Tragedy

Shakespearean Tragedy

Tragedies may involve comedic moments, but tend towards more serious, dramatic plots with an
ending that involves the death of main characters. The main features of a Shakespearean Tragedy
are that:

- Characters become isolated or there is social breakdown

- Ends in death
- There is a sense that events are inevitable or inescapable
- Deals with misfortune
o The object of misfortune so represented is to purify our emotion with pity and terror
- There is usually a central figure who is noble but with a character flaw which leads them
towards their eventual downfall
o The person who suffers should be of higher stature (not necessarily virtuous)
- Characters should
o show abnormal conditions of mind- insanity
o face supernatural elements
o encounter chance or accidents
- The plays which are generally classed as Shakespearean Tragedy are: Macbeth, Hamlet,
Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Troilus and Cressida, Othello, Coriolanus,
King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, Timon of Athens and Cymbeline (this is debated, with some
scholars classifying it as a Comedy)
Characteristics of the Shakespearean Play
Unity, Time, and Place:
The dramatic form of classical tragedy derives from the tragic plays of ancient Athens, which
depicted the downfall of a hero or famous character of Greek legend. The hero would struggle
against overwhelming fate, and his defeat would be so noble that he wins the moral victory over the
forces that destroy him. A tragedy evoked pity and terror in the audience; it was a catharsis, or
washing clean of the soul, which left the spectator trembling but purified.
Aristotle proposed the tragic unities of Place, Time, and Action, that is, the whole tragedy would take
place in a single location, for example a house or a city square (this included messengers who came
in from elsewhere), it would happen during the course of one day (including speeches about events
which had happened in the past), and it would be a single story, without sub- plots.
Compared with these strict rules, Shakespeare's tragedy is a more relaxed genre, but Othello much
more than, for example, the sprawling Hamlet, observes the spirit of Aristotle. Othello, apart from
Act I in Venice, is located entirely within the fortress at Cyprus. Although logically the play covers an
unspecified time lapse of, we presume, two or three weeks, it proceeds, more or less, by major
scenes through the hours of the day, starting in Venice with the elopement after midnight, the
Senate meeting at dawn, then at Cyprus with the morning storm and afternoon landings and
developments, the fateful drinking party in the early evening and the murder at bed time. This is not
to say that everything happens in the same day; it obviously cannot, but the impression is of an
abstract day unfolding.
The plot is fairly unified, focusing on Othello and his fate, and dealing with other people and events
only in so far as they are relevant to this focus. Othello is about as near as Shakespeare gets to
classical tragedy.
The Tragic Flaw:
A. C. Bradley saw Shakespearean tragedy characterized by the "tragic flaw," the internal
imperfection in the hero that brings him down. His downfall becomes his own doing, and he is no
longer, as in classical tragedy, the helpless victim of fate. Some say that Othello's tragic flaw was
jealousy which flared at suspicion and rushed into action unchecked by calm common sense. A more
modern interpretation would say that Othello's tragic flaw was that he had internalized, that is taken
into himself, the prejudices of those who surrounded him. In his heart he had come to believe what
they believed: that a black man is an unattractive creature, not quite human, unworthy of love.
Thinking this, he could not believe that Desdemona could truly love him for himself. Her love must
be a pretense, or a flawed and corrupted emotion. Iago hinted at these ideas, and Othello rushed to
accept them, because they echoed his deepest fears and insecurities.
The Play's 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.

Othello

Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed
to have been written in 1603. It is based on the story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain")
by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. The story revolves around its two central
characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army and his unfaithful ensign, Iago. Given its
varied and enduring themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and repentance, Othello is
still often performed in professional and community theatre alike, and has been the source for
numerous operatic, film, and literary adaptations.

Plot Overview
Othello begins on a street in Venice, in the midst of an argument between Roderigo, a rich man, and
Iago. Roderigo has been paying Iago to help him in his suit to Desdemona. But Roderigo has just
learned that Desdemona has married Othello, a general whom Iago begrudgingly serves as ensign.
Iago says he hates Othello, who recently passed him over for the position of lieutenant in favour of
the inexperienced soldier Michael Cassio.

Unseen, Iago and Roderigo cry out to Brabanzio that his daughter Desdemona has been stolen by
and married to Othello, the Moor. Brabanzio finds that his daughter is indeed missing, and he
gathers some officers to find Othello. Not wanting his hatred of Othello to be known, Iago leaves
Roderigo and hurries back to Othello before Brabanzio sees him. At Othello’s lodgings, Cassio arrives
with an urgent message from the duke: Othello’s help is needed in the matter of the imminent
Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Not long afterward, Brabanzio arrives with Roderigo and others, and
accuses Othello of stealing his daughter by witchcraft. When he finds out that Othello is on his way
to speak with the duke, -Brabanzio decides to go along and accuse Othello before the assembled
senate.

Brabanzio’s plan backfires. The duke and senate are very sympathetic toward Othello. Given a
chance to speak for himself, Othello explains that he wooed and won Desdemona not by witchcraft
but with the stories of his adventures in travel and war. The duke finds Othello’s explanation
convincing, and Desdemona herself enters at this point to defend her choice in marriage and to
announce to her father that her allegiance is now to her husband. Brabanzio is frustrated, but
acquiesces and allows the senate meeting to resume. The duke says that Othello must go to Cyprus
to aid in the defence against the Turks, who are headed for the island. Desdemona insists that she
accompany her husband on his trip, and preparations are made for them to depart that night.

