Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lectured By:
Rosi Novayani Siregar ,S.E, M.Pd
Written By:
Class Y3B
NAME NPM
Ajeng Sulistiani 201912500255
Putri Inayah 201912500243
Maya Lusiani 201912500194
Nadia Paradilla J 201912500262
Rahma Safitri 201912500271
INTRODUCTION
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analyze the drama script because of it unique. Drama script and novel is
the literary works which have the same structural elements, where there are
no technical elements as the visual appearance. The other literary works
which have technical element are film and drama on stage. Based on the
development of literary, many kinds of activity used to find the stress and
the fill within the literary works, such as analysis by using the theory from
the expert in literary works. On this case, the researcher wants to analyze
one of literary works that is drama focused on drama script.
Drama script is one of written literary work which consists of
dialogues, actors and director.
Here the researcher wants to analyze one of the biggest literary
works created by Shakespeare entitle Othello. Othello is a tragedy drama
by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately
1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" ("A
Moorish 3 Captain") by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in
1565. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, a
Moorish general in the Venetian army; his wife Desdemona; his lieutenant,
Cassio; and his trusted ensign Iago. Because of its varied themes racism,
love, jealousy, and betrayal Othello is widely felt to remain relevant to the
present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres
alike. The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film, and
literary adaptations. Othello also adapted into many kinds of gallery such
as novel and film. The Othello novel also known as Othello and
Desdemona written by AlexandreMarie Colin (1829) and the film acted by
Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh as Othello and Iago (1995).
From the explanation it can be seen that Othello is one of literary works
that is famous in the world. So the researcher is interested in analyzing the
drama as the original story of Othello. The researcher tries to analyze by
using psychosocial approach because the story tells about the rebel of Iago,
he is the man who struggle to live in many kinds of trick even in the end he
dies with Othello.
The play opens with Roderigo, a rich and dissolute gentleman,
complaining to Iago, a high-ranking soldier, that Iago has not told him
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about the secret marriage between Desdemona, the daughter of a Senator
named Brabantio, and Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army. He
is upset by this development because he loves Desdemona and had
previously asked her father for her hand in marriage. Iago is upset with
Othello for promoting a younger man named Michael Cassio above him,
and tells Roderigo that he 4 plans to use Othello for his own advantage.
Iago's argument against Cassio is that he is a scholarly tactician with no
real battle experience from which he can draw strategy; in contrast, Iago
has practical battle skills. By emphasizing Roderigo's failed bid for
Desdemona, and his own dissatisfaction with serving under Othello, Iago
convinces Roderigo to wake Brabantio, Desdemona's father, and tell him
about his daughter's elopement. Next, Iago sneaks away to find Othello
and warns him that Brabantio is coming for him.
However, before Brabantio reaches Othello, news arrives in Venice
that the Turks are going to attack Cyprus; therefore Othello is summoned
to advise the senators. Brabantio arrives and accuses Othello of seducing
Desdemona by witchcraft, but Othello defends himself successfully before
an assembly that includes the Duke of Venice, Brabantio's kinsman
Lodovico and Gratiano, and various senators, explaining that Desdemona
became enamored of him for the stories he told of his early life.
By order of the Duke, Othello leaves Venice to command the
Venetian armies against invading Turks on the island of Cyprus,
accompanied by his new wife, his new lieutenant Cassio, his ensign Iago,
and Emilia as Desdemona's attendant. The party arrives in Cyprus to find
that a storm has destroyed the Turkish fleet. Othello orders a general
celebration. Iago schemes to use Cassio to ruin Othello and takes the
opportunity of Othello's absence at the celebration to persuade Roderigo to
engage Cassio in a fight. He achieves this by getting Cassio drunk on wine.
