Scene 1
Like other Shakespeare plays, Othello opens with a scene that sets the tone for the rest of the play. The playwright is intentionally vague in the details of the conversation between two men with one exception: line 2 reveals that one of the men is called Iago. We arrive in media res, literally in the middle of things.
The first man is complaining that Iago has spent his money freely and is very upset that Iago knows about "this" (I.i.3). As the conversation continues, we learn that Iago hates "him" (I.i.6) because "he" has passed over Iago for promotion to lieutenant, choosing instead "Michael Cassio, a Florentine" (I.i.19) and "a great arithmetician" (I.i.18). Who is this "he," and why does Iago hate him so much? After a lengthy list of complaints, Iago throws us a slight hint: "And I, God bless the mark, his Moorship's ancient" (I.i.32). Iago's sarcasm is distilled into a single epithet, "Moorship." Not only is the man under verbal attack Iago's superior, he is a Moor, an outsider to the world of Venice.
Speaking logically, the other man tells Iago that if he were in Iago's place, he would quit. Defensively, Iago explains that he only serves him to get even eventually. Iago assures his companion, Roderigo, that
… I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at; I am not what I am.
(I.i.63-64)
As with his other plays, Shakespeare puts the whole play before us in a few lines. Iago is not what he is. As we will see, neither is anyone else. The key to this play is the effect of real and/or imagined deception: things are not what they are.
Roderigo, at Iago's urging, yells up to Brabantio's window, rousing the house from their sleep. Iago wastes no time in putting his plot for revenge against this Moor into action. He informs Brabantio:
Zounds, sir, you're robbed; for shame, put on your gown!
Your heart is burst, you have lost your soul,
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe!
(I.i.86-89)
Here Iago not only informs Brabantio of a matter that is of obvious importance, but he also reveals a lot about himself and the people with whom he deals.
Iago begins a speech pattern he will continue throughout the play, especially when he is speaking about women. He uses animal imagery to categorise the hated Moor. He continues its use to describe the sex act as an act of bestiality and to demean the woman involved. Iago also apparently knows Brabantio's weak spot. His abuse of the woman contrasts starkly to "heart" and "soul" used to describe Brabantio's loss, thus revealing that the woman sleeping with the Moor is very close to Brabantio. The sexual value of this woman is a core issue for the old man.
When Roderigo addresses Brabantio, we learn that Roderigo has been banned from Brabantio's house as an unsuitable marriage candidate. Roderigo, however, tries to calm Brabantio. Iago finally interrupts with the news that "your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" (I.i.114-116). Once again, Iago is crude and unyielding, incensing Brabantio who begins to search the house for his daughter. Abruptly, Iago tells Roderigo that he must leave since he cannot bring such an open accusation against the Moor.
At first we may find this scene amusing, that Iago, having made the accusation, cannot make the accusation. On consideration, we discover what a great psychologist Iago actually is. He has put forth a truth: the Moor is sleeping with Brabantio's daughter. He has, however, omitted the details and context of the truth, thereby altering its reception and perception. It is not what it is. Iago will do this "truth-bending" throughout the play until we ourselves question what the truth is.
As Iago leaves, an irate Brabantio confronts Roderigo with the fact that his daughter is indeed missing. He wonders if she is married; if so, perhaps she was charmed into it by magic. Brabantio thanks Roderigo and leads his household into Venice's dark streets.
Scene 2
In this scene, we meet the Moor who has apparently kidnapped Brabantio's daughter. His first line is a telling one. When Iago tells Othello that he had wanted to kill a man (possibly Roderigo or Brabantio), Othello responds: "Tis better as it is" (I.ii.6). In 186 lines, Shakespeare has subtly given us the entire play:
I am not what I am.
'Tis better as it is.
We will discover that if Othello had left things as they were, he would not have met tragedy. But for now, Iago informs Othello that he faces an annulment or jail for marrying "the gentle Desdemona" (I.ii.25). Othello responds that he is not afraid of whatever Brabantio may do because of the service he has done for Venice. He tells Iago that his reputation as a general is such that only for his love of Desdemona would he even consider compromising it.
Othello's lieutenant arrives with officers from the Duke of Venice and the Senate. Othello is summoned to the Senate on an urgent matter concerning Cyprus. Othello prepares to leave, and while he does, Iago tells the lieutenant that Othello is married. As the men leave, Brabantio, Roderigo, and others draw their weapons to attack Othello. Brabantio is furious and demands to know the whereabouts of Desdemona. He accuses Othello of casting a spell on the girl. He contends that Desdemona was
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy, curled darlings of our nation.
(I.ii.67-68)
Brabantio goes even further to accuse Othello of using drugs and witchcraft. Brabantio orders the officers with him to arrest Othello and kill him if he resists. Calmly Othello asks the irate father where he would like Othello to go. Brabantio says "To prison" and Othello counters that he is summoned by the Duke. Brabantio does not believe that the Duke has called for a council meeting in the middle of the night, but decides that his cause has such overwhelming importance that it should be presented directly to the Duke.
On the surface, this scene may be viewed as giving us details about and introductions to characters we will meet later. However, the scene also gives us immediate access to the dynamics of the various relationships which shape the play. We meet Othello's lieutenant who Iago had so maligned in Scene 1. From his dialogue, we can see that he is a straight-to-the-point military man. We are unaware that he has any connection to Desdemona at this point, but Iago's comment, "If it prove a lawful prize, he's made for ever" (I.ii.51), serves two purposes. Iago knows something that the lieutenant does not but should know. And Iago, while saying Othello will be "made for ever" is planning the general's downfall as well as that of the lieutenant. Therefore, we see Iago as consistently sarcastic and manipulative without being shown why he is that way.
The scene also gives us a strong first impression of Othello. He is a general who is a career soldier. His handling of Brabantio shows his prowess at dealing with men either in the heat of battle or the heat of passion, which could almost be synonymous. He is so confident in his capabilities that he seems to ride above Brabantio's racial epithets and wrath.
Without our realizing it, Shakespeare has constructed several triangles which will frame the action of the play: Iago, Roderigo, Othello; Iago, Cassio, Othello; Brabantio, Othello, Desdemona; Cassio, Othello, Desdemona. Each of these triangles are interlinked and have as their common thread the inclusion of Othello. The difference in how the problems of these relationships are resolved will be based on how Othello acts or does not act on Iago's "I am not what I am."
Scene 3
This scene opens with the Duke's and the senators' comments on the inconsistencies in the reports of the number of galleys (ships) in the Turkish fleet. This discussion creates a geographical triangle: Venice, Turkey, Cyprus. The Duke arrives at the conclusion that whether the Turkish fleet has 170, 140, or 200 galleys, it is certain that they pose a threat to Cyprus and, as is soon reported, to Rhodes. The messenger comes from the governor of Cyprus who begs the Duke to send help. The Duke wants to send Othello, who enters the senate chamber with Roderigo and Brabantio.
The Cyprus situation is the last thing on Brabantio's mind. When the man wails, "My daughter, O, my daughter" (I.iii.60) in response to the Duke's "what's the matter" (I.iii.59), the Duke thinks Desdemona has died. Obviously, the two men have different criteria for defining "grief" (I.iii.56). Brabantio repeats his accusation that Desdemona has been bewitched and points the finger at Othello. Othello's response to the Duke and the others shows him to be a true tactician.
Othello admits witchcraft and asks for the Duke to bring Desdemona to the Senate, which he does, with Iago showing them the way. During this time, Othello tells a moving story of how Desdemona listened to his stories of "the battles, sieges, fortunes / That I have passed" (I.iii.131-132). The general relates that frequently Desdemona was moved to tears by his tales. When Desdemona indicated she was in love with Othello "for the dangers I had passed" (I.iii.167), he admitted that he "loved her that she did pity them" (I.iii.168). The Duke believes Othello because the story he has just heard moved him. When Desdemona arrives, she tells Brabantio that she is indebted to him "for life and education" (I.iii.182) but that she now must be loyal to her husband. Brabantio concedes and the Duke urges him to be reconciled to his daughter's marriage. But Brabantio knows that the Senate has convened to discuss action against the Turks, and that his personal problem is subordinate to the needs of the State.
Shakespeare cues us to the shift from private problems to public ones through the language. Othello tells his story in blank verse. Brabantio's capitulation is in rhyming couplets. The Duke follows with a speech in prose. The jarring change is also reflected in the content of the Duke's speech: Othello must leave the comfort of Venice as we have left the comfort of rhyming couplet, which is often the way nursery rhymes are constructed. Othello must return to his life as general in command of a "stubborn and boisterous expedition" (I.iii.229).
Othello is unfazed by this assignment. He is accustomed to the hardships imposed on a soldier by war. He knows, however, that Desdemona is not so accustomed, and he asks the Duke to make sure she is cared for. The Duke suggests she stay at her father's. Brabantio immediately refuses and Othello agrees. Desdemona joins the discussion by agreeing with the two men, asking the Duke to allow her to accompany Othello. Othello assures the Duke that if he agrees to let Desdemona go on the long trip, it will not to be to satisfy his needs as a man nor would he ignore his duties as a soldier. The Duke responds that it does not matter to him, but the Turks invasion of Cyprus does. Othello must leave immediately, whatever he decides about Desdemona.
Othello leaves Iago to secure the commission from the Duke and to make arrangements for Desdemona. As the Duke leaves, Othello assures Brabantio that he (Othello) is a man of strong moral fiber. Brabantio, however, leaves him with a bitter truth:
Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceived her father, and may thee.
(I.iii.293-294)
Othello shrugs off the comment, and tells Iago that Iago's wife would be a good companion for Desdemona. Iago is to bring both women to Cyprus. Othello and Desdemona leave to spend a last hour together before the trip separates them.
Roderigo is despondent over the turn of events and threatens to drown himself. Iago knows that if he does, then Iago loses extra income. In the passages that follow, the word "purse" is used six times in fourteen lines, and "money" seven times in sixteen lines. Iago succeeds in gulling the man who will sell his land and travel to Cyprus in pursuit of Desdemona. Iago then lets us in on his plan. He knows Othello judges men by appearances, and he will use this weakness to manipulate the general into believing that Desdemona and Cassio, the lieutenant, are lovers. This way, he can get revenge on Othello and destroy Cassio. It does not seem that Roderigo figures very prominently in this plan.
We now know all we need to understand the play. We have met the main characters, we have the background of life in Venice, and we are about to move to Cyprus. With Iago's plan now verbalized and Othello's commission for war against the Turks, the play promises plenty of action. But Shakespeare is never so obvious, so simple. The scenes so far have given us just a peek at the psychology of these men and women of Venice. How will things change when they are at war in Cyprus?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
OTHELLO: INTRODUCTION
Along with Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, Othello is one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies and thus a pillar of what most critics take to be the apex of Shakespeare's dramatic art. Othello is unique among Shakespeare's great tragedies. Unlike Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, which are set against a backdrop of affairs of state and which reverberate with suggestions of universal human concerns, Othello is set in a private world and focuses on the passions and personal lives of its major figures. Indeed, it has often been described as a "tragedy of character"; Othello's swift descent into jealousy and rage and Iago's dazzling display of villainy have long fascinated students and critics of the play. The relationship between these characters is another unusual feature of Othello. With two such prominent characters so closely associated, determining which is the central figure in the play and which bears the greater responsibility for the tragedy is difficult.
More than anything else, what distinguishes Othello from its great tragedies' peers is the role of its villain, Iago. While the usurper King Claudius of Hamlet, the faithless daughters of Lear, and the unnatural villains of Macbeth (Macbeth, his Lady and the Weird Sister witches) are all impressively evil in their own way, none of them enjoys the same diabolical role as Iago.
Iago is a character who essentially writes the play's main plot, takes a key part in it, and gives first-hand direction to the others, most notably to the noble Moor, Othello. The play presents us with two remarkable characters, Iago and his victim, with Iago as the dominant force that causes Othello to see the infidelity of his young and beautiful wife, Desdemona, with his favorite lieutenant, Michael Cassio. Indeed, not only is "seeing" and the gap between appearance and reality a central theme of the play, it overlaps with other major thematic strands (trust, honor, and reputation) and sheds light on still others, including the theme of patriarchy and the political state.
Written in 1604, Othello is one of Shakespeare's most highly concentrated, tightly constructed tragedies, with no subplots and little humor to relieve the tension. Although he adapted the plot of his play from the sixteenth-century Italian dramatist and novelist Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi, Shakespeare related almost every incident directly to the development of Iago's schemes and Othello's escalating fears. This structure heightens the tragedy's ominous mood and makes the threat to both Desdemona's innocence and the love she and Othello share more terrifying.
