Othello Opinion Two

I figured in this blog I'd focus on the character of Emilia. Although she is not one of the main characters, I think she has a strong influence on each of the more central characters. She has greatly differing relationships with each; she is Desdemona's attendant, Iago's wife, and Othello's wife's attendant. With Desdemona, I see Emilia obviously as her foil character, but also as the person who attempts to teach Desdemona from her mistakes (IV.iii.49-81). Emilia can be seen as having much wisdom because of these mistakes that she's had to learn from, and the hardships that she's gone through in her life. The relationship between Iago and Emilia is one that makes me infuriated every time I read their interactions. It annoys me that Emilia won't stand up for herself (even though yes, I know this was the 17th century). She lets her husband walk all over her; with Iago, we see Emilia as a different person, one who lets men walk all over her. However, with Othello, she attempts to tell him the truth about Desdemona. Emilia proclaims Desdemona to be "honest, chaste, and true" (IV.ii.18). With Othello, Emilia tries to defend Desdemona; this shows strong character coming from her. It also shows the foil between Emilia and Iago. I took this part as one of the few times Emilia was defiant to her husband even though she doesn't know it. In my opinion, Emilia is a character to admire and respect.

Othello--Question One

The main idea behind "Othello" seems pretty realistic to me: manipulative man plots to attain a better status and get revenge for another man supposedly having an affair with his wife. There definitely are people as manipulative and emotionless as Iago; men consumed by jealously like Othello; minions who do as their manipulator says like Rodergio; and innocent people such as Emilia, Desdemona, and Cassio that become pawns in the game. The themes also aid in the realistic portrayal of the story; the jealousy Othello displays when he first truly begins to believe Desdemona is cheating on him is much like that of any jealous husband (III.iii.452-460). However, even though much of this play is realistic, it does get slightly over the top at times. For instance, Cassio getting so drunk off of two glasses of wine that he cannot even remember things is a little ridiculous (II.iii.25-28). Moments like this occur throughout "Othello" in order to speed up the play and create the drama necessary for the action to happen, as well as cause the audience to become intrigued. I don't really think there are breaks from conventions established as the norm in the play.

Othello--Question Four

In my opinion, Shakespeare creates dramatic suspense mainly through Iago. Throughout the entire novel, he reveals only bits and pieces of Iago's plan at a time. The overriding goal is apparent to the audience in the first scene of the first act when we learn that Iago is angry that Cassio was made lieutenant, and he was passed over. The audience gets a sense here that Iago wants to be higher up in command (I.1.1-60). As the play continues, we learn that Iago also wants to get back at Othello for supposedly sleeping with his wife (I.iii.322-325). We know that Iago has these plans, but Shakespeare takes time in allowing them to unfold; he saves the action packed part of the play for the final act. Additionally, the audience knows much, much more than the individual characters on stage. We are lucky enough to witness every single thing that occurs during the play, whereas characters such as Cassio do not know that the handkerchief was planted in his room. Aiding the audience's understanding are the amount of asides spoken by characters, mainly Iago. These allow us to look directly into Iago's true intentions and desires. The play is such a success because of this irony; there would be no plot if the characters knew all that the audience did.

Othello Opinion

At this point, I am actually enjoying "Othello." Usually, I am not a fan of Shakespeare; not because I have a difficult time reading the text, but because I honestly do not believe him to be that entertaining or captivating. I have never been a fan of his plots, crude humor, nor his embellished language. His writing style has always bothered me the most; it takes him line after line to say what honestly only should take a sentence. But, with "Othello" I feel there is a difference (at this point). The characters are more interesting, as is the plot. I find myself actually focusing on what I am reading, instead of simply moving my eyes across the page. Iago is villainous in such a way that intrigues me & causes me curiosity regarding his next move. Othello seems realistic to me in the sticks & stones way he handles the racial slurs; he is captivating enough in himself without everyone's judgement. I hope that the rest of the play continues in this manner. If so, I might have to cut Shakespeare a little slack.

Othello--Question Three

In "Othello," the protagonist is without question Othello. The entire story revolves around him; Shakespeare even named his play after Othello, which leads the reader to immediately know that this character is important. The antagonist in this play is Iago. It is clear from the very beginning of the play that Iago has a hatred for Othello. We learn the major motivator behind his hatred is not only racism, but also because Iago believes that Othello slept with his wife (I.iii.366-367). Iago is sneaky and very carefully plots his revenge against Othello; he is always respectful of Othello to his face. We experience Iago two-faced qualities firsthand in reading his interactions between himself & minor characters, such as Roderigo or Brabantino. Characters such as these are necessary in advancing the plot; they add complications and motives that allow for Iago's scheme to work. These characters also show us the strengths of Othello and his heroic being.

Othello--Question Two

Shakespeare's play "Othello" can be categorized as a tragedy. It is considered a tragedy because it tells a sad, complex story with deeper themes such as racism, jealousy, and greed. These themes are clearly visible in the first scene of the first act. We quickly see Iago's jealousy of Othello; he is angry because Othello did not choose him for second in command (I.i.7-17) & is jealous of the man chosen who has "never set a squadron in the field, nor the division of battle knows more than the spinster...mere prattle without practice" (I.i.21-26). Racism is blatant in Brabantio's speech to Othello about him using black magic to steal his daughter; he makes racist comments, such as the one about his "sooty bosom" (I.ii.70). Greed is apparent throughout the entire first act in Iago because he is clearly full of trickery and plotting in order to gain whatever he wants. These themes are able to easily classify "Othello" as one of Shakespeare's tragedies. It is vital that the audience understand & feel these themes to help them in realizing that this play is a tragedy.