The brawl greatly alarms the citizenry, and Othello is forced to quell the
disturbance. Othello blames Cassio for the disturbance, and strips him of
his rank. Cassio is distraught, but Iago persuades him to importune
Desdemona to act as an intermediary between himself and Othello, and
persuade her husband to reinstate him. The psychosocial is developed by
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Erikson, one of Freud students where it is tells about the element of
human‘s supporting life such as religion, Law, Ideal prototypes,
technological elements, ideological perspectives, Patterns of cooperation
and competition, currents of education and tradition, and wisdom. His
theory influenced by Freud‘s theory, but Erikson believed that personality
develops at a predetermined stages. Theory describes the impact of social
experience throughout life. The researcher is interested in this drama script
because, first the drama was written by Shakespeare with a lot of tragic
dramatic experience within. Second, in this drama have a unique character
that affect the drama's storyline with its evil nature. Third, the drama
played differently with the film, because the language that is used, based
on the literature language on Shakespeare era. The drama script consists of
125 pages and played with a lot of characters, with a lot of type of
characters. From the background above, the researcher tries to make an
analysis entitled ―Getting Trust in William Shakespear’s Othello (1603)
A Psychosocial Analysis”
▪ Identification of Problem
What is the synopsis of Othello's drama?
What are the intrinsic elements of Othello's drama?
What are the extrinsic elements of Othello's drama?
What aspects of literary criticism are contained in Othello's drama?
What is the description of society in Othello's drama?
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CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
1. TYPES OF DRAMA
Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy written
by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1603. The story revolves around
two characters, Othello and lago. (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice)
is a tragedy by William shakespeare, probably written in 1603.
The story revolves around two characters, Othello and Iago. Othello is
a Moorish general in the Venetian army who has just married Desdemona. Iago
is Othello's ensign. Iago maliciously goads Othello's jealousy until Othello kills
Desdemona. Desdemona is blameless.
The play is based on the story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain")
by Cinthio (a disciple of Boccaccio's), first published in 1565.
Othello is still often performed and has been the source of numerous
adaptations.
A. Setting
The world of the play is physically located in Venice and Cyprus.
Othello is sent by the senate of Venice to dfend Cyprus against an
expected invansion by the enemy Turks. Historically, toward the end of
the sixteenth century Cyprus was in fact so invaded and passed from the
ownership by Venice into the growing Turkish Empire.
The play takes place in 1613, and the play starts in Venice, and finishes
in Cyprus.
▪ In Venice, in the quote “…this is Venice; My house
is not a grange..” (act 1 ; scene i)
▪ In Cyprus, in the quote “...heavan bless the isle of
Cyprus and our noble general Othello!..”
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B. Theme
In Othello, the major themes reflect the values and the motivations
of characters.
• 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.
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Jealousy is what appears to destroy Othello. It is the
emotion suggested to him by Iago in Act III, Scene iii. 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.
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.
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C. Plot
Othello is a play written by Shakespeare.it is a tragis love story. In
Venice, at the start of Othello, the soldier Iago announces his hatred
for his commander, Othello, a Moor. Othello has promoted Cassio, not
Iago, to be his lieutenant. Iago crudely informs Brabantio,
Desdemona’s father, that Othello and Desdemona have eloped. Before
the Venetian Senate, Brabantio accuses Othello of bewitching
Desdemona. The Senators wish to send Othello to Cyprus, which is
under threat from Turkey. They bring Desdemona before them. She
tells of her love for Othello, and the marriage stands. The Senate
agrees to let her join Othello in Cyprus. In Cyprus, Iago continues to
plot against Othello and Cassio. He lures Cassio into a drunken fight,
for which Cassio loses his new rank; Cassio, at Iago’s urging, then
begs Desdemona to intervene. Iago uses this and other ploys—
misinterpreted conversations, insinuations, and a lost handkerchief—
to convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. Othello
goes mad with jealousy and later smothers Desdemona on their
marriage bed, only to learn of Iago’s treachery. He then kills himself.
D. Sources
Based on a novella in Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi in 1565,
which was possibly read in a 1584 French translation. Shakespeare
follows Cinthio's plot quite closely, except in the original, Othello
returns to Venice to be murdered by his wife's family. Shakespeare also
invented the character of Roderigo. However, the moral of Cinthio's
cautionary tale about the sad end that waits young women who disobey
their parents is completely transformed in Shakespeare's play.
E. Style
Othello is a play primarily concerned with language’s ability to
conceal the truth, and the play’s style reflects the duality of speech. From
the opening scene, Iago uses language to manipulate others and disguise
his true intentions. When Iago tells Roderigo “I am not what I am,” (I.i)
he is actually showing the audience just how duplicitous he is. Iago shifts
registers depending on who he is talking to: When he warns Brabanzio
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that Othello is having sex with his daughter, he uses coarse, crass
language, saying, “an old black ram/ Is tupping your white ewe.” (I.i)
But when he is talking in asides to the audience directly, Iago uses
poetic, metaphoric language: “Dangerous conceits are in their natures
poisons/ Which at the first are scarce found to distaste,/ But, with a little
act upon the blood,/ Burn like the mines of sulphur.” (III.iii). This line
suggests that Iago uses vulgarity more as a rhetorical device to anger his
listener, than because it truly expresses who he is. Iago’s facility with
language reveals his cunning and intelligence, and makes his
manipulation of Othello believable.
