OthelloLecture 2 ECL 120E English DramaLecturer: Kyle Knickelbein

Analysis of Characters in OthelloOthello: The dramas protagonist and tragic hero A noble Christian Moor in the service of the Venetian state as a general A physically powerful & eloquent figure, respected by those around him Appearance & reference to race of Muslim peoples of NorthWestern Africa to which Othello belongs Though made Governor of Cyprus (Act 1, Sc 3), Othellos fortunes rapidly change for worst as Iago succeeds in making Othello believe his loyal wife (Desdemona) is having an affair with his lieutenant, Cassio Othello becomes prey to insecurities because of age, life as soldier & race and so possesses a free and open nature Allows himself to trust the cunning Iago which lead to his demise on grounds of trickery & betrayal

Analysis of Characters in OthelloDesdemona: Daughter of Venetian senator, Brabantio, and wife to Othello (continuously distrusted by those who should love and trust her most) a casualty In Act 1, her father refuses to believe she could love Othello without Othello using witchcraftbut Desdemona & Othello are secretly married before play begins Accused of having an affair with Cassio, she is nave to some extent, she finds it impossible to believe a woman could be unfaithful (opposite to Emilia [Iagos wife] who believes adultery is possible, that even she [Emila] would commit it Stereotypically pure & meek, she is also determined (to defend her marriage) & self-possessed, but responds with dignity to Othellos perplexing jealousy Well-meaning, she helps Cassio by trying to speak of his reinstatement to Othello, but earns Othellos wrath since he sees this as proof that she is having an affair with Cassio

Analysis of Characters in OthelloIago: Othellos ensign/standard-bearer/ancient (a position below that of lieutenant); Age: 28 The villain of the drama (Shakespeares most evil figure, other than Macbeth, due to to his effortless manipulation of those around him Efforts in the play include: killing of Cassio, destroying Othello & discrediting Desdemonas virtue) takes advantage of others trust His motivations are never very clearly expressed, although his apparent reason for desiring Othellos demise is because he has been overlooked for promotion to lieutenant, which Cassio obtains Evil motives originate in an obsessive delight in destruction (psychotic) is very pragmatic in turning Othello against Cassio A complex character with skilful manipulations in terms of revenge & handling anger deceitfully He is the main reason behind betrayal in the drama still punishes Othello even when he does receive the promotion to lieutenant

Analysis of Characters in OthelloMichael Cassio: Othellos lieutenant or second-in-command (deputy) Highly educated but young & inexperienced in battle (lacks the front-line craft which Iago has i.r.t warfare) Seen as Othellos truly devoted friend who deeply admires Desdemona it is this admiration that Iago uses to suggest the affair, which leads to her death & indirectly that of Emilia and Othello as well (tragic) Cassio is ashamed after being implicated in a drunken fight on Cyprus & losing his position as lieutenant and so Iago uses Cassios youth, good looks & flirtatious manner with women (blood humour/element) to play on Othellos insecurities regarding Desdemonas faithfulness Cassio fights off an ambush by an Iago-manipulated Roderigo, and is then finally stabbed by Iago in the dark to later outlive Othello, Desdemona and Emilia and be placed in charge of the now exposed & imprisoned Iago

Analysis of Characters in OthelloEmilia: Iagos wife & Desdemonas attendant (servant) A pessimistic, sceptical & worldly woman who is deeply attached to her mistress, but distrustful of and not very well loved by her own husband, Iago Desdemonas confidante ironically & innocently reveals the source of Othellos anger when she declares that Othello has been tricked by Iago Well-aware that her husband (Iago) is an evil man Reveals true loyalties when she declares that she had in fact given Iago Desdemonas handkerchief (symbol of betrayal), which had revealed Iagos blackmail in proving Desdemonas unfaithfulness For this standing, Emilia is stabbed by her husband and dies whilst singing the Willow Song, a song told to her by Desdemona

Analysis of Characters in OthelloRoderigo: A wealthy & young but foolish Venetian gentleman A jealous suitor of Desdemona Roderigo pays Iago to keep him informed of Desdemonas activities since he hopes to marry her one day Repeatedly frustrated as Othello marries Desdemona & then takes her to Cyprus and so Roderigo ultimately desperate enough to agree to help Iago kill Cassio after Iago points out that Cassio is another potential rival for Desdemonas hand in marriage Lured by Iago to fight Cassio twice, Roderigo is ultimately killed by Iago

Analysis of Characters in OthelloBianca: A courtesan (prostitute) in Cyprus becomes a mistress to Cassio who plays a limited but significant role in the drama in that She is given Dess handkerchief to copy by Cassio Cassio teases her with promises of marriage, but laughs behind her back Bianca is later implicated in Cassios wounding by Iago even though she is innocent

Brabantio: Desdemonas father & senator (statesman) in Venice A friend of Othello, but feels betrayed when Othello marries his daughter in secret Brabatio tries to petition the Duke to punish Othello, but this fails when he learns that Des has fallen in love with Othello out of her own will and not by magic

Analysis of Characters in OthelloDuke of Venice: The official authority of Venice (selected by the oligarchy system of leadership/governance) Has great respect for Othello and wisely tells Brabantio to accept Othello & Desdemonas marriage, arguing that Brabantio will gain a son in the process Responsible for Cassio being made Governor of Cyprus (replacing Othello)

Montano: Seen first in Act 2 Othellos predecessor in the govt of Cyprus Montano is trusting & easily manipulated since he readily believes Iagos assertions that Cassio, Othellos lieutenant, has a drinking problem

