shakespeare's dramatic art. First performed by the King’s Men at the court of King James I on November 1, 1604, Othello is set against the backdrop of the wars between Venice and Turkey that raged in the latter part of the sixteenth century. Unlike the other three tragedies which are set against a backdrop of affairs of state and reverberate with suggestions of universal human concerns, Othello is set in a private world and focuses on the passions and personal lives of its major characters and has often been described as a "tragedy of character." It is a tale of love, jealousy, revenge and hatred and is widely acknowledged as one of Shakespeare’s best works.

The play is divided into five acts. Act II of Othello opens in Cyprus where Montano and two gentlemen are shown waiting for the ships bringing Desdemona, Iago, and Othello. Through their conversation the readers learn about the terrible storm and the destruction of the Turkish fleet which was aiming to attack Cyprus. The ships soon arrive safe and sound, Desdemona and Iago reaching first, followed by Othello, who it is exposed has been made the new Governor of Cyprus. A festivity is announced in honor of Othello’s wedding, and to celebrate the demolition of the Turkish fleet. Amidst the merry making Iago is shown planning the destruction of Othello, Desdemona and Michael Cassio [Othello’s Lieutenant] in one go. Scene III shows Iago’s first step towards achieving this end. He successfully manages to get Cassio drunk enough to get him involved him in a brawl, which then leads to Othello taking away Cassio’s title as his punishment.

Following is a detailed critical analysis of ACT II:

Symbolism:

Like Act I, scene ii, the first scene of Act II begins with emphasis on the limitations of sight. “What from the cape can you discern at sea?” Montano asks, and the gentleman replies, “Nothing at all. It is a high-wrought flood” (II.i.1–2). The emphasis on the limitations of physical sight in a tempest foreshadows what, after Act III, will become Othello’s metaphorical blindness, caused by his passion and rage. Similarly, once the physical threat that the Turks pose has been eliminated, the more psychological, less tangible threat posed by inner demons assumes dramatic precedence.

Venus symbolizes order, law, justice, security and reason. An Example is the way the Duke handles Othello and Desdemona’s case on Brabantio’s appeal. Cyprus on the other hand is a weakly defended outpost, far out in the ranging ocean, close to the “general enemy” and the immediate object of his attack. Here passions are more explosive and closer to the surface than in Venus. Cyprus thus symbolizes riot, barbarity, anarchy, panic, darkness, and neglect of duty. The brawl between the drunken soldiers in scene iii of Act II is just the beginning of a long series of barbaric, disruptive, and chaotic ending with the murder of Desdemona – the apex of injustice.

The brawl in Act II, scene iii, foreshadows Act V, scene i, where Cassio is stabbed and Roderigo is killed in a commotion outside a brothel. 

As Othello breaks up the brawl, he demands, “Are we turned Turks, and to ourselves do that / Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites?” (II.iii.153–54). Othello, himself an “other” on the inside of Venetian society, and one who ultimately upsets the order of that society, calls attention to the potential for all external threats to become internal. It is this potential which Iago continually exploits later in the play.

The storm at the beginning of Scene I is symbolic of the later course of events that will take place in the personal lives of Desdemona and Othello. The fact that Othello’s ship arrives at the very end foreshadows the isolation of the tragic hero.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere in Act II is full of suspense at first as Montano and the other gentlemen are awaiting the arrival of the ships and discussing the storm. Later it turns to festivity and the readers experience a sense of relief at the safe arrival of the major characters. The ambiance however turns suspenseful and tension ridden once more as Iago reveals his scheme in asides. It reaches its climax when Cassio gets into the fight under the influence of wine.

The banter between Iago and Desdemona creates a nervous, uncomfortable atmosphere, in part because their levity is inappropriate, given that Othello’s ship remains missing. The rhyming couplets in which Iago expresses his misogynistic insults lend the mood an eerie, alienating quality.

Characterization:

When Shakespeare wrote Othello, his knowledge of human nature and his ability to dramatize it in language and action were at their height. Thus the play offers in its characters an unusually full and profound study of humanity.

