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William Shakespeare – Othello

Prepared by
Sheheryar Khan
Assistant Professor of English
Govt Post Graduate College, Attock.

Q.No.1 Discuss Shakespeare’s “Othello” as a tragedy.

Among all the Shakespearean tragedies Othello is the most painfully exciting and the
most terrible. From the very start, the attention of the audience is caught with the early speeches
and with an ominous boding of some direful consequences. The reader’s heart and mind are held in
a trance, experiencing the extremes of pity and fear, sympathy, repulsion, sickening hope and
dreadful expectation. In this tragedy, evil is only particularized in form of a single character
possessing an intellectual superiority so great that all the other characters are fascinated and
appalled throughout the tragic action. With its sinister settings, evil atmosphere and intriguing plot,
Othello is one of the greatest tragedies of Shakespeare. Othello as a tragedy can be analyzed with
respect to the following characteristics:

First of all we should study this great masterpiece regarding its construction. Othello is
not only the most masterly of the tragedies in point of construction but its method of construction is
unusual as well. It is unusual because the conflict begins late and advances without pause and with
accelerating speed to the final catastrophe. In this way it creates a most painful tension in the mind
of the audience. Also unlike other tragedies of Shakespeare, there is very little relief by way of the
comic after the conflict has begun. After that, at any rate, Iago’s humour never raises a smile. The
action moves in a most unified way and practically there is no digression at all. The intensity of the
action is so great that after reading the tragedy, one cannot remember there were some comic
scenes. In this way the highest superlative can be used for Othello with respect to its construction.

With respect to its subject matter, Othello is the most pessimistic of the tragedies of
Shakespeare as it deals with sexual jealously rising to the pitch of passion. The audience is amazed
and spell bound to see a spectacle so engrossing and painful and that of a great nature suffering the
torment of this passion. The effect becomes more hideous and direful because that great nature is
driven to it by a most villainous element. The thing which is most astonishing regarding sexual
jealously is that unlike other passions, this is not a passive suffering but its nature is active. The
effect of sexual jealously not only brings with it a sense of shame and humiliation but also such
jealously as experienced by Othello, inverts human nature and transforms him into a beast. What
spectacle can be more painful than that of this feeling when it is turned into a mixture of hate and
love and leads to a most dreadful of mental conflicts? The words uttered by Othello in this extreme
mental suffering completely reveal this fact:

I think my wife be honest, and think she is not,

I think thou art just, and think thou art not.

The intensity of suffering is so strong that Othello forms images of pollution in his mind and seeks
relief only in a bestial thirst for blood. We see a man going through it who was indeed great of heart
and whose name,

That was as fresh as Diana’s visage

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Is now begrimed and dark.

The passive suffering of Desdemona is anther striking feature of this tragedy. It is

the most nearly intolerable spectacle that Shakespeare offers us. It is intolerable because it is mere
suffering and not rising out of any activity. Desdemona is helpless, passive and can do nothing.
This helplessness makes the sight of her suffering more painful. She is helpless because her nature
is infinitely sweet and her love absolute. Even Iago admits this fact that she has got sweetest of
nature. He says,

She is so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition

That she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested.

It is true that we pity Othello even more than Desdemona but we watch Desdemona with more
distress and sorrow. Othello is a man contending another man but Desdemona is suffering without
any cause by the same person she loves.

We observe in Othello that the action and catastrophe of tragedy depend largely on
intrigue. But it is also a tragedy of character because Iago’s plot is Iago’s character in action. Also
it is built on his knowledge of Othello’s character, and could not otherwise have succeeded. Iago’s
intrigue occupies a position in the drama for which no parallel can be found in any other tragedy.
Some hint of it can be found in King Lear in the plot of Edmund but Edmund lacks that dexterity
and skill which are the defining characteristics of Iago. As it is in case of an intrigue plot, there is a
blend of sympathy and antipathy, also in Othello we sympathize with Desdemona and Othello and
condemn Iago for his wicked and vile designs. The intensity and sheer horror of this intrigue
reaches at its zenith in the handkerchief episode and at this point we fully realize its diabolical
nature.

In all the other great tragedies of Shakespeare, the action is placed in a distant period
and it is difficult to develop a sense of familiarity as we see in case of Hamlet, King Lear and
Macbeth. But when Othello was performed for the first time it was a drama of modern life. The
Turks had attacked Cyprus in 1570 and for the audience of that time the incidents were not distant
and unreal. The characters are also quite close to ordinary experience and the application of drama
in daily life is fairly easy. The stories of Hamlet and Macbeth are far removed from our minds and
we look at them in an indifferent and unconcerned way but Othello provides us a warmth and
colour not felt in any of other tragedies.

Another very important factor that makes Othello more a modern tragedy is that
unlike the other great works of that period it completely dispenses with the supernatural. In
Elizabethan time , supernatural is often an integral part of the structure of a play and of course for
the audience of 21st C it appears as something dated and artificial. Some of the tragedies of that
time can not even be conceived of without the supernatural which acts as an external agency to
bring about the tragic fall. Witches in Macbeth, ghost in Hamlet and Mephistopheles in Dr.Faustus
can be quoted as examples. These external or supernatural elements also contribute in making this
idea that the hero’s destiny is controlled by some sinister force which is bent on his destruction and
he is helpless before this force. But Othello is unique as well as modern among Shakespearean
tragedies that it does not fall back upon any super human design for its development. In this regard
the tragedy which comes near to Othello with respect to its faithfulness to character is King Lear.
But in King Lear the darkness and evil are presented in vast proportions and the events appear to be
beyond the control of human agency. On the other hand Othello is absolutely a tragedy brought
about by human element. On a subtle level it can be taken as a battle of wits and Iago comes out to
be a master of such battle. It does appear here and there that fate is playing its role as an external
agency especially after the temptation begins. We can say that despite Iago’s skill, fate also favours
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him. Time and again we feel that a chance word from Desdemona, a chance meeting of Othello and
Cassio would have destroyed Iago’s plot and ended his life. Desdemona drops her handkerchief at
the moment most favourable to him. Bianca arrives precisely when he wants to confirm Othello’s
deception. But this chance element also seems to us quite natural and this is the artistic skill of the
dramatist. We can confidently assert that Othello is a modern tragedy in the sense that unlike the
tradition of that time it completely excludes the external agents, especially the supernatural.

