Journal Topic #8

OTHELLO
“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,
Drops 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.
Act 5. Scene 2. Pg 263-265.

This quotation is part of Othello’s final speech and it is the most significant
quotation because it supports the themes and provides characterization on Othello, the
protagonist of the play. Directly after Othello says the last line of this quotation, he stabs
himself and kills himself. This in itself leads the reader to believe that Othello was being
completely honest in this statement, and since the play is consumed with the treachery
of many of the characters, one cannot be sure when a character is being honest or
dishonest. These words were Othello’s dying words, so there was no more reason for
him to lie; thus making it possibly the most honest quotation within the play.

The theme of judgment surfaces throughout the play. Desdemona is judged first
to be innocent and then judged to be a whore, Othello is judged by the color of his skin,
and Bianca is judged to be a whore and a peasant. These characters were not ignorant
of these judgments that were made on them and that they had on others, and Othello
expresses the need to be judged in a good way even after his death in this quotation. He
says “Speak of me as I am.” Othello does not want the situation to be described falsely
and he wants to be thought of as a person who was provoked into jealousy so that he
did not love as well as he should have. He is owning up to what he has down, “threw a
pearl away” as he murdered Desdemona, but he wants the others to tell people that he
was tricked into the act, and did it under false pretenses. This shows that even after
Othello will have committed suicide, it is important to him that he be judged rightly.

The theme of isolation is also incorporated into the play. When the characters
move from the busy Venice to the island Cyprus, they become isolated so that they only
ever deal with each other. This causes Iago’s plan to escalate more quickly, since Cyprus
is more like a small town where rumors travel fast. Othello is also isolated in his skin
color. There is no other moor mentioned in the play. This quote signifies Othello’s
feelings of being even more isolated as he recognizes himself as a villain. He is
separating himself from the others saying that he has done wrong and he is dangerous,
so he kills himself.

This quotation also shows Othello characterizing himself. At the end of the novel,
Othello is realizing who he really is and what has really happened with all the people
closest, or whom he thought were closest, to him. He describes himself, “Of one that
loved not wisely, but too well; Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought.” Othello
knows that he is loving, but also knows that he did not love Desdemona or even Iago as
wisely as he should have. A person’s characterization of themselves may indeed be the
most important characterization a reader can understand within the play because they
have seen the character’s process of self-discovery. Othello now sees the villain in
himself and in the jealousy that he felt, and the ignorance that he had of his thought-to-
be friend. He knows that he acted without thinking, and murdered his innocent wife, so
he believes he deserves to be killed. This also explains to the reader why Othello is
killing himself, and justifies his reasoning.

There is no other quotation in the novel that gives so much honest insight into a
character and the story than this quotation does. Othello describes how he feels about
the situation and what he thought actually happened. He also describes how he thinks
of himself and what he thinks he deserves. Othello shows his feelings of isolation, and
the way he wishes to be judged. Othello has finally calmed down, regained his dignity
and again gained the respect of the readers, so that he becomes the esteemed hero that
William Shakespeare deemed him to be.
 Journal Topic #11

Desdemona was possibly the most innocent character in Othello. The only wrong
action that she did in the entire novel was running away and getting married to Othello,
against her father’s wishes. Brabantio’s wishes were based on racism anyway, so
Desdemona was even justified in her eloping with Othello. Though she was so innocent,
Desdemona was the second person to get murdered in the play. Her death came as the
result of several things: Iago’s plot of revenge on Othello, Othello’s gullibility, and
Desdemona’s own lack of self-defense. Multiple characters were in some small way
responsible for her death; this causes the reader to venture into the happenings in the
novel to realize which character should be held accountable for the tragedy.

