At the end of Othello, we see Othello at his most vulnerable point. His mind is in a million places and his emotions are running high. Othello has come to the conclusion that Desdemona must die or else she will continue on to go betray and ruin the lives of more men. Othello says, “Put out the light, and then put out the light: If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, I can again thy former light restore, Should I repent me: but once put out thy light, Thou cunning’st pattern of excelling nature, I know not where is that Promethean heat That can thy light relume When I have pluck’s the rose, I cannot give it vital growth again. It must needs wither.” (Act 5. Scene 2. Lines 7-15). This is one of the most detailed and in depth passages of the play. Othello says a lot in just a few words. He compares a candles light to that of Desdemona’s “light” or in other words, her life. When talking about the candle, if he puts out the fire, he can bring it back to life and restore its shining light. It is something that is eternal. When talking about Desdemona, once he puts out her light, he will not be able to perform anything to bring her back to life. Her light will be put out and from then on will be darkness. He compares her to a rose in this situation. Once he pulls the flower from the ground, it has no other choice but to wither. Its fate is set in stone upon such action. I find it interesting how he uses a rose in comparison to Desdemona. A rose is a flower that is usually associated with love, passion and beauty. In using such comparison, it is evident that Othello still loves Desdemona and we see this when he kisses her in her sleep and he says “One more, one more. Be thus when thou art dead, and I will kill thee, and love thee after. One more, and this the last.” (Act 5. Scene 2. Lines 17-19). He keeps going in for one more kiss and is conflicted these old emotions. However, he knows what he must do in the end and reassures himself that he will still love her after she is dead.

In Othello, I find the most interesting character to be Iago. As we read through the play, we unfold more layers to his intricate character and discover what he is all about. Although he may have the traits of a sociopath, I find him to be a genius who may have actually been deserving of the role of lieutenant. In Act 2 Scene 1, Iago begins the next step in his plan which is to take down Michael Cassio. Iago says to Roderigo, “Cassio knows you not, I’ll not be far from you: do you find some occasion to anger Cassio, either by speaking too loud, or tainting his discipline; or from what other course you please, which the time shall more favorably minister” (Act 2. Scene 1. Lines 269-273). Being that Cassio does not know Roderigo, Iago is using him as his puppet to take him down. He wants him to anger Cassio so that he may react in an undisciplined manner, that of which is not acceptable of a man in his high position. Iago knows this is a weakness of Cassio’s and is attempting to exploit it. He says, “Sir, he is rash and very sudden in choler, and haply may strike at you: provoke him, that he may.” (Act 2. Scene 1. Lines 275-277). He warns Roderigo that Cassio is quick to respond upon being angered so he should expect violent retaliation, and upon such retaliation, he should take the hit. It is interesting how Roderigo is so willing to help Iago, even if it means putting his life on the line and receiving injury. The part I like most of this quote, which helps to show Iago’s genius, is how he says he won’t be too far from Roderigo. This relates back to the image I talked about where I noted how Iago was behind the crowd and out of sight from everyone, but he was closely watching his plan unfold. He has this omnipresent/omniscient feature about him where even if he is not in a scene, he knows exactly what is going on. It’s almost as if he is intangible at times and one with the shadows.

Once again, we see this reoccurring theme of loyalty in Othello. This time around, it presents itself to Desdemona in what is a major conflict to her. She is caught between honoring her father and his authoritative word, and remaining loyal to Othello, the one who holds her heart. In Act 1 Scene 3 is when this battle between filial piety and the divine right of love starts to unfold. Desdemona says to Brabantio, “My noble father, I do perceive here a divided 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.” (Act 1. Scene 3. Lines 180-185). In this first half of her confession, she shows the utmost gratitude and respect to her father for all that he has done for her during her life. Her education and core values of what it is to be respectful and humble to others is because of Brabantio’s guidance. However, she has made up her mind and is devoting her duty to Othello, the man she loves. She says, “but here’s my husband, And so much duty as my mother show’d To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord.” (Act 1. Scene 3. Lines 185-189). Desdemona relates herself to her mother in an attempt to convince her father of what is right. Her mother chose Brabantio over her father and it is now Desdemona’s time to do the same. Though she has a duty to fulfill to her father, the one she owes to Othello is of higher importance and could be comparable to that of a bondage under God. This is a pivotal point in the play because Desdemona stands up against her father, which in those times was near unheard of, and takes control of her life to make her own decisions.