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Jealous of Othello’s success and envious of Cassio, Iago plots Othello’s
downfall by falsely implicating Othello’s wife, Desdemona, and Cassio
in a love affair. With the unwitting aid of Emilia, his wife, and the
willing help of Roderigo, a fellow malcontent, Iago carries out his plan.
3. Structure of Drama
1) Rising Action
2) Climax
Iago pushes the idea of an affair on Othello and he demands to see
"ocular proof."
Iago tells of the handkerchief
"I know not that; but such a handkerchief-I am sure it was your wife's-
did I today
See Cassio wipe his beard with"
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Iago tells Othello he has seen Cassio use Desdemona's handkerchief,
"ocular proof" of the affair
(Act III , scene iii, lines 496-499)
3) Falling Action
4) Cataroschope
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loved not wisely but too well. (Act V, scene ii, lines 343)
4. Characters
1) Terminology of Character
Clown
A simple rural
man.
A yokel
Othello’s servant
2) Characters in Action
Othello
The play’s protagonist and hero. A Christian Moor and general of
the armies of Venice, Othello is an eloquent and physically powerful
figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status,
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he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life
as a soldier, and his race. He possesses a “free and open nature,” which
his ensign Iago uses to twist his love for his wife, Desdemona, into a
powerful and destructive jealousy (I.iii.381).
Desdemona
The daughter of the Venetian senator, Brabanzio. Desdemona and
Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in many
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
Michael Cassio
Othello’s lieutenant. Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier,
whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to
Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a
drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses
Cassio’s youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on
Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s fidelity.
Emilia
Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. A cynical, worldly
woman, she is deeply attached to her mistress and distrustful of her
husband.
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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.
Brabanzio
Desdemona’s father, a somewhat blustering and self-important
Venetian senator. As a friend of Othello, Brabanzio 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 reconcile Othello and Brabanzio in Act I, scene iii, and then
to send Othello to Cyprus.
Montano
The governor of Cyprus before Othello. We see him first in Act II,
as he recounts the status of the war and awaits the Venetian ships.
Lodovico
One of Brabanzio’s kinsmen, Lodovico acts as a messenger from
Venice to Cyprus. He arrives in Cyprus in Act IV with letters
announcing that Othello has been replaced by Cassio as governor.
Graziano
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Brabanzio’s kinsman who accompanies Lodovico to Cyprus.
Amidst the chaos of the final scene, Graziano mentions that
Desdemona’s father has died.
Clown
Othello’s servant. Although the clown appears only in two short
scenes, his appearances reflect and distort the action and words of the
main plots: his puns on the word “lie” in Act III, scene iv, for example,
anticipate Othello’s confusion of two meanings of that word in Act IV,
scene i.
3) Motivation Behind Characters
Othello : Motivations
Othello begins the play by being motivated by his love,
Desdemona. He is determined to marry her, and so they elope. He will
do anything for his new wife, Desdemona, at this point. Mid-way
through the play Othello is convinced that his love is doing him wrong,
by committing adultery. Iago brings out an evil side of Othello, which
is motivated by hate.
The goals of the characters in Othello are what connects them in
the play. Although they are all motivated by personal desires their
goals require them to work together to reach that which they desire.
“She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd, And I lov'd her that she did
pity them”.
Cassio : Motivations
Cassio's motivations throughout the play are love, and staying true
to his general. Cassio is motivated because he truly loves Bianca.
When she finds a suspicious handkerchief he runs after her because he
is motivated by his love for her. Cassio has always stayed true to his
general and was there throughout his whole relationship with
Desdemona. When he makes a mistake by celebrating too much he
never stops trying to please Othello.
Desdemona : Motivations
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Desdemona's main motivation throughout the play is her love for
Othello. She makes a sacrifice for Othello and they elope without her
father knowing. She stays true to her love for Othello throughout the
entire play. In order to make Bianca feel loved, Cassio affects Bianca
herself. He will do anything to please her and convince her that he is
faithful and that the handkerchief that caused drama, had just appeared.