Othello:

By the end of Act I, Othello’s bravery and professional expertise is established to an extent, it is further reinforced in Act II, as Montano exclaims in scene i, “I have served him, and the man commands/ like a full soldier”(Act II.i.38-39). Because of his capabilities, he is made the Governor of Cyprus.

Apart from this, Othello’s tender and loving side is clearly visible in the Act, in his greeting Desdemona after his arrival at Cyprus and his gently soothing her after she is woken up due to the commotion created by Cassio and Roderigo’s fight. His love for Desdemona is further reinforced as he exclaims after their reunion, “If it were now to die,/ ‘Twere now to be most happy; for, I fear, My soul hath her content so absolute”(Act II.i.200-202).

His simplicity and trusting nature is also revealed as he easily falls pray to the first manifestation of Iago’s scheming without question.

Desdemona:

Act I establishes Desdemona as a beautiful girl belonging to a rich and influential family of Venice. Act II further develops her character. We learn through Cassio that she is beyond description and has unsurpassed fame. Also we come to understand that Desdemona is not just beautiful but also wise and a highly accomplished writer. In scene III Iago tells Cassio “she is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested”( II.i.308). Hence, Desdemona is established as an ideal or “perfect” woman.

In the scene with Iago, she is portrayed as an outspoken and independent woman - one who does not depend upon her husband’s presence either socially or intellectually. However, Desdemona does not suggest that she has any interest in cheating on her husband, as Cassio puts it, She has “an inviting eye; and yet methinks right modest”(II.iii.24). Iago himself tells us that he will make a mountain out of the molehill represented by Cassio’s holding of Desdemona’s hand.

Iago:

Iago’s long discussion with Desdemona in the scene reveals that he has no respect for any kind of women. Although Iago verbally abuses women in this scene, his real resentment seems to be against those characters who belong to a higher social class than his, including Cassio and Desdemona. Iago resents Cassio for being promoted ahead of him. At the beginning of the play, Iago argued that he ought to have been promoted based upon his worth as a soldier, and he expressed bitterness that “referment goes by letter and affection, / And not by old gradation” (I.i.35–36). In Act II, scene i, Cassio contributes to Iago’s anger by taunting the ensign about his inferior status: “Let it not gall your patience, good Iago, / That I extend my manners. ’Tis my breeding / That gives me this bold show of courtesy” (II.i.100–102). Not long afterward, Iago makes fun of Roderigo for being “base” (meaning lower class), even though the play does not indicate that Roderigo is, in fact, of lower status than Iago (II.i.212).

In the soliloquy that concludes Act II, scene i, Iago once again explains quite clearly what he intends to do, despite his comment that his plan is “yet confused” (II.i.298). His hatred for Othello because of his worldly success and goodness of character is menacing. The dichotomy in Iago’s public and private face further adds to the ominous atmosphere of the scene. It is impossible to find fault with Iago in any of his roles, from that of the boon companion singing tavern songs to the grieved friend, reluctantly reporting the events of the night to Othello, or when acting as a counselor to the disgraced Cassio, and also a counselor of Roderigo.

Iago, always skillful at manipulating human frailties, capitalizes on Cassio’s tendency to get himself into trouble in situations involving pleasures of the flesh. Further evidence of Iago’s skill as a manipulator is his ability to make Roderigo virtually invisible in the scene. Once Cassio has chased him across the stage and stabbed Montano, no one gives a second thought to the man who may or may not have begun the fight. No one seems to have any idea who Roderigo is (even though he is always onstage, even in the court scene of Act I, scene iii), and Cassio cannot even remember what they -quarreled about.

Iago’s speeches contain frequent references to sex. For instance, when Othello bursts onto the scene and demands to know what is going on, Iago answers by comparing the party to a bride and groom undressing for bed (II.iii.163–165). He seems to take great pleasure in preventing Othello from enjoying marital happiness. Some readers have suggested that Iago’s true, underlying motive for persecuting Othello is his homosexual love for the general. In addition to disrupting Othello’s marriage, he expresses his love for Othello frequently and effusively, and he seems to hate women in general.