To conclude we can say that, Othello is one of the greatest masterpieces of

Shakespeare and it is not surprising that it affects our minds more and in strange ways as compared
to Hamlet, Macbeth or King Lear. Othello is also supreme with respect to its beauty, it is more
poetic and perfect in phrase and rhythm. Its structure is unified and never deviates from the central
issue. Unlike Hamlet it does not have intellectual beauty but instead it has more emotional depth. In
this way, Othello possess more aesthetic and artistic qualities and also unique characters as
compared to other tragedies of Shakespeare.

Q.No.2 Othello is a complex character. Discuss

Othello is one of William Shakespeare's great works of writing which delves into the
human mind and raw emotion. There is no other playwright in history who has ever been able to
explain the way we think and the way we act as individuals and as a group in the way Shakespeare
has. It may be audacious even to attempt a definition of his greatness, but it is not so difficult to
describe the gifts that enabled him to create imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that, whether
read or witnessed in the theatre, fill the mind and linger there. He is a writer of great intellectual
rapidity, perceptiveness, and poetic power. Other writers have had these qualities, but with
Shakespeare the keenness of mind was applied not to abstract or remote subjects but to human
beings and their complete range of emotions and conflicts. Other writers have applied their
keenness of mind in this way, but Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with words and images, so
that his mental energy, when applied to intelligible human situations, finds full and memorable
expression, convincing and imaginatively stimulating.

Othello is yet another character whose complexity has overwhelmed critics for five
hundred years. To some critics like Sir Edmund Chambers he is “the simple open-hearted
soldier”, “a gracious and doomed creature”, who is “an easy victim”. Also Theodore Spencer is
of the view that, “Othello is a kind of man that he is that a man like Iago can destroy him”. But
analyzing the character of Othello as a naïve soldier and a puppet can be misleading because
Shakespeare did not want him to appear like this. The reason for this impression lies in the fact that
these critics want to exonerate Othello, that he is not responsible for the catastrophe. Instead they
want Iago to be taken as the very incarnation of devil and thus responsible for whatever happens in
the tragedy. The simplicity of this view is quite evident as Othello is not the only person deceived
by Iago, but Cassio is also a victim but the difference between Cassio and Othello is that Cassio
accepts the responsibility. After Iago entices him to drink some more and he becomes drunk, gets
involved in a brawl and consequently dismissed from his office by Othello, he takes the blame by
saying,

Cassio: I will rather sue to be despised than to deceive so

good a commander with so slight, so drunken, and so in-
discreet an officer. Drunk? and speak parrot? and squabble? swagger? swear? and discourse
fustian with one's
own shadow ? O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast
no name to be known by, let us call thee devil! ... I
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The point is that Elizabethan audience would not have accepted this naïve Othello either. He should
be taken as a hero who invariably undertakes the responsibility of his actions.

It is a common tradition among Shakespearean critics that they always put Iago at the
centre of the action and thus try to acquit Othello of all responsibility. This is evident in Coleridge
and Bradley as their criticism is mainly focused on Iago’s motives or the motivelessness. But
before attempting the analysis of the tragedy we should accept this fact that the tragedy Othello is
primarily about Othello and it is his character in action and not Iago’s. Coleridge and Bradley
interpreted Othello not as jealous but a victim of machinations of an evil force. But a close reading
of the play suggests this fact that Othello is quite receptive to what Iago says. He says to Iago:

Farewell, farewell:
If more thou dost perceive, let me know more;
Set on thy wife to observe.

The greatest objection to this not easily jealous theory is that Othello is presented as trustful and
thus easily led astray by Iago. But if Othello is trustful why does he starts doubting his own wife,
the wife who left everything for him, her father, her country and her comfort? This really makes
him appear not as trustful but as a paranoid person who does not make any serious effort to confirm
his suspicions. The theory is further weakened by the fact the Othello is not a young and immature
husband but a man who is considerably advanced in years and should have analyzed the situation in
a more prudent way.

Another interesting trait of Othello’s character which is pointed out by T.S. Eliot is
that he is a victim of “Bovarysme” a term he coined based upon Flaubert’s character Madam
Bovary. Eliot has used this term to highlight the fact that Othello is not a realist but dwells in a self
created world based upon his delusional ideas of grandeur and romance. Even if we may not agree
with Eliot completely but it can be said about Othello that he is somewhat idealistic and entertains
many fancy ideas about himself and his profession. He exhibits this idealism first before the
Venetian senate when in a bombastic and eloquent language he narrates how he seduced
Desdemona with his account of “the battles, sieges, fortunes” that he passed. We fully grasp the
extent of this romanticism in his “farewell” speech when he asserts that after being cuckolded by
Desdemona he would never be the same soldier again,

“Farewell the tranquil mind, farewell content:

Farewell the plumed troop, and the big wars,
That makes ambition virtue.”

At the end when he is about to commit suicide, he continues to see himself in this light when he
narrates that incident in Aleppo when he killed a “malignant and a turbaned Turk” and requests
the persons present there to tell his tale in a favourable manner. It can be argued here that this
delusional self image might also have contributed in Othello’s fall as it made him quite incapable of
seeing things as they are. This habit of judging things in this perspective made him a good soldier
but did not help him in his matrimonial life.