Although narrow in scope, Othello, with its intimate domestic setting, is widely regarded as the most moving and the most painful of Shakespeare's great tragedies. The fall of a proud, dignified man, the murder of a graceful, loving woman, and the unreasoning hatred of a "motiveless" villain—all have evoked fear and pity in audiences throughout the centuries. If it lacks the cosmic grandeur of Hamlet or King Lear, Othello nevertheless possesses a power that is perhaps more immediate and strongly felt for operating on the personal, human plane.
More than anything else, what distinguishes Othello from its great tragedies' peers is the role of its villain, Iago. While the usurper King Claudius of Hamlet, the faithless daughters of Lear, and the unnatural villains of Macbeth (Macbeth, his Lady and the Weird Sister witches) are all impressively evil in their own way, none of them enjoys the same diabolical role as Iago.
Iago is a character who essentially writes the play's main plot, takes a key part in it, and gives first-hand direction to the others, most notably to the noble Moor, Othello. The play presents us with two remarkable characters, Iago and his victim, with Iago as the dominant force that causes Othello to see the infidelity of his young and beautiful wife, Desdemona, with his favorite lieutenant, Michael Cassio. Indeed, not only is "seeing" and the gap between appearance and reality a central theme of the play, it overlaps with other major thematic strands (trust, honor, and reputation) and sheds light on still others, including the theme of patriarchy and the political state.
Written in 1604, Othello is one of Shakespeare's most highly concentrated, tightly constructed tragedies, with no subplots and little humor to relieve the tension. Although he adapted the plot of his play from the sixteenth-century Italian dramatist and novelist Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi, Shakespeare related almost every incident directly to the development of Iago's schemes and Othello's escalating fears. This structure heightens the tragedy's ominous mood and makes the threat to both Desdemona's innocence and the love she and Othello share more terrifying.
Although narrow in scope, Othello, with its intimate domestic setting, is widely regarded as the most moving and the most painful of Shakespeare's great tragedies. The fall of a proud, dignified man, the murder of a graceful, loving woman, and the unreasoning hatred of a "motiveless" villain—all have evoked fear and pity in audiences throughout the centuries. If it lacks the cosmic grandeur of Hamlet or King Lear, Othello nevertheless possesses a power that is perhaps more immediate and strongly felt for operating on the personal, human plane.
OTHELLO: SHAKESPEARE
The Life and Work of William Shakespeare
The details of William Shakespeare’s life are sketchy, mostly mere surmise based upon court or other clerical records. His parents, John and Mary (Arden), were married about 1557; she was of the landed gentry, and he was a yeoman—a glover and commodities merchant. By 1568, John had risen through the ranks of town government and held the position of high bailiff, which was a position similar to mayor. William, the eldest son and the third of eight children, was born in 1564, probably on April 23, several days before his baptism on April 26 in Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare is also believed to have died on the same date—April 23—in 1616.
It is believed that William attended the local grammar school in Stratford, where his parents lived, and that he studied primarily Latin, rhetoric, logic, and literature. Shakespeare probably left school at age 15, which was the norm, to take a job, especially since this was the period of his father’s financial difficulty. At age 18 (1582), William married Anne Hathaway, a local farmer’s daughter who was eight years his senior. Their first daughter (Susanna) was born six months later (1583), and twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1585.
Shakespeare’s life can be divided into three periods: the first 20 years in Stratford, which include his schooling, early marriage, and fatherhood; the next 25 years as an actor and playwright in London; and the last five in retirement in Stratford, where he enjoyed moderate wealth gained from his theatrical successes. The years linking the first two periods are marked by a lack of information about Shakespeare, and are often referred to as the “dark years.”
At some point during the “dark years,” Shakespeare began his career with a London theatrical company, perhaps in 1589, for he was already an actor and playwright of some note by 1592. Shakespeare apparently wrote and acted for numerous theatrical companies, including Pembroke’s Men, and Strange’s Men, which later became the Chamberlain’s Men, with whom he remained for the rest of his career.
In 1592, the Plague closed the theaters for about two years, and Shakespeare turned to writing book-length narrative poetry. Most notable were Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both of which were dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, whom scholars accept as Shakespeare’s friend and benefactor despite a lack of documentation. During this same period, Shakespeare was writing his sonnets, which are more likely signs of the time’s fashion rather than actual love poems detailing any particular relationship. He returned to playwriting when theaters reopened in 1594, and did not continue to write poetry. His sonnets were published without his consent in 1609, shortly before his retirement.
Amid all of his success, Shakespeare suffered the loss of his only son, Hamnet, who died in 1596 at the age of 11. But Shakespeare’s career continued unabated, and in London in 1599, he became one of the partners in the new Globe Theater, which was built by the Chamberlain’s Men.
Shakespeare wrote very little after 1612, which was the year he completed Henry VIII. It was during a performance of this play in 1613 that the Globe caught fire and burned to the ground. Sometime between 1610 and 1613, Shakespeare returned to Stratford, where he owned a large house and property, to spend his remaining years with his family.
William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church, where he had been baptized exactly 52 years earlier. His literary legacy included 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 major poems.
Incredibly, most of Shakespeare’s plays had never been published in anything except pamphlet form, and were simply extant as acting scripts stored at the Globe. Theater scripts were not regarded as literary works of art, but only the basis for the performance. Plays were simply a popular form of entertainment for all layers of society in Shakespeare’s time. Only the efforts of two of Shakespeare’s company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, preserved his 36 plays (minus Pericles, the 37th).
The details of William Shakespeare’s life are sketchy, mostly mere surmise based upon court or other clerical records. His parents, John and Mary (Arden), were married about 1557; she was of the landed gentry, and he was a yeoman—a glover and commodities merchant. By 1568, John had risen through the ranks of town government and held the position of high bailiff, which was a position similar to mayor. William, the eldest son and the third of eight children, was born in 1564, probably on April 23, several days before his baptism on April 26 in Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare is also believed to have died on the same date—April 23—in 1616.
It is believed that William attended the local grammar school in Stratford, where his parents lived, and that he studied primarily Latin, rhetoric, logic, and literature. Shakespeare probably left school at age 15, which was the norm, to take a job, especially since this was the period of his father’s financial difficulty. At age 18 (1582), William married Anne Hathaway, a local farmer’s daughter who was eight years his senior. Their first daughter (Susanna) was born six months later (1583), and twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1585.
Shakespeare’s life can be divided into three periods: the first 20 years in Stratford, which include his schooling, early marriage, and fatherhood; the next 25 years as an actor and playwright in London; and the last five in retirement in Stratford, where he enjoyed moderate wealth gained from his theatrical successes. The years linking the first two periods are marked by a lack of information about Shakespeare, and are often referred to as the “dark years.”
At some point during the “dark years,” Shakespeare began his career with a London theatrical company, perhaps in 1589, for he was already an actor and playwright of some note by 1592. Shakespeare apparently wrote and acted for numerous theatrical companies, including Pembroke’s Men, and Strange’s Men, which later became the Chamberlain’s Men, with whom he remained for the rest of his career.
In 1592, the Plague closed the theaters for about two years, and Shakespeare turned to writing book-length narrative poetry. Most notable were Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both of which were dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, whom scholars accept as Shakespeare’s friend and benefactor despite a lack of documentation. During this same period, Shakespeare was writing his sonnets, which are more likely signs of the time’s fashion rather than actual love poems detailing any particular relationship. He returned to playwriting when theaters reopened in 1594, and did not continue to write poetry. His sonnets were published without his consent in 1609, shortly before his retirement.
Amid all of his success, Shakespeare suffered the loss of his only son, Hamnet, who died in 1596 at the age of 11. But Shakespeare’s career continued unabated, and in London in 1599, he became one of the partners in the new Globe Theater, which was built by the Chamberlain’s Men.
Shakespeare wrote very little after 1612, which was the year he completed Henry VIII. It was during a performance of this play in 1613 that the Globe caught fire and burned to the ground. Sometime between 1610 and 1613, Shakespeare returned to Stratford, where he owned a large house and property, to spend his remaining years with his family.
William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church, where he had been baptized exactly 52 years earlier. His literary legacy included 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 major poems.
Incredibly, most of Shakespeare’s plays had never been published in anything except pamphlet form, and were simply extant as acting scripts stored at the Globe. Theater scripts were not regarded as literary works of art, but only the basis for the performance. Plays were simply a popular form of entertainment for all layers of society in Shakespeare’s time. Only the efforts of two of Shakespeare’s company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, preserved his 36 plays (minus Pericles, the 37th).
OTHELLO: SUMMARY
On a quiet night in Venice, Iago, ensign to the Moorish general, Othello, enlists the aid of Roderigo in his plot against Othello. Iago secretly hates Othello and tells Roderigo, a rejected suitor to Desdemona, that she has eloped with the Moor. After this revelation, Roderigo and Iago awaken Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, with news that she has been transported into Othello’s hands. Iago informs Othello of Brabantio’s anger. Brabantio arrives with officers to confront Othello, but they are interrupted by Michael Cassio, who summons Othello to the Duke of Venice’s palace.
The duke and senators welcome Othello and inform him of his deployment to Cyprus in a defensive against the Ottomites. Brabantio accuses Othello of winning Desdemona’s affection by magic, after which Othello explains that he won Desdemona’s love by sincere means. Desdemona professes her duty to her husband. Subsequently, Othello is sent to Cyprus, leaving Iago in charge of Desdemona’s safe passage to Cyprus along with Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. Iago suggests that Roderigo follow Desdemona to Cyprus. Once alone, Iago reveals his plan to implicate Michael Cassio in a clandestine affair with Desdemona.
During a raging storm which destroys the Turkish fleet, Othello and his men land at the Cyprian seaport. By telling Roderigo a lie that Desdemona loves Cassio, Iago now urges Roderigo to incite Cassio to violence. Later that evening at Othello’s wedding feast, Iago gets Cassio drunk; as a result, Othello dismisses Cassio from service because of behavior unbecoming a lieutenant. Iago then encourages Cassio to appeal to Desdemona to influence Othello to reinstate Cassio.
Desdemona tells Cassio that she will help him. Cassio leaves quickly, and when Othello arrives, Desdemona pleads for Cassio. Iago uses Cassio’s quick exit and Desdemona’s pleas to cast doubt on her fidelity and Cassio’s integrity.
Desdemona and Emilia enter, and Othello admits to a headache. When Desdemona tries to assuage his illness with her handkerchief, he knocks it down. Emilia picks it up and gives it to Iago. When Othello demands visible proof of Desdemona’s infidelity, Iago asserts that he has seen Cassio with the handkerchief. Having become sufficiently suspicious, Othello vows revenge. Later, Cassio gives the handkerchief that Iago hid in Cassio’s room to Bianca, his jealous mistress, in order for her to copy.
Riled by Iago’s lies and innuendos, Othello succumbs to a trance. After he revives, Iago incites him anew by talking to Cassio about Bianca while Othello eavesdrops on the conversation. Mistakenly, Othello thinks Cassio is boasting about having seduced Desdemona. Bianca enters and throws the handkerchief at Cassio; consequently, Othello, convinced of Desdemona’s guilt, swears to kill her.
Lodovico, Brabantio’s kinsman, arrives with orders from the duke for Othello to return to Venice, leaving Cassio in charge in Cyprus for which Desdemona expresses pleasure. Othello strikes her, and his actions give Iago cause to suggest that Othello is going mad. Iago then convinces Roderigo that killing Cassio will ensure his chances with Desdemona. Later in the evening, Othello orders Desdemona to wait for him alone in their bed chamber. As she prepares to retire, she sings a song about forsaken love.
At Iago’s instigation, Roderigo attacks Cassio, who in turn wounds Roderigo. Iago then stabs Cassio so that Othello thinks Iago has kept a promise to kill Cassio. When Roderigo cries out, Iago kills him.
In the bed chamber, while Othello ponders Desdemona’s beauty and innocence, she awakens, and Othello commands her to pray before she dies. In spite of her supplications, he suffocates her with a pillow. Emilia enters, and Othello justifies his revenge by claiming the handkerchief as proof of her infidelity. Appalled at this act, Emilia reveals Iago’s guilt. Iago enters, kills Emilia, and is arrested. Othello tries to kill Iago, and despite demands for an explanation, Iago remains silent and is led off. Before Othello is led off, he draws a concealed weapon, stabs himself, and kisses Desdemona as he dies.