Michael Cassio:

In Act I Iago degrades Cassio, saying his knowledge of war is limited to theory alone and that he was unworthy to be chosen as Othello’s Lieutenant since his actual experience in the battle field is close to none, when compared with Iago. Inspite of this description, the readers form a high opinion of Michael Cassio from the very beginning based on the fact that since he is chosen by Othello as his second in charge, he must

be a brave and worthy soldier. Act II establishes him as a loyal, sincere, and competent soldier. His anxiety and anxiousness when Othello’s ship is delayed in its arrival tells volumes about his sincerity and loyalty to Othello. Also his refusal to drink, knowing it’ll make him rash and irrational shows his sensibility. His interaction with Desdemona shows his good breeding and mannerisms. Thus Cassio in this scene is established to a great extent as a true gentleman and worthy soldier.

Cassio, though polished in manners and gracious in bearing, in his drunken state reveals a deeply rooted pride when he says “the Lieutenant is to be saved before the ancient” (II.iii.95-96). His smugness over the privileges offered to senior officers and not their juniors, is a subtle hint pointing towards the other side of Cassio, which although we don’t much see in the play, yet makes him a real and believable character.

Structure:

Shakespearean tragedy usually works on a five-part structure, corresponding to the five acts: Part One, the exposition, outlines the situation, introduces the main characters, and begins the action. Part Two, the development, continues the action and introduces complications. Part Three, the crisis (or climax), brings everything to a head. In this part, a change of direction occurs or understanding is precipitated. Part Four includes further developments leading inevitably to Part Five, in which the final crisis of action or revelation and resolution are explained. Othello follows this pattern.

Exposition is continuing till scene i of Act II, it is in scene iii that the complication begins, with the brawl designed by Iago that leads to Cassio loosing his reputation and more importantly, his position as Othello’s Lieutenant.

Places also correspond to the three sections of the text; they reveal the structure. From the safe and ordered life of Venice, the characters move to Cyprus. Venice is civilized, and the emphasis there is on ordered security under the just rule of the Duke. Cyprus contrasts with Venice being on the edge of civilization, threatened by war from the savage Turks. Cyprus emphasizes insecurity then. The complication that begins in scene iii of Act II and continues till Act v, happens in an insecure setting, at first dominated by the threat of war. The resolution section changes the setting again, for crisis and resolution take place in the only private place we see in the play i.e. Desdemona's bed chamber, where the secret and intimate truth is revealed. 

Themes:

Appearance and Reality:

The most prominent theme in Act II is that of appearance an reality. Iago’s hypocrisy and the contrast in his public and private faces is truly striking, and clearly visible in his several asides and the long dialogues uttered by him in his conversation with Roderigo.

Love:

Love is a prominent theme in this act as well as the rest of the play. The reunion of the lovers after their arrival at Cyprus in different ships, Othello’s passionate confessions of his love for Desdemona, and the celebration of their nuptial night all point towards this theme.

Pride:

Pride is a major characteristic of Othello and a significant theme as well, as Othello is portrayed as a brave soldier who has done the Venetian government some invaluable service. Also a deep rotted pride is visible in Cassio’s ramblings in his drunken state about senior officers saved before than their juniors in perilous situations.

Delay of Time:

The theme is portrayed in Othello’s late arrival at Cyprus.

Imposed female identity:

This theme is portrayed in Desdemona and Emilia’s waiting and caring for their husbands.

Literary Devices:

An analogy can be drawn between the underhanded way Iago works and the ruse by which the Turks try to fool the Venetians into thinking they are bound for Rhodes when the reefs and shoals that threaten ships are “ensteeped,” that is, hidden under the surface of the sea, as Iago is hidden under the surface of his “honesty.”

Dramatic Irony is frequently visible as various characters including Othello refer to Iago as “Honest Iago.”

Language:

War vocabulary is frequently used in Act II; words like “captain”, “general”, “Lieutenant”, “honest” all point to war.

The prose is long running at several places, most prominent examples are Iago’s asides and dialogues in conversation with Roderigo.

Sexual language is used, very frequently in this act, by Iago.

Criticism:

“…It would be something monstrous to conceive this beautiful Venetian girl falling in love with a veritable Negro.”

