The True Beast in Othello

3129 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Honour and reputation othello

The True Beast in Othello

"What is left when honor is lost?" This maxim from first century BC plays a pivotal role in Shakespeare’s play Othello. The question serves as a basis for the struggle between Othello and Iago. Both men are engaged in a battle over Othello’s honor. Iago is intent on destroying Othello’s sense of honor and reducing him to a bestial state. Iago views Othello as a beast masquerading in warrior’s dress. He wants to return Othello to what he believes to be his natural bestial state, and he realizes that to achieve this goal he must dupe Othello into violating his code of honor. Ironically, as Iago tries to unmask Othello’s bestiality, it is the beast within Iago that is exposed.

From the beginning of the play, Iago’s view of Othello as a beast is obvious. Iago repeatedly describes Othello in terms of animals. When Iago attempts to incite Brabantio’s anger, he does so by referring to Othello in vulgar, bestial terms. He says to Brabantio, "Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tuping your white ewe" (1.1.89-90). He continues with, "you’ll have your daughter cover’d with a Barbary horse; / you’ll have your nephews neigh to you; / you’ll have coursers for cousins and gennets for germans" (1.1.110-114). He even exclaims to Brabantio that "your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" (1.1.117-118).

Each of these animalistic phrases could be viewed only as Iago’s attempt to anger Brabantio if it were not for the fact that Iago also refers to Othello as an animal when he is alone. In his soliloquy at the end of Act 1, Iago says that Othello "will as tenderly be led by th’nose / As asses are" (1.3.395-936). He again refers to Othello as an ass in Act 2: "Make the Mo...

... middle of paper ...

...question, "What is left when honor is lost?" His answer comes from the mouth of Cassio: "Reputation, reputation, reputation! / O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial" (2.3.254-256).

Works Cited

Bandello, Matteo. "Certaine Tragicall Discourses of Bandello." Trans. Geoffrey Fenton.

Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. Ed. Geoffrey Bullough. Vol. 7.

New York: Columbia UP, 1973.

Cinthio, Giovanni. "Gli Hecatommithi." Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare.

Ed. Geoffrey Bullough. Vol. 7. New York: Columbia UP, 1973.

Physiologus. The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation From a Latin Bestiary of the

Twelfth Century. Ed. T. H. White. London: Jonathan Cape, 1954.

Shakespeare, William. "Othello." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. London: Collins, 1951.

Show More
Related

  • summary

    340 Words  | 1 Pages

    he developed three basic rules for himself. Collier had a chance to go on a trip to

    Read More

  • The Cause Of The Sumatra Tsunami

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    Predicting tsunamis is not a precise art; unlike some natural disasters, tsunamis are not climate based and do not happen during a particular season. In the case of the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami, an ocean-based sensors and a warning system in place could have been an enormous help. At the time of the tsunami, there were no ocean-based sensors in place in the Indian Ocean—which lead to a lack of knowledge of the tsunami, resulting in a lack of a plan to move to higher ground resulting in 230,000 were killed due to the Boxing Day

    Read More

  • Summary

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is a summary of the article "America's Black Press, 1914-1918" by Mark Ellis from the History Today. The purpose of this article is to display how America's black newspapers and communities reacted to the United States involvement in the First World War. Ellis begins the article explaining that when the First World War began April 17, a considerable amount of Americans were unsupportive of America's neglect to remain neutral. Among the many Americans who repudiated the idea of alliance with Britain, the black community had a more convoluted outlook on the war.