There is also another theory which states that Othello is at his best when he decides
impulsively and that rational judgments are not his forte. His life is the life of a soldier, full of
adventure, heroism and nobility. His impulsiveness has exalted him in the ranks of army and in the
eyes of his peers and with him now it is a second habit. Infact he falls because Iago forces him to
leave his ground and start judging things rationally. When he relies on his impulses he knows that
Desdemona loves him and he trusts her completely. Iago’s first attack comes when he asks Othello
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to look at Desdemona – Cassio relationship rationally. Cassio was the one who served as his
messenger during courtship and also he is a subtle slippery knave and never be trusted when it
comes to women. Secondly, Iago makes Othello see the very unnaturalness of his marriage with
Desdemona by saying,

“Not to affect many proposed matches,

Of her own clime, complexion, and degree,
Whereto we see in all things nature tends;
Fie, we may smell in such a will most rank,
Foul disproportion; thoughts unnatural.”

Then he puts this thought in his mind that Desdemona is not an individual but a typical Venetian
woman,

“I know our country’s disposition well;

In Venice they do let God see the pranks
They dare not show their husbands: their best conscience
Is not to leave undone; but keep unknown.”

Thirdly, Iago dramatizes the “Handkerchief Episode” in such a shrewd manner that Othello starts
looking at the whole situation in a Rational light. For the first time he doubts his impulses and
that’s when his downfall starts. His judgments which up till this moment were completely
impulsive become pseudo rational and he loses confidence in himself, in Desdemona and in
everything. Iago is a cynic who considers loyalty as foolishness, honesty as vice and love as lust
and he forces Othello to look at all these virtues in the same light. Under the influence of this dark
logic, Othello stops looking at his wife as an individual and starts taking her as a typical woman
who deceives out of her nature. Looking at things with this skeptical point of view, Othello takes
even half truths as confirmations of holy writ. The behaviour of Desdemona also contributes to
confirm these half truths. Despite the fact Desdemona is guiltless but she handles the suit of Cassio
in the most indiscreet manner. She should have realized this fact that her husband is not inclined to
reinstate Cassio at present and there must be some reason behind it. She continues to pursue the
matter and in this way she does what Iago wants her to do.

“And by how much she strives to do him good

She shall undo her credit with the Moor.”

In this way Desdemona unknowingly becomes an instrument of Iago.

Societies must produce ideologies that will maintain production of a great many
things. Not only do societies need to produce food, energy, and goods to trade; they also need to
produce "understandings" of "a system of social relationships. Ideological potency arises from its
ability to make what is happening around us seem like a plausible account (story/discourse). Potent
ideology is that which produces the greatest degree of plausibility.
Although ideology is produced at all points of the cultural spectrum, nowhere is it more powerful
than in the stories (discourses) of the powerful elite. The discourses of the elite sound more
plausible than explanations (stories) of those who have been marginalized (as Othello has). Stories
of the marginalized sound suspicious, while the discourses of those who speak (or appear to speak)
within the ideological powerbase (Lodovico, Brabantio, and just about everyone but Othello) sound
reasonable, obvious, and full of common sense.
Iago's story (discourse) works, not because he is cunning, but because his lies perfectly mirror the
presumptions, assumptions, and prejudices of a Venetian culture that sees blacks as exotic, inferior
to whites, ignorant, barbaric. Even Othello resigns himself to this perception of himself because he
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is engulfed by the overpowering ideology of Venice's political, economic, and cultural elite---a
society that uses him for his prowess as a general, yet is unwilling to include him as a member. As
Althusser would put it, Othello is interpolated by the state as a savage, and he eventually answers
its powerful call. Iago's stratagems work, not because of his ingenuity, but because his lies are
"plausible" and "sensible" to the Venetians and even (tragically) to Othello himself. Othello kills
himself because he cannot reconcile his barbaric nature (by Venetian standards) with the ideal of
the "civilized" man Venice purports to produce. As Ania Loomba puts it,

“Othello moves from being a colonized subject existing on the terms of white Venetian society
and trying to internalize its ideology, towards being marginalized, outcast and alienated from
it in every way until he occupies his...position as its other.”

This modern interpretation suggests that the success of Iago is not the success of an individual
alone but the whole socio-political and economic system worked against him. His marriage to
Desdemona brings this fact to light that despite his acceptance of the ideology of the Venetian
culture, Othello continues to be an alien, an Other and this factor contributes to his fall.

Q.No.3 A study of the character from Shakespeare's “Othello”.