(S.T. Coleridge)

Most people would disagree with this statement of Coleridge. The love between Othello and Desdemona is a proof that something like inner beauty does exist. Desdemona’s love for Othello is based on his strength, both physical and moral and bravery and courage that he demonstrated in the face of difficulties in his past. Othello is the perfect ‘knight in shinning armor’ except for his complexion and incongruence with Desdemona in physical attractiveness.

White women marry negroes all the time in places like the United States of America where people belonging to different races live together and have opportunities to interact. Coleridge’s statement seems based on racial prejudice than the improbability or inappropriateness of such a match. True their marriage didn’t work out in the play, but had not been for Iago’s elaborate planning and flawless manipulation of everyone around him, Desdemona and Othello could have lived happily and grown old together without facing any major problems, and certainly none stemming to of the contrast in their physical appearances.

Othello and Feminist Theory:

There are only three female characters in Othello: Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. The way that these women behave and conduct themselves is undeniably linked

to the ideological expectations of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan society and to the patriarchal Venetian society that he creates.

Women in the play are portrayed as possessions. Following his hearing of Brabantio’s complaint and Othello’s defense, the Duke eventually grants permission for Desdemona to accompany Othello to Cyprus. Othello speaks to his ensign Iago, ironically describing him as a man of “honesty and trust”, informing the Duke that “To his conveyance I assign my wife” (I.iii.283). Desdemona, as Othello’s wife, is treated as his possession: he implies that she is a commodity to be guarded and transported. This is, however, by no means peculiar to Othello: the first Senator, wishing Othello well, concludes by hoping that he will “use Desdemona well” (I.iii.288). The word “use” seems to connote the phrase ‘look after’, but also supports the Venetian expectation of women - that they are to bow to the wills of their husbands who may utilize them as they wish. Moreover, the function of women within marriage is also delineated by Othello’s ‘loving’ words to Desdemona in Act II: “Come, my dear love,/The purchase made, the fruits are to ensue” (II.iii.8-9). Marriage is described as an act of “purchase”: a woman is

bought by her husband, effectively as a favor, and is expected to fulfill his sexual desires in return for the privilege. Iago’s desire for revenge on Othello is, in part, dictated by his view of women as possessions. He believes that ‘it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my

sheets/He’s done my office’ (I.iii.381-2), suggesting that Othello has slept with his wife Emilia. It could be argued, however, that Iago exhibits little love for his wife, insulting her in public and ultimately killing her himself. It is simply the thought that ‘the lusty Moor/hath leaped into my seat’ (II.i.286-7) which drives him mad, the thought that Othello has used a possession that belongs to him. Compounding this theory is the fact that Iago refers to his wife metaphorically in these two instances: she is his ‘office’ and his ‘seat’; she is objectified and deprived of her humanity. Moreover, in revenge for Othello’s supposed act, Iago wishes to be ’evened with him, wife for wife’ (II.i.290). By sleeping with Desdemona, he believes that they will then be equal. The feelings of Desdemona and Emilia are completely disregarded in his plotting. The women are merely objects to be used in order to further his own desires. Although Iago is an extreme example, he nonetheless demonstrates, through his thinking, the fact that women, in both Elizabethan and Venetian society, are perceived as possessions, secondary to the lofty plans and desires of men.

Othello’s fear of Desdemona’s sexuality erupts into slanderous abuse on a

number of occasions. Admonishing his wife for being a nag in Act II, Iago goes on to compound this stereotype by suggesting that all women are not as they appear. He seems to believe that all women are, essentially, “wild-cats” (II.i.109) and “housewives” (II.i.111). All three women in the play are accused of prostitution and inappropriate sexual conduct, yet it appears that none of them are guilty. As male society falls apart in Cyprus, its constituent members seem to vent their spleen and anger by labeling all the female characters “whore”. When things go wrong, it appears to be acceptable for men to blame the women.