    Read More

  • Macbeth - The Breaking Ball Of Clay

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth rides in a hurry to get home on his horse to talk to Lady Macbeth about her thoughts on the matter. She is totally convinced that Macbeth should kill the king and take his thrown. However Malcolm, the King's son, has already been crowned Prince of Cumberland. Macbeth sees this and drops most thoughts of conspiracy. Lady Macbeth sees this and convinces herself to convince him to commit this crime. She uses a bombardment of arguments to do this against Macbeth. She questions his man hood, and talks about what she would do if she were in his position. Ruthlessly describing scenes of a hardened heart, Lady Macbeth becomes the major factor on Macbeth's decision.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Jealousy And Manipulation In Othello

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Othello, The Great Chain of being is seen through the antagonist Iago who extensively uses racial prejudice and animalistic language to dehumanise Othello as an animal or beast, purely because of his complexion. In the beginning of the play, Machiavellian Iago pursues to report and persuade Brabantio of Desdemona and Othello’s secret elopement in the middle of the night. Iago abruptly bellowed, “an old black ram….is tupping your ewe” (I.I.85-86). Metaphor has been used to add more offence to Iago’s directive insult of Othello by metaphorically, comparing him to a sexually, aggressive animal in a malevont phrase. The infusion of strong animalistic descriptive language and animal imagery is used to illustrate the hostility towards Othello’s ethnicity and both Desdemona’s and Othello’s interracial marriage to which causes the audience to instinctively analyse for the character’s weaknesses. Furthermore, Iago’s incorporation of animalistic terms allowed him to control his victims, to be more susceptible to his manipulation. In the later scenes, Iago’s manipulative character is further shown when he witnessed Cassio leaving Desdemona’s room without the acknowledgement of Othello, so he used this as an opportunity to report back to Othello by manipulating Desdemona having an affair with

    Read More

  • summary

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his speech entitled “because we can, we must” (University of Pennsylvania Almanac, 2004), Bono delivered his anecdotes and appeals, ushering the graduates to resolve the underlying conundrums. First, Bono humbly accepts the Doctor Degree of Law and recounts the educational experiences that he has acquired. Bono did not attend college; however, his acceptance enlightens the graduates that true education lies in rectifying mistakes in life than merely in books. Second, Bono proposes that commencement is a turning point for the would-be undergraduates, and that “big idea” is necessary to bring about the change. In other words, university education has equipped the graduates to tackle issues such as failures in government, global warming, and poverty in some regions. Speaking of poverty，Bono narrates his experiences in Africa which have shaped his persona as “a rock star with a cause”. Meanwhile, he praised the American spirit of “no problem we cannot fix”, from which he comments that we could solve all problems with efforts. Thus he encourages graduates to “betray the age”, meaning, to provoke revolutions and to explore and tackle the issues using creativity. Last, Bono reassures the graduates that arming with degree, they could combat the problems. To close his speech, Bono appeals that their generation is to undertake the responsibility of erecting a new world.

    Read More

  • The Misunderstood Iago of Othello

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fred West addresses the fact of Iago misrepresentation, “It is not sufficient to simply drape Iago in allegorical trappings and proclaim him Mister Evil or a Machiavel or a Vice. Such a limited view of Iago is an injustice to the complexity of his character, since Shakespeare’s studies in personality are acclaimed by psychologists for their accuracy and profundity” (27). West seems to be reminding us that just seeing Iago as the representation of evil within the play of “Othello” is the wrong way to paint him. Iago is a man wronged by Othello in the fact that he was not chosen to be Othello’s lieutenant, which is what put the dastardly idea into Iago’s head to trick them all and bring them to their knees. As Iago tells Roderigo within the first act and scene of “Othello”,

    Read More

  • Othello's Honor

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Othello:  The Destruction of Honor     In The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the “noble Moor” whose honor and innocence bring about his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this play Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othello’s embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding without any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal.

    Read More

  • Finding the Truth in the Situation

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Othello seems to have a really rough time finding the truth in people. The reasoning behind this is simply the way he acts around people. Although Othello is a cultural and racial outsider in Venice, his skill as a soldier and leader is nevertheless valuable and necessary. He is after all a man in high power and is respected for that simple fact. Essentially, the first impact that is made upon the reader of Othello is not one of high quality. He was called many names of which had to do mostly with his racial background some of these names include “the Moor” (I.i.57), “an old black ram” (I.i.88), and “a Barbary horse” (I.i.113). The two characters that begin the cruel introduction of Othello are two trusted comrades, one being Iago. Right from the start, Iago already begins the demise of Othello. Now since Othello made this decision to trust and simply see the good in everyone rather than the truth in everyone his life got turned upside down and started to take ...