Among Shakespeare's other characters, the one that most closely resembles Desdemona is
Miranda; the figures are differently draped, the proportions are the same. There is the same
modesty, tenderness, and grace; the same artless devotion in the affections, the same predisposition
to wonder, to pity, to admire; the same almost ethereal refinement and delicacy. But all is pure
poetic nature within Miranda and around her; Desdemona is more associated with the palpable
realities of everyday existence, and we see the forms and habits of society tinting her language and
deportment: no two beings can be more alike in character, nor more distinct as individuals.
The love of Desdemona for Othello appears at first such a violation of all probabilities
that her father at once imputes it to magic, "to spells and mixtures powerful o'er the blood."
She--in spite of nature,
Of years, of country, credit, every thing--
To fall in love with what she fear'd to look on!
And the devilish malignity of Iago, whose coarse mind cannot conceive affection founded purely
on sentiment, derives from her love itself a strong argument against her. At the period of the story a
spirit of wild adventure had seized all Europe. It was the age of exploration and the west was in the
process of discovering the east i.e. Asia and Africa. From these the adventurers returned with tales
of
"Antres vast and deserts wild--of cannibals that did each other eat--of Anthropophagi, and
men whose heads did grow beneath their shoulders."
With just such stories did Raleigh and Clifford, and their followers, return from the New World:
and thus by their splendid or fearful exaggerations, the passion for the romantic and marvellous
nourished at home, particularly among the women. Such narratives were sure to win the hearts and
fancy of women. What was a general feature of his time, Shakespeare seized and adapted to his
purpose with the most exquisite felicity for effect. No wonder Desdemona leaves the comforts of
her home and her father and is enchanted by hair-breadth 'scapes, and moving accidents by flood
and field, of which he has to tell. Her exceeding gentleness and timidity, and her domestic turn of
mind, render her more easily captivated by the military renown, the valour, and lofty bearing of the
noble Moor,
And to his honours and his valiant parts
Does she her soul and fortune consecrate.
The confession and the excuse for her love is well placed in the mouth of Desdemona,
while the history of the rise of that love, and of his course of wooing, is, with the most graceful
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propriety, as far as she is concerned, spoken by Othello, and in her absence. The last two lines
summing up the whole--
She loved me for the dangers I had passed,
And I loved her that she did pity them—
Desdemona displays at times a transient energy, arising from the power of affection, but her
gentleness overcomes this energy and she appears to us as a passive sufferer. Othello recognizes
her this quality when he says,
Then of so gentle a condition!
The exceeding softness of Desdemona's temper is turned against her by Iago, so that it suddenly
strikes Othello in a new point of view, as the inability to resist temptation. In the handkerchief
episode her gentleness works against her and she fails to clarify her positions. Othello makes poor
Desdemona believe that the handkerchief was a talisman.
There's magick in the web of it:
A Sybil, that had number'd in the world
The sun to course two hundred compasses,
In her prophetic fury sew'd the work:
Desdemona, whose soft credulity, whose fascination for the marvellous, whose imagination had
first directed her thoughts and affections to Othello, is precisely the woman to be frightened out of
her senses by such a tale as this, and betrayed by her fears. It is most natural in such a being, and
shows us that even in the sweetest natures there can be no completeness and consistency without
moral energy.
When Othello first outrages her in a manner which appears inexplicable, she seeks and
finds excuses for him. She is so innocent, that not only she cannot believe herself suspected, but she
cannot conceive the existence of guilt in others.
Something, sure, of state--
Either from Venice; or some unhatch'd practice
Made demonstrable here in Cyprus to him--
Hath puddled his clear spirit.
And when the direct accusation of crime is flung on her in the vilest terms, it does not anger but
stun her, as if it transfixed her whole being. She attempts no reply, no defence and reproach or
resistance never enters her thought. Infact she can not imagine that somebody can give her that
name that she even hates to utter. She asks Iago,
DESDEMONA: Am I that name, Iago?
IAGO: What name, fair lady?
DESDEMONA: Such as, she says, my lord did say I was?
We should keep this in view that she was brought up in such an environment where it was
impossible for her to have first hand knowledge of human psyche and this is the reason that she
fails to understand her own husband. Despite the fact that there is ample evidence for her to suspect
that her husband is harboring some suspicions about her and he is behaving oddly, she continues to
fight the case of Cassio and thus contributes to aggravate the situation.
In her choosing of Othello as her husband, she exercises her own desire, subverting the
female role of passivity within the patriarchal order, and marries him without parental consent.
This is a rather courageous act of will, which could have resulted in much strife. However, she
handles the situation with cleverness and a manipulation which outwits the male judges who listen
to her. Desdemona by her cleverness thus appears obedient in her disobedience. Shakespeare shows
Desdemona's behaviour in her relationship with Othello before the marriage to be slightly
manipulative also. She says to him that if he had a friend that loved her he should but teach him
how to tell his story and that would woo her.
However, when she is married she slips into the role of the submissive wife. Obedient to
Othello's every command, she says to Emilia - after Othello tells her peremptorily ‘Get you to bed
on th'instant' - 'we must not now displease him'. At this point Desdemona becomes more of a
stereotype, her identity disappearing as Othello's jealousy becomes more defined. Her identity
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diminishes until she fits into the stereotype of the silent woman. Othello denies her right to a voice
when he says;
'Was this fair paper, this most goodly book
Made to write ‘whore’ upon?'
Desdemona's goodness furthermore is not simply passive or weak but an act of will. Her refusal to
blame Othello for his terrible treatment of her, when he suspects her of betrayal, must not be
viewed as simple subservience but as a self-willed refusal to accept a bad opinion of the husband
she has chosen. When he is behaving deplorably towards her she refuses to acknowledge his
identity;
'My lord is not my lord, 'nor should I know him
Were he in favour as in humour altered'.
She stands by her acceptance of her love for him as something sacred, with a martyr-like
determination. She tells Emilia;
'His unkindness may defeat my life,
But never taint my love.'
She thus obeys her own heart rather than patriarchal rules, extending this determination through to
death, so that with her last breath - when Emilia asks;
'Who hath done this deed?' she can reply 'Nobody, I myself'.
Othello's conviction that even upon dying she lies by claiming this self-death bears witness to the
whole tragedy of the play, Othello's inability to see beneath the surface of stereotypical conceptions
of femininity. By claiming this death for herself she re-affirms her self-hood.
In the end we can say that Desdemona can not be taken as a passive fool who suffers and
her virtue is in fact her idiocy. She is a complete woman and she has the courage to go against the
established norms. But her tragedy is that she lives in a patriarchal society which does not allow her
to explore her Self. After she has defied the patriarchal authority for once and married Othello, now
she knows that she cannot do it time and again. She can not let other people say that she committed
a mistake in marrying Othello. In order to save her social status and reputation she must submit. In
this way she is not foolish but a realist who knows that all odds are against her. Infact her character
can also be studied as individual vs society.

Q.No.4 Iago is considered as ‘no great devil’ he represents an ordinary, average, little man.
Express your views.