In Cyprus the following day, two gentlemen stand on the shore with Montano, the governor of
Cyprus. A third gentleman arrives and reports that the Turkish fleet has been wrecked in a storm at
sea. Cassio, whose ship did not suffer the same fate, arrives soon after, followed by a second ship
carrying Iago, Roderigo, Desdemona, and Emilia, Iago’s wife. Once they have landed, Othello’s ship is
sighted, and the group goes to the harbour. As they wait for Othello, Cassio greets Desdemona by
clasping her hand. Watching them, Iago tells the audience that he will use “as little a web as this”
hand-holding to ensnare Cassio (II.i.169).

Othello arrives, greets his wife, and announces that there will be revelling that evening to celebrate
Cyprus’s safety from the Turks. Once everyone has left, Roderigo complains to Iago that he has no
chance of breaking up Othello’s marriage. Iago assures Roderigo that as soon as Desdemona’s
“blood is made dull with the act of sport,” she will lose interest in Othello and seek sexual
satisfaction elsewhere (II.i.222). However, Iago warns that “elsewhere” will likely be with Cassio.
Iago counsels Roderigo that he should cast Cassio into disgrace by starting a fight with Cassio at the
evening’s revels. In a soliloquy, Iago explains to the audience that eliminating Cassio is the first
crucial step in his plan to ruin Othello. That night, Iago gets Cassio drunk and then sends Roderigo to
start a fight with him. Apparently provoked by Roderigo, Cassio chases Roderigo across the stage.
Governor Montano attempts to hold Cassio down, and Cassio stabs him. Iago sends Roderigo to raise
alarm in the town.

The alarm is rung, and Othello, who had left earlier with plans to consummate his marriage, soon
arrives to still the commotion. When Othello demands to know who began the fight, Iago feigns
reluctance to implicate his “friend” Cassio, but he ultimately tells the whole story. Othello then strips
Cassio of his rank of lieutenant. Cassio is extremely upset, and he laments to Iago, once everyone
else has gone, that his reputation has been ruined forever. Iago assures Cassio that he can get back
into Othello’s good graces by using Desdemona as an intermediary. In a soliloquy, Iago tells us that
he will frame Cassio and Desdemona as lovers to make -Othello jealous.

In an attempt at reconciliation, Cassio sends some musicians to play beneath Othello’s window.
Othello, however, sends his clown to tell the musicians to go away. Hoping to arrange a meeting
with Desdemona, Cassio asks the clown, a peasant who serves Othello, to send Emilia to him. After
the clown departs, Iago passes by and tells Cassio that he will get Othello out of the way so that
Cassio can speak privately with Desdemona. Othello, Iago, and a gentleman go to examine some of
the town’s fortifications.

Desdemona is quite sympathetic to Cassio’s request and promises that she will do everything she
can to make Othello forgive his former lieutenant. As Cassio is about to leave, Othello and Iago
return. Feeling uneasy, Cassio leaves without talking to Othello. Othello inquires whether it was
Cassio who just parted from his wife, and Iago, beginning to kindle Othello’s fire of jealousy, replies,
“No, sure, I cannot think it, / That he would steal away so guilty-like, / Seeing your coming” ([Link].37–
39).

Othello becomes upset and moody, and Iago furthers his goal of removing both Cassio and Othello
by suggesting that Cassio and Desdemona are involved in an affair. Desdemona’s entreaties to
Othello to reinstate Cassio as lieutenant add to Othello’s almost immediate conviction that his wife
is unfaithful. After Othello’s conversation with Iago, Desdemona comes to call Othello to supper and
finds him feeling unwell. She offers him her handkerchief to wrap around his head, but he finds it to
be “[t]oo little” and lets it drop to the floor ([Link].291). Desdemona and Othello go to dinner, and
Emilia picks up the handkerchief, mentioning to the audience that Iago has always wanted her to
steal it for him.

Iago is ecstatic when Emilia gives him the handkerchief, which he plants in Cassio’s room as
“evidence” of his affair with Desdemona. When Othello demands “ocular proof” ([Link].365) that his
wife is unfaithful, Iago says that he has seen Cassio “wipe his beard” ([Link].444) with Desdemona’s
handkerchief—the first gift Othello ever gave her. Othello vows to take vengeance on his wife and
on Cassio, and Iago vows that he will help him. When Othello sees Desdemona later that evening, he
demands the handkerchief of her, but she tells him that she does not have it with her and attempts
to change the subject by continuing her suit on Cassio’s behalf. This drives Othello into a further
rage, and he storms out. Later, Cassio comes onstage, wondering about the handkerchief he has just
found in his chamber. He is greeted by Bianca, a prostitute, whom he asks to take the handkerchief
and copy its embroidery for him.

Through Iago’s machinations, Othello becomes so consumed by jealousy that he falls into a trance
and has a fit of epilepsy. As he writhes on the ground, Cassio comes by, and Iago tells him to come
back in a few minutes to talk. Once Othello recovers, Iago tells him of the meeting he has planned
with Cassio. He instructs Othello to hide nearby and watch as Iago extracts from Cassio the story of
his affair with Desdemona. While Othello stands out of earshot, Iago pumps Cassio for information
about Bianca, causing Cassio to laugh and confirm Othello’s suspicions. Bianca herself then enters
with Desdemona’s handkerchief, reprimanding Cassio for making her copy out the embroidery of a
love token given to him by another woman. When Desdemona enters with Lodovico and Lodovico
subsequently gives Othello a letter from Venice calling him home and instating Cassio as his
replacement, Othello goes over the edge, striking Desdemona and then storming out.

