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Themes and literary devices in othello
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Moreover, Shakespeare presents Desdemona as a celestial figure at the start of Act 3 scene 3, as to when Cassio regards her as being ‘Bounteous’, meaning generous or plentiful. However, the word is often associated with agriculture and because of this; the word could also arguably be linked with the Cornucopia, or horn of plenty, which in Greco-Roman mythology was a personification of the Earth. This makes Desdemona seem ethereal and thus Goddess-like. This is further emphasised as to when Cassio almost dehumanise himself by referring to himself in third-person: “Whatever shall become of Michael Cassio”, which in contrast to Desdemona’s previous Goddess-like appearance, makes him seem almost worthless. Similarly, ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’
Othello was a Venetian general who was a great leader. Emilia was the wife of Iago, who was a soldier in Othello’s army. Both of these characters change because of the evil done by Iago. Iago’s goal was to destroy Othello’s life, and he succeeded. He was also very unkind to his submissive and humble wife.
In this article, Iyasere makes the claim that Emilia confesses what she has done and enounces Iago for just “to rid herself of the burden of guilt and liberate herself from eternal damnation.” While this assertion is correct and can be backed up, it doesn’t fully explore the reasons that Emilia denounces Iago. This theory behind Emilia’s confession forgets the crucial detail that Emilia could have been confessing out of her own loyalty and friendship to Desdemona. While Emilia was Desdemona’s lady in waiting, the two had developed a bond. That bond could been seen when the two would speak of their marraiges and talk about what could’ve been considered taboo subjects, such as Emilia suggesting she would be unfaithful if their was something to
Throughout history, honor has been highly regarded as being valued greatly by individuals and/or families. According to modern and historical societies, honor brings individuals and/or families innumerable amounts of reverence from other civilians. Whether it is being a high ranker or a altruistic person, honor comes in divergent paths. On the contrary, penalization could occur when one commits an indecent act that could eradicate reputation and accolade. In the book, Othello, a moor prince named Othello tears his relationship with his wife, Desdemona, when he uncovers that she had been cheating on her.
In this quote Iago’s choice of words shows how he sees her, as his possession. This is why Marxist criticism is the criticism that best describes Iago, he is the true definition of a Marxist character. He likes that sense of power that he has over her and their marriage. Iago doesn’t care about the relationship that he and Emilia have but he cares about what come with the thought of marriage. Typically in a marriage the man is who pays the bills, runs the household, and makes the wife stay home.
Prior to Othello’s speech, Brabantio expresses his concerns about Desdemona to the Duke of Venice. Brabantio’s main argument is that Desdemona could not have possibly fallen for Othello since he is dark-skinned and further accuses him of sorcery. Initially, the Duke agrees to support Brabantio’s request for the arrest of Desdemona’s alleged lover, but quickly changes his mind after learning that Desdemona plans to marry the admirable general, Othello. He then immediately confers power to the General and asks him to command the Venetian Army at Cyprus. Othello is aware that he is admired by the people of Venice, but still performs a lengthy speech to further gain support of his marriage to Desdemona.
The passage evokes pathos from the readers as they feel pity for Desdemona. Despite Desdemona’s pitiful circumstances, she remains melancholy and displays her unconditional love for Othello by accepting her fate under his false accusations of adultery. She is certain that her death will come but even on her deathbed, she defends her husband by stating, ”Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve” (Oth.4.3.53). This particular quote shows the depth of Desdemona’s love towards Othello. Her innocence and purity are shown through her faithful actions, but it is her unawareness of Iago’s manipulation that leads reader 's’ to pity Desdemona.
Each character present in a book serves an important purpose whether the reader likes them or not. Toni Morrison, author of the Desdemona wanted to remove Iago’s presence in her play because “He’s there [in the play Othello], eating up everything.” However, He cannot completely disappear since he played a major role,probably the most important one, in Othello that led to everyone else’s deaths. Although his name is barely mentioned in Desdemona, he is still alluded to because of his influence over Othello much like Barbary’s invisible presence that influences Desdemona in Othello. Because Othello and Desdemona are easily guided, Iago and Barbary’s invisible presence drives the stories.
Their fear of speaking up and standing out keeps them stuck in the cycle of their time. Emilia is a quiet and reserved character that does not speak up for herself. As the wife of the antagonist Iago, Emilia is constantly mistreated by her husband, who tells her, “You are pictures out of door, / You shall not write my praise./ bells in your parlors, wildcats in your kitchens, / saints in your injuries, devils being offended, players/ in your huswifery, and huswives in your beds” (Shakespeare 67) Later on, she discovers her dead maiden Desdemona with the Othello, and as Iago enters to continue weaving a web of lies she confronts him, speaking out against him. However, he once again tries to silence her by saying, “What, are you mad? I charge you, get you home.”
He ends up uses all the money Rodrigo gave him, for himself. Not only that, but Iago ends up killing Roderigo, he says, “if Roderigo lives, he’ll expect me to give back all the gold and jewels I swindled him out of as gifts to Desdemona, that must not happen.” Iago stabs Roderigo, and puts all the charges on him. Emilia is Iago’s wife as well as Desdemona’s maid, he lacks attention and sympathy towards her. It is very obvious that he does not care about her.
There is also a particular scene in the playing which Desdemona for shadows her death. She tells Emilia that if she should die before her maid, she wishes to die in her wedding sheets. In act four scene three Desdemona quotes “If I do die, before thee, prithee shroud me In one of these sheets”. The audience knows that Othello is going to kill Desdemona, but not how or where. And this basically spoils it.
Emilia was also involved in the problem which ended her life in a matter of minutes. Once Iago had no other than to confess Othello finally realized what a big of a mistake he had committed. He as well decides to end his life by stabbing himself. Othello, being one of the main characters in ‘Othello’, had been tricked and deceived by Iago, Emilia’s husband.
Women in this play shape the way the plot unfolds. Emilia is possibly the smartest women in this entire play and is not appreciated by her husband Lago. Emilia even goes as far as to help Lago with his evil plan and he never thanks her. Desdemona is the most important women character of the play and is treated the worst by her husband Othello. Desdemona is a loving and faithful wife and is not trusted by her husband.
Olson, Rebecca. “ Too Gentle: Jealousy and Class in Othello.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 3–25.
While Desdemona is a remarkably strong character, Emilia also displays independence unmatched by any other female in Othello, and there are multiple details of Shakespeare and his time that may have prompted such a portrayal. In Elizabethan England, many women worked behind the scenes of productions, like Shakespeare’s, as uncredited authors and editors (Crowley). Due to their anonymity, nobody can be sure that women were involved in Shakespeare’s plays nor Othello in particular, but there is a genuine possibility that female writers did have leverage. This may have had to do with how Emilia was portrayed as resilient from the time of Desdemona’s death all the way until her own, standing up for herself regardless of the ridicule it caused her (Iyasere). In fact, it even killed her in the end.