Othello, as it is considered, is of all Shakespeare’s tragedies the simplest. The theme is simple,
limited and sharply defined and on the whole the play is a brilliantly successful piece of
workmanship. Despite its simplicity in relation to theme and method, it is one of the most complex
plays in relation to characterization. Especially its two principle characters, i.e. Othello and Iago are
misinterpreted by many critics. One school of thought represented by A.C. Bradley is of the view
that Iago is a devil incarnate and he is the one who traps the innocent Moor in his net of jealousy. In
this way Othello is completely exonerated by this school. On the other hand, the second school of
thought representing F.R. Leavis criticizes the approach of Bradley and states that Othello should
also be held responsible for whatever happens in the play. We would analyze Iago’s character
keeping in view these opposing stances.

We open our discussion with Coleridge who described the character of Iago as
“motive hunting of a motiveless malignity”. Coleridge has based his argument on this fact that
through out the play Iago does not happen to be confident enough of his purposes. A man who has
definite motives does not continue to find reasons for his actions. Iago’s motives appear and
disappear in the most extraordinary manner. For example, he mentions Cassio’s appointment in the
first conversation with Roderigo and from that moment on he never mentions it again in the whole
play. His hatred of Othello is also mentioned only in the first act and he never refers to it again. His
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suspicion of Cassio’a affair with Emilia emerges suddenly as an after thought in his 2nd soliloquy
and then disappears forever. Also when Othello is suffering he does not seem to be pleased that he
had taken the revenge. Coleridge is of the view that in his soliloquies Iago plans and unconsciously
tries to justify it to himself. It is clearly obvious that he himself is not satisfied with the reasons he
gives to himself. The question is that what is the root of his motiveless malignity? The probable
answer is that Iago is a person who has a high opinion of himself and a great contempt for others.
He thinks that he is superior to others in many respects. He either disbelieves in or despises the
qualities in which they are superior to him. All this description proves Iago a person of diabolic
intellect who destroys all those things which do not fit in his frame of reference. This view of Iago
as a devil incarnate owes its origin to Romantic fascination with the diabolic and the savage. If we
believe in this interpretation then Iago appears to us as a person of inhuman barbarity which does
not seem to be plausible.

This romantic fascination as depicted by Coleridge also served as a base for Bradley’s
interpretation. According to the version of Othello elaborated by Bradley the tragedy is the undoing
of the noble Moor by the devilish cunning of Iago. Othello we are to see as a nearly faultless hero
whose strength and virtue are turned against him. Othello and Desdemona had every ground for
expecting the happiness in their marriage if it were not for an external evil, the malice of a demi-
devil that turned a happy story of romantic love into a tragedy. Othello is purely noble, strong,
generous, and trusting and becomes the victim of a demonic plot. Bradley says that Iago is not an
ordinary villain and he has remarkable powers of intellect and will. His insight into human nature is
unmatchable and he plans and executes in the most skillful manner. He is so strong of will that he
never betrays his true nature and he seems to be the master of all those emotions which make a
human being weak. Even in the gravest moments he never shows a trace of nervousness. When he
is attacked and wounded by Othello in the end, he is unmoved and unperturbed. He calls all love,

Merely a lust of the blood and permission of the will.

But all this proves Iago not a man of flesh and blood but a demon and a fiend in human form.
Shakespeare would not like Iago to be seen in this light because it is monstrous and beyond belief
and it deprives Iago of his essential humanity.

F.R.Leavis seems to have a much balanced approach when it comes to Iago’s

character. Leavis does not look at Iago as person of inhuman qualities who can fool every person he
likes. He is of the view that if we look at Iago as a Romantic Devil, as a Mephistopheles, then
Othello can not be held responsible for whatever happens in the play. In the tragedy Othello is the
chief personage and the whole play should be seen as Othello’s character in action and not that of
Iago’s. Bradley says that Othello is not easily jealous but is made jealous by the machinations of
Iago. But Bradley is here ignoring an utterance of Othello which proves him otherwise. While
considering the possible causes of Desdemona’s infidelity, Othello says;

Haply, for I am black

And have not those soft parts of conversation
That chamberers have, or for I am declined
Into to the vale of years.

This indicates that unconsciously Othello is aware of this fact that his marriage is not a proper
match and Desdemona can betray him. Iago’s sustained attack begins at about line 90 in Act III Sc
iii, immediately upon Desdemona’s exit and Othello’s exclamation:

Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul,

But I do love thee! And when I love thee not,
 10

Chaos is come again.

But Othello’s jealousy starts engulfing his mind immediately and after 70 lines he is in such a state
that the only words that come out of his mouth are;

O, Misery.

Iago says to him;

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy.

And use the word cuckold. In 90 lines Othello is saying;

Why did I marry?

This is sufficient to prove that the elements of jealousy were present in the nature of Othello
otherwise he would not have believed insinuations of Iago so readily. Iago is not a super human
intellect but he merely invokes those hidden complexes which Othello does not know even existed.
Othello has from the beginning responded to Iago’s communications in the way Iago desired and
says to him;

Farewell, farewell
If more thou dost perceive, let me know more;
Set on thy wife to observe.

This evidence is enough to prove that Othello is jealous and he himself is not aware of this fact
because he never faced a situation like this before.

Bradley says about Othello

His trust, when he trusts, is absolute.

It is another attempt at the glorification of Othello and if we study the play closely, we can see that
Othello is not of trusting nature at all. Iago knows this fact and fully exploits it. When Othello
trusts, he trusts Iago and his half truths at the expense of Desdemona. Iago’s power in the
temptation scene is that he represents something that is already in the mind of Othello. Infact
Othello does not trust Iago but his own instincts which continue to tell him that a woman like
Desdemona can never be faithful to him. In one of his soliloquies he considers himself a type and
not an individual and says that it is the destiny of all the great ones to be cuckolded by their wives;

Yet, 'tis the plague of great ones;

Prerogatived are they less than the base;
'Tis destiny unshunnable, like death:
Even then this forked plague is fated to us
When we do quicken.

