Othello #7

Before killing himself, Othello reflects on what he has done and how he wants the story to be told. He says, "must you speak / Of one that loved not wisely, but too well; / Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, / Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand, / Like the base of Judean, threw a pearl away / Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued / eyes, / Albeit unused to the melting mood, / Drops tears as fast as the Arabian trees / their medicinable gun" (V. ii. 403-412). He realizes that he has made a grave mistake in killing Desdemona but he takes responsibility for that action by blaming himself. He wants the people of Venice to hear this tale with his presented as a man who's immense love for Desdemona made him vulnerable to exploitation that caused him to commit the most unforgivable of acts. Othello has realized his wrongs and the cause of his downfall, but he also realizes that there is no longer a place for him on this planet, especially not in Venice. Othello's death shows how he upholds his dignity when put in a tough situation; he punishes himself the same way he would punish any other criminal and gives himself no special treatment.

Othello Act V, scene ii, lines 1-24

During his monologue, Othello struggles with the two facets Desdemona: the one he loved and the one that was unfaithful. He is still in love with the Desdemona he originally fell in love with, but he feels that she has a fatal error and must suffer because of it. He says, "Yet I'll not shed her blood, / Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow, / And smooth as monumental alabaster. / Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men" (V. ii. 3-6). Othello basks in Desdemona's beauty when he talks about why he will no kill her. He describes her as overwhelmingly white, symbolically representing her innocence through her beauty and the woman he fell in love with. He spends two and a half lines of the topic of not killing her, a full two on why he shouldn't kill her, yet he only spends one line on the topic of killing her with only half a line on why he should kill her. There is a clear disparity in how much time Othello spends talking about each option. Othello easily could have said something along the lines of "I won't kill her because she is too beautiful" and he would have spent a relatively even amount of time on each option. Instead, he describes her beauty and seems to get lost in it, going on and on, signaling that he still loves her. Also, the influence of reason and emotion in his decisions can be represented by the time he spends justifying each option. Othello spends more time justifying not killing Desdemona using his emotions in describing her beauty than he does justifying killing her when he simply says "else she'll betray more men." His justification of killing his wife is oddly absent of emotion, and the simple half-line of reason quickly overtakes the two lines of emotion in his decision, signifying the weight that emotion and reason have in his mind. Reason holds much more power in the mind of Othello than does emotion because although he may have a ton of emotional reasons not to do something, if he has just one small logical reason to do something, he will side with logic.

Othello #5: Venice and Cyprus

Toward the end of Act IV, scene i, Lodovico symbolizes Venice, order and justice, and the old Othello. Lodovico stands in contrast to everyone else he comes in contact with in Cyprus, the land of disorder. Lodovico comes bearing orders from Venice for Othello to return and Cassio to run Cyprus. However, the situation in Cyprus has changed so that Othello is no longer the God-like man that he used to be; he is now seemingly more human, and Cassio is no longer lieutenant. Lodovico cannot believe this new Othello that he is witnessing and goes on to say: "My lord, this would not be believed in Venice / Though I should swear I saw 't" (IV. i. 270-271). Lodovico himself cannot fathom that Othello has turned into a jealous man, but having seen it he must believe it. However, he, being representative of Venice, brings to light the fact that in the land of order they will never believe that Othello is no longer the logical, calm, and skilled orator that they once knew. The fact that would not be able to believe this change could be representative of the not only physical and social separation between Venice and Cyprus. While in Venice Othello was calm and God-like in his mannerisms, but being in Cyprus changes him to be a more emotional, out-of-control human being. The men of Venice, namely the Duke and Senators, are only used to living in a land of order and most likely could not fathom living in a place like Cyprus that has a social structure contrasting to that of Venice. Since these men cannot understand what life is like in Cyprus they cannot foresee changes in people like those in Othello. Due to this lack of foresight, it could be reasonably argued that the men of Venice are in no place to establish order in a society that they do not understand based upon how people act while in Venice.

Othello #4: Changes in Othello's Reactions to Conflict

During the first two acts of the play, Othello is portrayed as superhuman and superior to everyone else. When resolving conflicts, Othello shies away from violence and instead uses his superior orating skills and logic to gain respect and resolve conflicts. Othello seems to be a master of logic, and he is able to remain unemotional while making decisions. However, in Act III, Othello is portrayed as more emotional and more like an average man who succumbs to emotions. When dealing with Desdemona's potential infidelity, Othello continually asks to see then handkerchief and he vilifies her when she cannot produce it (III. iii. 59-113). Othello's tone in this situation is accusatory, yet Desdemona has no idea what she is being accused of. Othello responds emotionally to the potential of Desdemona being unfaithful, which contrasts the responses he had to conflicts while in Venice. In Venice, Othello uses logic to respond to unfriendly situations, but in Cyprus Othello responds emotionally. This change in Othello's reactions parallels the change in scenery where Venice represents order and Cyprus represents chaos.

