The Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello (1604) addresses the issue of jealousy and love, confronting the mind and feelings that leads to tragedy. That is the basis of a play, where the basic laws of the tragedy genre are clearly observed: the collapse of hope, the inability to change reality, the death of the main characters. Each character is punished with death for being blindly in the wake of his desires and emotions. Character of Othello recklessly succumbed to jealousy, Desdemona was captured by unlimited faith in her husband’s love, Roderigo became a hostage to passion, Emilia is a sample of gullibility and passion, and Iago a frantic desire for intrigue, revenge, and profit.
The essence of the Shakespeare’s play is based on conflicting feelings of trust and love, from the one hand, and jealousy as a fundament of such emotions as revenge, hate, and envy, from the other hand. Iago’s greed and desire to climb career path by any means are stronger than Cassio’s dedication, pure and faithful love Othello and Desdemona. Knowing the strong nature of Othello, his military-like clear and strict views, inability to perceive the world around him in halftones, Iago turns his intrigues on only one doubt, sown in the soul of the Moor. One hint, carefully thrown by the ‘faithful’ lieutenant, leads to a tragic denouement.
The dramatic event takes place in the XVI century in Venice, and later transferred to Cyprus. The first dialogue between Iago, Othello’s Lieutenant and Rodrigo, the local nobleman, who is hopelessly in love with Desdemona, the daughter of Senator Brabantio. Iago told Roderigo that Desdemona secretly married Othello, the Moor in the Venetian service. The lieutenant convinces Roderigo of his hatred of Othello, since the Moor took a certain Cassio instead of Iago for the post of lieutenant, that is, his deputy. In order to take revenge on the Moor, they report the news of Desdemona’s escape to her father, who is frantically searching for Othello.
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Quote: ‘I am one, sir that comes to tell you
Your daughter and the Moor are now
Making the beast with two backs.’ (Act I, Scene 1).
Desdemona’s father believes that his daughter could marry a black military only under the influence of witchcraft. But she asks the senators to allow her to accompany her husband to Cyprus, and she herself says about her love.
Quote: ‘I saw Othello’s visage in his mind,
And to his honour and his valiant parts.
Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.’ (Act I, Scene 3).
In Desdemona’s words, there is not only compassion, but also admiration for an extraordinary person. Othello admits that in his entire life only the last few months had fallen off of him, when he had not thought about military duty and service, and he met Desdemona. He mentions that if he had not loved her, he would not have agreed to constrain his “homeless freedom” for all the riches of the world. Othello tells Doge that Desdemona, listening to stories about his military exploits, fell in love with him for his courage and bravery.
Quote: ‘She loved me for the dangers I had pass’d,
And I loved her that she did pity them.
This only is the witchcraft I have used:
Here comes the lady, let her witness it.” (Act 1, Scene 3)
These confessions of Othello and Desdemona help us to understand how deeply connected Desdemona and Othello are. After the battle, Othello tells his wife that his soul experiences so complete and perfect happiness and peace that he would like to die at this moment so as not to subject his happiness to an unknown future. Desdemona replies that over the years their love will be even stronger.
The sequence of scenes is always important for understanding the author’s intention, sinister plot. In such a way, Shakespeare shows that before the slanderer intervened nothing clouded the heroes happiness.
However, Othello is experiencing insecurity and an inferiority complex, marrying the beautiful Desdemona, who also love him wholeheartedly. Othello believes that he is not worthy of such a woman, and this makes him vulnerable and susceptible to the negative influence of envious and intriguers.
Quote: ‘I crave fit disposition for my wife
Due reference of place and exhibition
With such accommodation and besort
As levels with her breeding.” (Act 1, Scene 3)
Iago draws more and more people into his sinister plot, convincing them of Desdemona’s infidelity. Iago slanders both Desdemona and Roderigo, who is luring money from him, and Cassio, in order to arouse unclean desires, speaking of the sensuality inherent in Desdemona. Cassio does not support these hints, on the contrary, admires her modesty, tenderness, refinement.