That night, Othello accuses Desdemona of being a whore. He ignores her protestations, seconded by
Emilia, that she is innocent. Iago assures Desdemona that Othello is simply upset about matters of
state. Later that night, however, Othello ominously tells Desdemona to wait for him in bed and to
send Emilia away. Meanwhile, Iago assures the still-complaining Roderigo that everything is going as
planned: in order to prevent Desdemona and Othello from leaving, Roderigo must kill Cassio. Then
he will have a clear avenue to his love.

Iago instructs Roderigo to ambush Cassio, but Roderigo misses his mark and Cassio wounds him
instead. Iago wounds Cassio and runs away. When Othello hears Cassio’s cry, he assumes that Iago
has killed Cassio as he said he would. Lodovico and Graziano enter to see what the commotion is
about. Iago enters shortly thereafter and flies into a pretend rage as he “discovers” Cassio’s assailant
Roderigo, whom he murders. Cassio is taken to have his wound dressed.

Meanwhile, Othello stands over his sleeping wife in their bedchamber, preparing to kill her.
Desdemona wakes and attempts to plead with Othello. She asserts her innocence, but Othello
smothers her. Emilia enters with the news that Roderigo is dead. Othello asks if Cassio is dead too
and is mortified when Emilia says he is not. After crying out that she has been murdered,
Desdemona changes her story before she dies, claiming that she has committed suicide. Emilia asks
Othello what happened, and Othello tells her that he has killed Desdemona for her infidelity, which
Iago brought to his attention.

Montano, Graziano, and Iago come into the room. Iago attempts to silence Emilia, who realizes what
Iago has done. At first, Othello insists that Iago has told the truth, citing the handkerchief as
evidence. Once Emilia tells him how she found the handkerchief and gave it to Iago, Othello is
crushed and begins to weep. He tries to kill Iago but is disarmed. Iago kills Emilia and flees, but he is
caught by Lodovico and Montano, who return holding Iago captive. They also bring Cassio, who is
now in a chair because of his wound. Othello wounds Iago and is disarmed. Lodovico tells Othello
that he must come with them back to Venice to be tried. Othello makes a speech about how he
would like to be remembered, then kills himself with a sword he had hidden on his person. The play
closes with a speech by Lodovico. He gives Othello’s house and goods to Graziano and orders that
Iago be executed.

Characters of the play Othello

Othello
The play’s protagonist and hero. Othello is the highly respected general of the armies of Venice,
although he is not a native of Venice but rather a Moor, or North African. He is an eloquent and
powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status, Othello is
nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his self-
consciousness about being a racial and cultural outsider. He possesses a free and open nature that
his ensign Iago exploits to twist Othello’s love for his wife, Desdemona, into a powerful and
destructive jealousy.

Desdemona
The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married
before the play begins. While in some ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also
determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting bawdily
with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy.

Iago
Othello’s ensign (a senior position also known as “ancient” or “standard-bearer”), a twenty-eight-
year-old military veteran from Venice. Iago is the villain of the play. Although he is obsessive,
relentless, bold, and ingenius in his efforts to manipulate and deceive the other characters—
particularly Othello—Iago’s motivations are notoriously murky. At various points in the play, he
claims to be motivated by different things: resentment that Othello passed him over for a promotion
in favor of Michael Cassio; jealousy because he heard a rumor that Othello slept with Iago’s wife,
Emilia; suspicion that Cassio slept with Emilia too. Iago gives the impression that he’s tossing out
plausible motivations as he thinks of them, and that we’ll never understand what really drives his
villainy. He hates women and is obsessed with other people’s sex lives.

Michael Cassio
Othello’s lieutenant, or second-in-command. Cassio is highly educated but young and inexperienced
in battle. Iago resents Cassio’s high position and dismisses him as a bookkeeper. Truly devoted to
Othello, Cassio is ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place
as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and flirtatious manner with women to play on
Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s fidelity.

Emilia
Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. A cynical, worldly woman, Emilia is deeply attached to her
mistress and distrustful of her husband.

Roderigo
A jealous suitor of Desdemona. Young, rich, and foolish, Roderigo is convinced that if he gives Iago
all of his money, Iago will help him win Desdemona’s hand. Repeatedly frustrated as Othello marries
Desdemona and then takes her to Cyprus, Roderigo is ultimately desperate enough to agree to help
Iago kill Cassio after Iago points out that Cassio is another potential rival for Desdemona.

Bianca
A courtesan, or prostitute, in Cyprus. Bianca’s favorite customer is Cassio, who teases her with
promises of marriage but laughs at her behind her back.

Brabantio
Desdemona’s father, a somewhat blustering and self-important Venetian senator. As a friend of
Othello, Brabantio feels betrayed when the general marries his daughter in secret.

Duke of Venice
The official authority in Venice, the duke has great respect for Othello as a public and military
servant. His primary role within the play is to make Othello tell his story of how he wooed
Desdemona, and then to send Othello to Cyprus.

