Another Rundum Othello Essay

This was my essay from the September Trials,can't remember what the question was though,so read with and open mind and I was victim to the dreaded wordcount again.

In the piteous tale of The Moor Of Venice,Othello is a man who dies a tragic hero but in mortal disgrace. Othello's death stems from what is perhaps the deadliest poison known to the Shakespearian hero : LOVE.

In the end,love is what kills Othello but ironically the death brought about by love stems from hate. Hate coupled with jealousy from the archvillian is normally a precursor to eventual tragedy,but in this play,the tragedy is of monumental proportions. There is also a tragedy within the tragedy where by the time Othello dies,he is the one who seems to be the evil,villainous force in the play.

Othello,in his very foundations, is not a malevolent person... he is just (sadly) misguided by someone who is. He may call him 'Honest Iago' but the real villain is a rotten liar much to the irony of the way Othello often addresses him. Iago is the architect of Othello's fall form grace and subsequent demise. Iago is the malignant man �" not Othello. From his very first appearance,Iago seems to be the master manipulator and using this trick,he heaves indelible wounds into the flesh of Othello's life (and/or morality) which is what causes him to commit the ultimate deed of sin.

Othello is cast as a killer in the end when he kills himself after murdering his wife,Desdemona. This leaves any viewer of the play with a rather unjustified rebuking of Othello's hero status. But we are often quick to forget the process that went behind him doing what he did. It all starts with Iago's unrelenting hate for Othello when he promotes Cassio as a lieutenant above him. He also hints at Othello being one who cuckolded him and was in sexual relations with his wife,Emilia, although this is not necessarily mentioned directly or proven.

As crazy as Iago is,it is quite very possible that he imagined that entire scenario �" but it is nonetheless a motivation for his feelings towards Othello and his subsequent actions as a result. Iago is clearly a ruthless ensign in the military as he strategizes the most elaborate plan to bring his enemy to his knees �" by becoming his best friend so he can have better reach of the knife he sticks in Othello's back...and twist it.

They say “All is fair in love and war” and given that this is a story set in a military background,Iago uses some of the deceitful tactics on a snake in Eden could use. He notices Othello's only weakness and exploits it. Iago is well-aware of Othello's overbearing love for Desdemona and isn't afraid of using that in this battle. Othello makes his adoration for Desdemona no secret,and she is equally (if not,more) enamoured by him. She opts to leave her own father for Othello,to which Brabantio sows the first seed of distrust in their marriage when he angrily quips that if she can decieve her own father,then she can deceive Othello too.

The scene in which that happens is orchestrated by Iago goading Roderigo into telling Brabantio about Desdemona's elopement. However, this is just the start of how he uses people as his pawns in his imaginary chess game with Othello. He then convinces Cassio (who can not hold his liquor) and makes Roderigo provoke him �" a fight ensues and Othello is forced to break the commotion. He takes disciplinary action against Cassio,and Iago uses this opportunity to get Cassio and Desdemona into suspicion. Cassio,needing a way to get back into Othello's good-books,talks Desdemona into helping him, by speaking to her husband,as per Iago's instruction. Meanwhile,Emilia steals a very significant handkerchief and Iago surges into Othello's mind by speaking in innuendo.

All he needed was the Handkerchief Scene where he goads Cassio into speaking of Bianca in Othello's presence,who thinks the discussion is about Desdemona �" and when Bianca enters with the sacred handkerchief, Othello has all the ocular proof he needs.
Othello acts on a whim and confronts Desdemona about her seemingly infidelous ways. He is hurt and feels betrayed and deceived,sadly he knows not by who �" so he kills the wrong person. He murders the woman he loves because he feels he abused that love when she in fact reciprocated it. He loved her blindly,which is why he failed to see Iago's ploy and these were perhaps Othello's only two mistakes :
He loved not wisely,but too well �" which resulted in him throwing a pearly away that was richer than all his tribe (by murdering her); his only other mistake was trusting a person like Iago,which is a mistake everyone made and paid for in some way or the other.

Nevertheless,though not innocent,Othello remains worthy of his merit as a tragic HERO, he just fell victim to villainous ways...

Author's Note

I had a wordcount and time limit to work against,be nice.

Reviews

[Marie]

I read this play long ago, and of course I know the story. Your telling and perspective are very good. I always saw Othello as the tragic hero you speak of.