November 2024
Reading as part of the Fall 2024 Shakespeare course — see general notes for more.
Although its a famous play, and does indeed contain some striking things — particularly Iago’s manipulation of Othello, and also the use of the hankerchief as symbol of fidelity and betrayal – I was not that keen on this play. Give me some comedy, or at least a little more magic!
Precis of the play
Othello, a famous general fighting for Venice, has just married Desdemona, to the dismay of her father. Othello is black, and an outsider, and knows little of the customs or society of Venice – but he is valued due to his military prowess, especially as the Turks seem about to attack. He has chosen the polished and bookish Cassio as his lieutenant, much to the distress and anger of Iago, who has spent his life in the field and believes he has earned the postion. Iago decides to get revenge, and aims to destroy Cassio and Desdemona and, through her, Othello.
After this, the play unfolds in a straightforward way. Iago subtly raises questions about Desdemona’s faithfulness – all the while pretending that he is reluctant to speak and is unsure of the truth of what he is saying – and in a famous scene transforms Othello’s trust of Desdemona into suspicion, suggesting that she is having an affair with Cassio. Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most famous villians – Coleridge referred to him as having “motiveless malignity.”
Othello wants visible proof, and here Desdemona’s hankerchief comes into play. It was her first gift from Othello, and it was woven by a fortune teller with magical properties. Iago secrets Desdemona’s hankerchief (which she had lost and Emilia found and given to Iago) in Cassio’s quarters. Cassio finds the hankerchief and gives it to the courtesian Bianca to copy – Othello watches this from a distance, and believes it proof of Desdemona’s infidelity. Othello orders Iago to kill Cassio, and Othello strangles Desdemona. When it is revealed that Desdemona was innocent, Othello kills himself.
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