Estimated Reading Time
An average student should plan to spend at least one hour to read each act of the play for the first reading if the text used provides sufficient footnotes. Subsequent readings will take less time as familiarity with the vocabulary, the story line, and the writer’s style increases. Othello comprises five acts with a total of 15 scenes; consequently, the student might feel comfortable reading three to five scenes at each session, which would entail a total reading time of three to five hours.
The duke and senators welcome Othello and inform him of his deployment to Cyprus in a defensive against the Ottomites. Brabantio accuses Othello of winning Desdemona’s affection by magic, after which Othello explains that he won Desdemona’s love by sincere means. Desdemona professes her duty to her husband. Subsequently, Othello is sent to Cyprus, leaving Iago in charge of Desdemona’s safe passage to Cyprus along with Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. Iago suggests that Roderigo follow Desdemona to Cyprus. Once alone, Iago reveals his plan to implicate Michael Cassio in a clandestine affair with Desdemona.
During a raging storm which destroys the Turkish fleet, Othello and his men land at the Cyprian seaport. By telling Roderigo a lie that Desdemona loves Cassio, Iago now urges Roderigo to incite Cassio to violence. Later that evening at Othello’s wedding feast, Iago gets Cassio drunk; as a result, Othello dismisses Cassio from service because of behavior unbecoming a lieutenant. Iago then encourages Cassio to appeal to Desdemona to influence Othello to reinstate Cassio.
Desdemona tells Cassio that she will help him. Cassio leaves quickly, and when Othello arrives, Desdemona pleads for Cassio. Iago uses Cassio’s quick exit and Desdemona’s pleas to cast doubt on her fidelity and Cassio’s integrity.
Desdemona and Emilia enter, and Othello admits to a headache. When Desdemona tries to assuage his illness with her handkerchief, he knocks it down. Emilia picks it up and gives it to Iago. When Othello demands visible proof of Desdemona’s infidelity, Iago asserts that he has seen Cassio with the handkerchief. Having become sufficiently suspicious, Othello vows revenge. Later, Cassio gives the handkerchief that Iago hid in Cassio’s room to Bianca, his jealous mistress, in order for her to copy.
Riled by Iago’s lies and innuendos, Othello succumbs to a trance. After he revives, Iago incites him anew by talking to Cassio about Bianca while Othello eavesdrops on the conversation. Mistakenly, Othello thinks Cassio is boasting about having seduced Desdemona. Bianca enters and throws the handkerchief at Cassio; consequently, Othello, convinced of Desdemona’s guilt, swears to kill her.
Lodovico, Brabantio’s kinsman, arrives with orders from the duke for Othello to return to Venice, leaving Cassio in charge in Cyprus for which Desdemona expresses pleasure. Othello strikes her, and his actions give Iago cause to suggest that Othello is going mad. Iago then convinces Roderigo that killing Cassio will ensure his chances with Desdemona. Later in the evening, Othello orders Desdemona to wait for him alone in their bed chamber. As she prepares to retire, she sings a song about forsaken love.
At Iago’s instigation, Roderigo attacks Cassio, who in turn wounds Roderigo. Iago then stabs Cassio so that Othello thinks Iago has kept a promise to kill Cassio. When Roderigo cries out, Iago kills him.
In the bed chamber, while Othello ponders Desdemona’s beauty and innocence, she awakens, and Othello commands her to pray before she dies. In spite of her supplications, he suffocates her with a pillow. Emilia enters, and Othello justifies his revenge by claiming the handkerchief as proof of her infidelity. Appalled at this act, Emilia reveals Iago’s guilt. Iago enters, kills Emilia, and is arrested. Othello tries to kill Iago, and despite demands for an explanation, Iago remains silent and is led off. Before Othello is led off, he draws a concealed weapon, stabs himself, and kisses Desdemona as he dies.
Estimated Reading Time
An average student should plan to spend at least one hour to read each act of the play for the first reading if the text used provides sufficient footnotes. Subsequent readings will take less time as familiarity with the vocabulary, the story line, and the writer’s style increases. Othello comprises five acts with a total of 15 scenes; consequently, the student might feel comfortable reading three to five scenes at each session, which would entail a total reading time of three to five hours.
OTHELLO: KEYS TO READING SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare’s Language
Shakespeare’s language can create a strong pang of intimidation, even fear, in a large number of modern-day readers. Fortunately, however, this need not be the case. All that is needed to master the art of reading Shakespeare is to practice the techniques of unraveling uncommonly structured sentences and to become familiar with the poetic use of uncommon words. We must realize that during the 400-year span between Shakespeare’s time and our own, both the way we live and speak has changed. Although most of his vocabulary is in use today, some of it is obsolete, and what may be most confusing is that some of his words are used today, but with slightly different or totally different meanings. On the stage, actors readily dissolve these language stumbling blocks. They study Shakespeare’s dialogue and express it dramatically in word and in action so that its meaning is graphically enacted. If the reader studies Shakespeare’s lines as an actor does, looking up and reflecting upon the meaning of unfamiliar words until real voice is discovered, he or she will suddenly experience the excitement, the depth and the sheer poetry of what these characters say.
Shakespeare’s Sentences
In English, or any other language, the meaning of a sentence greatly depends upon where each word is placed in that sentence. “The child hurt the mother” and “The mother hurt the child” have opposite meanings, even though the words are the same, simply because the words are arranged differently. Because word position is so integral to English, the reader will find unfamiliar word arrangements confusing, even difficult to understand. Since Shakespeare’s plays are poetic dramas, he often shifts from average word arrangements to the strikingly unusual so that the line will conform to the desired poetic rhythm. Often, too, Shakespeare employs unusual word order to afford a character his own specific style of speaking.
Today, English sentence structure follows a sequence of subject first, verb second, and an optional object third. Shakespeare, however, often places the verb before the subject, which reads, “Speaks he” rather than “He speaks.” Solanio speaks with this inverted structure in The Merchant of Venice stating, “I should be still / Plucking the grass to know where sits the wind” (Bevington edition, I, i, ll. 17-19), while today’s standard English word order would have the clause at the end of this line read, “where the wind sits.” “Wind” is the subject of this clause, and “sits” is the verb. Bassanio’s words in Act Two also exemplify this inversion: “And in such eyes as ours appear not faults” (II, ii, l. 184). In our normal word order, we would say, “Faults do not appear in eyes such as ours,” with “faults” as the subject in both Shakespeare’s word order and ours.
Inversions like these are not troublesome, but when Shakespeare positions the predicate adjective or the object before the subject and verb, we are sometimes surprised. For example, rather than “I saw him,” Shakespeare may use a structure such as “Him I saw.” Similarly, “Cold the morning is” would be used for our “The morning is cold.” Lady Macbeth demonstrates this inversion as she speaks of her husband: “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promised” (Macbeth, I, v, ll. 14-15). In current English word order, this quote would begin, “Thou art Glamis, and Cawdor.”
In addition to inversions, Shakespeare purposefully keeps words apart that we generally keep together. To illustrate, consider Bassanio’s humble admission in The Merchant of Venice: “I owe you much, and, like a wilful youth, / That which I owe is lost” (I, i, ll. 146-147). The phrase, “like a wilful youth,” separates the regular sequence of “I owe you much” and “That which I owe is lost.” To understand more clearly this type of passage, the reader could rearrange these word groups into our conventional order: I owe you much and I wasted what you gave me because I was young and impulsive. While these rearranged clauses will sound like normal English, and will be simpler to understand, they will no longer have the desired poetic rhythm, and the emphasis will now be on the wrong words.
As we read Shakespeare, we will find words that are separated by long, interruptive statements. Often subjects are separated from verbs, and verbs are separated from objects. These long interruptions can be used to give a character dimension or to add an element of suspense. For example, in Romeo and Juliet Benvolio describes both Romeo’s moodiness and his own sensitive and thoughtful nature:
I, measuring his affections by my own,
Which then most sought, where most might not be found,
Being one too many by my weary self,
Pursu’d my humour, not pursuing his,
And gladly shunn’d who gladly fled from me.
(I, i, ll. 126-130)
In this passage, the subject “I” is distanced from its verb “Pursu’d.” The long interruption serves to provide information which is integral to the plot. Another example, taken from Hamlet, is the ghost, Hamlet’s father, who describes Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, as
… that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts—
O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce—won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming virtuous queen.
(I, v, ll. 43-47)
From this we learn that Prince Hamlet’s mother is the victim of an evil seduction and deception. The delay between the subject, “beast,” and the verb, “won,” creates a moment of tension filled with the image of a cunning predator waiting for the right moment to spring into attack. This interruptive passage allows the play to unfold crucial information and thus to build the tension necessary to produce a riveting drama.
While at times these long delays are merely for decorative purposes, they are often used to narrate a particular situation or to enhance character development. As Antony and Cleopatra opens, an interruptive passage occurs in the first few lines. Although the delay is not lengthy, Philo’s words vividly portray Antony’s military prowess while they also reveal the immediate concern of the drama. Antony is distracted from his career, and is now focused on Cleopatra:
… those goodly eyes,
That o’er the files and musters of the war
Have glow’d like plated Mars, now bend, now turn
The office and devotion of their view
Upon a tawny front….
(I, i, ll. 2-6)
Whereas Shakespeare sometimes heaps detail upon detail, his sentences are often elliptical, that is, they omit words we expect in written English sentences. In fact, we often do this in our spoken conversations. For instance, we say, “You see that?” when we really mean, “Did you see that?” Reading poetry or listening to lyrics in music conditions us to supply the omitted words and it makes us more comfortable reading this type of dialogue. Consider one passage in The Merchant of Venice where Antonio’s friends ask him why he seems so sad and Solanio tells Antonio, “Why, then you are in love” (I, i, l. 46). When Antonio denies this, Solanio responds, “Not in love neither?” (I, i, l. 47). The word “you” is omitted but understood despite the confusing double negative.
In addition to leaving out words, Shakespeare often uses intentionally vague language, a strategy which taxes the reader’s attentiveness. In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra, upset that Antony is leaving for Rome after learning that his wife died in battle, convinces him to stay in Egypt:
Sir, you and I must part, but that’s not it:
Sir you and I have lov’d, but there’s not it;
That you know well, something it is I would—
O, my oblivion is a very Antony,
And I am all forgotten.
(I, iii, ll. 87-91)
In line 89, “…something it is I would” suggests that there is something that she would want to say, do, or have done. The intentional vagueness leaves us, and certainly Antony, to wonder. Though this sort of writing may appear lackadaisical for all that it leaves out, here the vagueness functions to portray Cleopatra as rhetorically sophisticated. Similarly, when asked what thing a crocodile is (meaning Antony himself who is being compared to a crocodile), Antony slyly evades the question by giving a vague reply:
It is shap’d, sir, like itself, and it is as broad as it hath breadth.
It is just so high as it is, and moves with it own organs.
It lives by that which nourisheth it, and, the elements once out of it, it transmigrates.
(II, vii, ll. 43-46)
This kind of evasiveness, or double-talk, occurs often in Shakespeare’s writing and requires extra patience on the part of the reader.
Shakespeare’s Words
As we read Shakespeare’s plays, we will encounter uncommon words. Many of these words are not in use today. As Romeo and Juliet opens, we notice words like “shrift” (confession) and “holidame” (a holy relic). Words like these should be explained in notes to the text. Shakespeare also employs words which we still use, though with different meaning. For example, in The Merchant of Venice “caskets” refer to small, decorative chests for holding jewels. However, modern readers may think of a large cask instead of the smaller, diminutive casket.
Another trouble modern readers will have with Shakespeare’s English is with words that are still in use today, but which mean something different in Elizabethan use. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses the word “straight” (as in “straight away”) where we would say “immediately.” Here, the modern reader is unlikely to carry away the wrong message, however, since the modern meaning will simply make no sense. In this case, textual notes will clarify a phrase’s meaning. To cite another example, in Romeo and Juliet, after Mercutio dies, Romeo states that the “black fate on moe days doth depend” (emphasis added). In this case, “depend” really means “impend.”
Shakespeare’s Wordplay
All of Shakespeare’s works exhibit his mastery of playing with language and with such variety that many people have authored entire books on this subject alone. Shakespeare’s most frequently used types of wordplay are common: metaphors, similes, synecdoche and metonymy, personification, allusion, and puns. It is when Shakespeare violates the normal use of these devices, or rhetorical figures, that the language becomes confusing.
