Othello Defense Speech

Shakespeare engages the audience in Act one scene 3 by centering the dialogue around the characters of Brabantio, Othello, Desdemona and the Duke. Before the Duke and the other members in the council, Brabantio interrupts the military discussions to address his grief on his daughter. Brabantio cries out, “My daughter! O, my daughter!” (I.3.70). “Dead?” (I.3.71), the senators are quick to react and treat Brabantio’s grief as a loss of his daughter. They assume his daughter might have died and Brabantio proceeds to say, “Ay to me” (I.3.72), to him it is as if she had died. He believes that his daughter has been “abused, stol’n from him by spells and medicines bought from mountebanks” (I.3.72-73). Brabantio goes on to state that desdemona’s

Othello’s defense speech can be distinguished in two parts: the first part establishes him as a successful soldier and in the second part he describes how he won Desdemona’s love through his stories of adventures and not witchcraft. Unlike Brabantio, Othello is respectful and conscious of his words when he gives his speech. He begins with words of respect to the present members and addresses them as, “Most potent, grave, and reverend signers, my very noble and approved good masters.” (I.3.91-92) He continues to acknowledge and state the fact that he indeed has married Brabantio’s daughter Desdemona, “That I have ta’en away this old man’s daughter, it is most true; true I have married her.” (I.3.93-94) He continues to say, “The very head and front of my offending hath this extent, no more” (I.3.95-96) In this statement, Othello states that the very worst has been said of him. The line itself is ironic because Brabantio has made several accusations on Othello and the only thing he did was marry his daughter.

Shakespeare uses Othello’s speech to portray the qualities of a military leader and how he uses that military ability to defend his personal matters.

 Othello goes on to discuss his background and experiences as a soldier as he has been in the fields since he was seven years old, “For since these arms of mine had seven years’ pith.” (I.3.98) Here he speaks humbly of the limitations in his life as he stresses how young he began military services. “…tented field, and little of this great world can I speak more than pertains to feats of broil and battle” (I.3.100-102) Othello goes on to state that other than the battle fields of the wars, he had seen much of the world. He then says, “Till now some nine moons wasted” (I.3.99) this statement shows his proficiency in words as he portrays the idea of months passing by with the representation of moons. Clearly