On the other hand, women are also depicted as temptresses in the play. The repetition of the word ‘lust’, combined with the sexual associations of Desdemona’s bed and the violent explosives and sibilants of this line, reflects and draws attention to Othello’s preoccupation with sensual matters. This preoccupation is partly driven by the fact that Desdemona wields great sexual power over him. Even Cassio refers, jokingly, to Desdemona as “our great Captain’s Captain” (II.i.75), implying that she is the only individual capable of controlling and taming Othello. Desdemona uses this when

attempting to persuade Othello to reinstate Cassio.

The patriarchal Venetian society presented in Othello, molded on the ideology of Elizabethan England, seems to put women firmly in their place. Men consider women to be possessions, who ought to remain submissive and meek at all times. The only power that women do seem to be able to wield is their sexual power - is considered to be an ‘evil’ which must be resisted by the men in society. Men seem free to be able to refer to women as ‘whores’ and get away with it. The language that Shakespeare gives to his female characters suggests that they have internalised society’s expectations of

them, and apart from in moments of private conversation, behave as men expect, believing this to be ‘natural’.

There is a suggestion, however, that women are beginning to question the

validity of unchecked male authority. Emilia is portrayed as holding seemingly feminist opinions, but it is Desdemona, who in conversation with Emilia, indicates that the tide may be finally turning:

“Nay, we must think men are not gods” (III.iv.144)

Othello and Post Colonial Theory:

A post-colonial reading of Othello reveals the characters' racism and discriminatory attitudes that drive their actions. From a post colonial perspective, the text presents a discourse, describing an attempt of assimilation of a black man into a white society by marrying a white woman but in the end is stripped from his white construct and is reduced back to the traditional role of "the Moor", revealing his "true" jealous and monstrous identity.

The tragic in Othello echoes the Aristotelian caveat: "An imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself." Yet, for the subaltern Othello, Anouilh's Chorus in Antigone is more appropriate: "The machine is in perfect order; it has been oiled ever since time began, and it runs without friction." Othello's fall from grace goes unpurged, it is uncathartic, despite the dramatic finale:

Soft you; a word or two before you go.

I have done the state some service, and they know't

No more of that. I pray you, in your letters,

When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,

Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate,

Not set down aught in malice. (V.ii.333-343)

On the one hand, Othello is to Brabantio a noble warrior, as equipped in battle as his is in storytelling; on the other, Othello is the shifty deceiver, a sorcerer kidnapper, the "black ram" who humps the father's "white ewe." In other words, this is the Othello, Brabantio had assumed from the beginning: The beast, the savage, the non-human.

Damn'd as thou art, thou has enchanted her,

For I'll refer me to all things of sense,

If she in the chains of magic were not bound

Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy,

So opposite to marriage that she shunn'd

The wealthy curled darlings of our nation,

Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom

Of such a thing as thou - to fear, not to delight. (I.ii.63-71)

Othello's mistake is that in attempting to captivate Brabantio with honesty and with a cooperative voice and spirit, he only removes his sanctity of himself. He must subjugate himself not only to Brabantio but also the whole of Venice. Othello appropriates his own identity by a pre-arranged marginalization, whereupon he marginalizes himself, thus trafficking a body with many half-formed selves while seemingly never ailing the sores and wounds of his own nativity: "I fetch my life and being/ From men of royal siege" (I.ii.20-21). Caryl Phillips makes an interesting point: "There is no evidence of Othello having any black friends, eating any African foods, speaking any language than theirs… From what we are given it is clear that he denied, or at least did not cultivate his past." 

To completely refute A.C. Bradley's statement ("Othello is, in one sense of the word, by far the most romantic figure among Shakespeare's heeoes [Bradley, 139]), Othello's marriage is more or less out of the necessity of hybridity, a necessity for survivial. This is not romance. Marriage here is a means of blending. Othello's is not given the richest and most succulent language in the play only to succumb to the amateur's folly of excessive jealousy - as claimed by J.Y. McLendon. He acclimates his poetry (it is not a gift, but a labored mechanism), and succumbs to the vices of a pre-determining, harshly judgmental Venice (not from jealousy).As Habib states in his glorious Shakespeare and Race, "The made-over speech voice of the Othello subject is always monologic, closed ended, not inviting talk, but blocking it" (Habib, 137). The language he  employs (or borrows, really) accounts for a large degree of the outward self: Othello's presentation, though monologic and blocking, is also stunningly beautiful, poetically disturbing, and overwrought with pain:

The tyrant custom, most grave senators,

Hath made the flinty steel [couch] of war

My thrice-driven bed of down. I do agonize

A natural and prompt alacrity

I find in hardness; and do undertake

This present war against the Ottomites.

