EXPLORE HOW SHAKESPEARE TREATS THE THEME OF LOVE IN OTHELLO - RELATE YOUR DISCUSSION TO RELEVANT CONTEXT AND CRITICAL READING
~ timed: 1 hour ~
* I knew this essay title before writing it and did not include my planning within the time limit. I chose to write it this way as it allows me to learn relevant context, critics and content as I went along, as well as getting used to timed conditions for the actual essay writing.
Key:
* these are the notes my teacher made so will not mark every aspect of every AO within the essay, only those with most prominence and relevance!
CORRECTIONS
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Love can thematically expand from romantic to familial to friendship however its purpose in Shakespeare's plays is usually to highlight human error and societal constraints. Chains of events linked to both of these subjects are what inevitably leads Othello's narrative to its tragic and pathetic conclusion. Loomba argues that 'Iago's machinations are effective because his pronouncements about the inherent duplicity of women'. This line of argument relates to the role women had in 16th Venetian society in relation to the patriarchal hierarchy. Iago himself holds a firmly misogynistic view of women which becomes clear to the characters he interacts with as well as the audience who see the irony of his two-faced character. Iago claims that women are made "to suckle fools and chronicle small beer" (2.1.158) to which Desdemona replies "O most lame and impotent conclusion!" (2.1.159). The disagreement between these two characters shows the audience a defiant and rebellious female figure who is accepted mainly due to the hatred of Iago which grows throughout the progression of the the play. Dr Johnson determines that Iago is 'from the first scene to the last hated and despised' yet Charles Lamb takes a different approach, perceiving the dramatic perspective of Iago to draw the audience into the play as accomplices. If Lamb's impression that the audience are more concerned with the 'aspiring spirit' and the 'intellectual activity' of the villain than his crimes and despised character then one must assume that Shakespeare has used this interaction with its crude innuendo of "suckle fools" as a form of contradiction to this complete extreme of misogyny. In a sense, the playwright is shunning Iago's inability to conceive human emotions of passion such as love and highlights this as Iago's biggest weakness.
Despite this, Shakespeare can by no means be said to take a completely feminist approach as Desdemona's character develops passivity throughout the the play. At first Desdemona seems to take a strong stance in the face of adversity, mirroring her husband's tone of voice she uses logic to describer her "divided duty" (1.3.180). Shakespeare's use of caesura in his lines for Desdemona signify a pause for the actor, therefore allowing a vocal cue for the volta of her argument. She explains that "I am hitherto your daughter. But here's my husband" (1.3.184) showing no leniency in her decision and staying true to her love for Othello. Linking this to society, Shakespeare's decision to keep Desdemona's loyalty and respect for her husband true is inevitably her downfall, not through any fault of her own but due to the doubts already preconceived in Othello's mind. Loomb blames this weakness in their love on 'the necessary fragility of an 'unnatural' relationship' between a white woman and a black man, particularly when the woman is of hight status; however, race may not factor as much into their love's destruction as a modern audience might believe. Henry Jackson, on a performance he saw in 1610, did not even consider race a factor of the play, yet one cannot deny that Othello's sense of 'otherness' does not help with the social acceptance of his and Desdemona's marriage. Although a couple of centuries before, the divine comedy 'Inferno', by Dante, highlights the reactions of Italians from different states showing their almost complete intolerance to strangers and outsiders no matter their religion or skin colour. Therefore, one could assume that Othello's 'otherness' may contribute something to the shunning of his relationship but it is also doomed by society in other ways.
Brabantio's warning that Desdemona "has deceived her father" (1.3.291) and may do the same to Othello implants the pre-disposition that Loomba claims is vital for Iago's manipulation to be effective. Due to the lack of trust alongside Othello's love for his wife, he turns to Iago's ways fo thinking and begins to inherit his characteristics. Not only does his language become vile and offensive, using terms like "strumpet" (4.2.82) and "whore" (4.2.86) when addressing Desdemona, but once an advocate of peaceful negotiations - "are we turned Turk" (2.3.161) - when addressing Cassio's drunkard behaviour, he himself turns to violence when he strikes Desdemona in Act 4. This almost character reversal enacted by Shakespeare suggests that love is a pure emotion tainted only by the emotions of rejection, jealousy and loneliness. Meša later echoes this point in the 20th century implying that perhaps the suffering linked to love is not based around society but is an eternal challenge.
Shakespeare's use of characters and relations between them introduces love as the cause, the problem and the solution to all the challenges within Othello. Using Othello's character development as an example: love causes a problem as it is fundamentally against society with its distinction being in the marriage of black man and white lady; the problem in their relationship is that Othello's love does not match Desdemona's as it is not paired with the same undoubted trust, therefore the balance between them is tainted; love is also a solution as its presence in full, pure force would've been able to prevent Iago from interfering because Roderigo would not have been so easy to manipulate and Desdemona's naivety wouldn't have angered Othello due tot he lack of jealousy he would maintain. Overall, Shakespeare treats the theme of love as an open ended question to his readers - what if? - and focuses on all types of affection in order to present it clearly.
DISCLAIMER: corrections and teachers notes will be added at a later date
~ (AO1 | AO2 | AO3) 11/14 = L4+ ~ (AO4) 17/21 = L4++ ~ 27/35 ~ high B / low A ~
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