Quote: ‘And nothing can or shall content my soul
Till I am even’d with him, wife for wife,
Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor
At least into a jealousy so strong
That judgment cannot cure.’ (Act II, Scene 1)
The faithful’ lieutenant forces his wife Amelia, serving Desdemona, to steal her handkerchief, which belonged to Othello’s mother. He presented Desdemona with him for a wedding, asking him never to part with a thing dear to him. She accidentally loses a handkerchief, and Emilia gives Iago, who throws him into the lieutenant’s house, telling Othello that he has seen the little thing with him. The lieutenant arranges a conversation with Cassio, where the latter demonstrates his frivolous and mocking attitude towards his mistress Bianca.
Quote: ‘Our general cast us thus early for the love
of his Desdemona; who let us not therefore blame
he hath not yet made wanton the night with her; and
she is sport for Jove.’ (Act the Scene 3)
However, Iago himself is also motivated by jealousy, which has developed on the basis of his envy and hatred of Othello – Iago loves Desdemona too.
Quote: ‘I do love her too; / I stand accountant for as great a sin,/But partly led to diet revenge (Act II, Scene 3).
Iago’s lie that Desdemona is cheating on her husband with Lieutenant Cassio was the trigger in the play and launched a series of tragic events.
Quote: ‘She shall undo her credit with the Moor
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all.’ (Act I, Scene 3)
lago’s hint that Desdemona is not faithful to her husband turns Othello into a madman who, because of jealousy, kills his beloved woman and ends up with life. Othello, having doubted his wife’s love, reflects on his inferiority – a psychologically connect observation of Shakespeare: a person who is somehow different from others easily believes that these very disadvantages deprive him of love. So, Othello believes that his black skin is the key reason of Desdemona’s betrayal. In Othello, the thought of treason causes a feeling of disgust.
Quote: ‘I am abused … and
Must be to loathe her.’ (Act III, Scene 3)
Finally, in Othello, only the feeling of deceived trust and insulted dignity speaks and he is convinced that he is conducting a fair trial. Desdemona mentions that her husband is not from such a low-lying natural substance from which jealous men are created. Nevertheless, in the tragedy, Shakespeare gives a multifaceted artistic analysis of jealousy, its contradictory and changeable manifestations in a person of exceptional, valiant and noble by nature and education of a person.
Iago, having received Desdemona’s handkerchief from Emilia, is sure of success he sees that Othello is already poisoned by jealousy poison, and for a jealous man any trifle seems as weighty ‘as the arguments of the holy scripture.’ With pleasure, Iago says that neither poppy, nor mandrake, nor other hypnotic drugs of the world will return Othello’s previous dream. Iago compares jealousy with poison that damages the soul from inside.
Quote: ‘It is in working his noble nature up to this extremity through rapid but gradual … all command of himself, and his rage can only be appeased by blood.’ (Act I, Scene 3).
Having bored over the suspicion of Othello’s soul, Iago pretends to take care of him and warns him against jealousy: there is the one of the most famous judgments of jealousy in Iago’s words.
Quote: ‘O beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which
doth mock the meet it feeds on.’ (Act III, Scene 3).
In fact, Iago means that Othello will kill his wife from jealousy and help Iago to embody his plan. Shakespeare introduces slander assessments that convey the author’s deepest aversion to the slanderer, and to the slanderer ‘by nature’, for Iago slanders everyone. At some point, Othello doubts Iago’s honesty.
Quote: ‘If thou dost slander her and torture me,
Never pray more; abandon all remorse;
On horror’s head accumulate;
Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed.* (Act III, Scene 3)
In Othello’s jealousy, there are changeable faces and shades. Othello’s hatred for Cassio is reinforced by the fact that with his fiction, Iago represents Cassio as a low man, who brazenly boasts of a victory over Desdemona, treats her with contempt and even gives a courtesan to a handkerchief. The order to kill Cassio is caused by Othello’s disgust at the mean and vulgar traitor that Cassio now seems to him. In the tragedy culmination Emilia’s curses to an unknown slanderer sound much more expressive.