Also motivating Desdemona throughout the play is her desire to help
resolve her husband's problems. When Othello plans to kill her she
tries everything to make his troubles go away and remind him of their
love.
Iago : Motivations
Iago's main motivation throughout the play is to gain revenge on
Othello. To do so, Iago comes up with one of the most evil plans ever.
He confides in Roderigo to help him in ruining Othello's life. Iago is
motivated by hate. He clearly states that he "hates the moor." Iago's
feeling of hatred towards Othello is one of the main themes of the play.
Bianca : Motivations
She is Cassio's jealous lover. Despite her brief appearance
on stage, Bianca plays a significant role in the progress of Iago's
scheme to make Othello believe that his wife Desdemona is
cheating on him with Cassio.
Emilia : Motivations
Emilia is motivated by her desire to please her husband but that
changes later on in the play and her new incentive becomes helping
Desdemona.
Roderigo
Roderigo is motivated by his desire to gain Desdemona's
affection.
"I will incontinently drown myself" ( Act I, scene iii line 302)
means that Roderigo willing to drown himself because he can't
bear the thought of Desdemona married to Othello.
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4) Devices of Characterization
2) Figurative Language
1. Simile
( Act I , scene i, line 50) “Wears out his time, much like his master’s
ass...”
Means Iago uses a simile comparing the servants to donkey’s to show the
unfair treatment of servants.
( Act I , scene iii, line 347-350) “The food that to him is as luscious
as locusts”/ “Shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida”
Means “Locust” in this text is a type of sweet fruit, while
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“coloquintida” in the other hand is also a fruit. This fruit though, is
of sour taste that can be used as a laxative for the stomach. What
Iago is trying to do is link Othello’s sexual activity of love, to an
appetite of lust that helps him evacuate his initial feelings for
Desdemona. Therefore, it will become something that has to be
discharged or expulsed after his appetite has been satisfied.
( Act I , scene iii, line 143-145 ) "the Cannibals that each other
eat/The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads (do grow) beneath
their shoulders"
Means he has had a life of danger and adventure, seen strange sights,
and been in the company of strange people.
( Act I , scene iii, line 391-392) “ The food that to him now is a luscious as
locusts..”
Means in a simile Iago compares the taste of food to the delicious taste of
locust.
( Act V , scene ii, line 133–135) “Othello: She was false as water.
Emilia: Thou are rash as fire, To say that she was false: O she was
heavenly true.”
Means One conceit that was made was when Desdemona was
compared to false water. This is completely ironic
because she was the only completely pure and truthful one in
the story. Comparing her to just water, something pure, could
be considered parallel, but saying that she is false was
completely wrong.
2. Allusion
( Act I , scene ii, line 37) “ By Janus I think so”
Means i know it is but i can't let you know that i know them.
( Act I , scene i, line 43-44) "We cannot all be masters, nor all
masters cannot be truly followed."
Means not everyone can be in charge/followed.
3. Metaphors
( Act I , scene i, line 68) “Poison his delight.”
Means Iago tells Roderigo to ruin Othello’s marital bliss.
( Act I , scene i, line 71) “Plague him with flies.”
Means Annoy Othello, vex him.
( Act I , scene i, line 81 ) “Thieves! Thieves!”
Means Othello has taken your daughter away.
( Act I , scene i, line 88/89) “An old black ram / Is tupping your
white ewe”
Means Othello and Desdemona are making love.
( Act I , scene i, line 91) “The devil will make a grandsire of you.”
Means Desdemona will become pregnant with Othello’s child.
( Act I , scene i, line 110-111 ) “You’ll have your daughter covered
with a Barbary horse, you’ll have your nephews neigh to you.”
Means Othello will be having sex with your daughter.
( Act I , scene i, line 114 ) “Your daughter and the Moor are now
making the beast with two backs.”
Means Othello and Desdemona are having sex. Connotations:
Othello’s and Desdemona’s love-making is bestial, barbaric, and
repulsive; they’re stuck together like a couple of insects. Iago is
trying to provoke Brabantio to attack Othello.
( Act I , scene i, line 154) “I must show out a flag and sign of love.”
