Othello: the Concept of Love

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Othello: the Concept of Love

There are a variety of loves that exist between the different characters in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello. The most pure love, of course, is that of Desdemona for Othello. Let us in this essay examine the full range of “loves” available for the audience in this play.

Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants elaborates on the deep, pure love shared by the tragic hero and heroine of the drama:

The Senate scene should be studied carefully in order to reach an adequate appreciation of the frankly declared love of these newly wedded people. Only by realizing the great depth of their love can one grasp the enormity of Iago’s hideous crime against them. Some of the commentators tell us that it was a love in which one great soul called to another, but each reader must find his own evidence of such a love in the lines of the play. Careful study will convince him that theirs was a greater, deeper love than the impetuous love of Romeo and Juliet or the impassioned love of Antony and Cleopatra. (82)

Initially the play presents a very distorted type of love. Act 1 Scene 1 shows Roderigo, generous in his gifts to the ancient, questioning Iago’s love for the former, whose concern has been the wooing of Desdemona. Roderigo construes Iago’s love for him as based on the ancient’s hatred for the Moor. Thus the wealthy suitor says accusingly, “Thou told'st me thou didst hold him in thy hate.” And Iago responds, “Despise me, if I do not.” Partly out of hatred for the general and partly out of proving his faithfulness to Roderigo’s cause, Iago asserts in detail the reasons for his hatred of Othello, who has given the lieutenancy to Michael Cassio, a Florentine. Sec...

... middle of paper ...

...upon the scene, and Desdemona revives just enough to tell her friend that she dies a guiltless death. Her final words are ones of kindness for Othello, “Commend me to my kind lord: O, farewell!” Emilia exonerates Desdemona and accuses Iago of causing the murder. She actually gives her life for her lady since Iago stabs her to death for revealing the truth. Othello, grief-stricken by remorse for the tragic mistake he has made, stabs himself and dies on the bed next to his wife, his sorrow being as deep as his love for Desdemona prior to Iago’s machinations.

WORKS CITED

Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.

Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.

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