Othello Commentary This passage takes place after Iago and Othello have seen Cassio speaking to Desdemona. Although Cassio was just asking Desdemona to help him get his job as lieutenant back, Iago attempts to raise suspicion about Cassio and Desdemona having an affair by remarking that Cassio left awfully quickly when Othello approached as if he was guilty. In this passage, Iago fools Othello and demonstrates his trustworthiness and that his motives are honest. Next, Iago warns Othello about jealousy and angers him, causing him to deny that he is jealous. From what Iago has said, Othello becomes doubtful and makes jealous inferences, but decides that he is not jealous and needs proof. Iago talks about how reputation is extremely valuable, …show more content…
However, Othello does not know how to resolve his doubts about Desdemona. Instead, he tells Iago that he will not worry himself about “such exsufflicate and blowed surmises, matching thy inference.” Othello thinks that Iago has made accusations against his wife, however Iago has only implied that Desdemona has not been loyal; it is actually Othello who is making inferences out of jealousy, even though he claims that he is not a jealous person. For example, Iago says “good name in man and women” when talking about reputation. By using ‘man and women’ he could be implying Cassio and Desdemona. Furthermore, he tries to reassure himself by saying “Tis not to make me jealous to say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company, is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances. Where virtue is, these are more virtuous.” He reminds himself that just because Desdemona is sociable, it does not mean that she is unfaithful. As well, he says, “Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw the smallest fear of doubt or her revolt” as he recalls that “she had eyes and chose me.” Othello is comforted by the fact that Desdemona “had eyes” including her father and a crowd of people when chose him. Clearly, she wanted to be with him. Evidently, if Othello was not jealous, he would not have had to reassure himself that Desdemona was virtuous and that she chose
Iago told Othello that he would discuss Desdemona with Cassio, and that he would talk about the affair. Iago does not do this, and instead he talks about Bianca with Cassio, and Cassio laughs at things Iago says. Othello sees Cassio laughing and just assumes he is laughing at Desdemona, which in return upsets him very much. Iago used several tactics to set up Othello for deception in this case.
In Othello, Desdemona has a relentless nature which allows her to love and care unconditionally. Throughout the play, Desdemona has a determined attitude towards her beliefs and she does not believe other’s opinions. This is shown when Desdemona and Emilia were having a conversation. Emilia tells Desdemona that Othello shows jealously but Desdemona immediately disagrees with Emilia telling her to “Believe me, I had rather have lost my purse/Full of crusadoes And but my noble Moor/ Is true of mind, and made of no such baseness/As jealous creatures are, it were enough/To put him to ill thinking” (3.4.24-29). Desdemona is relentless in her love for Othello and claims Othello to be too noble to be jealous. Her relentless nature makes her love for Othello so unconditional that she cannot see the clear jealousy Othello harbours. Desdemona then shows that she is not only relentless but determined when she makes a promise with Cassio. After being harshly fired, Desdemona promises Cassio that she will convince
Desdemona is considered a sincere, kind, -and above all-, an honest wife and woman in general. She is like a model of the perfect woman of that time. We can find proof in her honesty when she and Emilia are talking about infidelity, and Desdemona's words are "Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
Desdemona is portrayed as a very inquisitive women, whom loves to explore the things and people outside of her class. She fell in love with Othello because of her curious nature and being attracted to his acts of bravado. Her intentions are sincere; however her curiosity in this act is seen as folly. She asks her cousin Lodovico about his arrival and informs him of Cassio’s dismissal. This angers Othello as she is praising another man, taking a persona of being proactive about him. For Othello this concludes that she is disobedient and has dishonored him - to put her in place, he resorts to violence:
Although Desdemona’s meekness seemed prominent at times, she would stand by those she loved under any circumstances. She had a heart full of compassion and love. Othello was a man who saw Desdemona’s angelic personality and truly loved all of her. They had such a strong bond and even at times when it seemed the whole of Cyprus was against them their loved triumphed all. When they both met, there was an instant connection/attraction the stories Othello told about his passed enticed Desdemona as she always listened with woe and sorrow. He spoke of his times of struggle and hardship throughout growing up and his travels and it she had immense respect for him but, was also quite excitable. She spoke fondly of the time when he proclaimed his love for and told her father word by word, “She thanked me and told me that if a friend of mine had a story like mine to tell, she’d fall in love with him. I took the hint and spoke to her. She said she loved me for the dangers I’d survived, and I loved her for feeling such strong emotions about me. That’s the only witchcraft I ever used”.