Iago is a shrewd person and he has this ability to read weaknesses in the character of other people.
He realizes this fact that Othello likes to idealize himself and always associates himself with types
of grandeur. He utilizes this fact and forces Othello to see Desdemona as a type too.

I know our country disposition well;

In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks
 11

They dare not show their husbands; their best conscience

Is not to leave't undone, but keep't unknown.

From this moment on Desdemona becomes, a Venetian wife, a type and he stops seeing her as an
individual. This is where his downfall starts. So we should see this that Iago’s prompt
success is not so much Iago’s diabolic intellect as Othello’s readiness to respond.

From this discussion we can draw this conclusion that just like Hamlet is a play about
Hamlet, Macbeth about Macbeth, and King Lear about King Lear so Othello is about Othello. The
tragedy of Othello is not about Iago and his diabolic intellect. He is merely a human being who
does have an eye for human frailties and uses this knowledge for his advantage. The root of the
tragedy lies in the character of the protagonist. Othello listens attentively to poison poured in his
ears by Iago and never ever makes a serious attempt to confirm his suspicions. If for once he had
asked Cassio or his wife, the whole plot of Iago might have crumbled. His jealous nature, his
impulsiveness, and the habit of self-dramatization contribute to his tragic downfall. Tragedy is
inherent in the character of Othello and Iago is merely a mechanism necessary for actualization of
this tragedy. If any exceptional qualities Iago possess is his knowledge of Othello’s mind and
power to manipulate others to accomplish his designs. This is also important to note that all the
characters in the play call him Honest and this indicates the in the past he was never involved in
such activities and this is the reason that he has earned this title. Despite the fact that he is
successful in the execution of his plot but in the end he is exposed and this proves that he does have
imperfections and this is enough to make him ordinary, average little man.

Q.No.5 Is Desdemona simply a passive fool? Is her virtue tantamount to idiocy? Or can she be
conceived of as strong and even valiant. What are your views and why?

In order to proceed in exploring the women's role in Shakespearean plays, one should consider first
the social context to which they belong, i.e. the Elizabethans society, as well as the theme and the
plot in which they appear. Despite the power of Elizabeth I, women during this time had very little
authority, autonomy, or recognition. Women gained their status based on the position of either their
father or their husband. Even more restricting than economic rights were the social and political
rights of women. They were expected to be silent observers, submissive to their husbands. Women
who attempted to assert their views were seen as a threat to social order. This is significant in that
the maintenance of social order was an extremely important aspect of Elizabethan society.
Shakespeare is highly sensitive to his target audience in every step of the writing process. He
actively plays upon the beliefs and fears of the Elizabethans. With characters such as Goneril and
Cleopatra, Shakespeare demonstrates the devastating effects of female rebellion against social
order. Shakespeare invokes sympathy in the audience by creating characters of extreme feminine
virtue such as Cordelia, Miranda. However, Shakespeare often creates ambiguous emotions in the
audience by introducing an element of intelligence and boldness in the case of Isabella and
Desdemona. Which is the real Desdemona? Is she a passive sufferer, a victim, a defiant and bold
woman or the one who loved unwisely? Answer to these would help us to judge her in true light.

Desdemona excites many contrasting emotions among the audience. She is a woman of
great beauty and charm for whom;

Tempests themselves, high seas, howling winds do omit their common nature.

In spite of all this nobility, simplicity and beauty, her character is shrouded in a mystery. In the
beginning, she appears to us as woman of determination, boldness and valour who has the courage
to defy all the social norms and customs. Her father thinks that Othello
 12

Hast practised on her with foul charms,

Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals.

But in a respectful and yet firm manner, she denies such charge and when her father asks her to
whom she owes allegiance, she replies;

I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband,

And so much duty as my mother show'd
To you, preferring you before her father,
So much I challenge that I may profess
Due to the Moor my lord.

And after sometimes she shocks us through, her downright violence and scorn of fortunes when she
refuses to be left behind;

I saw Othello's visage in his mind,

And to his honour and his valiant parts
Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.
So that, dear lords, if I be left behind,
A moth of peace, and he go to the war,
The rites for which I love him are bereft me,
And I a heavy interim shall support
By his dear absence. Let me go with him.

But when we meet her in Cyprus, she appears to be a completely transformed person. She suffers
passively and in the end she has little knowledge of her guilt for which she is falsely murdered.
What kind of change is this and how does it reflects her true personality?

Before judging her too harshly and deeming her as a woman of no intellect whose idiocy
is the cause of her downfall, we should first have a look at the social context of the play.
Elizabethan society, just like all other societies, was patriarchal so it can be argued that the tragedy
occurs from adherence to patriarchal rules and stereotypes. Gayle Greene summarizes this position
in her claim that the tragedy of Othello stems from 'men's misunderstandings of women and
women’s inability to protect themselves from society's conception of them'. Certainly
Desdemona's very much feminized qualities of passivity, softness and obedience are no match for
Othello's masculine qualities of dominance, aggression and authority. After Othello in his jealousy
has struck Desdemona and spoken harshly to her, she tells Iago, 'I am a child to chiding'. Protected
by a system which makes women the weaker, dependent sex, Desdemona is unequipped to deal
with such aggression; she is helpless against Othello. As Dreher puts it 'following conventional
patterns of behaviour for wives and daughters, these women lose their autonomy and
intimacy and do not achieve adulthood'. Desdemona thus retreats into childlike behaviour to
escape from reality. With regard to men's misunderstandings of women, Greene points out that
Iago's manipulation of Othello - the cause of the tragedy - occurs only because of 'the views of
women the moor already possessed'. This is certainly a convincing argument, for Othello all-too-
easily accepts a stereotypical view of his wife based on the authority of a male voice. He loses sight
of the real Desdemona, allowing every action of hers, once his suspicion is stimulated, to reaffirm
this stereotypical conception of her. Desdemona does possess some exceptional qualities as she
exhibits these through her rebellious attitude but the patriarchal values do not allow her to explore
these talents. She successfully defies one patriarch i.e. her father but in doing so she accepts another
one.
.
 13

