In Shakespeare’s, Othello, the reader is presented the classic battle between the deceitful forces of evil and the innocence of good. It is these forces of evil that ultimately lead to the breakdown of Othello, a noble Venetian moor, well known by the people of Venice as an honorable soldier and a worthy leader. Othello’s breakdown results in the murder of his wife Desdemona. Desdemona is representative of the good in nature. Good can be defined as forgiving, honest, innocent and unsuspecting. The evil contained within Othello is by no means magical or mythical yet is represented by the character Iago. Iago is cunning, untrustworthy, selfish, and plotting. He uses these traits to his advantage by slowly planning his own triumph while watching the demise of others. It is this that is Iago’s motivation. The ultimate defeat of good by the wrath of evil. Not only is it in his own nature of evil that he suceeds but also in the weaknesses of the other characters. Iago uses the weaknesses of Othello, specifically jealousy and his devotion to things as they seem, to conquer his opposite in Desdemona. From the start of the play, Iago’s scheming ability is shown when he convinces Roderigo to tell about Othello and Desdemonda’s elopement to Desdemona’s father, Brabantio. Confidentially Iago continues his plot successfully, making fools of others, and himself being rewarded. Except Roderigo, no one is aware of Iago’s plans. This is because Iago pretends to be an honest man loyal to his superiors. The fact that Othello himself views Iago as trustworthy and honest gives the evil within Iago a perfect unsuspecting victim for his schemes. The opportunity to get to Desdemona through Othello is on…
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…96. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986.
Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.
Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.
Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.
Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. “The Engaging Qualities of Othello.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957
The Admirable Lieutenant in Othello
Othello, William Shakespeare’s moving tragedy, gives the audience a number of victims, one of whom is Cassio. But this rugged guy keeps recovering and coming back to enter the fray. Let’s talk about him in detail.
Kenneth Muir, in the Introduction to William Shakespeare: Othello, explains the ins and outs of Cassio’s personality:
Cassio is defined partly by the exigencies of the plot, which require him to have a poor head for drinking and to have a mistress; but his chivalric worship of Desdemona, his affectionate admiration for Othello, which enable him even at the end to call him ‘Dear General” and to speak of his greatness in heart, and his professional reputation, which only Iago impugns, build up a complex portrait of an attractive, if flawed, character. In spite of his weaknesses, we can understand why Iago should be envious of the ‘daily beauty in his life’ and why Desdemona should speak so warmly for his reinstatement. (41)
The opening scene finds Iago explaining his hatred of the general to Roderigo. Part of his bad feeling concerns Cassio, who reportedly has no military battlefield experience. In his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, A. C. Bradley rejects the ancient’s accusation that Cassio is an inexperienced soldier:
That Cassio, again, was an interloper and a mere closet-student without experience of war is incredible, considering first that Othello chose him for lieutenant, and secondly that the Senate appointed him to succeed Othello in command at Cyprus; and we have direct evidence that part of Iago’s statement is a lie, for Desdemona happens to mention that Cassio was a man who ‘all his time’ had ‘founded his good fortunes’ on Othello’s love and had ‘shared dangers’ wi…
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…Othello’s safety, in his abstaining from taking part in the bold and suggestive comments of Iago to the two women as they wait for Othello’s ship and, a little later, in his sincere regret about the loss of his reputation after he has partaken of the wine which Iago has forced upon him. (85-86)
WORKS CITED
Bevington, David, ed. William Shakespeare: Four Tragedies. New York: Bantam Books, 1980.
Bradley, A. C.. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991.
Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.
Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.