Othello’s love for Desdemona was so deep he could not bear the thought of another being with her; “If she be false, O! Then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe’t.” Iago uses the characters of Cassio and the obsessive Roderigo as his weapons in his cunning plan. Iago drives the idea into Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful, inciting him into a state of jealousy. “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again.” Othello growing insecurities about his wife’s faithfulness only adds to his psychological suffering which in turn acts as a catalyst towards the suffering of other characters involved in the play.Iago tells these lies with the intention of driving Othello insane as well as establish his dominance and influence the situations of those characters close to Othello. Evidence of this comes in one of Iago’s soliloquies from act two, scene one; “That Cassio loves her, I do well Believe’t: That she loves him, ‘tis apt and of great credit.” This section shows that he is trying to convince himself that his own manipulative lies are true and is trying to reassure his motives by justifying his own actions. By convincing Othello
She begins the play as a independent and thoughtful person, but she must struggle against all odds to make Othello believe that she is not too independent. Desdemona is a symbol of innocence and helplessness. However in the beginning of the play, she seems to be mature and quite insightful of events around her. Iago often tells Othello that she is unfaithful. It seems that she refuses to accept what Iago is doing. She has a tendency to be sympathetic towards other people's situations, like Cassio. This also further inspired Othello's jealousy when Iago pointed out that Cassio and Desdemona were speaking in private. She often pays attention to other people’s thoughts, yet remains distrustful if they differ from her own. She has a loyalty to her husband in all aspects of life,
Throughout Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello makes numerous poor decisions due to his jealousy. Hitting Desdemona, trusting Iago, and killing Desdemona are among a few of the poor decisions that he makes. The word jealous can be defined as feeling or showing suspicion of someone's unfaithfulness in a relationship. Othello feels suspicious of Desdemona’s and Cassio’s relationship because of the lies that Iago tells him. Many people try to tell Othello the truth but he only believes the words of Iago. Even Emilia, Iago’s wife, tells Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are not having an affair and their interaction is business only, however; he does not trust her. Without Othello’s jealousy he would not have made these horrible decisions.
It is here that the audience begins seeing a different identity of Othello. Who was once regarded as so valiant and courageous, was now beginning to show signs of severe insecurities dealing with matters, most importantly, such as his lack of experience in love and marriage causing shadows of doubt over his confidence in himself and his ability to be loved by and worthy of someone like Desdemona. Desdemona, although not intentionally, seems to be the reason for all the unrest in Othello. This is an instance in the play when irony shines it's smiling face upon Shakespeare's most tragic characters. Othello feels truly happy with the presence of Desdemona in his life (Act II.1, 181-187):
After the conversation, Othello states to himself “Why did I marry? This honest creature doubtless Sees and knows more, much more, than he unfolds.” He questions his decision of marrying Desdemona after very little convincing in something being wrong with the couples bond. However, unlike Othello Desdemona seems secure in her relationship “I saw Othello's visage in his mind, And to his honors and his valiant parts Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate. So that, dear lords, if I be left behind, A moth of peace, and he go to the war, The rites for which I love him are bereft me And I a heavy interim shall support By his dear absence. Let me go with him.” (Orthello) It is here that she not only defends her right to marry Othello, but this quote also displays that she is not frightened to show a yearning for her husband. Even though she seems to be unbothered by the couple’s irregularity, it only takes the insecurities of a single person in a marriage for it to eventually fall
This quote by Iago puts into Othello's mind that Desdemona may be cheating on him with Cassio. Othello then begins to question whether he was right to marry or not and although without proof, he believes in Iago's words. This is shown in his statement, “why did I marry? This honest creature doubtless sees and knows more, much more, than he unfolds”(Shakespeare 1324), indicates that he quickly turns to doubting his love Desdemona and takes Iago as being credible and true. It also causes him to become jealous and angered with only a simple touch of trickery by Iago. This marks his first sign to a down hill plunge in moral.
(Shakespeare. 4. 1. 71) This shows how Othello is an honorable man because of his level-headedness, skill, and knowledge. Iago is envious of Othello’s skills and achievements and the reputation he has made because of them, so Iago tries to tarnish Othello’s
Desdemona's reported sympathy and interest for Othello's tales of bravery paint a picture of an ordinary, kind young woman. When she is summoned to support Othello's story, she realises that her loyalties are divided. Her consideration for her father's anger is shown by the way she asks not to live with him. Her reasoning is that he would then not be angered by her presence.
In Othello by William Shakespeare, the villainous Iago devises a plot with the hopes that Othello and his wife, Desdemona, will be separated so that he can take Othello’s position as head of the Venetian Military. Iago’s scheme consists of him convincing Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his lieutenant, Cassio. Iago has told no one else about his ploy so while everyone else’s actions remain true, he manipulates their every move for his benefit. While their actions may not lead to results that they expected, exploring the reasoning behind everyone’s actions, can give insight to their values since the actions were based on what they believed was the best thing to do. To the characters of Othello, honor is more important than
Looking at the play, all along Desdemona is a very feminine character. She most likely acts like a wife and daughter. So full of cares, Desdemona at a point of the play even neglected her house quarrels and goes out to spare fellings with Cassio to try to help with his situations with Othello. So faithful she was, even when she and Othello were not on the best terms, she was still trying to fixed everything even she knows that she was not cheating, which she explains, " Yes, faith, so humbled that he hath left parts of his grief with me to suffer with him. Good love call him