In her choosing of Othello as her husband, she exercises her own desire, subverting the
female role of passivity within the patriarch, and marries him without parental consent. This is a
rather courageous act of will, which could have resulted in much strife. However, she handles the
situation with cleverness and a manipulation which outwits the male judges who listen to her.
Desdemona by her cleverness thus appears obedient in her disobedience. Shakespeare shows
Desdemona's behaviour in her relationship with Othello before the marriage to be slightly
manipulative also. She says to him that if he had a friend that loved her he should but teach him
how to tell his story and that would woo her.

However, when she is married she slips into the role of the submissive wife. Obedient to Othello's
every command, she says to Emilia - after Othello tells her peremptorily ‘Get you to bed on
th'instant' - 'we must not now displease him'. At this point Desdemona becomes more of a
stereotype, her identity disappearing as Othello's jealousy becomes more defined. Her identity
diminishes until she fits into the stereotype of the silent woman. Othello denies her right to a voice
when he says;

'Was this fair paper, this most goodly book

Made to write ‘whore’ upon?'

Desdemona's goodness furthermore is not simply passive or weak but an act of will. Her refusal to
blame Othello for his terrible
treatment of her, when he suspects her of betrayal, must not be viewed as simple subservience but
as a self-willed refusal to accept
a bad opinion of the husband she has chosen. When he is behaving deplorably towards her she
refuses to acknowledge his identity;

'My lord is not my lord, 'nor should I know him

Were he in favour as in humour altered'.

She stands by her acceptance of her love for him as something sacred, with a martyr-like
determination. She tells Emilia;

'His unkindness may defeat my life,

But never taint my love.'

She thus obeys her own heart rather than patriarchal rules, extending this determination through to
death, so that with her last breath - when Emilia asks;

'Who hath done this deed?' she can reply 'Nobody, I myself'.

Othello's conviction that even upon dying she lies by claiming this self-death bears witness to the
whole tragedy of the play, Othello's inability to see beneath the surface of stereotypical conceptions
of femininity. By claiming this death for herself she re-affirms her self-hood.

In the end we can say that Desdemona can not be taken as a passive fool who suffers and
her virtue is in fact her idiocy. She is a complete woman and she has the courage to go against the
established norms. But her tragedy is that she lives in a patriarchal society which does not allow her
to explore her Self. After she has defied the patriarchal authority for once and married Othello, now
she knows that she cannot do it time and again. She can not let other people say that she committed
a mistake in marrying Othello. In order to save her social status and reputation she must submit. In
this way she is not foolish but a realist who knows that all odds are against her. Infact her character
can also be studied as individual vs society.
 14

Q.No.6. Write a note on women characters in ‘Othello’.

In order to proceed in exploring the women's role in Shakespearean plays, one should consider first
the social context to which they belong, i.e. the Elizabethan society, as well as the theme and the
plot in which they appear. Despite the power of Elisabeth,I, women during this time had very little
authority, autonomy, or recognition. Women gained their status based on the position of either their
father or their husband. Even more restricting than economic rights were the social and political
rights of women. They were expected to be silent observers, submissive to their husbands. Women
who attempted to assert their views were seen as a threat to social order. This is significant in that
the maintenance of social order was an extremely important aspect of Elizabethan society.
Shakespeare is highly sensitive to his target audience in every step of the writing process.
He actively plays upon the beliefs and fears of the Elizabethans. With characters such as Goneril
and Cleopatra, Shakespeare demonstrates the devastating effects of female rebellion against social
order. Shakespeare invokes sympathy in the audience by creating characters of extreme feminine
virtue such as Cordelia, Miranda. However, Shakespeare often creates ambiguous emotions in the
audience by introducing an element of intelligence and boldness in the case of Isabella and
Desdemona. Despite the relative insignificance of women in Elizabethan social order, Shakespeare
uses them in many significant ways. He seems to be extremely sensitive to the importance of
women in society even though they are often overlooked. The idea that men are often a product of
the women in their lives is indirectly suggested in the significant impact women have on men in the
plays. Isabella has a profound influence in the lives of Angelo and Claudio; Desdemona, by no true
fault of her own, turns out to be both a blessing and a curse in the life of Othello; Cleopatra is a
major cause of Antony's downfall. Although having little respect in the social order of Elizabethan
society, Shakespeare recognises women as a real and significant part of society. Like all aspects of
Shakespeare's plays, the female characters play a significant role in contributing to plot and theme.
Therefore, both the comedies and the tragedies bear the mark of women, one way or
another. In Shakespeare, women do not constitute main characters and yet, they play main parts,
meaning that beside every strong male character, there is a woman. For instance, the tragedy of
Othello is unlike many other Shakespearean plays, in that the leading female characters are wiser
and more rational than the main male characters. Throughout the play, quite often the women are
the ones who offer reason to the chaotic world led by men.

