Shakespeare’s Othello illustrates the story of one man’s, Othello’s, self-destructive journey through vicious lies and slander surrounding his loved ones. Who is to blame for this? While the play focuses heavily on “Honest” Iago’s devious acts, Brabantio becomes the catalyst by warning Othello about Desdemona: “Look to her Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. / She has deceived her father, and may thee” (I. iii. 294-295).
The events occurring in others scenes in Act I lead Brabantio to speak that mind-morphing line to Othello. Brabantio wakes up abruptly by Roderigo and Iago telling Brabantio that his daughter, Desdemona, marries Moor Othello without Brabantio's blessing. Iago yells, “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe […]” (I.i. 90-91). The harsh wording creatively constructs nefarious imagery in both the audience’s and Brabantio’s minds. Othello’s and Desdemona’s open disregard for Venice’s laws casts both of them as morally corrupt in the eyes of Renaissance society. Like now, rules are not to be broken, but the people of Renaissance dealt with lawbreakers more severely than current society does now. Shakespeare by placing Brabantio in Othello serves as the opinions of the majority during the Renaissance towards Desdemona’s reckless behavior.
Brabantio, with just cause, takes the affairs of Othello and Desdemona to the Duke’s court in order to receive a just trial. Brabantio accuses Othello of witchcraft because Brabantio believes that his pure, fair Desdemona would never betray him on purpose easily:
She is abused, stol’n from me, and corrupted By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks; For nature so preposterously to err, Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense, ...
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...ry in an unorthodox fashion. If it were not for Brabantio’s negative outburst Othello’s small mind acquires no seeds of doubt towards his beloved wife Desdemona, and Shakespeare’s Othello premise ceases to exist.
Works Cited
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Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice" The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stanley Wells & |Gary Taylor. New York/London, W.W. Norton Company,1997. 2100-2174
Shakespeare, William, and Kim F. Hall. Othello, the Moor of Venice: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. Print.
... in himself he found it impossible that anybody else should do so. This insecurity proves his undoing. His positive self-image gone, he is left a choice between "the Moor" or nothingness. The moment Emilia realizes Othello is the murderer she reverts to calling him expressions connected to the negative image of "the Moor": "And you the blacker devil!...thou art a devil." (V, ii, 129, 131) He can't stand being this person, the only one society and the symbolic order can offer him. To construct his own identity has proven impossible. To be without an identity, a non-personn implies death. He chooses to free himself of this unwanted identity by stepping out of the social order and the language system by means of suicide.
The scene in which Othello and Brabantio argue their cases before the Duke is the culmination of the underlying conflict between Desdemona and Brabantio. Desdemona's direct part in the saga is less important than the effects of this conflict on Othello, who emerges an honorable and lawfully wedded man after his appearance before the Senate. However, the dubious nature of the marriage is to cause conflict later in the story, as Brabantio effectively disowns Desdemona and gives fuel to the gossip machine. Several times the fact that Othello stole Desdemona is given as proof that she can be stolen from him.
... One day he meets a girl, who happens to be his friend’s daughter, and falls in love. She falls in love with his stories and he falls in love with her passion. One troublemaker tries to cause problems by accusing Othello of stealing his friend’s daughter using drugs and witchcraft. All this happens after Othello and Desdemona gets married. Othello is put in the position of defending his honor, and Brabanzio in the position of defending his daughter’s honor. Iago is the villain who started the nasty rumor. Brabanzio is also a man who does not believe in mixed marriages and Othello was a black man. This is a story that does not end very well. Shakespeare tackles the issues of race, lies, friendship and jealousy.
From this point on, Othello insecurity manifests into a seemingly irrational fear of being cuckolded, and his self-perceived worth diminishes exponentially. Othello comments on the likelihood of Desdemona cheating, by explaining how it may be “for [he is] black / And have not those soft parts of conversation / That chamberers have…” (3.3.280-282) Othello’s frustration with the threat of being cuckolded puts strain on his relationship with Desdemona, and she quickly becomes a victim of domestic abuse. For example, Othello acts as an interrogator, demanding to see the handkerchief which he gave her that symbolizes faithfulness and commitment towards Othello. (Quotation) When she is unable to produce their symbol of trust, Othello’s anger manifests inside him. The audience is shown a stark contrast to Othello’s typically cool, collected and composted nature. This abrupt and irrational change in behaviour is emphasized when Othello strikes Desdemona in front of Lordovico, (4.1.245) Othello’s
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice (from Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, sixth edition. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.
Othello is the Cultural Other in Venetian society, and while he is very learned, it is probable that he is not fully aware of the social and cultural mores that govern Venice. As a Moor, Othello was reared outside Venice, and thus remains separate and exoticized. Although a great military man, and accepted by the elite of Venice, there is still a foreign-ness to him. The characters in the play, for the most part, call Othello "the Moor" (1. 1. 37, 1. 1. 161, 1. 2. 56). By calling Othello "the Moor," his proper name is taken away and he is left as an object. He is only accepted because of his military prowess, and seems to be used almost as a commodity; he is sent to Cyprus, with little warning--almost at the whim of the Duke. It is only because he is valuable to Venice that he is not punished for marrying the white Desdemona; Brabantio's anger is a clear indication that miscegenation is not an acceptable practice. Therefore, being a stranger to Venetian society, even a vague inkling that he is only a body used to fight may lead to insecurity that only exacerbates the deep-seeded, pre-existing ...
The role of jealousy, love and betrayal play a major role in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The entire play is based on the human interactions of the characters as related to Othello and Desdemona. The characters’ personalities, their social status, and their relationships to each other control the story line and their fate in the play. Othello is portrayed early in the play as an outsider with animalistic characteristics by Iago and Roderigo because of jealousy. “Your heart is burst; and have lost half of your soul/Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe”.(531) Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, accuses Othello of using witch craft on his daughter. “If she in chains of magic were not bound/ Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy/ So opposite to marriage that she shunned…” (535) This point is important because Othello must defend himself not only to Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, but to the entire Venetian Senate. “And till she come, as truly as to heaven,/ I do confess the vices of my blood./ So justly to your grave ears I’ll present/ How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love, / And she in mine.” (539) Othello proves himself to be an intellectual hero early in the play. He has worked hard to gain respectability and power, but because he has a different background, is from another country, is dark-skinned and is older than Desdemona, he becomes jealous very quickly of Cassio. Cassio is from the same social class, is compatible with Desdemona and is a young handsome man. Iago has also convinced Cassio to seek favor with Desdemo...
The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.
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