A metaphor is a comparison in which an object or idea is replaced by another object or idea with common attributes. For example, in Macbeth a murderer tells Macbeth that Banquo has been murdered, as directed, but that his son, Fleance, escaped, having witnessed his father’s murder. Fleance, now a threat to Macbeth, is described as a serpent:
There the grown serpent lies, the worm that’s fled
Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
No teeth for the present.
(III, iv, ll. 29-31)
Similes, on the other hand, compare objects or ideas while using the words “like” or “as.” In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo tells Juliet that “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books” (II, ii, l. 156). Such similes often give way to more involved comparisons, “extended similes.” For example, Juliet tells Romeo:
‘Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone,
And yet no farther than a wonton’s bird,
That lets it hop a little from his hand
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with silken thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.
(II, ii, ll. 176-181)
An epic simile, a device borrowed from heroic poetry, is an extended simile that builds into an even more elaborate comparison. In Macbeth, Macbeth describes King Duncan’s virtues with an angelic, celestial simile and then drives immediately into another simile that redirects us into a vision of warfare and destruction:
… Besides this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind….
(I, vii, ll. 16-25)
Shakespeare employs other devices, like synecdoche and metonymy, to achieve “verbal economy,” or using one or two words to express more than one thought. Synecdoche is a figure of speech using a part for the whole. An example of synecdoche is using the word boards to imply a stage. Boards are only a small part of the materials that make up a stage, however, the term boards has become a colloquial synonym for stage. Metonymy is a figure of speech using the name of one thing for that of another which it is associated. An example of metonymy is using crown to mean the king (as used in the sentence “These lands belong to the crown”). Since a crown is associated with or an attribute of the king, the word crown has become a metonymy for the king. It is important to understand that every metonymy is a synecdoche, but not every synecdoche is a metonymy. This is rule is true because a metonymy must not only be a part of the root word, making a synecdoche, but also be a unique attribute of or associated with the root word.
Synecdoche and metonymy in Shakespeare’s works is often very confusing to a new student because he creates uses for words that they usually do not perform. This technique is often complicated and yet very subtle, which makes it difficult of a new student to dissect and understand. An example of these devices in one of Shakespeare’s plays can be found in The Merchant of Venice. In warning his daughter, Jessica, to ignore the Christian revelries in the streets below, Shylock says:
Lock up my doors; and when you hear the drum
And the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife,
Clamber not you up to the casements then….
(I, v, ll. 30-32)
The phrase of importance in this quote is “the wry-necked fife.” When a reader examines this phrase it does not seem to make sense; a fife is a cylinder-shaped instrument, there is no part of it that can be called a neck. The phrase then must be taken to refer to the fife-player, who has to twist his or her neck to play the fife. Fife, therefore, is a synecdoche for fife-player, much as boards is for stage. The trouble with understanding this phrase is that “vile squealing” logically refers to the sound of the fife, not the fife-player, and the reader might be led to take fife as the instrument because of the parallel reference to “drum” in the previous line. The best solution to this quandary is that Shakespeare uses the word fife to refer to both the instrument and the player. Both the player and the instrument are needed to complete the wordplay in this phrase, which, though difficult to understand to new readers, cannot be seen as a flaw since Shakespeare manages to convey two meanings with one word. This remarkable example of synecdoche illuminates Shakespeare’s mastery of “verbal economy.”
Shakespeare also uses vivid and imagistic wordplay through personification, in which human capacities and behaviors are attributed to inanimate objects. Bassanio, in The Merchant of Venice, almost speechless when Portia promises to marry him and share all her worldly wealth, states “my blood speaks to you in my veins…” (III, ii, l. 176). How deeply he must feel since even his blood can speak. Similarly, Portia, learning of the penalty that Antonio must pay for defaulting on his debt, tells Salerio, “There are some shrewd contents in yond same paper / That steals the color from Bassanio’s cheek” (III, ii, ll. 243-244).
Another important facet of Shakespeare’s rhetorical repertoire is his use of allusion. An allusion is a reference to another author or to an historical figure or event. Very often Shakespeare alludes to the heroes and heroines of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. For example, in Cymbeline an entire room is decorated with images illustrating the stories from this classical work, and the heroine, Imogen, has been reading from this text. Similarly, in Titus Andronicus characters not only read directly from the Metamorphoses, but a subplot re-enacts one of the Metamorphoses’s most famous stories, the rape and mutilation of Philomel.
Another way Shakespeare uses allusion is to drop names of mythological, historical and literary figures. In The Taming of the Shrew, for instance, Petruchio compares Katharina, the woman whom he is courting, to Diana (II, i, l. 55), the virgin goddess, in order to suggest that Katharina is a man-hater. At times, Shakespeare will allude to well-known figures without so much as mentioning their names. In Twelfth Night, for example, though the Duke and Valentine are ostensibly interested in Olivia, a rich countess, Shakespeare asks his audience to compare the Duke’s emotional turmoil to the plight of Acteon, whom the goddess Diana transforms into a deer to be hunted and killed by Acteon’s own dogs:
Duke:
That instant was I turn’d into a hart,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E’er since pursue me.
[…]
Valentine:
But like a cloistress she will veiled walk,
And water once a day her chamber round….
(I, i, l. 20 ff.)
Shakespeare’s use of puns spotlights his exceptional wit. His comedies in particular are loaded with puns, usually of a sexual nature. Puns work through the ambiguity that results when multiple senses of a word are evoked; homophones often cause this sort of ambiguity. In Antony and Cleopatra, Enobarbus believes “there is mettle in death” (I, ii, l. 146), meaning that there is “courage” in death; at the same time, mettle suggests the homophone metal, referring to swords made of metal causing death. In early editions of Shakespeare’s work there was no distinction made between the two words. Antony puns on the word “earing,” (I, ii, ll. 112-114) meaning both plowing (as in rooting out weeds) and hearing: he angrily sends away a messenger, not wishing to hear the message from his wife, Fulvia: “… O then we bring forth weeds, / when our quick minds lie still, and our ills told us / Is as our earing.” If ill-natured news is planted in one’s “hearing,” it will render an “earing” (harvest) of ill-natured thoughts. A particularly clever pun, also in Antony and Cleopatra, stands out after Antony’s troops have fought Octavius’s men in Egypt: “We have beat him to his camp. Run one before, / And let the queen know of our gests” (IV, viii, ll. 1-2). Here “gests” means deeds (in this case, deeds of battle); it is also a pun on “guests,” as though Octavius’ slain soldiers were to be guests when buried in Egypt.
One should note that Elizabethan pronunciation was in several cases different from our own. Thus, modern readers, especially Americans, will miss out on the many puns based on homophones. The textual notes will point up many of these “lost” puns, however.
Shakespeare’s sexual innuendoes can be either clever or tedious depending upon the speaker and situation. The modern reader should recall that sexuality in Shakespeare’s time was far more complex than in ours and that characters may refer to such things as masturbation and homosexual activity. Textual notes in some editions will point out these puns but rarely explain them. An example of a sexual pun or innuendo can be found in The Merchant of Venice when Portia and Nerissa are discussing Portia’s past suitors using innuendo to tell of their sexual prowess:
Portia:
I pray thee, overname them, and as thou namest them, I will describe them, and according to my description level at my affection.
Nerrisa:
First, there is the Neapolitan prince.
Portia:
Ay, that’s a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse, and he makes it a great appropriation to his own good parts that he can shoe him himself. I am much afeard my lady his mother played false with the smith.
(I, ii, ll. 35-45)
The “Neapolitan prince” is given a grade of an inexperienced youth when Portia describes him as a “colt.” The prince is thought to be inexperienced because he did nothing but “talk of his horse” (a pun for his penis) and his other great attributes. Portia goes on to say that the prince boasted that he could “shoe him [his horse] himself,” a possible pun meaning that the prince was very proud that he could masturbate. Finally, Portia makes an attack upon the prince’s mother, saying that “my lady his mother played false with the smith,” a pun to say his mother must have committed adultery with a blacksmith to give birth to such a vulgar man having an obsession with “shoeing his horse.”
It is worth mentioning that Shakespeare gives the reader hints when his characters might be using puns and innuendoes. In The Merchant of Venice, Portia’s lines are given in prose when she is joking, or engaged in bawdy conversations. Later on the reader will notice that Portia’s lines are rhymed in poetry, such as when she is talking in court or to Bassanio. This is Shakespeare’s way of letting the reader know when Portia is jesting and when she is serious.
Shakespeare’s Dramatic Verse
Finally, the reader will notice that some lines are actually rhymed verse while others are in verse without rhyme; and much of Shakespeare’s drama is in prose. Shakespeare usually has his lovers speak in the language of love poetry which uses rhymed couplets. The archetypal example of this comes, of course, from Romeo and Juliet:
The grey-ey’d morn smiles on the frowning night,
Check’ring the eastern clouds with streaks of light,
And fleckled darkness like a drunkard reels
From forth day’s path and Titan’s fiery wheels.
(II, iii, ll. 1-4)
Here it is ironic that Friar Lawrence should speak these lines since he is not the one in love. He, therefore, appears buffoonish and out of touch with reality. Shakespeare often has his characters speak in rhymed verse to let the reader know that the character is acting in jest, and vice-versa.
Perhaps the majority of Shakespeare’s lines are in blank verse, a form of poetry which does not use rhyme (hence the name blank) but still employs a rhythm native to the English language, iambic pentameter, where every second syllable in a line of ten syllables receives stress. Consider the following verses from Hamlet, and note the accents and the lack of end-rhyme:
The sÃngle ánd pecúliar lÃfe is bóund
With áll the stréngth and ármor óf the mÃnd
(III, iii, ll. 12-13)
The final syllable of these verses receives stress and is said to have a hard, or “strong,” ending. A soft ending, also said to be “weak,” receives no stress. In The Tempest, Shakespeare uses a soft ending to shape a verse that demonstrates through both sound (meter) and sense the capacity of the feminine to propagate:
and thén I lóv’d thee
And shów’d thee áll the quálitÃes o’ th’ Ãsle,
The frésh sprÃngs, brÃne-pits, bárren pláce and fértile.
(I, ii, ll. 338-40)
The first and third of these lines here have soft endings.
In general, Shakespeare saves blank verse for his characters of noble birth. Therefore, it is significant when his lofty characters speak in prose. Prose holds a special place in Shakespeare’s dialogues; he uses it to represent the speech habits of the common people. Not only do lowly servants and common citizens speak in prose, but important, lower class figures also use this fun, at times ribald variety of speech. Though Shakespeare crafts some very ornate lines in verse, his prose can be equally daunting, for some of his characters may speechify and break into doubletalk in their attempts to show sophistication. A clever instance of this comes when the Third Citizen in Coriolanus refers to the people’s paradoxical lack of power when they must elect Coriolanus as their new leader once Coriolanus has orated how he has courageously fought for them in battle:
We have power in ourselves to do it, but it is a power that we have no power to do; for if he show us his wounds and tell us his deeds, we are to put our tongues into those wounds and speak for them; so, if he tell us his noble deeds, we must also tell him our noble acceptance of them. Ingratitude is monstrous, and for the multitude to be ingrateful were to make a monster of the multitude, of the which we, being members, should bring ourselves to be monstrous members.
(II, ii, ll. 3-13)
Notice that this passage contains as many metaphors, hideous though they be, as any other passage in Shakespeare’s dramatic verse.
When reading Shakespeare, paying attention to characters who suddenly break into rhymed verse, or who slip into prose after speaking in blank verse, will heighten your awareness of a character’s mood and personal development. For instance, in Antony and Cleopatra, the famous military leader Marcus Antony usually speaks in blank verse, but also speaks in fits of prose (II, iii, ll. 43-46) once his masculinity and authority have been questioned. Similarly, in Timon of Athens, after the wealthy lord Timon abandons the city of Athens to live in a cave, he harangues anyone whom he encounters in prose (IV, iii, l. 331 ff.). In contrast, the reader should wonder why the bestial Caliban in The Tempest speaks in blank verse rather than in prose.
