After they deal with the military crisis, the Senators consider how to avenge an injustice done to one of their members: Brabantio. By the time he arrives at the emergency meeting, Brabantio's rage has turned to grief, and the Senators treat Brabantio's grief as a personal loss, rather than a public matter.
They think his daughter must have died, and, for Brabantio, it is as if she had died. He believes that she has so gone against nature that witchcraft must be to blame. This declaration is significant because witchcraft was a capital crime; the law on this topic was indeed "bloody" dealing with how a witch was to be tortured and eventually executed. Yet the Duke's rash promise to Brabantio immediately rebounds when Brabantio points to Othello: "Here is the man: this Moor" Suddenly the commander appointed to save Venice from her enemies is under risk of execution.
The Senate risks losing a war to satisfy one man's desire for revenge, so the Duke hopes that Othello can justify his actions. Othello's defense speech is in two parts: the first establishes him as a soldier successful in the service of Venice and respectful of the great men of the city, and the second describes how stories of his adventures won Desdemona's interest and then her love. This is an extraordinary declaration, appearing as it does within a very dignified and elegantly expressed speech that shows that Othello does indeed know how to express himself.
Othello's elegant speeches come at psychologically important moments in his life: When he is under pressure, he summons up his strength, faces his situation, and presents his case in beautifully expressed images. The ability to compose himself and to give a speech under pressure has been a valued quality in a military leader. Othello uses that military ability here in defense of his private life. Othello fills in the background: he has been a soldier in the field from the age of seven until nine months ago, when he came back to Venice.
As he is charged with using magic, he will tell what magic he used, knowing that he used none. At this point Shakespeare breaks off Othello's awaited speech for Brabantio's reflections on Desdemona and a discussion of court procedure. By making the audience wait once again to hear how the lady was won, Shakespeare increases the tension, making Othello's final speech all the more impressive. Brabantio is not the first father to have an unrealistic view of his daughter and to be shocked when she seeks a lover or a husband that does not meet his image or expectations.
He assumes with no evidence that a black face is "what she feared to look on" He is blinded by his own prejudices, and he ascribes them to Desdemona, painting the picture of a daughter who could not possibly fall in love with a black man. His reasoning here seems to go thusly: racially mixed, intimate relationships are evil and entered into by good people through witchcraft; his daughter is good and shares his views; therefore, she was forced into this relationship with Othello by witchcraft.
The Duke responds with relief, recognizing that Brabantio's evidence is tenuous and that he has produced no actual proof of witchcraft. He sees Brabantio's evidence as "thin habits insubstantial outward appearances and poor likelihoods" The Senator follows this up with a direct question: Did Othello use witchcraft to win the lady's love, or did he court her in the usual way, "as soul to soul" ?
Brabantio put him at his ease and encouraged him to speak of his life and adventures. Although Othello has said that he cannot speak easily, it is as a speaker that Brabantio and his daughter appreciated him.
Othello tells the story of his life. Shakespeare makes Othello's story rich in visual detail, but he distorts geographic facts for dramatic effect. Slave trading was part of general trade along the shipping routes of East and North Africa, and many slaves were sold in markets in the cities of the Middle East.
Othello was redeemed from slavery — by whom and for what reason are not revealed — and was left far from his homeland, facts which probably contributed to his career choice as a professional soldier.
Othello also describes his adventures fighting on sea and land. Othello's speech helps us — and the Senators — understand why Desdemona has fallen in love with him. Does Othello kill Desdemona? Why does Emilia die? Does Othello die? Literary Devices Style. Prose vs. Verse Shakespeare intermingles verse and prose frequently in Othello. Previous section Allusions Next section Point of View. The details are not yet clear, but Iago plans to drive Othello mad.
An undefined length of time has elapsed since the scenes in Act I, during which Othello has set sail for Cyprus in one ship, Cassio in another, and Iago, Emilia, and Desdemona in a third.
The ships arrive one by one, allowing the arriving members to talk about Othello while waiting for his arrival. Cassio describes to Montano Othello's new wife, Desdemona, with respect and a little awe as "our great captain's captain" Desdemona, Emilia, and Iago play word games, which show Iago's cynical view of women: ".
That is, women are models of propriety when they go out, sweet conversationalists with guests, and angry spitfires to their servants. They claim to always be the injured party, fly into a rage at an adverse comment and are idle in matters of housework and penny-pinching with their sexual favors.
Iago speaks bluntly, disparaging women, and Desdemona, along with everyone else, makes allowances for the rough speech of "honest" Iago. For balance, Emilia gives a cynical woman's view of men in Act V. Iago meanwhile watches Cassio, seeking a weakness that he can exploit. He decides to focus on his courteous manners and attentions to Desdemona. With as little web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. The significance of speech is introduced at the very beginning of Othello.
Iago, thereby, is established as a character who considers deeds to count for much less than words. Ironically, Othello considers that his services to the state — his deeds, in other words — will protect him from ill-fortune I. Embedded in his speech, we see, are references to the act of speech. There is an obvious connection with this view and the notion of personal reputation, a theme with which all readers of the play will be familiar.
Iago, of course, does not really believe this — he expressed a contemptuous view of reputation to Cassio in Act II II. He therefore deploys speech to destroy the reputations of Cassio, Othello and Desdemona, trading cynically on his own reputation for honesty, which he knows is undeserved—a knowledge that adds to his contempt for his victims.
Rod Beecham was educated at Monash and Oxford and took his doctorate from the University of Melbourne. He is currently preparing a biography of the poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account.
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