Means Iago will act like he is devoted to Othello. Connotations: Iago
will act devoted to Othello so that he can effectively deceive him and
lead him to his ruin.
( Act I , scene ii, line 313-314 ) “Our bodies are our gardens, to the
which our wills are gardeners.”
Means Our will can overpower our emotions.
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( Act I , scene ii, line 319-320 ) “ If the balance of our lives had not
one scale of reason to poise another sensuality, the blood and
baseness of our natures would conduct us to most preposterous
conclusions.”
Means Without our reason, our emotions and passions would wreak
havoc.
( Act I , scene iii, line 348-349) “Let us be conjunctive in our
revenge against him: if thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a
pleasure, me a sport.”
Means Iago derives pleasure from tormenting Othello and driving
him to murder.
( Act I , scene iii, line 359-360 ) “Thus do I ever make my fool my
purse / But for my sport and profit.”
Means Iago is using Roderigo as a tool to destroy Othello and gains
pleasure by doing so.
( Act I , scene iii, line361-364 ) “I hate the Moor: And it is thought
abroad, that ‘twixt my sheets He has done my office.”
Means Iago hates Othello because he thinks he has had an affair with
his wife.
( Act I , scene iii, line 371 ) “After some time, to abuse Othello’s ear
/ That he is too familiar with his wife.”
Means Iago will tell Othello that Cassio is having an affair with
Desdemona.
( Act I , scene iii, line 377-378) “And will as tenderly be led by the
nose / As asses are.”
Means Iago will mislead Othello.
( Act I , scene iii, line 379-380) “Hell and night / Must bring this
monstrous birth to the world’s light.”
Means Iago appeals to the devil to help him fulfil this scheme.
( Act II , scene i, line 164-165) “He takes her by the palm: ay, well
said, whisper: with as little a web as this will ensnare as great a fly as
Cassio.”
Means Iago will use little incidences like Cassio kissing
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Desdemona’s hand to make Othello believe that Cassio is having an
affair with Desdemona.
( Act II , scene i, line 271-274 ) I do suspect the lusty Moor Hath
leaped into my seat; the thought whereof Doth, like a poisonous
mineral gnaw inwards.
Means Iago thinks Othello has had an affair with his wife and this
thought enrages him.
( Act II , scene i, line 281-284) “I’ll have Michael Cassio on the hip,
Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb— For I fear Cassio with my
night-cap too.”
Means Iago thinks Cassio had an affair with his wife too.
( Act II , scene iii, line 311-313 ) “When devils with the blackest
sins put on, They do suggest at first with heavenly shows, As I do
now.”
Means Evil people achieve their evil stratagems by appearing to be
kind.
( Act II , scene iii, line 320-323 ) “So will I turn her virtue into
pitch, And out of her own goodness make the net That shall enmesh
them all.”
Means Iago will use Desdemona’s goodness to destroy Othello. The
more kindly she treats Cassio and the more she feels sorry for him,
the more Othello will think she is having an affair with him.
( Act III , scene iii, line 156-157 ) “Good name in man and woman,
dear my lord, / Is the immediate jewel of their soul.”
Means Our honor is priceless.
( Act III, scene iii, line 166-168) “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.”
Means Jealousy destroys the jealous person.
( Act III , scene iii, line 323-235) “Trifles light as air Are to the
jealous confirmations strong As proofs of holy writ.”
Means Little incidences strongly persuade jealous people that their
loved one is cheating on them.
( Act III , scene iii, line 326) “The Moor already changes with my
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poison.”
Means Othello has become upset because he is beginning to believe
that Desdemona has been having an affair with Cassio.
( Act III , scene iii, line 326-330) “But with a little act upon the
blood, Burn like the minds of sulphur.”
Means Dangerous conceptions or suspicions at first do not torment a
person, but in time they inflict great suffering.
( Act III , scene iii, line 392 ) “I see, sir, you are eaten up with
passion.”
Means Othello’s suspicion of Desdemona and Cassio having a
liaison is terribly tormenting him.
( Act V, scene iii, line 286-288) “Othello: If that thou be’st a devil, I
cannot kill thee. (wounds Iago) Iago: I bleed, sir, but not killed.”
Means Iago is the devil disguised as a man; he is evil.
4. Paradox
(Act I , scene i line 71) “I am not what I am”.