Quote: The Moor’s abused by some most villainous knave,
O heavens, that such companions thou’dst unfold,
To lash the rascals naked through the world.
Even from the east to th’ west!’ (Act IV, Scene 2)
Hate Othello to Desdemona increases from the consciousness of her deceit. The more Desdemona denies her betrayal, the more Othello becomes indignant and offended. Thinking about the murder of an unfaithful wife, Othello calls his plan a demand of justice. Othello administers judgement, but, at the same time, he is already so blinded by jealousy that he loses the ability to think rationally. Neither the assurances of Emilia, nor Desdemona’s words on the deathbed help him to wake up, but, on the contrary, they increase his indignation.
Quote: ‘Yet she must die
else she’ll betray more men..” (Act IV, Scene 2)
Comparison of verbal images in the speeches of Iago and Othello shows the difference in the personalities of the characters. Cynical judgments about women and people in general Iago presents in a naturalistic form. His verbal imagery is a clever trick of a clever slanderer; they are rationalistic and do not reflect his emotions.
Quote: ‘As he shall smile, Othello shall go mad;
And his unbookish jealousy must construe
Poor Cassio’s smiles, gestures and light behavior,
Quite in the wrong. How do you now, lieutenant?’ (Act I, Scene 1)
On the contrary, the metaphors in Othello’s speech are always associated with the emotional state, are born in moments of great emotional turmoil, character and worldview of the hero, richness of poetic imagination, originality of associative thinking. Othello’s past life, full of dramatic events, gave his speech a distinctive character connected with his wanderings around the world.
Quote: ‘What committed!
Heaven stops the nose at it and the moon winks,
The bawdy wind that kisses all it meets
Is hush’d within the hollow mine of earth,
And will not hear it. What committed!
Impudent strumpet!’ (Act I, Scene 2)
Othello’s speech and manners are organically generated by his military lifestyle and temperament, and only in moments when Othello is engulfed in hatred and jealousy, in his speech, there are rough and sharp curses. In a monologue, uttered at the bed of the sleeping Desdemona, complex and deep images appear – as if Othello again gained the sublime of spirit, turning to his soul, Othello, having finally decided to kill Desdemona, in his monologue for himself explains the reason for such a decision.
Quote: “It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,
It is the cause.’ (Act V, Scene 2)
Othello’s monologue is a combination of the logical development of the idea of the need to kill Desdemona and metaphors, in which resistance to this terrible decision is manifested.
Quote: ‘Put out the light, and then put out the light: …
I can again the former light restore, …
Honest iago hath ta’en order order for’t. …
Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gave it to man.’ (Act V, Scene 2)
A metaphor appears in his speech – the candle can be lit again if repentance comes. If you pick a rose, it should wither, and it will not bring life back. Metaphors in Othello’s monologue speak of the revival of Othello’s love: when he kisses the sleeping Desdemona, he confesses that he almost gave up in his intention to kill her. Yet he repeats that he must kill; he cries, but with cruel tears.
Quote: ‘If heaven would make me such another world
Of one entire and Perfect chrysolite,
I’ll not have sold her for in.’ (Act V, Scene 2)
Othello’s final monologues express his grief and hatred – a hatred not only for lago, but also for himself. In his farewell speech, metaphorical comparisons arise that reveal more complex feelings than the sentence itself. Othello says that he, like an ignorant Indian threw away a pearl more precious than all his tribe, ‘and his eyes drop tears like the Arabian trees have a healing juice. In this comparison, there is relief from the consciousness that Desdemona is innocent.
Quote: “Like the base Indian threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe’ (Act V, Scene 2)
Iago’s game was almost a success, but he could not control it to the end because of the scale of the intrigues and the large number of its participants. Blind following of feelings and emotions devoid of reason, according to the author, will inevitably turn into tragedy.