Othello #3

Throughout the play Iago presents himself differently to every person, and very little is known about his for sure. However, through Iago's usage of multiple facades, the reader is able to see that he is a man who will stop at nothing to execute his maniacal plan. In Act II, scene iii the reader sees Iago present Cassio as the villain. However, Cassio is actually the gentleman that did not want to drink for fear of getting drunk, and Iago made Cassio drink so that he would be drunk and fall victim to Iago's plan. Iago tells Montano that Cassio is a drunkard and not fit to be lieutenant, which leads Montano to speculate that "perhaps [Othello] sees it not, or his good nature / prizes the virtue that appears in Cassio / And looks not on his evils" (II. iii. 139-141). Here the reader is presented with a bit of dramatic irony if they were to replace "Cassio" with "Iago." Since Iago has presented Cassio as the villain, Montano believes that Othello is blind to Cassio's faults. However, it is Iago's faults and evils that Othello, and everyone else, is blind to. Iago is consistently referred to as honest, which is in stark contrast to all of the lies he tells to get his way. Iago seems to be a master of deception in the way that he is able to turn the seemingly good and moral character into the villain, while he, the actual villain, escapes all suspicions.

Othello #2: Iago's Asides

In Act II, scene i of Shakespeare's Othello, Iago has two asides, each of which provide insight into his thoughts and schemes. The first of his asides starts at line 182 and ends at line 193 and is in response to seeing Cassio and Desdemona hold hands. Iago says that "with as little a web as this will I ensnare as / great a fly as Cassio" (II. i. 183-184). Here Iago hints at how he will get back at Othello and become lieutenant. Iago wants to use this hand hold to trap Cassio and become lieutenant. Iago also says that "I will / gyve thee in thine own courtship" (II. i. 184-185). Iago again hints at how he will use the hand hold for his own personal gain. This is just another way if Iago saying that he is going to trap Cassio from his own actions (the hand hold). Throughout the rest of the aside Iago makes comments about the hand hold he is observing and how said action is going to make his goal easy to accomplish. Iago's second aside of Act II, scene i is in response Othello and Desdemona's conversation and then kiss. Iago says: "O, you are well tuned now, / But I'll set down the pegs that make this music, / As honest as I am" (II. i. 218-220). Through his aside, Iago once again provides insight into his future actions through his thoughts. Iago uses a metaphor of a string instrument to symbolize his plan to destroy the love between Othello and Desdemona. In a string instruments the pegs are what hold the strings and keep the music in tune. If Iago were to lower the legs in the instrument, he would cause the music, metaphorically Othello and Desdemona's love, to become out of tune, and thus, he would cause their love to unravel at the seams. The part of the aside "as honest as I am" hints at how Iago is going to make his story sound like the truth, especially given Othello's keen view of Iago. Iago's asides are his thoughts and his thoughts are key to understanding Iago's motives and what he plans on doing throughout the play.

Othello #1: Iago's Motives

In Act I of Othello the reader is introduced to Iago and some of his schemes. Also, given that Othello is a tragedy and Iago is presented as the scheming villain, one could logically assume based on the information presented in Act I that the coming deaths in this tragedy will be set forth by Iago and his plans. Iago brings Roderigo to tell Brabantio about Othello and Desdemona's elopement and he conveniently leaves Brabantio and Roderigo to join Othello and warn him of the coming mob. However, before any of this happens Iago speaks about his anger towards Othello and gives some insight into why he will do what he does. While speaking with Roderigo, Othello says:

"I know my price, I am worth no worse a place ... Forsooth, a great arithmetician, / One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, ...That never set a squadron in the field, / Nor the division of a battle knows / More than a spinster ... Mere prattle without practice / Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had th' election; / And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof / At Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds / Christened and heathen, must be beleed and / calmed / By debitor and creditor. This countercaster, / He, in good time, must his lieutenant be. / And I God bless the mark, his Moorship's ancient" (I. i. 12-35).

Iago is extremely angry at Othello for choosing Cassio to be lieutenant rather than him. Iago feels that he is much more deserving than Cassio and that he has actually proved himself in battle, as opposed to Cassio. Othello passing over Iago for the lieutenant position seems to be the main source of all of Iago's anger which inspires his future actions. However, during his soliloquy that ends Act I, scene iii, Iago introduces another motive for his actions. He says, "I hate the Moor, / And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets / 'Has done my office. I know not if 't be true, / But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, / Will do as if surety" (I. iii. 429-433). Iago is aware of rumors that Othello slept with his wife and although he does not know if they are true, since he is already angry at the Moor, he has decided to operate under the assumption that the rumors are true. If one adds together the anger of being passed over for the important assignment of lieutenant with the anger of Othello sleeping with his wife, it can be understood why Iago is scheming to cause Othello pain.