Desdemona’s and Othello’s marriage started out full of love and without
troubles. Othello was not easily jealous when Desdemona socialized with other men,
like when Cassio kissed her near the beginning of the play, because he knew that she
was true to him. When Iago put the idea in Othello’s head that Desdemona was with
another man however, he could not get it out of his mind. He believed Iago skeptically
at first, but when Iago provided small bits of evidence, like Cassio having Desdemona’s
handkerchief, Othello began to imagine Desdemona with Cassio. He became so angry
and jealous that he did not think rationally. Othello did not even give Desdemona a fair
chance to defend herself. He striked her, and then eventually he murdered her. The fact
that he became so jealous though was not his fault.

Desdemona is genuinely a good person, so she did try to clarify to Othello that
she did not do anything to betray him. Othello already had it in his head that she was
lying to him and going behind his back, so he then thought also that she was a liar.
Desdemona tried at every opportunity to convince Othello that she was innocent and
became very exasperated when he did not believe her, especially when she had no idea
what he was worried about. She then went to Othello’s supposed best friend for help,
Iago. Iago told her that it was not her fault, and that it was just Othello’s job stressing
him out and their arguments were just the result of displaced anger, so Desdemona
gave up defending herself. This led to her death, but it was not completely Desdemona’s
fault.

One might also hold Cassio responsible because of his talking to Desdemona
trying to get his job back. Cassio lost his job because of Iago getting him drunk so that he
would get into a brawl by Roderigo, who had also been convinced to fight Cassio by
Iago. Iago told Cassio that he should talk to Desdemona if he really wanted his job back,
because he says, “The general’s wife is now the general.” So Cassio talks to Desdemona
about how badly he would like to have his job back, and because she is such a nice, kind
person she agrees. Desdemona’s continuous comments about how wonderful Cassio is
to Othello push the idea that she is having an affair with Cassio even further into
Othello’s head. Though Cassio did not mean to, this escalated Iago’s plan.

The one person that is involved in every person’s particular role in the tragedy of
Desdemona’s murder was Iago. Iago put the ideas in Othello’s head about Desdemona
being disloyal, and then went so far as providing false evidence and planting it so as to
increase Othello’s jealousy. He also convinced Desdemona that she had nothing to
worry about when he knew that Othello was going to do something drastic if he did not
find out she was actually innocent. Iago also went through a series of actions to get
Cassio to go to Desdemona for help, which in turn caused more jealousy on Othello’s
part. So though multiple people played a role in the cause of Desdemona’s death, Iago
was undoubtedly involved in each one. This shows that Iago is the character that should
definitely be held completely accountable for Desdemona’s death.

Journal Topic #9

The main characters in the play are obviously Othello, Iago, Desdemona, and
Cassio. A lot of the play revolves around their actions, but multiple minor characters
appear within the action and have influences on what happens and develops in the plot.
I believe there is not one, but two minor characters who are the most important to the
play: Roderigo and Emilia. Each character changes the play in different ways and each is
very significant to the storyline. Without these two characters, the play would be
indisputably different.

Roderigo starts out being important to the play in the first act. Iago uses him to
tell Brabantio that his daughter, Desdemona, has been stolen and charmed magically by
Othello. It is important that Roderigo do this instead of Iago because it was part of Iago’s
plan to go warn Othello that Brabantio was coming so that Othello would continue to
believe that they were good friends and that he could trust Iago. If Brabantio had been
told by Iago instead of Roderigo, than Iago’s plot to get revenge on Othello would have
been revealed to all characters early in the play. Roderigo was also used by Iago to
attack Cassio and kill him. Iago needed Roderigo to do this because Othello had ordered
Iago to kill Cassio. Iago did not want to take the blame for this murder he was supposed
to commit, and he also was believed to be Cassio’s friend. In order to not ruin this image
he had created for himself of being a good friend to everyone, he convinced Roderigo to
commit the murder. Though Roderigo ended up not being able to commit the murder,
he created the situation that allowed Iago to stab and injure Cassio and for Iago to kill
Roderigo himself. Roderigo’s death would not have been that significant to the play if a
note confirming Iago’s plan had not been found by the other characters. Iago also
needed Roderigo to be killed because he was starting to catch on to Iago’s two-
facedness, since he believed that Iago was taking from him the presents that he bought
for Desdemona and keeping them for himself rather than giving them to Desdemona.

