Loss Of Power In Shakespeare's Othello

I. Introduction: The plot of any story revolves around the happiness of the protagonist and what he/she must do to achieve it, thus, the most relevant elements of the story are the ones which influence the characters’ happiness. Shakespeare’s Othello is fraught with underlying themes- of jealousy, of love, lust, racism, sexism. However, this acting company believes the most relevant theme to be of power, because the power a character has over the title character mirrors his or her happiness. The play details the fall of a powerful Venetian general, who attained such a status in spite of being a Moor, as a result of an ambitious and vengeful friend. As the general, Othello, loses power over himself through the manipulation of his traitorous

As Iago begins to convince Othello of his wife’s dishonesty, Othello loses power over his own opinion and actions, and is “bound to thee[Iago] forever”(III,iii,249). His inability to control his mind leads him to bid “Farewell the tranquil mind!”(III, iii, 400). Before Iago’s corruption, Desdemona, Othello’s wife, has every power over her husband. He “will deny thee[Desdemona] nothing.”(III, iii, 84), and she remains content. As Othello falls under Iago’s influence and believes her to be dishonest, Desdemona becomes powerless to convince him otherwise. Her emotions wither along her power over Othello, and Desdemona is reduced to weeping for her “wretched fortune”(IV, ii, 150). Gender and race are not as important in the development of the play as the power a character has with Othello, so power must be the element highlighted in this

Keeping Shakespeare’s words is essential, none can improve upon the Bard, so we resolved to use visual effects to emphasize the characters’ various power statuses throughout the play. Physical size, and consequently height, is often flaunted as an intimidation tactic during confrontations. Its common function as a measure of power gave this company the idea of incorporating it into our version of Othello. Othello, Iago, and Desdemona will be given lifts in for their shoes. At the beginning of the play, when Othello has just looked him over for the lieutenancy, Iago should several inches shorter than him; he has little influence. As the play progresses and he gains power over Othello through manipulation, Iago should become taller and Othello should become shorter; after all, he loses his ability to control himself. Until Iago corrupts Othello, Desdemona should be as tall as her husband; she has significant power over him through her possession of his heart. Throughout Othello’s loss of trust in her, she should become shorter than him, eventually around 10 inches so. As the audience’s eye should be drawn to height differences without distraction, this portrayal should have traditional gender and racial