Means that he is not truly and in essence what he merely pretends to
be. He pretends to be a servant of Othello, but he is really a servant
of himself. He is a hipocrite, a liar, a deceiver. He is not the loyal
lieutenant and good friends that he pretends to be.
( Act I , scene IV, line 238-239) “ The Robbed that smiles steasl something
from the theif..”
Means the Duke advices Brabantio to accept his decisions regarding
Othello with good humour instead of grumbling.
(Act III, scene iii line 202) “Poor and content is rich, and rich
enough...”.
Means Iago tries to comfort Othello by telling him that he is
good enough but is twisting his words and is saying Othello is
nothing. In this quote Iago is “comforting” Othello with a
paradox after Iago arouses Othello’s susoisious of Desdemona
being unfaithful.
5. Personification
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(Act I, scene iii line 237) “ What can’t be preserved when fortune
takes/ Patience her injuri a mock’ry makes”
Means he should just be happy because he doesn't have a choice but
to be happy; he doesn't have a say in the affairs of his daughter
anymore.
6. Aposthrope
(Act IV, scene iii line 54-58) “Work on , My medicine, work!...”
Means Iago is talking to the “poison” that he planted in Othello’s
mind which makes it an apostrophe because he is talking to an
object.
7. Hubris
(Act III, scene iii line 406) “Pride , pomp and circumstance of
glorious war!..)
Means in this quote Othello is taking about his position as a general
and how since Desdemona cheated on him that everything he had is
now gone.
(Act IV, scene i line 314) “tis the plague of great ones...”
Means Othello is being very hubris because he basically say that
great people have to suffer more than average people. He is showing
his big ego and is using in to convince himself why Desdemona
would be unfaithful to him.
8. Symbolism
The handkerchief is the most potent symbol in
Shakespeare’s Othello. It has multiple layers of meaning that offer
diverse interpretations of the play. The strongest and most important
symbolic meanings, though, are both incidental to and based on the
handkerchief. The characters see the object as representative of
fidelity, power, and race without regard to the handkerchief’s
physical nature, but each of these meanings is made stronger by
examining the handkerchief itself. This discussion of the nexus
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between physical and incidental is far from isolated to the topic of
the handkerchief. Other very similar binaries exist in Othello, for
instance Iago’s distinction between seeming and being or Othello’s
insistence on ocular proof rather than hearsay. Each reveals a
tension between the physical and the abstract that exists throughout
the play in many different ways. The handkerchief may be a “[trifle]
light as air” (3.3.370) as an object, but as a symbol the handkerchief
illuminates larger questions about the connections between the
physical world and the meanings we assign it.
9. Foreshadowing
(Act IV, scene iii) “Get you to bed on the instant; I will be returned
forthwith: dismiss your attendant there: look it be done.”
Means Desdemona obliges, which then infuriates Emilia. The
servant cannot comprehend how her mistress lets Othello talk to her
like that. Thus, the scene includes implicit references to the trust
issues that lead to a disaster in the end.
(Act IV, scene iii) “If I do die before thee prithee, shroud me
In one of those same sheets.”
Means She may suspect that Othello is going to do something. The
choice of sheets can indicate her willingness to remain loyal and
forgiving to her husband.
(Act IV, scene iii)
My mother had a maid call’d Barbara:
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad
And did forsake her: she had a song of ‘willow;’
An old thing ’twas, but it express’d her fortune,
And she died singing it: that song to-night
Will not go from my mind.
Means Singing the song, Desdeoma predicts her impending passing.
She will sing it before her death as well.
(Act III scene ii) opens with Othello and Iago talking. Othello
tells Iago, “ He is asking Iago to give the letters to the “ pilot” or
captain of the ship who brought him from venice to cyprus to let the
senate, or government of venice, know that all is well. He says that
afterlago takes the letters, he will be “ walking on the works” or
walking on the city’s fortifications. Fortifications are the walls built
to encase a city and protect it from enemy armies and fleets.
2. Pathos
Pathos (emotional) An appeal to the audience’s emotions in
order to persuade ,Word choice often impacts emotional appeal ,
Advertisements often use pathos as a mode of persuasion
Act I, scene iii
His story of his slave past of Brabantio’s kidness, and of
desdemona’s love all move The duke to grant his blessing on the
elopement.