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Othello - Character Development of Iago, Desdemona and Othello

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Insulting Othello, by referring to him solely by his race, Iago begins to show his machiavellian nature. When Othello is needed by Iago to fulfil his plans, he acts as though he is his friend. Iago has no qualms about his deceitful actions. In order to rile anger in Brabantio, he wakes him with the news that his daughter has married Othello:

    Read More

  • Summary

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Television has come a long way since it was first introduced. Originally, it was thought that the masses that watch television enjoyed the more simple shows that would tell you exactly what was going on from start to finish. In Steven Johnson’s article, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”, Johnson argues that this is actually not the case. In fact, Johnson argues that much more people enjoy shows that involve multi threading, or multiple plots that are all connected.

    Read More

  • The Tragedy of Othello

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Tragedy of Othello William Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, from the sixteenth century is an excellent example of Renaissance humanism. “A poet of unparalleled genius, Shakespeare emerged during the golden age of England under the rule of Elizabeth I.”(Fiero 3:98) He produced comedies, tragedies, romances and histories. According to Webster’s pocket dictionary, a tragedy is defined as a form of drama in which the protagonist comes to a disaster, as through a flaw in character, and in which the ending is usually marked by pity or sorrow. I would like to concentrate on the character Iago and the theme of deceit.

    Read More

  • Othello and Iago Comparison

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both characters can be viewed like this throughout Act 1. We immediately see Iago as representative of the very basest elements of humanity. He uses crude language. He swears: "S'blood"; "Zounds"; and uses crude sexual and animal images to taunt Brabantio: "an old black ram is tupping your white ewe" By using the agricultural term for breeding or mating two beasts, Iago reduces the act of love to a basic action. Othello, in contrast, uses gentle and tender terms to describe his affection, and never mentions it as simply a physical act.

    Read More

  • Iago’s Manipulation in Act One of Shakespeare's Othello

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    The events that occur in the first half of Act 1 are all in anticipation of the lead character Othello who we are not immediately introduced too. We learn Iago’s name in the second line of the play and Roderigo’s soon after, but Othello is not mentioned by his name once. Instead he is referred to as ‘he’, ‘him’ and is frequently described as ‘the moor’ (1.1.58) he is also described as having ‘thick lips’ (1.1.67) and later as being a ‘Barbary horse’ (1.1.111) is continuously described by his critics, mainly Iago, as a ‘moor’, demonstrating Iago’s frequently concerning nature of race and also portraying Othello as something of an alien. From this reference we are able to immediately understand Iago’s true feelings and motives for Othello.

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact of Gender Roles in Othello

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    Iago uses the implications of gender roles throughout the play. He creates doubt about Othello’s masculinity, and feeds off of the anxiety these observations create. Iago is not immune to the negative impact of gender standards that cannot be fulfilled. Mark Breitenberg describes these feelings as “…male, heterosexual jealousy – the anxiety and violence engendered in men by a patriarchal economy that constructs masculine identity” and explains these anxieties are “…dependent on the coercive and symbolic regulation of women’s sexuality” (377). Iago’s hatred of Othello is due to the insecurity he feels about his own masculinity and it causes him to feel jealousy towards Othello. As Karen Newman opines, “Othello both figures monstrosity and at the same time represents the white male norms the play encodes through Iago” (153). He is as a brutish, savage monster, but these negative traits can be warped into desirable ones by means of masculine stereotypes. Othello is large, strong, and a warrior. ...

    Read More

More about The True Beast in Othello

Open Document