Implied Stage Action
When we read a Shakespearean play, we are reading a performance text. Actors interact through dialogue, but at the same time these actors cry, gesticulate, throw tantrums, pick up daggers, and compulsively wash murderous “blood” from their hands. Some of the action that takes place on stage is explicitly stated in stage directions. However, some of the stage activity is couched within the dialogue itself. Attentiveness to these cues is important as one conceives how to visualize the action. When Iago in Othello feigns concern for Cassio whom he himself has stabbed, he calls to the surrounding men, “Come, come: / Lend me a light” (V, i, ll. 86-87). It is almost sure that one of the actors involved will bring him a torch or lantern. In the same play, Emilia, Desdemona’s maidservant, asks if she should fetch her lady’s nightgown and Desdemona replies, “No, unpin me here” (IV, iii, l. 37). In Macbeth, after killing Duncan, Macbeth brings the murder weapon back with him. When he tells his wife that he cannot return to the scene and place the daggers to suggest that the king’s guards murdered Duncan, she castigates him: “Infirm of purpose / Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures” (II, ii, ll. 50-52). As she exits, it is easy to visualize Lady Macbeth grabbing the daggers from her husband.
For 400 years, readers have found it greatly satisfying to work with all aspects of Shakespeare’s language—the implied stage action, word choice, sentence structure, and wordplay—until all aspects come to life. Just as seeing a fine performance of a Shakespearean play is exciting, staging the play in one’s own mind’s eye, and revisiting lines to enrich the sense of the action, will enhance one’s appreciation of Shakespeare’s extraordinary literary and dramatic achievements.
Shakespeare’s language can create a strong pang of intimidation, even fear, in a large number of modern-day readers. Fortunately, however, this need not be the case. All that is needed to master the art of reading Shakespeare is to practice the techniques of unraveling uncommonly structured sentences and to become familiar with the poetic use of uncommon words. We must realize that during the 400-year span between Shakespeare’s time and our own, both the way we live and speak has changed. Although most of his vocabulary is in use today, some of it is obsolete, and what may be most confusing is that some of his words are used today, but with slightly different or totally different meanings. On the stage, actors readily dissolve these language stumbling blocks. They study Shakespeare’s dialogue and express it dramatically in word and in action so that its meaning is graphically enacted. If the reader studies Shakespeare’s lines as an actor does, looking up and reflecting upon the meaning of unfamiliar words until real voice is discovered, he or she will suddenly experience the excitement, the depth and the sheer poetry of what these characters say.
Shakespeare’s Sentences
In English, or any other language, the meaning of a sentence greatly depends upon where each word is placed in that sentence. “The child hurt the mother” and “The mother hurt the child” have opposite meanings, even though the words are the same, simply because the words are arranged differently. Because word position is so integral to English, the reader will find unfamiliar word arrangements confusing, even difficult to understand. Since Shakespeare’s plays are poetic dramas, he often shifts from average word arrangements to the strikingly unusual so that the line will conform to the desired poetic rhythm. Often, too, Shakespeare employs unusual word order to afford a character his own specific style of speaking.
Today, English sentence structure follows a sequence of subject first, verb second, and an optional object third. Shakespeare, however, often places the verb before the subject, which reads, “Speaks he” rather than “He speaks.” Solanio speaks with this inverted structure in The Merchant of Venice stating, “I should be still / Plucking the grass to know where sits the wind” (Bevington edition, I, i, ll. 17-19), while today’s standard English word order would have the clause at the end of this line read, “where the wind sits.” “Wind” is the subject of this clause, and “sits” is the verb. Bassanio’s words in Act Two also exemplify this inversion: “And in such eyes as ours appear not faults” (II, ii, l. 184). In our normal word order, we would say, “Faults do not appear in eyes such as ours,” with “faults” as the subject in both Shakespeare’s word order and ours.
Inversions like these are not troublesome, but when Shakespeare positions the predicate adjective or the object before the subject and verb, we are sometimes surprised. For example, rather than “I saw him,” Shakespeare may use a structure such as “Him I saw.” Similarly, “Cold the morning is” would be used for our “The morning is cold.” Lady Macbeth demonstrates this inversion as she speaks of her husband: “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promised” (Macbeth, I, v, ll. 14-15). In current English word order, this quote would begin, “Thou art Glamis, and Cawdor.”
In addition to inversions, Shakespeare purposefully keeps words apart that we generally keep together. To illustrate, consider Bassanio’s humble admission in The Merchant of Venice: “I owe you much, and, like a wilful youth, / That which I owe is lost” (I, i, ll. 146-147). The phrase, “like a wilful youth,” separates the regular sequence of “I owe you much” and “That which I owe is lost.” To understand more clearly this type of passage, the reader could rearrange these word groups into our conventional order: I owe you much and I wasted what you gave me because I was young and impulsive. While these rearranged clauses will sound like normal English, and will be simpler to understand, they will no longer have the desired poetic rhythm, and the emphasis will now be on the wrong words.
As we read Shakespeare, we will find words that are separated by long, interruptive statements. Often subjects are separated from verbs, and verbs are separated from objects. These long interruptions can be used to give a character dimension or to add an element of suspense. For example, in Romeo and Juliet Benvolio describes both Romeo’s moodiness and his own sensitive and thoughtful nature:
I, measuring his affections by my own,
Which then most sought, where most might not be found,
Being one too many by my weary self,
Pursu’d my humour, not pursuing his,
And gladly shunn’d who gladly fled from me.
(I, i, ll. 126-130)
In this passage, the subject “I” is distanced from its verb “Pursu’d.” The long interruption serves to provide information which is integral to the plot. Another example, taken from Hamlet, is the ghost, Hamlet’s father, who describes Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, as
… that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts—
O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce—won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming virtuous queen.
(I, v, ll. 43-47)
From this we learn that Prince Hamlet’s mother is the victim of an evil seduction and deception. The delay between the subject, “beast,” and the verb, “won,” creates a moment of tension filled with the image of a cunning predator waiting for the right moment to spring into attack. This interruptive passage allows the play to unfold crucial information and thus to build the tension necessary to produce a riveting drama.
While at times these long delays are merely for decorative purposes, they are often used to narrate a particular situation or to enhance character development. As Antony and Cleopatra opens, an interruptive passage occurs in the first few lines. Although the delay is not lengthy, Philo’s words vividly portray Antony’s military prowess while they also reveal the immediate concern of the drama. Antony is distracted from his career, and is now focused on Cleopatra:
… those goodly eyes,
That o’er the files and musters of the war
Have glow’d like plated Mars, now bend, now turn
The office and devotion of their view
Upon a tawny front….
(I, i, ll. 2-6)
Whereas Shakespeare sometimes heaps detail upon detail, his sentences are often elliptical, that is, they omit words we expect in written English sentences. In fact, we often do this in our spoken conversations. For instance, we say, “You see that?” when we really mean, “Did you see that?” Reading poetry or listening to lyrics in music conditions us to supply the omitted words and it makes us more comfortable reading this type of dialogue. Consider one passage in The Merchant of Venice where Antonio’s friends ask him why he seems so sad and Solanio tells Antonio, “Why, then you are in love” (I, i, l. 46). When Antonio denies this, Solanio responds, “Not in love neither?” (I, i, l. 47). The word “you” is omitted but understood despite the confusing double negative.
In addition to leaving out words, Shakespeare often uses intentionally vague language, a strategy which taxes the reader’s attentiveness. In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra, upset that Antony is leaving for Rome after learning that his wife died in battle, convinces him to stay in Egypt:
Sir, you and I must part, but that’s not it:
Sir you and I have lov’d, but there’s not it;
That you know well, something it is I would—
O, my oblivion is a very Antony,
And I am all forgotten.
(I, iii, ll. 87-91)
In line 89, “…something it is I would” suggests that there is something that she would want to say, do, or have done. The intentional vagueness leaves us, and certainly Antony, to wonder. Though this sort of writing may appear lackadaisical for all that it leaves out, here the vagueness functions to portray Cleopatra as rhetorically sophisticated. Similarly, when asked what thing a crocodile is (meaning Antony himself who is being compared to a crocodile), Antony slyly evades the question by giving a vague reply:
It is shap’d, sir, like itself, and it is as broad as it hath breadth.
It is just so high as it is, and moves with it own organs.
It lives by that which nourisheth it, and, the elements once out of it, it transmigrates.
(II, vii, ll. 43-46)
This kind of evasiveness, or double-talk, occurs often in Shakespeare’s writing and requires extra patience on the part of the reader.
Shakespeare’s Words
As we read Shakespeare’s plays, we will encounter uncommon words. Many of these words are not in use today. As Romeo and Juliet opens, we notice words like “shrift” (confession) and “holidame” (a holy relic). Words like these should be explained in notes to the text. Shakespeare also employs words which we still use, though with different meaning. For example, in The Merchant of Venice “caskets” refer to small, decorative chests for holding jewels. However, modern readers may think of a large cask instead of the smaller, diminutive casket.
Another trouble modern readers will have with Shakespeare’s English is with words that are still in use today, but which mean something different in Elizabethan use. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses the word “straight” (as in “straight away”) where we would say “immediately.” Here, the modern reader is unlikely to carry away the wrong message, however, since the modern meaning will simply make no sense. In this case, textual notes will clarify a phrase’s meaning. To cite another example, in Romeo and Juliet, after Mercutio dies, Romeo states that the “black fate on moe days doth depend” (emphasis added). In this case, “depend” really means “impend.”
Shakespeare’s Wordplay
All of Shakespeare’s works exhibit his mastery of playing with language and with such variety that many people have authored entire books on this subject alone. Shakespeare’s most frequently used types of wordplay are common: metaphors, similes, synecdoche and metonymy, personification, allusion, and puns. It is when Shakespeare violates the normal use of these devices, or rhetorical figures, that the language becomes confusing.
A metaphor is a comparison in which an object or idea is replaced by another object or idea with common attributes. For example, in Macbeth a murderer tells Macbeth that Banquo has been murdered, as directed, but that his son, Fleance, escaped, having witnessed his father’s murder. Fleance, now a threat to Macbeth, is described as a serpent:
There the grown serpent lies, the worm that’s fled
Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
No teeth for the present.
(III, iv, ll. 29-31)
Similes, on the other hand, compare objects or ideas while using the words “like” or “as.” In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo tells Juliet that “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books” (II, ii, l. 156). Such similes often give way to more involved comparisons, “extended similes.” For example, Juliet tells Romeo:
‘Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone,
And yet no farther than a wonton’s bird,
That lets it hop a little from his hand
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with silken thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.
(II, ii, ll. 176-181)
An epic simile, a device borrowed from heroic poetry, is an extended simile that builds into an even more elaborate comparison. In Macbeth, Macbeth describes King Duncan’s virtues with an angelic, celestial simile and then drives immediately into another simile that redirects us into a vision of warfare and destruction:
… Besides this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind….
(I, vii, ll. 16-25)
Shakespeare employs other devices, like synecdoche and metonymy, to achieve “verbal economy,” or using one or two words to express more than one thought. Synecdoche is a figure of speech using a part for the whole. An example of synecdoche is using the word boards to imply a stage. Boards are only a small part of the materials that make up a stage, however, the term boards has become a colloquial synonym for stage. Metonymy is a figure of speech using the name of one thing for that of another which it is associated. An example of metonymy is using crown to mean the king (as used in the sentence “These lands belong to the crown”). Since a crown is associated with or an attribute of the king, the word crown has become a metonymy for the king. It is important to understand that every metonymy is a synecdoche, but not every synecdoche is a metonymy. This is rule is true because a metonymy must not only be a part of the root word, making a synecdoche, but also be a unique attribute of or associated with the root word.
Synecdoche and metonymy in Shakespeare’s works is often very confusing to a new student because he creates uses for words that they usually do not perform. This technique is often complicated and yet very subtle, which makes it difficult of a new student to dissect and understand. An example of these devices in one of Shakespeare’s plays can be found in The Merchant of Venice. In warning his daughter, Jessica, to ignore the Christian revelries in the streets below, Shylock says:
Lock up my doors; and when you hear the drum
And the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife,
Clamber not you up to the casements then….
(I, v, ll. 30-32)
The phrase of importance in this quote is “the wry-necked fife.” When a reader examines this phrase it does not seem to make sense; a fife is a cylinder-shaped instrument, there is no part of it that can be called a neck. The phrase then must be taken to refer to the fife-player, who has to twist his or her neck to play the fife. Fife, therefore, is a synecdoche for fife-player, much as boards is for stage. The trouble with understanding this phrase is that “vile squealing” logically refers to the sound of the fife, not the fife-player, and the reader might be led to take fife as the instrument because of the parallel reference to “drum” in the previous line. The best solution to this quandary is that Shakespeare uses the word fife to refer to both the instrument and the player. Both the player and the instrument are needed to complete the wordplay in this phrase, which, though difficult to understand to new readers, cannot be seen as a flaw since Shakespeare manages to convey two meanings with one word. This remarkable example of synecdoche illuminates Shakespeare’s mastery of “verbal economy.”