Montano
The governor of Cyprus before Othello. We see Montano first in Act Two, as he recounts the status
of the war and awaits the Venetian ships.

Lodovico
One of Brabantio’s kinsmen, Lodovico acts as a messenger from Venice to Cyprus. He arrives in
Cyprus in Act Four with letters announcing that Cassio is to replace Othello as governor.

Graziano
Brabantio’s kinsman who accompanies Lodovico to Cyprus. Amidst the chaos of the play’s final
scene, Graziano mentions that Desdemona’s father has died.

Clown
Othello’s servant. Although the clown appears only in two short scenes, his jokes reflect and distort
the action and words of the main plots: his puns on the word “lie” in Act Three, scene 4, for
example, anticipate Othello’s confusion of two meanings of that word in Act Four, scene 1.
 Important Quotations Explained

- Were I the Moor I would not be Iago. In following him I follow but myself; heaven is my
judge, not I for love and duty, but seeming so for my peculiar end. For when my outward
action doth demonstrate the native act and figure of my heart in compliment extern, ’tis not
long after but I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at. I am not what I am.
(I.i.57–65)

In this early speech, Iago explains his tactics to Roderigo. He follows Othello not out of “love” or
“duty,” but because he feels he can exploit and dupe his master, thereby revenging himself upon the
man he suspects of having slept with his wife. Iago finds that people who are what they seem are
foolish. The day he decides to demonstrate outwardly what he feels inwardly, Iago explains, will be
the day he makes himself most vulnerable: “I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck
at.” His implication, of course, is that such a day will never come.

This speech exemplifies Iago’s cryptic and elliptical manner of speaking. Phrases such as “Were I the
Moor I would not be Iago” and “I am not what I am” hide as much as, if not more than, they reveal.
Iago is continually playing a game of deception, even with Roderigo and the audience. The paradox
or riddle that the speech creates is emblematic of Iago’s power throughout the play: his smallest
sentences (“Think, my lord?” in [Link].109) or gestures (beckoning Othello closer in Act IV, scene i)
open up whole worlds of interpretation.

- My noble father, I do perceive here a divided duty. To you I am bound for life and education.
My life and education both do learn me how to respect you. You are the lord of my duty, I am
hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband, and so much duty as my mother showed to
you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess due to the Moor
my lord. ([Link].179–188)

These words, which Desdemona speaks to her father before the Venetian senate, are her first of the
play. Her speech shows her thoughtfulness, as she does not insist on her loyalty to Othello at the
expense of respect for her father, but rather acknowledges that her duty is “divided.” Because
Desdemona is brave enough to stand up to her father and even partially rejects him in public, these
words also establish for the audience her courage and her strength of conviction. Later, this same
ability to separate different degrees and kinds of affection will make Desdemona seek, without
hesitation, to help Cassio, thereby fueling Othello’s jealousy. Again and again, Desdemona speaks
clearly and truthfully, but, tragically, Othello is poisoned by Iago’s constant manipulation of language
and emotions and is therefore blind to Desdemona’s honesty.

- Haply for I am black, and have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have; or
for I am declined into the vale of years—yet that’s not much— she’s gone. I am abused, and
my relief must be to loathe her. O curse of marriage, that we can call these delicate
creatures ours And not their appetites! I had rather be a toad and live upon the vapor of a
dungeon than keep a corner in the thing I love for others’ uses. Yet ’tis the plague of great
ones; prerogatived are they less than the base. ’Tis destiny unshunnable, like death.
([Link].267–279)
When, in Act I, scene iii, Othello says that he is “rude” in speech, he shows that he does not really
believe his own claim by going on to deliver a lengthy and very convincing speech about how he won
Desdemona over with his wonderful storytelling ([Link].81). However, after Iago has raised Othello’s
suspicions about his wife’s fidelity, Othello seems to have at least partly begun to believe that he is
inarticulate and barbaric, lacking “those soft parts of conversation / That chamberers [those who
avoid practical labor and confine their activities to the ‘chambers’ of ladies] have.” This is also the
first time that Othello himself, and not Iago, calls negative attention to either his race or his age. His
conclusion that Desdemona is “gone” shows how far Iago’s insinuations about Cassio and
Desdemona have taken Othello: in a matter of a mere 100 lines or so, he has progressed from belief
in his conjugal happiness to belief in his abandonment.

The ugly imagery that follows this declaration of abandonment—Othello finds Desdemona to be a
mere “creature” of “appetite” and imagines himself as a “toad” in a “dungeon”—anticipates his later
speech in Act IV, scene ii, in which he compares Desdemona to a “cistern for foul toads / To knot and
gender in,” and says that she is as honest “as summer flies are in the shambles [slaughterhouses], /
That quicken even with blowing” ([Link].63–64, 68–69). Othello’s comment, “’tis the plague of great
ones,” shows that the only potential comfort Othello finds in his moment of hopelessness is his
success as a soldier, which proves that he is not “base.” He attempts to consider his wife’s purported
infidelity as an inevitable part of his being a great man, but his comfort is halfhearted and
unconvincing, and he concludes by resigning himself to cuckoldry as though it were “death.”