Most humbly therefore bending to your state,

I crave fit disposition for my wife,

Due reference of place and exhibition

With such accommodation and besort

As levels with her breeding. (I.iii.229-239)

Here, in the face of the majority (Othello against the Duke and the Senate who had moments before tabled issues of the Turkish fleet in Cyprus to administer the "proof" of the Othello-Desdemona union), Othello waxes poetic grace with a language not entirely his own, a language that cues a bending position. It is almost as if the language he has chosen is part of a larger rehabilitation to blend, to become a part of the hegemony already in full steam. The tragedy is that he damns himself (Habib, 123). The further Othello strives for identity, the less knowing he is of himself - lending himself bare to Iago's tricks. One could argue that it is not the Cassio-Desdemona coupling that seizes him in a rage, but a matter of his manhood, a matter of the emasculated post-colonial male member already in torment, a matter of the strategic act of hybridity gone wrong.

It is when Othello's post-colonial crouching position as the hybrid (neither standing tall, nor a footpath finished) finally undoes itself, and reaches its full height of exposure does he finally succumb under the weight of his own identity, a reversal of his own history - which at this point is too late.

Set you down this;

And say besides, that in Aleppo once,

Where a malignant and a turban'd Turk

Beat a Venetian and traduc'd the state,

I took by th' throat the circumcised dog 

And smote him - thus. 

(He stabs himself) (V.ii.351-356)

In the end, what is perhaps the most problematic piece of this rich character is the richness itself. The crook-and-dent qualities Othello possesses - the Moor, the exotic, the black man married to a white woman, the man whose presentation is so complex and perplexing to both audience and Venice, so grandiose, yet also so disjointed, troubled and fraught with self-contrasting hues, self-doubting motivations, so indebted to the self by battles of inner and provincial multiplicity, so rendered by the saturnalia of j'accuse! Venice - is such that the heart of the problem is too many complicated notions of Othello himself.

Othello and Psychoanalytical Theory:

Psychoanalysis is an effective technique of exploring repressed or unconscious impulses and anxieties, as well as internal conflict. This technique can often be quite effective when used on the characters in various fictional texts. By applying such a reading to the text, we can gain a much greater understanding of the characters, the ways their minds work, and the effect their thought patterns have on the themes portrayed in the drama. When performing a psychoanalytic reading of characters in a text, one must consider the various physically presented manifestations of their minds’ workings – just like in the psychoanalysis of ‘real’ people. These generally include signs such as resistance or transference of certain ideas or suggestions. This sort of behavior could indicate a deep-rooted subconscious aversion to the ideas being discussed.

The themes of jealousy, pride, and revenge have consistently interested scholars throughout Othello's critical history. With the development of psychoanalysis and its application to literary characters, twentieth-century critics have expanded on earlier interpretations of the play's three primary characters and suggested new explanations and motivations for their actions.

Interpretations of Othello's character are often negative, focusing on his pride and jealousy as fatal flaws. Robert Hapgood (1966) has described Othello as excessively self-righteous and judgemental and argued that the play should make viewers wary of their own tendencies to judge. Focusing his analysis on the play's structure, Larry S. Champion (1973) has written that Shakespeare's "economy of design" centers attention on the "destruction of character resulting from a lack of self-knowledge, … which is the consequence of the vanity of one's insistence on viewing everything through the distorting medium of his [Othello's] own self-importance." Othello's egocentricity, Champion argued, rendered him exceedingly susceptible to jealousy and fabrications concerning his wife. Other scholars have employed psychoanalytic theories in their interpretations of Othello's character. Stephen Reid (1968), for example, has suggested an unresolved Oedipus complex as the source of Othello's delusional jealousy. Reid argued that Othello's mother rejected him for his father and this "treachery" on her part led him to reject women. Similarly, Robert Rogers (1969) has viewed Othello as a composite character composed of conflicting tendencies and has identified the Oedipus complex as a primary factor in explaining Othello's behavior.