Shakespeare also uses vivid and imagistic wordplay through personification, in which human capacities and behaviors are attributed to inanimate objects. Bassanio, in The Merchant of Venice, almost speechless when Portia promises to marry him and share all her worldly wealth, states “my blood speaks to you in my veins…” (III, ii, l. 176). How deeply he must feel since even his blood can speak. Similarly, Portia, learning of the penalty that Antonio must pay for defaulting on his debt, tells Salerio, “There are some shrewd contents in yond same paper / That steals the color from Bassanio’s cheek” (III, ii, ll. 243-244).
Another important facet of Shakespeare’s rhetorical repertoire is his use of allusion. An allusion is a reference to another author or to an historical figure or event. Very often Shakespeare alludes to the heroes and heroines of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. For example, in Cymbeline an entire room is decorated with images illustrating the stories from this classical work, and the heroine, Imogen, has been reading from this text. Similarly, in Titus Andronicus characters not only read directly from the Metamorphoses, but a subplot re-enacts one of the Metamorphoses’s most famous stories, the rape and mutilation of Philomel.
Another way Shakespeare uses allusion is to drop names of mythological, historical and literary figures. In The Taming of the Shrew, for instance, Petruchio compares Katharina, the woman whom he is courting, to Diana (II, i, l. 55), the virgin goddess, in order to suggest that Katharina is a man-hater. At times, Shakespeare will allude to well-known figures without so much as mentioning their names. In Twelfth Night, for example, though the Duke and Valentine are ostensibly interested in Olivia, a rich countess, Shakespeare asks his audience to compare the Duke’s emotional turmoil to the plight of Acteon, whom the goddess Diana transforms into a deer to be hunted and killed by Acteon’s own dogs:
Duke:
That instant was I turn’d into a hart,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E’er since pursue me.
[…]
Valentine:
But like a cloistress she will veiled walk,
And water once a day her chamber round….
(I, i, l. 20 ff.)
Shakespeare’s use of puns spotlights his exceptional wit. His comedies in particular are loaded with puns, usually of a sexual nature. Puns work through the ambiguity that results when multiple senses of a word are evoked; homophones often cause this sort of ambiguity. In Antony and Cleopatra, Enobarbus believes “there is mettle in death” (I, ii, l. 146), meaning that there is “courage” in death; at the same time, mettle suggests the homophone metal, referring to swords made of metal causing death. In early editions of Shakespeare’s work there was no distinction made between the two words. Antony puns on the word “earing,” (I, ii, ll. 112-114) meaning both plowing (as in rooting out weeds) and hearing: he angrily sends away a messenger, not wishing to hear the message from his wife, Fulvia: “… O then we bring forth weeds, / when our quick minds lie still, and our ills told us / Is as our earing.” If ill-natured news is planted in one’s “hearing,” it will render an “earing” (harvest) of ill-natured thoughts. A particularly clever pun, also in Antony and Cleopatra, stands out after Antony’s troops have fought Octavius’s men in Egypt: “We have beat him to his camp. Run one before, / And let the queen know of our gests” (IV, viii, ll. 1-2). Here “gests” means deeds (in this case, deeds of battle); it is also a pun on “guests,” as though Octavius’ slain soldiers were to be guests when buried in Egypt.
One should note that Elizabethan pronunciation was in several cases different from our own. Thus, modern readers, especially Americans, will miss out on the many puns based on homophones. The textual notes will point up many of these “lost” puns, however.
Shakespeare’s sexual innuendoes can be either clever or tedious depending upon the speaker and situation. The modern reader should recall that sexuality in Shakespeare’s time was far more complex than in ours and that characters may refer to such things as masturbation and homosexual activity. Textual notes in some editions will point out these puns but rarely explain them. An example of a sexual pun or innuendo can be found in The Merchant of Venice when Portia and Nerissa are discussing Portia’s past suitors using innuendo to tell of their sexual prowess:
Portia:
I pray thee, overname them, and as thou namest them, I will describe them, and according to my description level at my affection.
Nerrisa:
First, there is the Neapolitan prince.
Portia:
Ay, that’s a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse, and he makes it a great appropriation to his own good parts that he can shoe him himself. I am much afeard my lady his mother played false with the smith.
(I, ii, ll. 35-45)
The “Neapolitan prince” is given a grade of an inexperienced youth when Portia describes him as a “colt.” The prince is thought to be inexperienced because he did nothing but “talk of his horse” (a pun for his penis) and his other great attributes. Portia goes on to say that the prince boasted that he could “shoe him [his horse] himself,” a possible pun meaning that the prince was very proud that he could masturbate. Finally, Portia makes an attack upon the prince’s mother, saying that “my lady his mother played false with the smith,” a pun to say his mother must have committed adultery with a blacksmith to give birth to such a vulgar man having an obsession with “shoeing his horse.”
It is worth mentioning that Shakespeare gives the reader hints when his characters might be using puns and innuendoes. In The Merchant of Venice, Portia’s lines are given in prose when she is joking, or engaged in bawdy conversations. Later on the reader will notice that Portia’s lines are rhymed in poetry, such as when she is talking in court or to Bassanio. This is Shakespeare’s way of letting the reader know when Portia is jesting and when she is serious.
Shakespeare’s Dramatic Verse
Finally, the reader will notice that some lines are actually rhymed verse while others are in verse without rhyme; and much of Shakespeare’s drama is in prose. Shakespeare usually has his lovers speak in the language of love poetry which uses rhymed couplets. The archetypal example of this comes, of course, from Romeo and Juliet:
The grey-ey’d morn smiles on the frowning night,
Check’ring the eastern clouds with streaks of light,
And fleckled darkness like a drunkard reels
From forth day’s path and Titan’s fiery wheels.
(II, iii, ll. 1-4)
Here it is ironic that Friar Lawrence should speak these lines since he is not the one in love. He, therefore, appears buffoonish and out of touch with reality. Shakespeare often has his characters speak in rhymed verse to let the reader know that the character is acting in jest, and vice-versa.
Perhaps the majority of Shakespeare’s lines are in blank verse, a form of poetry which does not use rhyme (hence the name blank) but still employs a rhythm native to the English language, iambic pentameter, where every second syllable in a line of ten syllables receives stress. Consider the following verses from Hamlet, and note the accents and the lack of end-rhyme:
The sÃngle ánd pecúliar lÃfe is bóund
With áll the stréngth and ármor óf the mÃnd
(III, iii, ll. 12-13)
The final syllable of these verses receives stress and is said to have a hard, or “strong,” ending. A soft ending, also said to be “weak,” receives no stress. In The Tempest, Shakespeare uses a soft ending to shape a verse that demonstrates through both sound (meter) and sense the capacity of the feminine to propagate:
and thén I lóv’d thee
And shów’d thee áll the quálitÃes o’ th’ Ãsle,
The frésh sprÃngs, brÃne-pits, bárren pláce and fértile.
(I, ii, ll. 338-40)
The first and third of these lines here have soft endings.
In general, Shakespeare saves blank verse for his characters of noble birth. Therefore, it is significant when his lofty characters speak in prose. Prose holds a special place in Shakespeare’s dialogues; he uses it to represent the speech habits of the common people. Not only do lowly servants and common citizens speak in prose, but important, lower class figures also use this fun, at times ribald variety of speech. Though Shakespeare crafts some very ornate lines in verse, his prose can be equally daunting, for some of his characters may speechify and break into doubletalk in their attempts to show sophistication. A clever instance of this comes when the Third Citizen in Coriolanus refers to the people’s paradoxical lack of power when they must elect Coriolanus as their new leader once Coriolanus has orated how he has courageously fought for them in battle:
We have power in ourselves to do it, but it is a power that we have no power to do; for if he show us his wounds and tell us his deeds, we are to put our tongues into those wounds and speak for them; so, if he tell us his noble deeds, we must also tell him our noble acceptance of them. Ingratitude is monstrous, and for the multitude to be ingrateful were to make a monster of the multitude, of the which we, being members, should bring ourselves to be monstrous members.
(II, ii, ll. 3-13)
Notice that this passage contains as many metaphors, hideous though they be, as any other passage in Shakespeare’s dramatic verse.
When reading Shakespeare, paying attention to characters who suddenly break into rhymed verse, or who slip into prose after speaking in blank verse, will heighten your awareness of a character’s mood and personal development. For instance, in Antony and Cleopatra, the famous military leader Marcus Antony usually speaks in blank verse, but also speaks in fits of prose (II, iii, ll. 43-46) once his masculinity and authority have been questioned. Similarly, in Timon of Athens, after the wealthy lord Timon abandons the city of Athens to live in a cave, he harangues anyone whom he encounters in prose (IV, iii, l. 331 ff.). In contrast, the reader should wonder why the bestial Caliban in The Tempest speaks in blank verse rather than in prose.
Implied Stage Action
When we read a Shakespearean play, we are reading a performance text. Actors interact through dialogue, but at the same time these actors cry, gesticulate, throw tantrums, pick up daggers, and compulsively wash murderous “blood” from their hands. Some of the action that takes place on stage is explicitly stated in stage directions. However, some of the stage activity is couched within the dialogue itself. Attentiveness to these cues is important as one conceives how to visualize the action. When Iago in Othello feigns concern for Cassio whom he himself has stabbed, he calls to the surrounding men, “Come, come: / Lend me a light” (V, i, ll. 86-87). It is almost sure that one of the actors involved will bring him a torch or lantern. In the same play, Emilia, Desdemona’s maidservant, asks if she should fetch her lady’s nightgown and Desdemona replies, “No, unpin me here” (IV, iii, l. 37). In Macbeth, after killing Duncan, Macbeth brings the murder weapon back with him. When he tells his wife that he cannot return to the scene and place the daggers to suggest that the king’s guards murdered Duncan, she castigates him: “Infirm of purpose / Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures” (II, ii, ll. 50-52). As she exits, it is easy to visualize Lady Macbeth grabbing the daggers from her husband.
For 400 years, readers have found it greatly satisfying to work with all aspects of Shakespeare’s language—the implied stage action, word choice, sentence structure, and wordplay—until all aspects come to life. Just as seeing a fine performance of a Shakespearean play is exciting, staging the play in one’s own mind’s eye, and revisiting lines to enrich the sense of the action, will enhance one’s appreciation of Shakespeare’s extraordinary literary and dramatic achievements.
OTHELLO: LIST OF CHARACTERS
Roderigo—a Venetian gentleman; rejected suitor to Desdemona
Iago—newly appointed ensign to Othello, Moor of Venice
Brabantio—Venetian Senator; father to Desdemona
Othello—the Moorish General; husband to Desdemona
Cassio—newly appointed lieutenant to Othello
Duke of Venice—official who appoints Othello in charge of Cyprian mission
Desdemona—wife to Othello; daughter to Brabantio
Montano—retiring governor of Cyprus; predecessor to Othello in Cyprian government
Emilia—wife to Iago; attendant to Desdemona
Clown—servant to Othello
Bianca—a courtesan; mistress to Cassio
Gratiano—Venetian nobleman; brother to Brabantio
Lodovico—Venetian nobleman; kinsman to Brabantio
Senators—officials who discuss Cyprian mission
Messengers—deliver announcements during the play
Two Gentlemen—converse with the governor
Third Gentleman—brings news of the Turkish fleet
Herald—Othello’s herald who reads a proclamation
Sailor—brings message about Turkish fleet
Officers—unnamed characters throughout the play who serve in the military
Attendants—unnamed characters throughout the play whose purpose is to serve the other characters
Iago—newly appointed ensign to Othello, Moor of Venice
Brabantio—Venetian Senator; father to Desdemona
Othello—the Moorish General; husband to Desdemona
Cassio—newly appointed lieutenant to Othello
Duke of Venice—official who appoints Othello in charge of Cyprian mission
Desdemona—wife to Othello; daughter to Brabantio
Montano—retiring governor of Cyprus; predecessor to Othello in Cyprian government
Emilia—wife to Iago; attendant to Desdemona
Clown—servant to Othello
Bianca—a courtesan; mistress to Cassio
Gratiano—Venetian nobleman; brother to Brabantio
Lodovico—Venetian nobleman; kinsman to Brabantio
Senators—officials who discuss Cyprian mission
Messengers—deliver announcements during the play
Two Gentlemen—converse with the governor
Third Gentleman—brings news of the Turkish fleet
Herald—Othello’s herald who reads a proclamation
Sailor—brings message about Turkish fleet
Officers—unnamed characters throughout the play who serve in the military
Attendants—unnamed characters throughout the play whose purpose is to serve the other characters
OTHELLO: HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The primary source for Othello is a short story from Gli Hecatommithi, a collection of tales published in 1565 by Geraldi Cinthio. The story from the collection dealing with “The Unfaithfulness of Husbands and Wives” provides an ideal place for an Elizabethan dramatist to look for a plot. Since no translation of this work is known to have appeared before 1753, scholars believe that Shakespeare either read the work in its original Italian, or that he was familiar with a French translation of Cinthio’s tales, published in 1585 by Gabriel Chappuys.