Analysis of Characters in OthelloLodovico: Kinsman to Brabantio & acts as messenger from Venice to Cyprus Discovers the wounded Cassio when stabbed by Iago Arrives in Cyprus in Act 4 with notification that Cassio is to replace Othello as governor

Graziano/Gratiano: Brabantios brother who accompanies Lodovico to Cyprus & also discovers the wounded Cassio In all the chaos of the plays final scene, Gaziano makes mention that Desdemonas father has died

Clown: Othellos servant whose jokes reflect & distort the action & words of the main plots (in two short scenes): E.g. uses puns on the word lie to anticipate Othellos confusion of the two possible meanings (infidelity vs untruth)

Context & Plot Overview (part 2) Act2 begins in Cyprus the Turkish fleet have been destroyed by a storm After nasty small talk with Iago, Desdemona is reunited with her husband Iagos wife, Emilia, makes first appearance and presented as Desdemonas attendant Iago off-handedly admits that he may desire Desdemona and says he suspects Othello has been with his wife Othello becomes angry and tells Cassio that he is drunk & disorderly on duty Hopes of Cassio soliciting Desdemona will spur on the jealousy and so Iago urges Cassio to use Desdemona as an intercessor to plead for his reinstatement as lieutenant and so By the end of Act 2, Iago has set a murderous trap

Context & Plot Overview (part 2) By act 3, everything works in Iagos favour and even persuades Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful with Cassio At first, Othello resists Iagos suggestions but Iago builds his case against Othello, who is unskilled with Venetian womens ways Cassio uses the handkerchief to convince Othello that Desdemona is indeed fornicating and being unfaithful The Scene concludes with Iagos promise to murder Cassio and Othellos resolve to kill his own wife Othellos rage continues through the rest of Acts 3 and 4 and he even interrogates Des about the hankerchief, but she denies that it is lost and instead asks for Cassios reinstatement, which enrages Othello even more violently Desdemona denies all impure behaviour, but Othello is past listening

Context & Plot Overview (part 2) Iago persuades Roderigo that Cassio is the enemy and arranges an assault against Cassio during the night Desdemona and Emilia have a private conversation the only place in the play where the two communicate directly and honestly Desdemona cannot understand how women could possibly commit adultery but Emilia explains that women are spurred on to infidelity by unfaithful and abusive husbands (Emilia would easily commit adultery), but Desdemona resolves to remain true to Othello, but to no avail, the play rushes to its bloody conclusion and so Roderigo attacks Cassio unsuccessfully, but Iago intervenes to wound Cassio and silence Roderigo with a death wound

Response to Prep Questions from last Week1) Characteristics of the Renaissance Era Shakespeares social landscape 2) What is societys treatment of the outsider? Othello as the Moor of Venice 3) The contrast between appearance & realitye.g. Iagos jealously leads to deceit leads to??

Themes & Symbols in OthelloThemes:- The fundamental & universal ideas of a literary work 1) The incompatibility of military heroism & love Othello s career as a soldier affects his marriage (e.g. fit disposition for his wife after being ordered to Cyrpus (Act 1, Scene 3, page 234). Desdemona accompanies her military husband to Cyprus She is, indeed, Othello s fair warrior, and he is most content when he has her by his side in the midst of military conflict or business The military also provides a way of acceptance for Othello into Venetian society (as a public servant), as they honour his role more as a soldier rather than see him as a moor married to a white Venetian

Themes & Symbols in OthelloThemes:- The fundamental & universal ideas of a literary work 1) The incompatibility of military heroism & love Othello s success in love is pa due to his success as a soldier (meets Desdemona through Brabantio, a noble political figure of Venice) When his identity as a lover crumbles (when he believes that Desdemona is unfaithful), Othello is desperate to cling to security of his former identity as a soldier but then becomes totally preoccupied with his identity as a soldier (forgets role as a husband) Othello depends on his identity as a soldier to glorify himself in the public s memory, and to try to make his audience forget his and Desdemona s disastrous trial

Themes & Symbols in OthelloThemes:- The fundamental & universal ideas of a literary work 2) The Danger of Isolation: Action of the drama moves from busy metropolis of Venice to island of Cyprus, which faces little threat from external forces Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia, and Roderigo have nothing to do but prey upon each other in Cyprus and so Isolation enables many of the play s most important effects. For e.g. Iago often speaks in solilioquies (dramatic monologue) Iago is an EXPERT at manipulating the DISTANCE between characters, isolating his victims so that they fall prey to their own obsessions (Self-isolation leads to self-destruction) even Iago, obsessing to always stand apart from others, falls prey to his own mania

Themes & Symbols in OthelloSymbols:Objects, Characters, figures, and colours used to represent abstract ideas or concepts 1) The Handkerchief: The first gift Desdemona received from Othello (keeps it with her constantly as a symbol of Othello s love) Iago manipulates the handkerchief so that Othello comes to see it as a symbol of Desdemona (her faithfulness to Othello) when he takes possession of it, symbolism then alludes to marital fidelity, that Desdemona had apparently broken Othello claims his mother used it to keep his father faithful to her As such, pattern of strawberries rep being dyed with the virgin s blood on white background (virgin s wedding night sheet)

Themes & Symbols in OthelloSymbols:Objects, Characters, figures, and colours used to represent abstract ideas or concepts 2) The Song Willow