Emilia becomes a significant character after the crowd arrives at Cyprus. Being
Iago’s wife, she has a desire to please him. This desire leads her to steal the
handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona. Emilia has no idea what this
handkerchief means, or how her husband planned to use it. She significantly helps the
progression of Iago’s revenge without even realizing what she is doing. This
handkerchief is what Iago uses as substantial proof of Desdemona’s affair with Cassio by
planting it in Cassio’s dwelling. Cassio gives the handkerchief to Bianca, who then gives
it back to him in front of Othello. The handkerchief being in Cassio’s possession ensures
Othello that the affair exists, and ultimately leads to the succession of deaths at the
culmination of the novel. Emilia also helps Cassio convince Desdemona to help him get
his job back from Othello. This also progresses Iago’s plan of revenge. Emilia is also the
one who finds Desdemona dead right after Othello murders her. She reveals this to the
other characters. The most important thing that Emilia contributes to the play is her
revealing of Iago’s evil. After Desdemona has been killed, Emilia realizes that Iago is
responsible, and helps to finally convince Othello, as well as all the others, that
Desdemona was innocent, and that the ideas Iago planted into Othello’s head were
false.

Both characters help Iago’s plot unknowingly. They also help to reveal his true
evil nature though. Roderigo reveals Iago’s evilness through the letter he has in his
pocket when Iago kills him. Emilia through a speech she gives after Othello has killed
Desdemona. Without these two characters, the play would have taken a completely
different course. Without Roderigo, the conflict of the revenge plan would have ended
in the first scene. Without Emilia, Iago may never have completely convinced Othello, so
his plan may have failed. These two minor characters make all the major events in the
play happen.
 Journal Topic #1

Dramatic Irony is irony that occurs when the audience has been revealed the
meaning of a situation so that their knowledge is superior to the characters of the play,
who do not know the meaning of the situation. Dramatic Irony exists throughout
Othello in a few different ways. The play would not be nearly as interesting or
suspenseful to the reader or audience if they did not have the knowledge of what was
really going on in the story, and they would undoubtedly be very confused. Dramatic
Irony is what ties Othello together, and makes it the story that it is.

The first and main way that Dramatic Irony is created in Othello is through Iago’s
soliloquies. Iago reveals his evil plot to get revenge against Othello and also reveals all
the mini plans he has to achieve this revenge. Iago will do this while he is alone, or
sometimes while the other characters are present, but the other characters do not
acknowledge him to make it understood that they do not hear Iago. This causes the
reader or audience to realize what Iago is actually doing and see his hidden motives
behind everything he does. The audience knowing that they are the only ones who
know in the story, though it is fictional, creates a more exciting effect in the play. They
are not reading through just waiting for something to happen in the story. The audience
or reader is already knowledgeable of what is happening they are just excited to see
how it will all play out.

The second way that Dramatic Irony is created in Othello is through the
characters stating that they are going to do something while some of the other
characters are not present. The absent characters are not aware of what is going on, so
things that they say may be ironic to what is going to happen. The most prominent
example of this is when Othello decides that he will kill Desdemona. Desdemona of
course does not know that the end of her life is approaching. While she is getting ready
for bed with her maid Emilia the night she will be murdered, Desdemona begins to sing
a quite depressing song called “Willow, Willow.” This song, she explains, is about her
mother’s old maid Barbary who was in love with a man who believed her to be untrue.
She ended up dying because of this. The reader reading this or the audience watching
this will then realize that Barbary’s story is the same as Desdemona’s. The irony of the
situation creates a more suspenseful climax in the story.

All the Dramatic Irony in Othello makes the reader or watcher much more
interested in what is going on. Instead of just watching Iago do a seemingly random
number of different things, they watch Iago’s plot to get revenge work and then
backfire. Being omniscient, unlike the characters, emphasizes the action of the story.
The irony causes the reader or audience to be much more intrigued thus making Othello
the exciting play that it is.