- I am glad I have found this napkin. This was her first remembrance from the Moor, my
wayward husband hath a hundred times wooed me to steal it, but she so loves the token—
for he conjured her she should ever keep it— that she reserves it evermore about her to kiss
and talk to. I’ll ha’ the work ta’en out, and give’t Iago. What he will do with it, heaven
knows, not I. I nothing, but to please his fantasy. ([Link].294–303)

This speech of Emilia’s announces the beginning of Othello’s “handkerchief plot,” a seemingly
insignificant event—the dropping of a handkerchief—that becomes the means by which Othello,
Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, Emilia, and even Iago himself are completely undone. Before Othello
lets the handkerchief fall from his brow, we have neither heard of nor seen it. The primary function
of Emilia’s speech is to explain the prop’s importance: as the first gift Othello gave Desdemona, it
represents their oldest and purest feelings for one another.

While the fact that Iago “hath a hundred times / Wooed me to steal it” immediately tips off the
audience to the handkerchief’s imminently prominent place in the tragic sequence of events, Emilia
seems entirely unsuspicious. To her, the handkerchief is literally a trifle, “light as air,” and this is
perhaps why she remains silent about the handkerchief’s whereabouts even when Desdemona
begins to suffer for its absence. It is as though Emilia cannot, or refuses to, imagine that her husband
would want the handkerchief for any devious reason. Many critics have found Emilia’s silence about
the handkerchief—and in fact the entire handkerchief plot—a great implausibility, and it is hard to
disagree with this up to a point. At the same time, however, it serves as yet another instance in
which Iago has the extraordinary power to make those around him see only what they want to see,
and thereby not suspect what is obviously suspicious.

- Then 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 Indian, threw a
 pearl away Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued eyes, Albeit unused to the melting
mood, Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees their medicinable gum. Set you down this, And
say besides that in Aleppo once, where a malignant and a turbaned Turk beat a Venetian
and traduced the state, I took by th’ throat the circumcised dog and smote him thus.
([Link].341-354)

Ans: With these final words, Othello stabs himself in the chest. In this farewell speech, Othello
reaffirms his position as a figure who is simultaneously a part of and excluded from Venetian society.
The smooth eloquence of the speech and its references to “Arabian trees,” “Aleppo,” and a
“malignant and a turbaned Turk” remind us of Othello’s long speech in Act I, scene iii, lines 127–168,
and of the tales of adventure and war with which he wooed Desdemona. No longer inarticulate with
grief as he was when he cried, “O fool! fool! fool!,” Othello seems to have calmed himself and
regained his dignity and, consequently, our respect ([Link].332). He reminds us once again of his
martial prowess, the quality that made him famous in Venice. At the same time, however, by killing
himself as he is describing the killing of a Turk, Othello identifies himself with those who pose a
military—and, according to some, a psychological—threat to Venice, acknowledging in the most
powerful and awful way the fact that he is and will remain very much an outsider. His suicide is a
kind of martyrdom, a last act of service to the state, as he kills the only foe he has left to conquer:
himself.

Q. Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello. / Themes are
central to understanding Othello as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political
commentary. / In Othello, the major themes reflect the values and the motivations of characters.

Ans. The following themes have been discussed in the play:

Love:

In Othello, love is a force that overcomes large obstacles and is tripped up by small ones. It is
eternal, yet derail-able. It provides Othello with intensity but not direction and gives Desdemona
access to his heart but not his mind. Types of love and what that means are different between
different characters.

Othello finds that love in marriage needs time to build trust, and his enemy works too quickly for
him to take that time. The immediate attraction between the couple works on passion, and
Desdemona builds on that passion a steadfast devotion whose speed and strength Othello cannot
equal.

Iago often falsely professes love in friendship for Roderigo and Cassio and betrays them both. For
Iago, love is leverage. Desdemona's love in friendship for Cassio is real but is misinterpreted by the
jealous Othello as adulterous love. The true friendship was Emilia's for Desdemona, shown when she
stood up witness for the honor of her dead mistress, against Iago, her lying husband, and was killed
for it.

Appearance and Reality:

Appearance and reality are important aspects in Othello. For Othello, seeing is believing, and proof
of the truth is visual. To "prove" something is to investigate it to the point where its true nature is
revealed. Othello demands of Iago "Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore, be sure of it, give
me the ocular proof" (Act 3, Scene 3).

What Iago gives him instead is imaginary pictures of Cassio and Desdemona to feed his jealousy. As
Othello loses control of his mind, these pictures dominate his thoughts. He looks at Desdemona's
whiteness and is swept up in the traditional symbolism of white for purity and black for evil.
Whenever he is in doubt, that symbolism returns to haunt him and despite his experience, he cannot
help but believe it.

Jealousy:

Jealousy is what appears to destroy Othello. It is the emotion suggested to him by Iago in Act 3,
Scene 3. Iago thinks he knows jealousy, having rehearsed it in his relationship with Emilia to the
extent that Emilia believes jealousy is part of the personality of men, but Iago's jealously is a poor,
weak thought compared to the storm of jealousy he stirs up in Othello.

Iago has noticed Othello's tendency to insecurity and overreaction, but not even Iago imagined
Othello would go as far into jealousy as he did. Jealousy forces Othello's mind so tightly on one idea,
the idea that Desdemona has betrayed him with Cassio, that no other assurance or explanation can
penetrate. Such an obsession eclipses Othello's reason, his common sense, and his respect for
justice.