Opinion on the character of Desdemona has been sharply divided. While some critics have depicted her as an innocent, passive victim, others have described her as wanton, domineering, and at least partially responsible for her fate. Robert Dickes (1970) has contended that Desdemona is a domineering character who actively strives to achieve her ends and harbors an unconscious death-wish. As evidence of this nature, Dickes observes her wooing of Othello and her efforts to have Cassio reinstated and attributes the motivation for her actions—which ultimately lead to her death—to the Electra

complex. Desdemona, he argued, "chose as a love object a man representative of her father. Forced by the prompting of her superego, she then atoned for this incestuous choice by behaving in such a way as to make Othello even more certain in his jealousy." W. D. Adamson (1980), however, has interpreted Desdemona's "ambiguous-looking behavior" as a sign of her innocence and positive moral standing. He maintained that Othello is the "tragedy of an unworldly woman calumniated and murdered by … a sex-obsessed tyrant who insists on thinking the worst as she insists on the best." Other scholars who have centered their attention on Desdemona have sought to shift interpretation of the play away from the tragedy of an individual. Julian C. Rice (1974) has suggested that Desdemona resembles Othello more than she transcends him and that the play is primarily a tragedy of human nature, while Irene G. Dash (1981) has asserted that Othello is a study of the complexities of marriage.

One of the play's most perplexing characters, Iago's actions appear to lack a clear sense of motive. A dominant theme in Othello criticism, therefore, has been an effort to explain Iago's motivations. Some scholars, such as Daniel Stempel (1969), have conceded that Shakespeare's text does not offer a solution to the question of Iago's motives and was never intended to do so. Stempel has maintained that "Iago embodies the mystery of the evil will, an enigma which Shakespeare strove to realize, not to analyze." Many commentators, however, have contended that simply labeling Iago as the personification of evil does not do justice to Shakespeare's skills of character development. Fred West (1978), for instance, has suggested that Shakespeare created a profound and accurate portrait of a psychopath in Iago. As such, West continued, "Iago's only motivation is an immature urge toward instant pleasure." Gordon Ross Smith (1959) has maintained that Iago's" actions and his hatred of Desdemona—whose marriage usurped his place in Othello's affections—are attributable to his repressed homosexual feelings toward Othello and Cassio. Other critics, such as Leslie Y. Rabkin and Jeffrey Brown (1973), have argued that Iago is a sadist who suffers from a sense of hopelessness and self-contempt and that he attempts to deal with these emotions by projecting his feelings onto others and working to destroy their sense of peace and joy. "Tragedy resides in the heart of character," Smith concluded. "Its inescapable quality is justified by what responsibility each person ultimately carries for what he has become, but its tragic qualities derive from the helplessness of people to escape from what they essentially are.

Comparison of Othello with two other tragedies of Shakespeare:

The movement in Othello, from Venus to Cyprus is a movement from The City to the outpost, from organized society to a condition much closer to raw nature, and from collective life to the life of the solitary individual. This movement is also portrayed in King Lear when Lear moves from his palace and secure identity to the savage world of the heath where all values and all identities come into question.

The protagonists Othello and Macbeth, in the plays Othello and Macbeth respectively, are portrayed as superior men, possessing great courage and outward strength, heroes in war accustomed to commanding a force of men in battle; but both go awry in their personal lives when a different morality and sensitivity is required: Othello is consumed by jealousy and Macbeth, by ambition.

In the play's opening passages Macbeth is referred to as "brave Macbeth." Also he is described in battle by a soldier as "Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,/ which smok'd with bloody execution, Like valour's minion,/ Carv'd out his passage till he fac'd the slave;/ And fix'd his head upon our battlements." (I,ii.19-26) He is valour personified and is so ferocious that his sword seems to smoke. Similarly in Act II of Othello, his bravery and professional expertise is established by Montano in these words : I have served him, and the man commands/ like a full soldier”(Act II.i.38-39).

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