In Cinthio’s tale, the wife is known as Disdemona, but the other characters are designated by titles only. There are also significant differences in the length of time over which the drama takes place, details of setting, and characters’ actions.
Commentators have also suggested that Pliny’s Natural History provided Shakespeare with details to enhance Othello’s exotic adventures and his alien origins. It has even been suggested by Geoffrey Bullough that Shakespeare consulted John Pory’s translation of Leo Africanus’ A Geographical History of Africa, which distinguishes between Moors of northern and southern Africa and characterizes both groups as candid and unaffected, but prone to jealousy. Shakespeare was also familiar with fifteenth and early sixteenth century accounts of wars between Venice and Turkey, during which time Venice regained temporary control of Cyprus.
It is agreed by most scholars that Shakespeare wrote Othello in 1604, but some have suggested a composition date as early as 1603 or even 1602. The earliest recorded performance of the play was that by the King’s Men “in the Banketinge house at Whit Hall” on November 1, 1604. However, it is also possible that the play was performed earlier that year in a public theater.
Othello was first printed in quarto form in 1622, and then in the First Folio of 1623; however, there are many variations between the texts of First Quarto and First Folio. The First Folio contains approximately 160 lines that are not in the First Quarto, but it has notably fewer stage directions. In contrast, the First Quarto contains about 13 lines or partial lines not found in the First Folio. Despite the differences, textual commentators generally agree that the folio edition was printed from a copy of the First Quarto, together with corrections and additions from some reliable manuscript, such as an acting company prompt-book.
In Cinthio’s tale, the wife is known as Disdemona, but the other characters are designated by titles only. There are also significant differences in the length of time over which the drama takes place, details of setting, and characters’ actions.
Commentators have also suggested that Pliny’s Natural History provided Shakespeare with details to enhance Othello’s exotic adventures and his alien origins. It has even been suggested by Geoffrey Bullough that Shakespeare consulted John Pory’s translation of Leo Africanus’ A Geographical History of Africa, which distinguishes between Moors of northern and southern Africa and characterizes both groups as candid and unaffected, but prone to jealousy. Shakespeare was also familiar with fifteenth and early sixteenth century accounts of wars between Venice and Turkey, during which time Venice regained temporary control of Cyprus.
It is agreed by most scholars that Shakespeare wrote Othello in 1604, but some have suggested a composition date as early as 1603 or even 1602. The earliest recorded performance of the play was that by the King’s Men “in the Banketinge house at Whit Hall” on November 1, 1604. However, it is also possible that the play was performed earlier that year in a public theater.
Othello was first printed in quarto form in 1622, and then in the First Folio of 1623; however, there are many variations between the texts of First Quarto and First Folio. The First Folio contains approximately 160 lines that are not in the First Quarto, but it has notably fewer stage directions. In contrast, the First Quarto contains about 13 lines or partial lines not found in the First Folio. Despite the differences, textual commentators generally agree that the folio edition was printed from a copy of the First Quarto, together with corrections and additions from some reliable manuscript, such as an acting company prompt-book.
OTHELLO: ACT I COMMENTARY
Othello
Act I Commentary
Scene 1
Like other Shakespeare plays, Othello opens with a scene that sets the tone for the rest of the play. The playwright is intentionally vague in the details of the conversation between two men with one exception: line 2 reveals that one of the men is called Iago. We arrive in media res, literally in the middle of things.
The first man is complaining that Iago has spent his money freely and is very upset that Iago knows about "this" (I.i.3). As the conversation continues, we learn that Iago hates "him" (I.i.6) because "he" has passed over Iago for promotion to lieutenant, choosing instead "Michael Cassio, a Florentine" (I.i.19) and "a great arithmetician" (I.i.18). Who is this "he," and why does Iago hate him so much? After a lengthy list of complaints, Iago throws us a slight hint: "And I, God bless the mark, his Moorship's ancient" (I.i.32). Iago's sarcasm is distilled into a single epithet, "Moorship." Not only is the man under verbal attack Iago's superior, he is a Moor, an outsider to the world of Venice.
Speaking logically, the other man tells Iago that if he were in Iago's place, he would quit. Defensively, Iago explains that he only serves him to get even eventually. Iago assures his companion, Roderigo, that
… I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at; I am not what I am.
(I.i.63-64)
As with his other plays, Shakespeare puts the whole play before us in a few lines. Iago is not what he is. As we will see, neither is anyone else. The key to this play is the effect of real and/or imagined deception: things are not what they are.
Roderigo, at Iago's urging, yells up to Brabantio's window, rousing the house from their sleep. Iago wastes no time in putting his plot for revenge against this Moor into action. He informs
Brabantio:
Zounds, sir, you're robbed; for shame, put on your gown!
Your heart is burst, you have lost your soul,
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe!
(I.i.86-89)
Here Iago not only informs Brabantio of a matter that is of obvious importance, but he also reveals a lot about himself and the people with whom he deals.
Iago begins a speech pattern he will continue throughout the play, especially when he is speaking about women. He uses animal imagery to categorise the hated Moor. He continues its use to describe the sex act as an act of bestiality and to demean the woman involved. Iago also apparently knows Brabantio's weak spot. His abuse of the woman contrasts starkly to "heart" and "soul" used to describe Brabantio's loss, thus revealing that the woman sleeping with the Moor is very close to Brabantio. The sexual value of this woman is a core issue for the old man.
When Roderigo addresses Brabantio, we learn that Roderigo has been banned from Brabantio's house as an unsuitable marriage candidate. Roderigo, however, tries to calm Brabantio. Iago finally interrupts with the news that "your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" (I.i.114-116). Once again, Iago is crude and unyielding, incensing Brabantio who begins to search the house for his daughter. Abruptly, Iago tells Roderigo that he must leave since he cannot bring such an open accusation against the Moor.
At first we may find this scene amusing, that Iago, having made the accusation, cannot make the accusation. On consideration, we discover what a great psychologist Iago actually is. He has put forth a truth: the Moor is sleeping with Brabantio's daughter. He has, however, omitted the details and context of the truth, thereby altering its reception and perception. It is not what it is. Iago will do this "truth-bending" throughout the play until we ourselves question what the truth is.
As Iago leaves, an irate Brabantio confronts Roderigo with the fact that his daughter is indeed missing. He wonders if she is married; if so, perhaps she was charmed into it by magic. Brabantio thanks Roderigo and leads his household into Venice's dark streets.
Scene 2
In this scene, we meet the Moor who has apparently kidnapped Brabantio's daughter. His first line is a telling one. When Iago tells Othello that he had wanted to kill a man (possibly Roderigo or Brabantio), Othello responds: "Tis better as it is" (I.ii.6). In 186 lines, Shakespeare has subtly given us the entire play:
I am not what I am.
'Tis better as it is.
We will discover that if Othello had left things as they were, he would not have met tragedy. But for now, Iago informs Othello that he faces an annulment or jail for marrying "the gentle Desdemona" (I.ii.25). Othello responds that he is not afraid of whatever Brabantio may do because of the service he has done for Venice. He tells Iago that his reputation as a general is such that only for his love of Desdemona would he even consider compromising it.
Othello's lieutenant arrives with officers from the Duke of Venice and the Senate. Othello is summoned to the Senate on an urgent matter concerning Cyprus. Othello prepares to leave, and while he does, Iago tells the lieutenant that Othello is married. As the men leave, Brabantio, Roderigo, and others draw their weapons to attack Othello. Brabantio is furious and demands to know the whereabouts of Desdemona. He accuses Othello of casting a spell on the girl. He contends that Desdemona was
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy, curled darlings of our nation.
(I.ii.67-68)
Brabantio goes even further to accuse Othello of using drugs and witchcraft. Brabantio orders the officers with him to arrest Othello and kill him if he resists. Calmly Othello asks the irate father where he would like Othello to go. Brabantio says "To prison" and Othello counters that he is summoned by the Duke. Brabantio does not believe that the Duke has called for a council meeting in the middle of the night, but decides that his cause has such overwhelming importance that it should be presented directly to the Duke.
On the surface, this scene may be viewed as giving us details about and introductions to characters we will meet later. However, the scene also gives us immediate access to the dynamics of the various relationships which shape the play. We meet Othello's lieutenant who Iago had so maligned in Scene 1. From his dialogue, we can see that he is a straight-to-the-point military man. We are unaware that he has any connection to Desdemona at this point, but Iago's comment, "If it prove a lawful prize, he's made for ever" (I.ii.51), serves two purposes. Iago knows something that the lieutenant does not but should know. And Iago, while saying Othello will be "made for ever" is planning the general's downfall as well as that of the lieutenant. Therefore, we see Iago as consistently sarcastic and manipulative without being shown why he is that way.
The scene also gives us a strong first impression of Othello. He is a general who is a career soldier. His handling of Brabantio shows his prowess at dealing with men either in the heat of battle or the heat of passion, which could almost be synonymous. He is so confident in his capabilities that he seems to ride above Brabantio's racial epithets and wrath.
Without our realizing it, Shakespeare has constructed several triangles which will frame the action of the play: Iago, Roderigo, Othello; Iago, Cassio, Othello; Brabantio, Othello, Desdemona; Cassio, Othello, Desdemona. Each of these triangles are interlinked and have as their common thread the inclusion of Othello. The difference in how the problems of these relationships are resolved will be based on how Othello acts or does not act on Iago's "I am not what I am."
Scene 3
This scene opens with the Duke's and the senators' comments on the inconsistencies in the reports of the number of galleys (ships) in the Turkish fleet. This discussion creates a geographical triangle: Venice, Turkey, Cyprus. The Duke arrives at the conclusion that whether the Turkish fleet has 170, 140, or 200 galleys, it is certain that they pose a threat to Cyprus and, as is soon reported, to Rhodes. The messenger comes from the governor of Cyprus who begs the Duke to send help. The Duke wants to send Othello, who enters the senate chamber with Roderigo and Brabantio.
The Cyprus situation is the last thing on Brabantio's mind. When the man wails, "My daughter, O, my daughter" (I.iii.60) in response to the Duke's "what's the matter" (I.iii.59), the Duke thinks Desdemona has died. Obviously, the two men have different criteria for defining "grief" (I.iii.56). Brabantio repeats his accusation that Desdemona has been bewitched and points the finger at Othello. Othello's response to the Duke and the others shows him to be a true tactician.
Othello admits witchcraft and asks for the Duke to bring Desdemona to the Senate, which he does, with Iago showing them the way. During this time, Othello tells a moving story of how Desdemona listened to his stories of "the battles, sieges, fortunes / That I have passed" (I.iii.131-132). The general relates that frequently Desdemona was moved to tears by his tales. When Desdemona indicated she was in love with Othello "for the dangers I had passed" (I.iii.167), he admitted that he "loved her that she did pity them" (I.iii.168). The Duke believes Othello because the story he has just heard moved him. When Desdemona arrives, she tells Brabantio that she is indebted to him "for life and education" (I.iii.182) but that she now must be loyal to her husband. Brabantio concedes and the Duke urges him to be reconciled to his daughter's marriage. But Brabantio knows that the Senate has convened to discuss action against the Turks, and that his personal problem is subordinate to the needs of the State.
Shakespeare cues us to the shift from private problems to public ones through the language. Othello tells his story in blank verse. Brabantio's capitulation is in rhyming couplets. The Duke follows with a speech in prose. The jarring change is also reflected in the content of the Duke's speech: Othello must leave the comfort of Venice as we have left the comfort of rhyming couplet, which is often the way nursery rhymes are constructed. Othello must return to his life as general in command of a "stubborn and boisterous expedition" (I.iii.229).