Up to the moment he kills Desdemona, Othello's growing jealousy maddens him past the recall of
reason. Upon seeing that she was innocent and that he killed her unjustly, Othello recovers. He can
again see his life in proportion and grieve at the terrible thing he has done. Once again, he speaks
with calm rationality, judging and condemning and finally executing himself.

Prejudice:

Iago's scheme would not have worked without the underlying atmosphere of racial prejudice in
Venetian society, a prejudice of which both Desdemona and Othello are very aware. Shakespeare's
Desdemona copes with prejudice by denying it access to her own life. Her relationship with Othello
is one of love, and she is deliberately loyal only to her marriage.

Othello, however, is not aware how deeply prejudice has penetrated into his own personality. This
absorbed prejudice undermines him with thoughts akin to "I am not attractive," "I am not worthy of
Desdemona," "It cannot be true that she really loves me," and "If she loves me, then there must be
something wrong with her."

These thoughts, inflamed by Iago's hints and lies, prevent Othello from discussing his concerns and
fears directly with Desdemona, and so he acts on panicked assumption. In order to survive the
combined onslaught of internalized prejudice and the directed venom of Iago, Othello would have
had to be near perfect in strength and self-knowledge, and that is not fair demand for anyone.

Q. Explore the different symbols within William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello. / Symbols are
central to understanding Othello as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political
commentary.

Ans: The following are the symbols discussed in the play:

Handkerchief:

The significance of red is love, red strawberries like red hearts on the love token handkerchief, and
like the red stains from Othello and Desdemona's first night of love on the marriage sheets. Such red
on white is private and dear to the heart of Othello, and he expects it to be similarly dear to his wife.
It is the belief that Desdemona gave away his handkerchief, and the sexually implications of the gift,
that drives him to kill her.

The most dominant symbol in the play is the handkerchief that circulates throughout the play. That's
right: in one of the world's most famous tragedies, the #1 symbol is not something super-dramatic
like a throne or a sword, but a measly (pardon our French) snot-rag.

Because Othello gave it to Desdemona as a first gift, the handkerchief functions as a token of his
love, which Desdemona cherishes:

EMILIA: I am glad I have found this napkin. This was her first remembrance from the Moor. My
wayward husband hath a hundred times wooed me to steal it. But she so loves the token (For he
conjured her she should ever keep it) that she reserves it evermore about her to kiss and talk to. I'll
have the work ta'en out and give 't Iago. What he will do with it heaven knows, not I. I nothing but to
please his fantasy. (3.3.334-343)

This is why Iago convinces his wife to steal it from Desdemona—he knows that it has a lot of
sentimental value and that Othello will be angry when he finds out his wife no longer has it.

Iago also knows that, for Othello, the handkerchief symbolizes Desdemona's fidelity. When it shows
up in Cassio's possession, Othello is convinced that Desdemona is unfaithful. The white napkin, as
we know, is spotted with red strawberries, and Othello tells Desdemona that the strawberries were
hand stitched with thread that has been dyed with blood from "maidens' hearts" or, virgins' blood
(3.4.87).

In this way, the handkerchief resembles a white wedding sheet that's also been stained with a
virgin's blood. (Again: eew.) So, in Othello's mind, as long as Desdemona has the handkerchief in her
possession, she's chaste. But the moment she "loses it," she loses her chastity.

The handkerchief also seems to function as a symbol of Othello's mysterious past and his
"exoticness." He tells Desdemona that an Egyptian "charmer" gave it to his mother and that it would
keep his father under her spell (3.4.67). That such a small object has such enormous weight in the
play testifies to the sensitivity of jealous minds, and the way that small incidents can be magnified
psychologically into "proofs" of love or betrayal.

Candle:

The candle Othello blows out just before he murders Desdemona symbolizes him extinguishing her
life.

Animals:

Beginning in Act 1, Scene 1, Iago introduces the animalistic imagery. According to Iago, there is
something bestial and animalistic about Othello ("The old black ram"); he's base and beastly,
somehow beneath everyone else in Venice because of his North African heritage. The animal
imagery permeates the play, often referring to Othello's "otherness."

Location:

Shakespeare often uses different locations to represent mindsets. In Othello, Venice represents
civilization, while Cyprus symbolizes the wilderness. The idea is that what happened in the Cyprus
never would happen in the civilized city of Venice.

Honesty:

By poet and literary critic William Empson's count, there are fifty-two uses of "honest" and
"honesty" throughout the play. Like the word "nothing" in King Lear, "honest" has a wide range of
meanings in Othello. At times, it refers to chastity, the question of whether a woman is "honest" or
whether she is promiscuous. At other times, the word refers to personal honesty: whether or not a
person is telling the truth. It can also refer to whether or not a person is a good and loving friend—to
be fair, if a person isn't honest, they're probably not that great of a friend.

These meanings come together in some ironic ways throughout the play. The clearest example of
this is how Iago uses personal dishonesty (lies and deceit) to convince Othello that his wife is
sexually dishonest (cheating on her husband), all while pretending to be looking out for the best
interests of his so-called friend.

Iago plays the martyr when Othello warns him that he, Iago, better not be lying about Desdemona:

IAGO: —O wretched fool, that liv'st to make thine honesty a vice!— O monstrous world! Take note,
take note, O world: To be direct and honest is not safe.— I thank you for this profit; and from hence

I'll love no friend, sith love breeds such offense.

