The Tragedy of Othello

The Tragedy of Othello

Life is like a road in which one encounters different people without realizing their real motives. It becomes very difficult to find genuine and trustworthy friends. In the Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, William Shakespeare uses the elements of character, irony, and dialogue to advance the theme that some people in society are eager to destroy the fortune of others.

In the play, the writer uses characters to display how one man can manipulate and affect those around him by gaining their trust to obtain information, and then later use it against them. The sinister character Iago uses different techniques to poison the mind of Othello by making it appear that Desdemona was unfaithful to him. Iago also uses manipulation to gain the trust and respect of Desdemona, Othello’s new wife, so that she will not be suspicious of Iago’s evil intentions.

Iago is clearly jealous of Othello’s blessings, and he wants to destroy the trust and love between Othello and Desdemona no matter what. In this conversation Iago is commencing to deposit suspicion in Othello’s mind by saying,” Look for your wife; observe her well with Cassio; /Wear your eyes thus; not jealous not secure. /I would not have your free and noble nature” (Shakespeare, III, iii, 197-99). Othello a powerful military man, greatly respected. He has no tolerance for non-sense, and has developed a character that relies on perfectionism and facts instead of emotions. Iago’s goal is to intrude the "shell" of Othello’s spirit to find a fragile point in which he is able to attack. Iago knew that the process would take time, since Othello was the objective, and needed to corroborate information before taking any action. Marcia Macaulay, writes, “At this point, Iago explicitly indicates to Othello that Desdemona takes pleasure from Cassio’s company.” People who are used to spread hatred and doubts have a unique way of speech; they speak in an elaborate way so that the listener's mind will leave the person who is instigating their thoughts to interpret the circumstance before them. What is worse is that the antagonists will come back with more to inflate the harm that is already developing. Iago is exceptionally careful in the way he approaches Desdemona, since he knew that she was capable to speak up for herself.

Iago's need to be cautious was vital so that Desdemona would see him as a kind generous man that she could trust, and not as the essence of evil, whose purpose was to harm her and her husband; Shakespeare writes:

D: I do perceive here a divine duty.

To you I am bound for life and education;

My life and education both do learn me

How to respect you. You are the lord of duty,

I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband,

And so much duty as my mother showed

to you, preferring you before her father,

So much I challenge that I may profess

Due to the Moor my lord.(I,iii,180-87)

Desdemona knew how to speak with the truth of the heart, nobody could argue to her statement, since it was backed up by the moonlight of legitimacy, and the motive of love. Sadly, there is a contrast in Desdemona’s character; on one side, she is intellectual, determined and well spoken, especially if the matter has something to do with injustice; but outside of that, she was innocent, and very naive. Desdemona was like a white orchid, strong and beautiful but yet sensitive and pure. Hunt Maurice writes, "Desdemona, who more obviously uses the word in an ethical or spiritual sense. In response to Iago’s sexual stereotyping of women, she challenges him to pass the anxious time waiting for Othello’s ship wittily by praising her in the language of his misogynistic portraits of women.” For the general society, there are two aspects of life, the one in which a person acts with objectivity and the one that cannot be separate from a person’s feelings and emotions. Since family relationships are so tied to the heart; a person's response is based on their feelings. On the contrary, business relationships are objective, and easy to handle since they do not involve emotions; once Iago had the "key" to enter the heart of Othello, he obtained complete control to operate and to carry out his evil work.

In life a person may face many ironic circumstances, that can have a soft impact in someone’s life, but the irony of ironies is when there is nothing that can be done to fix what could have been prevented. In this play, the writer uses irony to show that in life one must have their eyes open and not believe everything seen or heard, because evil can be illusionary by displaying what may be in opposition to what a person pretends to be. One example of irony and deception is when Iago succeeds in manipulating the intoxicated Cassio into attacking Montano. After that episode, Othello make the following conversation about Iago's integrity, "I know Iago,/Thy honest and love doth mince this matter,”(Shakespeare,II,iii,227-28). Deirdre McCloskey writes, "The worse irony of all is that Othello was blind to see true Iago. Othello’s addresses to honest Iago, and my friend, your husband, honest, honest Iago, just before he discovers Iago’s lies." Darkness lasts only until the sun rises again. Lies that last can do unpredictable damage, but sooner or later the truth always surfaces and makes everything clear again. Sadly, in the case of Othello, when he realized that the one who he called honest and friend, was deceitful, evil, and his worse secret enemy, it was too late.

Sometimes people that are close to the heart of a person can also contribute to the misery of someone’s life, turning this into one of the most painful ironies in life. One example is when the court interrogated Othello about his marriage to Desdemona, and all had been clarified. Brabantio addresses Othello saying, “Look to her, Moor, if thou has eyes to see/ She has deceived her father, and may thee” (Shakespeare I, iii, 286-87). Desdemona’s father unknowingly foreshadows the future of the tragedy that will unfold. Andrew Sofer writes,” Call upon, constrain (a devil or spirit) to appear or to do one’s bidding by incarnation