Othello
Othello Character Analysis
Major Characters:
Othello: Protagonist and hero. He is a highly valuable and respected general of Venice, and an eloquent and powerful figure. He is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and the fact that he is a racial and cultural outsider. He sometimes makes a point of presenting himself as such, whether because he recognizes his exotic appeal or merely because he is self-conscious of his difference from other Venetians. In spite of his eloquence in the first act, he protests, "Rude am I in my speech, / And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace". In the end, it is the tension between his victimization at the hands of a foreign culture and his own willingness …show more content…
to torment himself that makes him a tragic figure.
Nevertheless, Othello is also tactful and wise in dealing with authority.
When his father-in-law accuses him of bewitching Desdemona, Othello does not argue but instead politely and courteously stands before the Duke and proves his marriage is one of love. However, he later allows the threat of Desdemona's supposed infidelity to drive him to murder her to avenge his own pride.
Shakespeare also intensely contrasts Othello from Iago by making one black and the other white, one unprincipled and the other noble and upright.
Iago: Possibly Shakespeare's most heinous figure due to the manner in which he effortlessly manipulates those around him to do his bidding by taking advantage of their trust and using his victim's own motivations. It is his talent for understanding and manipulating the desires of those around him that makes him both a powerful and compelling figure.
Another aspect of Iago that elevates his apparent malevolence is his seemingly utter lack of plausible motives. He often hints that his prime motivation is bitterness for having been passed for promotion. His racist disgust at seeing black Othello and white Desdemona together, and his supreme confidence in his ability to destroy Othello also present potential motives. It is also revealed later in the play that Iago suspects his wife of infidelity with both Othello and Cassio.
Some possible motives …show more content…
include:
1. Failure to be promoted
2. Racism
3. Jealousy (of Emilia, of Desdemona, or of Othello)
4. Homosexuality
5. Insecurity
6. Supreme intellect regulated by emotion or conscience (sociopathy)
7. Sadism
The biggest problem Iago faces is concealing his malignant, manipulative behavior from those who trust him implicitly (to their undoing). His greatest misjudgment is his own wife. She stands up to him to defend Desdemona's fidelity to Othello, unraveling Iago's twisted web of manipulation. He differs from many of Shakespeare's villains in that he is left alive at the end of the play, rather than killed at the hands of those he oppressed.
Desdemona: "Desdemona" is considered to be a name for a siren and love icon, the name meaning "ill-fated one". She is continuously distrusted by those who should love and trust her the most. Well meaning, she tries to help Cassio regain his position but this only earns Othello's wrath since he sees it as proof that she is having an affair with Cassio. Loving and loyal, she refuses to tell Emilia that Othello killed her in order to protect him. She is somewhat naïve in that she finds it impossible to believe any woman could be unfaithful.
Desdemona is often criticized as being a stereotypically submissive character. However, she proves herself to be quite independent and bold when she stands up before her father and the court to defend her marriage, and later to defend her husband for her murder. The way in which she is murdered-smothered by a pillow in a bed covered in her wedding sheets-is symbolic: She is literally suffocated beneath the demands put on defending her fidelity. At first she seems capable of meeting those demands, but in the end Othello stifles the speech that made her seem so powerful. Tragically, she seems aware of her imminent death. She asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed, and asks Emilia to bury her in them should she die. Though slaughtered in innocence, she forgives her husband for his murderous deed.
Minor Characters:
Cassio: Othello's lieutenant.
Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier, whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio's youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello's insecurities about Desdemona's fidelity. He starts out as Othello's close friend and right-hand man, but misfortune costs him his position. However, in the end he outlives Othello and is then put in charge over the captive Iago.
Emilia: Emilia is a major seed in Iago's downfall. Though introduced in less than respectful tones by Iago, Emilia is a trusted friend of Desdemona. Nonetheless she is loyal to Iago, giving Desdemona's handkerchief to Iago instead of back to
Desdemona.
Emilia's greatest character development occurs when she declares that she would be unfaithful in the right circumstances, revealing considerably less naivety than Desdemona who cannot believe adulterous people exist.
Emilia reveals her true loyalties however by refusing to be dismissed by Iago when she reveals that she gave Iago Desdemona's handkerchief, a revelation that proves Desdemona was not unfaithful. For this, Emilia is stabbed by her husband.
Bianca: Bianca plays a limited but significannot role in this play. As Cassio's neglected girlfriend, she is given Desdemona's handkerchief, only later to return it angrily back to Cassio. When a hiding Othello sees that Cassio has it, he takes it as proof that Desdemona was unfaithful to him.
Bianca is later implicated in Cassio's wounding by Iago even though she is innocent and it was Iago who in the dark stabbed Cassio.
Lodovico: Lodovico criticizes Othello for murdering his wife Desdemona and acting like a common slave instead of the respected man he once was. Additionally, Lodovico plays an active role in the discovery process of Iago's treachery by finding a note on the dead Roderigo indicating Cassio was to be killed, learning that Othello killed Desdemona, discovering Othello and Iago's plot to kill Cassio and finally learning the sad story of how Othello's handkerchief was used to manipulate Othello into believing his wife was unfaithful.
Responsible by nature, he seizes control of events in the final scene, taking Othello's sword from him after he wounds Iago and later places Cassio in charge of Iago while he heads abroad to recount the sad events that have happened in Cypress.