Act II, scene i
The first character who we have seen before to enter this is cassio,
who enters On behalf of othella ,before othella enters.
Act II, scene iii
if i can fasten but one cup upon him, which he hath drunk tonight
already he’ll be as full of quarrel and offense as my young mistress
dog.
Act III, scene iii
the tone is set so that something bad will ensue when outhella says
at the begining Of the scene
Act IV, scene iii
Desdemona is very passive toward the despair and grief represented
in line 23-25 but this was very common for women of this time
period who wereabandoned by their lovers.
3. Cynicism
The tone othello largely reflects lago’s worldview, which is
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characterized by Cynicism and suspicion.
act I scene III
Iago expresses his cynicism frequently, and particularly in the
play’s opening acts. When Roderigo, sorrowful at losing his chance
with Desdemona, confesses, “it is my shame to be so / fond, but it is
not in my virtue to amend it” Iago has none of it. Iago responds that
one’s “virtue” (or character) is not so static or predetermined as
Roderigo’s conventional expression would suggest. “Virtue? A fig!
’Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. / Our bodies are our
gardens, to the which our wills are / gardeners” . Iago’s horticultural
metaphor forcefully rejects the idea that a person’s character is set in
stone; one can cultivate the attributes that are helpful in achieving
goals, and suppress attributes that are harmful. Iago’s cynical
philosophy of life prevents him from feeling remorse for his actions.
From his perspective, he simply exercises his will on others and
cannot be held accountable if those others lack his innate distrust and
suspicion. To Iago, Othello’s naïve belief in an “honest Iago” is the
real problem—not Iago’s treachery.
4. Denouement
The denounement stars as soon as desdemona dies. Minutes
after she dies Emilia figures out that Iago is responsible for the
whole mess.
act v scene i
One could argue that Iago’s deep-seated misogyny represents the
true source of the play’s dramatic action. After all, his unfounded
suspicion of his wife’s adultery is what initially leads him to desire
revenge against the men who have allegedly cuckolded him: Cassio
and Othello. Iago admits as much in a covertly ironic statement he
makes to Emilia in the final act. Referring to the wounding of Cassio
and the near slaying of Roderigo, Iago asserts to his wife: “This is
the fruits of whoring” (V.i.). In saying this to line Emilia, Iago
clearly means that Desdemona’s alleged adultery has led to violence.
However, the audience also understands Iago’s words in another
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light. We know that it was Iago who perpetrated these violent acts,
so when he characterizes them as “the fruits of whoring,” we can
interpret him as covertly admitting responsibility while also denying
fault. Such an interpretation makes sense when we recall Iago’s
suspicion that both Cassio and Othello have slept with Emilia. In this
sense, then, all of the events in the play unfold from Emilia’s
supposed “whoring.” Thus, Iago’s words also serve as a warning to
his wife.
5. Reversal
When othello stabs lago after finding out of his evil scheme
and sentenced Him to torture and life in orison.
act IV scene i
Most copies of “Othello” start with the stage direction “Enter
Othello and Iago” because higher ranking characters would be
followed by their subordinates. Interestingly, the First Quarto
edition, probably a transcript of the playwright’s foul papers and
published in 1622, begins with “Enter Iago and Othello”. In this
version, the scribe ignores dramatic convention and reduces the
eponymous hero’s status by indicating he should come on stage after
Iago.
This entrance seems to be more appropriate at this point in the story
because Iago is now in the ascendancy and Othello spends the scene
under his control.
This lack of power is clear when Othello is provoked by his ancient
and “falls in a trance”. According to “honest” Iago, this is Othello’s
“second fit” and his “lethargy must have his quiet course” or else he
“foams at mouth” and “breaks out to savage madness”. The
spectacle of Othello suffering uncontrollable muscular convulsions
on the stage floor is an obvious visual contrast to his imposing
presence at the start of the play when he stood tall and refused to be
subdued by Brabantio’s threats.
6. Domestic Tragedy
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The issues are limited to the scope of a family and personal
assistants of the Hero (marital relation and happiness, sexual
jealousy and personal revenge).
act II scene i
However, the death of a wife as some form of justice for her
infidelity—regardless of whether it is actually true or not—can be
more accurately deemed “domestic tragedies” as, according to
Vanita, the perceived privacy of the events between a husband and
wife separate them from the political tragedies that take place in the
public sphere. Othello is a prime example of a domestic tragedy;
both Othello, due to jealousy, and Iago, due to misogyny, inflict
verbal, emotional, and physical abuse on their wives throughout the
play ultimately culminating in the murder of their respective wives.