Othello is unfazed by this assignment. He is accustomed to the hardships imposed on a soldier by war. He knows, however, that Desdemona is not so accustomed, and he asks the Duke to make sure she is cared for. The Duke suggests she stay at her father's. Brabantio immediately refuses and Othello agrees. Desdemona joins the discussion by agreeing with the two men, asking the Duke to allow her to accompany Othello. Othello assures the Duke that if he agrees to let Desdemona go on the long trip, it will not to be to satisfy his needs as a man nor would he ignore his duties as a soldier. The Duke responds that it does not matter to him, but the Turks invasion of Cyprus does. Othello must leave immediately, whatever he decides about Desdemona.
Othello leaves Iago to secure the commission from the Duke and to make arrangements for Desdemona. As the Duke leaves, Othello assures Brabantio that he (Othello) is a man of strong moral fiber. Brabantio, however, leaves him with a bitter truth:
Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceived her father, and may thee.
(I.iii.293-294)
Othello shrugs off the comment, and tells Iago that Iago's wife would be a good companion for Desdemona. Iago is to bring both women to Cyprus. Othello and Desdemona leave to spend a last hour together before the trip separates them.
Roderigo is despondent over the turn of events and threatens to drown himself. Iago knows that if he does, then Iago loses extra income. In the passages that follow, the word "purse" is used six times in fourteen lines, and "money" seven times in sixteen lines. Iago succeeds in gulling the man who will sell his land and travel to Cyprus in pursuit of Desdemona. Iago then lets us in on his plan. He knows Othello judges men by appearances, and he will use this weakness to manipulate the general into believing that Desdemona and Cassio, the lieutenant, are lovers. This way, he can get revenge on Othello and destroy Cassio. It does not seem that Roderigo figures very prominently in this plan.
We now know all we need to understand the play. We have met the main characters, we have the background of life in Venice, and we are about to move to Cyprus. With Iago's plan now verbalized and Othello's commission for war against the Turks, the play promises plenty of action. But Shakespeare is never so obvious, so simple. The scenes so far have given us just a peek at the psychology of these men and women of Venice. How will things change when they are at war in Cyprus?
Act I Commentary
Scene 1
Like other Shakespeare plays, Othello opens with a scene that sets the tone for the rest of the play. The playwright is intentionally vague in the details of the conversation between two men with one exception: line 2 reveals that one of the men is called Iago. We arrive in media res, literally in the middle of things.
The first man is complaining that Iago has spent his money freely and is very upset that Iago knows about "this" (I.i.3). As the conversation continues, we learn that Iago hates "him" (I.i.6) because "he" has passed over Iago for promotion to lieutenant, choosing instead "Michael Cassio, a Florentine" (I.i.19) and "a great arithmetician" (I.i.18). Who is this "he," and why does Iago hate him so much? After a lengthy list of complaints, Iago throws us a slight hint: "And I, God bless the mark, his Moorship's ancient" (I.i.32). Iago's sarcasm is distilled into a single epithet, "Moorship." Not only is the man under verbal attack Iago's superior, he is a Moor, an outsider to the world of Venice.
Speaking logically, the other man tells Iago that if he were in Iago's place, he would quit. Defensively, Iago explains that he only serves him to get even eventually. Iago assures his companion, Roderigo, that
… I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at; I am not what I am.
(I.i.63-64)
As with his other plays, Shakespeare puts the whole play before us in a few lines. Iago is not what he is. As we will see, neither is anyone else. The key to this play is the effect of real and/or imagined deception: things are not what they are.
Roderigo, at Iago's urging, yells up to Brabantio's window, rousing the house from their sleep. Iago wastes no time in putting his plot for revenge against this Moor into action. He informs
Brabantio:
Zounds, sir, you're robbed; for shame, put on your gown!
Your heart is burst, you have lost your soul,
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe!
(I.i.86-89)
Here Iago not only informs Brabantio of a matter that is of obvious importance, but he also reveals a lot about himself and the people with whom he deals.
Iago begins a speech pattern he will continue throughout the play, especially when he is speaking about women. He uses animal imagery to categorise the hated Moor. He continues its use to describe the sex act as an act of bestiality and to demean the woman involved. Iago also apparently knows Brabantio's weak spot. His abuse of the woman contrasts starkly to "heart" and "soul" used to describe Brabantio's loss, thus revealing that the woman sleeping with the Moor is very close to Brabantio. The sexual value of this woman is a core issue for the old man.
When Roderigo addresses Brabantio, we learn that Roderigo has been banned from Brabantio's house as an unsuitable marriage candidate. Roderigo, however, tries to calm Brabantio. Iago finally interrupts with the news that "your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" (I.i.114-116). Once again, Iago is crude and unyielding, incensing Brabantio who begins to search the house for his daughter. Abruptly, Iago tells Roderigo that he must leave since he cannot bring such an open accusation against the Moor.
At first we may find this scene amusing, that Iago, having made the accusation, cannot make the accusation. On consideration, we discover what a great psychologist Iago actually is. He has put forth a truth: the Moor is sleeping with Brabantio's daughter. He has, however, omitted the details and context of the truth, thereby altering its reception and perception. It is not what it is. Iago will do this "truth-bending" throughout the play until we ourselves question what the truth is.
As Iago leaves, an irate Brabantio confronts Roderigo with the fact that his daughter is indeed missing. He wonders if she is married; if so, perhaps she was charmed into it by magic. Brabantio thanks Roderigo and leads his household into Venice's dark streets.
Scene 2
In this scene, we meet the Moor who has apparently kidnapped Brabantio's daughter. His first line is a telling one. When Iago tells Othello that he had wanted to kill a man (possibly Roderigo or Brabantio), Othello responds: "Tis better as it is" (I.ii.6). In 186 lines, Shakespeare has subtly given us the entire play:
I am not what I am.
'Tis better as it is.
We will discover that if Othello had left things as they were, he would not have met tragedy. But for now, Iago informs Othello that he faces an annulment or jail for marrying "the gentle Desdemona" (I.ii.25). Othello responds that he is not afraid of whatever Brabantio may do because of the service he has done for Venice. He tells Iago that his reputation as a general is such that only for his love of Desdemona would he even consider compromising it.
Othello's lieutenant arrives with officers from the Duke of Venice and the Senate. Othello is summoned to the Senate on an urgent matter concerning Cyprus. Othello prepares to leave, and while he does, Iago tells the lieutenant that Othello is married. As the men leave, Brabantio, Roderigo, and others draw their weapons to attack Othello. Brabantio is furious and demands to know the whereabouts of Desdemona. He accuses Othello of casting a spell on the girl. He contends that Desdemona was
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy, curled darlings of our nation.
(I.ii.67-68)
Brabantio goes even further to accuse Othello of using drugs and witchcraft. Brabantio orders the officers with him to arrest Othello and kill him if he resists. Calmly Othello asks the irate father where he would like Othello to go. Brabantio says "To prison" and Othello counters that he is summoned by the Duke. Brabantio does not believe that the Duke has called for a council meeting in the middle of the night, but decides that his cause has such overwhelming importance that it should be presented directly to the Duke.
On the surface, this scene may be viewed as giving us details about and introductions to characters we will meet later. However, the scene also gives us immediate access to the dynamics of the various relationships which shape the play. We meet Othello's lieutenant who Iago had so maligned in Scene 1. From his dialogue, we can see that he is a straight-to-the-point military man. We are unaware that he has any connection to Desdemona at this point, but Iago's comment, "If it prove a lawful prize, he's made for ever" (I.ii.51), serves two purposes. Iago knows something that the lieutenant does not but should know. And Iago, while saying Othello will be "made for ever" is planning the general's downfall as well as that of the lieutenant. Therefore, we see Iago as consistently sarcastic and manipulative without being shown why he is that way.
The scene also gives us a strong first impression of Othello. He is a general who is a career soldier. His handling of Brabantio shows his prowess at dealing with men either in the heat of battle or the heat of passion, which could almost be synonymous. He is so confident in his capabilities that he seems to ride above Brabantio's racial epithets and wrath.
Without our realizing it, Shakespeare has constructed several triangles which will frame the action of the play: Iago, Roderigo, Othello; Iago, Cassio, Othello; Brabantio, Othello, Desdemona; Cassio, Othello, Desdemona. Each of these triangles are interlinked and have as their common thread the inclusion of Othello. The difference in how the problems of these relationships are resolved will be based on how Othello acts or does not act on Iago's "I am not what I am."
Scene 3
This scene opens with the Duke's and the senators' comments on the inconsistencies in the reports of the number of galleys (ships) in the Turkish fleet. This discussion creates a geographical triangle: Venice, Turkey, Cyprus. The Duke arrives at the conclusion that whether the Turkish fleet has 170, 140, or 200 galleys, it is certain that they pose a threat to Cyprus and, as is soon reported, to Rhodes. The messenger comes from the governor of Cyprus who begs the Duke to send help. The Duke wants to send Othello, who enters the senate chamber with Roderigo and Brabantio.
The Cyprus situation is the last thing on Brabantio's mind. When the man wails, "My daughter, O, my daughter" (I.iii.60) in response to the Duke's "what's the matter" (I.iii.59), the Duke thinks Desdemona has died. Obviously, the two men have different criteria for defining "grief" (I.iii.56). Brabantio repeats his accusation that Desdemona has been bewitched and points the finger at Othello. Othello's response to the Duke and the others shows him to be a true tactician.
Othello admits witchcraft and asks for the Duke to bring Desdemona to the Senate, which he does, with Iago showing them the way. During this time, Othello tells a moving story of how Desdemona listened to his stories of "the battles, sieges, fortunes / That I have passed" (I.iii.131-132). The general relates that frequently Desdemona was moved to tears by his tales. When Desdemona indicated she was in love with Othello "for the dangers I had passed" (I.iii.167), he admitted that he "loved her that she did pity them" (I.iii.168). The Duke believes Othello because the story he has just heard moved him. When Desdemona arrives, she tells Brabantio that she is indebted to him "for life and education" (I.iii.182) but that she now must be loyal to her husband. Brabantio concedes and the Duke urges him to be reconciled to his daughter's marriage. But Brabantio knows that the Senate has convened to discuss action against the Turks, and that his personal problem is subordinate to the needs of the State.
Shakespeare cues us to the shift from private problems to public ones through the language. Othello tells his story in blank verse. Brabantio's capitulation is in rhyming couplets. The Duke follows with a speech in prose. The jarring change is also reflected in the content of the Duke's speech: Othello must leave the comfort of Venice as we have left the comfort of rhyming couplet, which is often the way nursery rhymes are constructed. Othello must return to his life as general in command of a "stubborn and boisterous expedition" (I.iii.229).
Othello is unfazed by this assignment. He is accustomed to the hardships imposed on a soldier by war. He knows, however, that Desdemona is not so accustomed, and he asks the Duke to make sure she is cared for. The Duke suggests she stay at her father's. Brabantio immediately refuses and Othello agrees. Desdemona joins the discussion by agreeing with the two men, asking the Duke to allow her to accompany Othello. Othello assures the Duke that if he agrees to let Desdemona go on the long trip, it will not to be to satisfy his needs as a man nor would he ignore his duties as a soldier. The Duke responds that it does not matter to him, but the Turks invasion of Cyprus does. Othello must leave immediately, whatever he decides about Desdemona.
Othello leaves Iago to secure the commission from the Duke and to make arrangements for Desdemona. As the Duke leaves, Othello assures Brabantio that he (Othello) is a man of strong moral fiber. Brabantio, however, leaves him with a bitter truth:
Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceived her father, and may thee.
(I.iii.293-294)
Othello shrugs off the comment, and tells Iago that Iago's wife would be a good companion for Desdemona. Iago is to bring both women to Cyprus. Othello and Desdemona leave to spend a last hour together before the trip separates them.
Roderigo is despondent over the turn of events and threatens to drown himself. Iago knows that if he does, then Iago loses extra income. In the passages that follow, the word "purse" is used six times in fourteen lines, and "money" seven times in sixteen lines. Iago succeeds in gulling the man who will sell his land and travel to Cyprus in pursuit of Desdemona. Iago then lets us in on his plan. He knows Othello judges men by appearances, and he will use this weakness to manipulate the general into believing that Desdemona and Cassio, the lieutenant, are lovers. This way, he can get revenge on Othello and destroy Cassio. It does not seem that Roderigo figures very prominently in this plan.
We now know all we need to understand the play. We have met the main characters, we have the background of life in Venice, and we are about to move to Cyprus. With Iago's plan now verbalized and Othello's commission for war against the Turks, the play promises plenty of action. But Shakespeare is never so obvious, so simple. The scenes so far have given us just a peek at the psychology of these men and women of Venice. How will things change when they are at war in Cyprus?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