Desdemona, despite Iago's innuendoes, is an ideal wife to Othello. Iago, with his
devilish plans and Othello, with his uncontrollable jealousy represent the evil in the play while the
women reflect the goodness and sanity. Desdemona is the prototype of womanhood 1. She is very
charming, symbolising the woman ready to face the unknown of marriage being lured into the
mystery that surrounds her husband. Very beautiful and tender, she is a true gentle woman, but
becomes the naive victim in this tragedy. She falls in love with a man who is older, poorer, and
uglier than she is. She pities him because of his tragic life and respects him for his endurance for
pain. She displays her rational and brave characteristics when she stands up to her father and tells
him that, like her mother, she must show her 'duty' to her husband. This young woman also boldly
asks the Duke if she can go with Othello to Cyprus so that she will not just be a 'moth of peace'
while her noble husband is fighting for their country. The Duke, like all of the characters in the
play, respects Desdemona and her wishes and allows her to leave with Othello.
 15

Every person, both male and female, respects and praises Desdemona. Iago repeatedly
speaks of Desdemona's 'honest' and 'goodness'. Both he and Cassio agree that she is a 'most
exquisite lady'. Emilia also shows her admiration of her when she defends Desdemona's honour to
Othello. She tries to convince him that his wife is 'honest, chaste, and true'.
Desdemona is a loyal spouse who will do absolutely anything for her husband. Even when
he is falsely accusing her of adultery and sin, Desdemona defends Othello. Desdemona does not
blame him; she tries to understand what has upset him. She is an unselfish victim who defends her
husband to the very end of her life. Even when Othello kills her in a jealous rage, Desdemona does
not want her husband to be responsible for her death. She claims that 'nobody, I myself' committed
this tragic deed. Her death does not destroy either the ideal of the ideal marriage, or that of love, but
only that of the impulsive and hazardous marriage.
Desdemona displays at times a transient energy, arising from the power of affection, but her
gentleness overcomes this energy and she appears to us as a passive sufferer. Othello recognizes
her this quality when he says,

Then of so gentle a condition!

The exceeding softness of Desdemona's temper is turned against her by Iago, so that it suddenly
strikes Othello in a new point of view, as the inability to resist temptation. In the handkerchief
episode her gentleness works against her and she fails to clarify her positions. Othello makes poor
Desdemona believe that the handkerchief was a talisman.

There's magick in the web of it:

A Sybil, that had number'd in the world
The sun to course two hundred compasses,
In her prophetic fury sew'd the work:

Desdemona, whose soft credulity, whose fascination for the marvellous, whose imagination had
first directed her thoughts and affections to Othello, is precisely the woman to be frightened out of
her senses by such a tale as this, and betrayed by her fears. It is most natural in such a being, and
shows us that even in the sweetest natures there can be no completeness and consistency without
moral energy.

Another important female character in Othello is Emilia. Like Desdemona, she is a brave
and respectable character. Emilia continually attempts to convince Othello of Desdemona's
innocence, but he will not listen to her reasoning.

I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest,

Lay down my soul at stake: if you think other,
Remove your thought; it doth abuse your bosom.
If any wretch have put this in your head,
Let heaven requite it with the serpent's curse!
For, if she be not honest, chaste, and true,
There's no man happy; the purest of their wives
Is foul as slander.

Instead of believing in her, Othello starts considering her an accomplice in the crime and abuses
her. Whatever Emilia is saying, she is saying with certainty, as she is always keeps the company of
Desdemona and if there was something to be suspected , she might have known. On the other
hand, Othello has based his charges merely on circumstantial evidence and he does not have the
proof of any kind.
 16

Despite the fact that Emilia is an uneducated and simple woman and does not know
much of the delicacies of life but she is more perceptive and practical as compared to most of the
characters in the play. Unlike Desdemona she is not naïve and unrealistic. She tells Desdemona that
there exist women in the world who deceive their husbands with a clear conscious. Desdemona
cannot believe it to be true. This indicates that Emilia possess more insight when it comes to every
day matters of life. Her perception is also much better as she is able to judge the nature of Othello
better than his wife. Desdemona assures her that Othello is not a man of jealous nature;

I think the sun where he was born

Drew all such humours from him.

But after a short while when Othello starts inquiring about the handkerchief, Emilia realizes that
Othello is jealous by nature and she asks Desdemona

Is not this man jealous?

More than once in the play Iago makes us believe that his wife is foolish and
also practically he does not give her any importance at all. Infact Iago here clearly demonstrates the
ideology of patriarchal culture that considers women as second class citizens. Iago can not even
imagine that his wife whom he considers a woman of no importance would defy him and would
become the cause of his failure. Indeed Emilia does possess the courage to challenge the existing
order. Towards the end she admits the fact that she is supposed to obey her husband but she would
not do that at this particular occasion and decides to speak the truth. Despite the fact the Othello is
her master and also a very intimidating person, she openly blames her for the murder of his wife by
calling him a fool and says that she does not care about her life.

Thou hast not half that power to do me harm

As I have to be hurt. O gull! O dolt!
As ignorant as dirt! thou hast done a deed--
I care not for thy sword; I'll make thee known,
Though I lost twenty lives.

Emilia is confident, calm, and rational when dealing with the men in this play. When
Iago mocks her uncontrollable 'tongue', Emilia does not overreact to his insults. She mostly ignores
his comments and says just enough to defend herself. She knows that her husband is just trying to
make himself look better, showing off for the people around him. Emilia is a loyal wife to Iago and
helps him unknowingly carry out his evil plans. However, when she discovers the truth behind his
lies, she fearlessly exposes him and all of his schemes. Emilia is a stout-hearted woman who will
do anything to defend innocent Desdemona and the truth.

In the end we can say that both women are representatives of their respective classes and
their characters tell us many things about Elizabethan social order. Despite the fact that patriarchal
social order of their time does not allow them to explore their true selves, even then these women
find ways to assert their identities. Desdemona and Emilia are also two individuals who are the
victims of circumstances and their tragic fate gives the play a new dimension. The two act as
perfect foils for their male counterparts. The presence of these two women injects a little sanity in
the proceedings and brings order in an otherwise chaotic world. In Othello, Shakespeare has
successfully blended the social and the individual in the form of these two timeless female
characters.