OTHELLO: Nay, stay. Thou shouldst be honest.

IAGO: I should be wise; for honesty's a fool and loses that it works for.

OTHELLO: By the world, I think my wife be honest and think she is not; (3.3.429-439)

You can see the different meanings of "honest" throughout this passage: Othello urges his buddy
that he "shouldst be honest" (i.e. be a pal) and also laments that he thought his wife "be honest"
(faithful). Iago, of course, is doing what he does best and is lying through his teeth.

War:

We might forget about the whole war thing until Othello's crucial monologue in Act 3, Scene 3, in
which he describes the components of the battlefield—horses, troops, trumpets, banners, cannons
—and how they are all lost to him now that he knows Desdemona is unfaithful:

OTHELLO: I had been happy, if the general camp, pioners and all, had tasted her sweet body, So I
had nothing known. O, now, forever farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content! Farewell the
plumed troop, and the big wars that make ambition virtue! O, farewell! Farewell the neighing steed
and the shrill trump, the spirit-stirring drum, th' ear-piercing fife, the royal banner, and all quality,
pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war! And O you mortal engines, whose rude throats the
immortal Jove's dead clamors counterfeit, Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone! (3.3.397-409)

Here, these implements of war become symbols of Othello's sexuality. Think about it—what's more
historically manly than a big collection of (often phallic) warlike objects? Desdemona has deflated
him; he is emasculated by her betrayal.

So what's the conclusion? We got our war in Cyprus, after all; it's just that the battlefield turned out
to be in the minds of the characters, and not on the literal battlefield. If all is fair in love and in war,
then it's a pretty freaking bloody battle that's going on in Othello's psyche.

Weeping Willow:

As Desdemona is preparing for bed the night she will be murdered, she starts singing a song about
willow trees. This song, supposedly sung originally by one of Desdemona's mother's servants who
loved a crazy guy, reflects Desdemona's own situation. She herself is worried that the man she
married has gone crazy and will desert her. Willows at the edge of water are a traditional symbol of
women deserted by their lovers: in another Shakespearean example, Ophelia, deserted by her love,
Hamlet, dies after she falls out of a willow tree and drowns in a brook in the play Hamlet.

Dream:

Dreams play an important part in the plot.

IAGO: In sleep I heard him say "Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our loves." And then,
sir, would he gripe and wring my hand, cry "O sweet creature!" and then kiss me hard, as if he
plucked up kisses by the roots that grew upon my lips; then laid his leg o'er my thigh, and sighed,
and kissed, and then cried "Cursèd fate that gave thee to the Moor!"

OTHELLO: O monstrous! Monstrous! (3.3.475-483)

When Othello asks for "living reason" (proof) that Desdemona's been "disloyal," Iago tells him about
a dream that Cassio supposedly had one night while he was lying in bed next to Iago (presumably, at
an army camp).

According to Iago, Cassio talked in his sleep while dreaming about a steamy encounter with
Desdemona. Not only that, but Cassio also grabbed Iago, wrapped his leg over his thigh, and made
out with him, all while dreaming about Desdemona, of course.

Garden:

Iago is pretty fond of making references to gardens and other kinds of foliage. There's something
way more twisted and ominous going on. The most famous moment in the play is when Iago says:

Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners: so that if we will plant nettles, or
sow lettuce […] either to have it sterile with idleness or manured with industry, why the power and
corrigible authority of this lies in our wills. (1.3.362-364; 366-368)
This is a rather elaborate analogy between gardening and exercising free will. Basically, Iago is
reminding us that he's the ultimate master gardener (so to speak) because he has such great control
over himself and his actions.

We're also reminded that part of what makes Iago such a brilliant manipulator of Othello is his
ability to plant the seeds of doubt and jealousy in Othello's mind.

SETTING OF THE PLAY

Venice and Cyprus: The play starts in Venice and moves to Cyprus when the Turks invade.

Venice: Early modern (c. 1500-1750) Venice is a prosperous Italian city and a symbol of law and
civilization. It's also full of white people, which makes Othello, a black Moor, stand out among the
Venetians. Venice also happens to be renowned for its courtesans (prostitutes). When the English
thought about Venice, they often imagined it to be a city chock full of promiscuous women. Now
that's quite a coincidence, given that Othello's plot hinges on Othello's suspicions about his wife's
fidelity.

Cyprus: Eventually, action moves to a military encampment in Cyprus, an island sacred to Venus, the
goddess of love. On the island of love, away from civilization and rationality, all hell breaks loose and
Iago is able to convince Othello that Desdemona has been cheating on him. At this military camp,
Desdemona has lost any kind of support system she may have had in her hometown of Venice, so
she's vulnerable to the kind of violence associated with the world of men and military.

GENRE: TRAGEDY

The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a "tragedy" all right, and not just because the word
"tragedy" appears in the play's title.

1. Dramatic work
2. Serious or sombre theme: Othello's a study of the consequences of jealousy and racism.
Hero's got a major flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force: Check. You've
probably picked up on the fact that Othello's a guy with a serious flaw (insane jealousy). Not
only that, but Othello's also gullible—it doesn't take much for Iago to convince Othello that
Desdemona's cheating on him (even though she's not).

