Othello essay

Choose a play which involves a tragic theme and show how the dramatist makes the play a moving experience for the audience. You may refer to structure, characterisation, key scene(s) or any other appropriate feature.

‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare is an example of a play which features the tragic theme of deceit. Othello’s downfall is caused by the machinations of the evil Iago. He is transformed from the valiant but modest soldier at the start of the play into a murderer, eaten up by jealousy at the end. In this essay, I will show how the playwright makes this a moving experience for the audience as Othello’s tragic flaw gradually overwhelms him – he possesses such personal integrity that he can’t see the flaws in those closest to him.

At the start of the play, in Act 1, Scene 2, we see that Othello is plain-talking, heroic, yet already too trusting of Iago, who enters the stage talking to him. Iago is onstage at the very beginning, and tells Rodrigo of his plan to undermine the Moor. In this way, we are prepared for the deception that unfolds. Yet Othello himself reveals that he thinks actions speak louder than words –

Let him do his spite:
My services which I have done the signiory
Shall out-tongue his complaints.

It is ironic that he places more value in words than deeds, when it is Iago’s words that will poison his love for Desdemona. He is confident that he will persuade Brabantio to accept their marriage as he has a high status in their society. On the other hand, Iago has been passed over for promotion and has heard rumours that Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia. It is significant that Iago reacts so strongly to rumours, which are the words of others. Othello’s seriousness and dignity are in contrast to Iago’s smutty racial jokes in the opening scenes; he has little time for intrigue or wordplay. Our early admiration for Othello helps make the play a moving experience as Iago is victorious in the end.

Iago is able to use Othello’s directness and noble past against him. He is also able to exploit the bravery and intelligence of Desdemona. She is another character who we admire early on, so her murder at the hands of her beloved husband adds to the shocking tragedy of the climax. When she first appears on stage in Act 1, Scene 3, she implores the council ‘To assist my simpleness.’ Asking for help is an assertive move that makes the men in the situations obliged to help her, as a ‘mere girl’.

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

Describing herself as a ‘moth of peace’ suggests she is frail and helpless. A moth also has connotations of night and mystery, which might subtly explain her attraction to the foreign adventurer, Othello. Although Othello shows personal integrity, his description of the wooing of Desdemona in Act 1, Scene 3 is revealing. He regales her with tales of battles and adventures, including brushes with the fantastical Anthropophagi. They grew close through his storytelling. From this, we see that there is both an aspect of make-believe in their romance; and that Desdemona has a powerful ability to influence others. The audience’s sympathy for Desdemona adds to the feeling of loss when she dies.

The chemistry between Othello and Desdemona is exploited by Iago in the turning point of the play, Act 3, Scene 3, where the final tragedy is set in motion. Iago uses reverse-psychology to undermine Othello’s trust in Desdemona, by seemingly let slip ‘Ha! I like not that!’ He pretends to be reluctant to explain himself, but gradually he reveals his fake suspicions about Desdemona and Cassio. Cassio persuades Desdemona to entreat Othello to reinstate him, knowing her power of influence. Following this, Iago uses the handkerchief to convince his master of his wife’s betrayal. In this way, Iago turns Othello’s reliance on actions over words against him – he is unable to see that Iago has secret motivations.

The sense of tragedy is heightened towards the climax of the play, as Othello prepares to kill Desdemona. Even though he is in a murderous rage, he is concerned for her immortal soul and wants her to confess so that she can go to heaven when she dies. He has a soliloquy over her sleeping body -

Put out the light, and then put out the light:
If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,
I can again thy former light restore

Here, Othello sees Desdemona is a personification of the sun – ‘flaming minister’. This is in contrast to her own description of herself as a ‘moth’ earlier in the play. The sun gives life to everything, so killing her is like banishing life from the world. Even though Othello is eloquent in this stage of the action, actions are all-important to him – he wakes her up before he kills her. At the same time, he has become dependent on her words – she confesses even though she doesn’t know what she has done. In this way, Iago is finally victorious over the more noble Othello, because he has made him put faith in words, which can be deceiving.

Therefore I would argue that the tragedy of Othello comes about from the protagonist’s main flaw, that he is blind to the evil motivations and false words of those around him. Seeing his fall, and the death of his true love, is what makes the play a moving experience for the audience.