Othello

"So What?"

Characters-

• Othello- The Moor and the war hero of Venice. He is generally well respected, eloquent, and powerful. However, because of his age, race and life as a soldier he has some insecurities which Iago easily exploits.
• Cassio- Othello's lieutenant, an attractive young man and inexperienced soldier, and a friend to both Desdemona and Othello. He is eager to please and is very ashamed when he is stripped of his title. Iago uses his age, friendship with Desdemona, and his appearance to make Othello jealous.
• Iago- Adviser to Othello. He drives the play forward by trying to bring about the demise of Othello. He is always rationalizing his actions. He begins by saying he wants revenge for Othello passing him over for the lieutenant and then for allegedly for cheating with Emilia, his motives become less and less clear.
• Emilia- Iago's wife and Desdemona's attendant,
• Desdemona- Othello's wife ad the daughter of a senator of Venice. She is very innocent and pure, but is not afraid to joke with Iago and stand up for herself against Othello's jealousy.
• Roderigo- A jealous and wealthy suitor of Desdemona. Iago is able to convince him to do anything, including giving Iago his money and killing Cassio, in response to the promise of Desdemona's hand.
• Barbantio- Desdemona's father and a senator of Venice.
• Bianca- a prostitute in Cyprus and Cassio's lover.

Essential Plot Elements-

• Iago explains his treacherous plans to expose Othello and Desdemona's secret marriage to Barbantio and eventually ruin their marriage and also to embarrass Cassio so he will lose his position as Commander. He manipulates Roderigo into helping by telling him he can have Desdemona.
• The action is then transfered to Cyprus where there is an imminent Turkish invasion. However, there is a storm that defeats the Turks and separates the two ships carrying Othello, Desdemona, and the other characters.
• Iago then arranges for Cassio to get drunk and Roderigo to begin a fight with him. Cassio takes the bait and when he gets unruly and "starts a fight" Othello strips him of his title.
• Soon after the fight Iago begins to insinuate that Desdemona has been unfaithful with Cassio and Othello begins to believe.
• Emilia then steals the handkerchief and Iago plants it so Othello believes that Desdemona was unfaithful.
• Othello then vows to kill Desdemona.
• Othello then smothers Desdemona after she and Emilia had discussed adultery and death and Desdemona made it clear she had never been unfaithful.
• Iago plans to have Roderigo and Cassio kill each other but Cassio is only injured and Iago kills Roderigo.
• Emilia then exposes Iago's treachery, he kills her, Othello kills himself, and Iago is taken away presumably to be tortured.

Setting-

• Othello occurs during a time of war in Shakespearean Venice and Cyprus. On the way to Cyprus the characters experience a massive storm which eliminates the threat of invasion and separates the characters. There is an element of racism aimed at Othello. The story generally has a suspicious and tragic mood.

Central Conflicts-

• Othello and Desdemona find a lot of conflict in their marriage because of differences in age, race, social background, and life experience. Also, Iago works throughout the play to destroy their marriage and others' lives, including his wife's) for his own self-interest.

Major Themes-

• Danger of Isolation- Isolation is key in the story because without isolation Iago's plans would have been unsuccessful. The isolation allows jealousy to occur and grow. Isolation leads to all the death and injury at the end of the play.
• Incompatibility of Military Heroism and Love- is Othello actually capable of loving Desdemona, does Desdemona love Othello for his fantastical war stories?

Emotion-

• This story is moving because there is such a wide range of characters and character flaws. Desdemona's absolute trust, Othello's jealousy, and Iago's treachery. The range makes an emotional impact on how being to extreme in any emotion can be very dangerous.

"How?"

• Organization/Structure- In Othello, Shakespeare uses free verse and iambic pentameter at different times to illustrate the characters' state of mind. For example, Othello always spoke in iambic pentameter until he began to lose his mind and then he used more and more free verse. Also, when Desdemon and Emilia are speaking about adultery they speak in free verse until the very end when Desdemona switches to iambic pentamer and this illustrates her understanding, or lack there f of the topic. Iago also switches between free verse and iambic pentameter.
• Imagery- Shakespeare uses imagery in several situations to make a point or exaggerate a situation. For example, Iago uses animal imagery when talking to Barbantio to make Othello seem inhuman and unworthy of Desdemona and he uses this imagery repeatedly to drive the point home. Also, the images of the storm and separation could be interpreted as foreshadowing for the events that play out as Iago's plan unfolds.