The main relationship in the play is between Othello and
Desdemona, which starts in a very romantic fashion.
8. Blank Verse
Shakespeare’s essential pattern in his plays is BLANK
VERSE (unrhymed iambic pentameter). Therefore, whenever a
reader notices a change in this pattern (a change in rhythm from
iambic to trochaic, a shift in meter from pentameter to tetrameter, or
a shift from poetry to prose) there is a reason for the change. With
the change, Shakespeare is creating a mood, establishing character
and something. Consider the context of the passages below and
discuss how structure and form affect meaning.
Act I, scene iii
DUKE OF VENICE
Let me speak like yourself, and lay a sentence, Which, as a grise or
step, may help these lovers Into your favour. When remedies are
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past, the griefs are ended By seeing the worst, which late on hopes
depended. To mourn a mischief that is past and gone Is the next way
to draw new mischief on. What cannot be preserved when fortune
takes Patience her injury a mockery makes. The robb'd that smiles
steals something from the thief; He robs himself that spends a
bootless grief.
BRABANTIO
So let the Turk of Cyprus us beguile; We lose it not, so long as we
can smile. He bears the sentence well that nothing bears But the free
comfort which from thence he hears, But he bears both the sentence
and the sorrow That, to pay grief, must of poor patience borrow.
These sentences, to sugar, or to gall, Being strong on both sides, are
equivocal: But words are words; I never yet did hear That the
bruised heart was pierced through the ear. I humbly beseech you,
proceed to the affairs of state. DUKE OF VENICE The Turk with a
most mighty preparation makes for Cyprus. Othello, the fortitude of
the place is best known to you; and though we have there a substitute
of most allowed sufficiency, yet opinion, a sovereign mistress of
effects, throws a more safer voice on you. you must therefore be
content to slubber the gloss of your new fortunes with this more
stubborn and boisterous expedition.
IAGO
It is merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will. Come,
be a man. Drown thyself! drown cats and blind puppies. I have
professed me thy friend and I confess me knit to thy deserving with
cables of perdurable toughness; I could never better stead thee than
now. Put money in thy purse; follow thou the wars; defeat thy favour
with an usurped beard; I say, put money in thy purse. It cannot be
that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor, -- put
money in thy purse, -- nor he his to her: it was a violent
commencement, and thou shalt see an answerable sequestration: --
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put but money in thy purse. These Moors are changeable in their
wills: fill thy purse with money: -- the food that to him now is as
luscious as locusts, shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida.
She must change for youth: when she is sated with his body, she will
find the error of her choice: she must have change, she must:
therefore put money in thy purse. If thou wilt needs damn thyself, do
it a more delicate way than drowning. Make all the money thou
canst: if sanctimony and a frail vow betwixt an erring barbarian and
a supersubtle Venetian not too hard for my wits and all the tribe of
hell, thou shalt enjoy her; therefore make money. A pox of drowning
thyself! it is clean out of the way: seek thou rather to be hanged in
compassing thy joy than to be drowned and go without her.
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CHAPTER III
Motive of Jealousy In every drama work, there are conflicts between the
actors. In the drama Othello the conflict is so real and the motivation for the
emergence of the conflict is jealousy between the perpetrators and dominating
the entire story. Because of that, Othello's drama is called the tragedy of
jealousy.
Conclusion Shakespeare draws material for his works from history, fairy
tales (legends), and his own stories. But these materials are processed in such a
way that the results are original creations. This method was commonly used by
drama writers at that time. With regard to Shakespeare it is customary to say
that he is difficult to compare as a story writer, character painter, homorist and
rhetoric expert. Because his imagination is vast and pervades the whole human
mind and which enables him to penetrate all the secrets of human nature and
motives. In Othello's work we can see how he tries to convey the various
characters or traits of the existing actors, which he tries to put into writing in a
captivating manner. Shakespeare also tries to bring up the motives that cause
tragedy in Othello's work which he arranges so beautifully, that we feel carried
away when we read it.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/style/
https://sites.google.com/site/hyorienglish1/drama-analysis
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-
plays/othello-moor-venice/