Major Characters:
Othello: Protagonist and hero. He is a highly valuable and respected general of Venice, and an eloquent and powerful figure. He is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and the fact that he is a racial and cultural outsider. He sometimes makes a point of presenting himself as such, whether because he recognizes his exotic appeal or merely because he is self-conscious of his difference from other Venetians. In spite of his eloquence in the first act, he protests, "Rude am I in my speech, / And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace". In the end, it is the tension between his victimization at the hands of a foreign culture and his own willingness …show more content…
to torment himself that makes him a tragic figure.
Nevertheless, Othello is also tactful and wise in dealing with authority.
When his father-in-law accuses him of bewitching Desdemona, Othello does not argue but instead politely and courteously stands before the Duke and proves his marriage is one of love. However, he later allows the threat of Desdemona's supposed infidelity to drive him to murder her to avenge his own pride.
Shakespeare also intensely contrasts Othello from Iago by making one black and the other white, one unprincipled and the other noble and upright.
Iago: Possibly Shakespeare's most heinous figure due to the manner in which he effortlessly manipulates those around him to do his bidding by taking advantage of their trust and using his victim's own motivations. It is his talent for understanding and manipulating the desires of those around him that makes him both a powerful and compelling figure.
Another aspect of Iago that elevates his apparent malevolence is his seemingly utter lack of plausible motives. He often hints that his prime motivation is bitterness for having been passed for promotion. His racist disgust at seeing black Othello and white Desdemona together, and his supreme confidence in his ability to destroy Othello also present potential motives. It is also revealed later in the play that Iago suspects his wife of infidelity with both Othello and Cassio.
Some possible motives …show more content…
include:
1. Failure to be promoted
2. Racism
3. Jealousy (of Emilia, of Desdemona, or of Othello)
4. Homosexuality
5. Insecurity
6. Supreme intellect regulated by emotion or conscience (sociopathy)
7. Sadism
The biggest problem Iago faces is concealing his malignant, manipulative behavior from those who trust him implicitly (to their undoing). His greatest misjudgment is his own wife. She stands up to him to defend Desdemona's fidelity to Othello, unraveling Iago's twisted web of manipulation. He differs from many of Shakespeare's villains in that he is left alive at the end of the play, rather than killed at the hands of those he oppressed.
Desdemona: "Desdemona" is considered to be a name for a siren and love icon, the name meaning "ill-fated one". She is continuously distrusted by those who should love and trust her the most. Well meaning, she tries to help Cassio regain his position but this only earns Othello's wrath since he sees it as proof that she is having an affair with Cassio. Loving and loyal, she refuses to tell Emilia that Othello killed her in order to protect him. She is somewhat naïve in that she finds it impossible to believe any woman could be unfaithful.
Desdemona is often criticized as being a stereotypically submissive character. However, she proves herself to be quite independent and bold when she stands up before her father and the court to defend her marriage, and later to defend her husband for her murder. The way in which she is murdered-smothered by a pillow in a bed covered in her wedding sheets-is symbolic: She is literally suffocated beneath the demands put on defending her fidelity. At first she seems capable of meeting those demands, but in the end Othello stifles the speech that made her seem so powerful. Tragically, she seems aware of her imminent death. She asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed, and asks Emilia to bury her in them should she die. Though slaughtered in innocence, she forgives her husband for his murderous deed.
Minor Characters:
Cassio: Othello's lieutenant.
Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier, whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio's youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello's insecurities about Desdemona's fidelity. He starts out as Othello's close friend and right-hand man, but misfortune costs him his position. However, in the end he outlives Othello and is then put in charge over the captive Iago.
Emilia: Emilia is a major seed in Iago's downfall. Though introduced in less than respectful tones by Iago, Emilia is a trusted friend of Desdemona. Nonetheless she is loyal to Iago, giving Desdemona's handkerchief to Iago instead of back to
Desdemona.
Emilia's greatest character development occurs when she declares that she would be unfaithful in the right circumstances, revealing considerably less naivety than Desdemona who cannot believe adulterous people exist.
Emilia reveals her true loyalties however by refusing to be dismissed by Iago when she reveals that she gave Iago Desdemona's handkerchief, a revelation that proves Desdemona was not unfaithful. For this, Emilia is stabbed by her husband.
Bianca: Bianca plays a limited but significannot role in this play. As Cassio's neglected girlfriend, she is given Desdemona's handkerchief, only later to return it angrily back to Cassio. When a hiding Othello sees that Cassio has it, he takes it as proof that Desdemona was unfaithful to him.
Bianca is later implicated in Cassio's wounding by Iago even though she is innocent and it was Iago who in the dark stabbed Cassio.
Lodovico: Lodovico criticizes Othello for murdering his wife Desdemona and acting like a common slave instead of the respected man he once was. Additionally, Lodovico plays an active role in the discovery process of Iago's treachery by finding a note on the dead Roderigo indicating Cassio was to be killed, learning that Othello killed Desdemona, discovering Othello and Iago's plot to kill Cassio and finally learning the sad story of how Othello's handkerchief was used to manipulate Othello into believing his wife was unfaithful.
Responsible by nature, he seizes control of events in the final scene, taking Othello's sword from him after he wounds Iago and later places Cassio in charge of Iago while he heads abroad to recount the sad events that have happened in Cypress.