This, as some literary critics have argued, may have something to do with 1) Othello's suspicion that
all women are inherently promiscuous and/or 2) Othello's fear that he, a black man, is not good
enough for his white wife. Check out our theme discussions on "Race" and "Gender" for more on
this.

Hero is destined for destruction and downfall: The important thing to remember is that Othello
experiences a major, major downfall over the course of the play. He starts out as a pretty noble guy
—he's a celebrated war hero, he's obviously overcome quite a bit in order to reach the rank of a
military general, he's respected by the Venetian government, he's a loving husband who has a
beautiful wife, he's an eloquent storyteller, and so on.

By the end of the play, Othello's an irrational, violent, and insanely jealous husband who murders his
own wife. Yet, while the idea of "destiny" plays an important role in plays like Macbeth and Hamlet,
it's not really a factor in Othello. Some critics have argued that Othello's downfall is the "inevitable"
outcome of Iago's masterful scheming and/or the racism Othello is subjected to in the play, but
"destiny" doesn't seem to have much of a role here.

Shakespearean tragedies always end in death but with some promise of continuity: By the time we
reach the end of the play, Othello has strangled Desdemona, Iago has killed Emilia, and Othello stabs
himself.

But not everyone on stage is left for dead—Lodovico promises to return to Venice, where he will
relate the tragic story of what has just happened to his countrymen. This is similar to what happens
at the end of Hamlet, when Horatio promises the young prince that he will tell Hamlet's story to the
world.

TONE

Cynical, Paranoid: The tone of Othello is dominated by Iago's voice. He is the only one in the play
who speaks to the audience, and his bitter rants about Othello and Cassio, his casual dismissal of
women as worthless prostitutes, and his gleeful self-congratulation about the nasty things he's doing
are the foundation of how we view the story:

IAGO: Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the
which our wills are gardeners. So that if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed up
thyme, supply it with one gender of herbs or distract it with many, either to have it sterile with
idleness or manured with industry, why the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills.
(1.3.361-368)

Othello even starts to mirror Iago's bitter tone about jealousy and sexual impurity—that's just how
pervasive (and persuasive) Iago's tone is in this play.

WRITING STYLE

Verse And Prose

Othello, like Shakespeare's other plays, is written in a combination of verse (poetry) and prose (how
we talk every day). (Note: The play Richard II is the one exception to this rule—it's the only
Shakespeare play written entirely in verse.)

Verse: Reading Othello often feels like reading a lengthy poem, and that's because Shakespeare's
characters often speak in verse. Well, the nobles typically speak in unrhymed "iambic pentameter"
(also called "blank verse"). It’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Let's start with a definition
of "Iambic Pentameter":
An "iamb" is an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one. "Penta" means "five," and "meter"
refers to a regular rhythmic pattern. So "iambic pentameter" is a kind of rhythmic pattern that
consists of five iambs per line. It's the most common rhythm in English poetry and sounds like five
heartbeats: ba-DUM, ba-DUM, ba-DUM, ba-DUM, ba-DUM.

Let's try it out on this line from Othello: FareWELL the TRANquil MIND, fareWELL conTENT (3.3.401)

Every second syllable is accented, so this is classic iambic pentameter. When the lines have no rhyme
scheme, we call it "unrhymed iambic pentameter," which is also known as "blank verse." Blank
verse, as we've said, is typically reserved for the nobility and other important characters, since it's
kind of a formal way to speak.

Prose: Not everyone in the play speaks in blank verse, which we've established is the elegant, high-
class way of talking. Characters lower on the social scale don't talk in a special poetic rhythm; they
just talk.

We know that by the play's end Othello has transformed from a noble general and loving husband
into a jealous, irrational killer. We also know that after Othello learns the truth (that he killed the
ever-faithful Desdemona for no good reason), he decides to end his own life.

ENDING

The play ends with a depressed Ludovico saying that he hopes that Cassio will punish Iago, and that
he'll relate the whole story of the seedy Othello affair to the state. But, given the nature of the play's
ending and the fact that Othello is our main man, it seems like Othello's final words are worth taking
a close look at, don't you think? Here's what our protagonist says just before he stabs himself:

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, nor set down aught in malice. Then 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 Judean, threw a pearl away richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued
eyes, albeit unused to the melting mood, drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees their medicinal gum.
Set you down this. And say besides, that in Aleppo once, where a malignant and a turbaned Turk
beat a Venetian and traduced the state, I took by th' throat the circumcisèd dog, and smote him,
thus. (5.2.397-417)

Here, Othello says he "loved" Desdemona "too well" (too much), which suggests that he doesn't
really understand the implications of what he's done.

Othello also seems pretty preoccupied with the way people will think of him after his death. On the
one hand, he wants to be remembered as a soldier who "has done the state some service" and who
has killed a lot of Venice's enemies.

Yet he also seems to think that strangling Desdemona is a crime against the Venetian state—Othello
compares himself to a "turban'd Turk" (Venice's sworn enemy), which he emphasizes when he kills
himself with the very same sword he used when he "smote" the "malignant" Turk on the battlefield.
By this point, Othello sees himself as a savage outsider (like a "Turk" or a "base Indian"), which is
what characters like Brabantio have been calling him all along. In other words, Othello seems to
have internalized the racist ideas that he has encountered in Venice. It also seems like Shakespeare
is asking us to consider whether or not this is the inevitable outcome when a society tells a man over
and over again that he's a "savage."