A passage in Othello that caught my eye was in the beginning when Brabantio finds out from Roderigo about Desdemona and Othello’s secret romance. There is a lot of interesting quotes to take from his conversation with Roderigo and they tell us a lot about the play. Brabantio says, “It is too true an evil: gone she is; And what’s to come of my despised time Is nought but bitterness. Now, Roderigo, Where didst thou see her? O unhappy girl! With the Moor, say’st thou? Who would be a father! How didst thou know ’twas she? O she deceives me Past thought!” (Act 1. Scene 1. Lines 160-166). The first thing to take note of is his opening words. Upon hearing this news, Brabantio associates her loving Othello as “too true an evil”. He makes it seem like she committed a forbidden act. He then says “gone she is.” I find this interesting because it seems like Brabantio feels like his daughter is now a lost cause; he has given up all hope for her. He then goes on to ask a series of unanswered questions to Roderigo. When reading this I get the feeling that he is in a panic, frantic with worry about the circumstances of this news. In this very moment, his mind is in a million places. We then see where all of this worry could be stemming from when he refers to Othello as “the Moor”. This is interesting because we see the issue of race as a reoccurring theme in Othello. We’ve seen it from Iago, we see it now from Brabantio, and we see it being used by other characters as the play goes on. This make me think that Brabantio is sickened by this news not because he doesn’t like Othello, but because he views Othello as a lesser being and wouldn’t expect his daughter to “downgrade” to such an individual. He then says, “O treason of the blood!” (Act 1. Scene 1. Line 169). This statement shows how severe this issue is to him and once again, we see this concept of loyalty showing up. He feels as if his daughter has betrayed him upon committing such an act, and it hurts him even more because this is an issue within his family.

It is interesting sometimes to draw a connection between two texts. Though they may be unrelated as far as plot is concerned, it is interesting to see how different authors from different time periods use similar ideas and emotions to give substance to their work. Othello and Medea are two works of literature where with close analysis, we can see some similarities between them. Upon reading both, one similarity I noticed was how they both revolved around the concepts of loyalty and betrayal, two ideas that go hand in hand with each other. In Medea, the reason behind her crazed vengeance was because she felt personally betrayed by Jason for his actions against her. Although he said his reasoning for marrying Creons daughter was in the best interest for her and their kids, Medea was disgusted at the lack of loyalty Jason showed to her. Medea says, “Most of the time, I know, a woman is filled with fear. She’s worthless in battle and flinches at the sight of steel. But when she’s faced with an injustice in the bedroom, there is no other mind more murderous.” (lines 267-271). We see from Medea how important loyalty was to their culture. She says how she understands that women in battle are weak but if a conflict arises where they are betrayed in marriage, they should not be underestimated because the consequences will be drastic. When it comes to love, both parties should remain loyal to each other regardless of the situation. This relates to Othello because there is an issue of loyalty between Othello and Desdemona. Othello believes that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio and, just like in Medea, we see that he believes the consequence for such behavior should be one of large caliber. Othello says, “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men.” (Act 5. scene 2. line 6). He feels that the only deserving fate she has for her betrayal is death. He also feels that it is necessary because if not, she will go on to trick more men with her “love”. In both plays, we see how love is not something to be played around with. It is a cultural priority to be loyal to one person only.

The image attached to this post is a good representation of Othello. It captures the emotion of the play and gives an idea as to what a portion of the play is about. Three characters stand out in this image: Othello, Desdemona and Iago. Othello and Desdemona are the couple in the middle and are the main point of the image. We can see the love between the two of them and it seems that to them, they are the only ones in this room. It looks like they are blocking out the commotion of the room and just focusing on them. On the far right is Iago who is watching from behind everyone. This image relates to the play in a variety of ways. It depicts Iago’s sneakiness because he isn’t directly involved in the scene. It looks like Iago is watching his plan unfold and enjoying that Othello and Desdemona are so captivated with each other because he secretly is plotting something bad. I think it is important that Othello and Desdemona are the main focus of the image. Everyone is paying attention to them but probably don’t know that Iago is there. One of the main reasons why the tragedy occurred was because of ignorance. They didn’t suspect that Iago was conjuring up an evil plan and so they didn’t pay that much attention to him. Othello was also caught up in his dilemma, which involved his love for Desdemona, so he too wasn’t paying attention Iago and seeing any weird actions by him. His mind was focused on things which to him were important and this gave Iago the perfect opportunity to do what he had to do. That is what I see in the image and I feel like it also relates to the scene in the film where Iago was hiding behind the wooden pole. He knows he’s in control and he’s just watching from afar patiently waiting for the right time to execute the next step.

“Englsh12periods3and4 – Othello”. Englsh12periods3and4.wikispaces.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 May 2016.

The 1995 film Othello is a good representation of the play and brings the characters to life. When a book is transformed into film, it  can bring in a different view to the story. It helps you to visualize what you couldn’t before and it may introduce new questions or thoughts about the story. The scene I am focusing on is Act 1 Scene 1 where Iago and Roderigo are outside of Brabantio’s room talking to him. When reading the play, you visualize it differently than the way the movie depicts it. What is interesting about this is that in the movie, they show Iago hiding behind a wooden pole on the deck and Roderigo is the one who is face to face with Brabantio. I like this interpretation because it shows how sneaky Iago is. It makes Iago seem like he is the puppet master and he is controlling every event behind the scenes and setting them up to unfold at a later time. Although Roderigo is the one Brabantio sees, Iago is contributing to the conversation as well and helping to set things in motion. Being that it is night time and the distance between the two parties is significant, Brabantio can’t see Iago and thinks he is talking to Roderigo the whole time. The film gives the impression that Iago is one step ahead of everyone and that he is in control of the play. I think that this is a great interpretation of the play because it makes me view not only scene, but the play through a different lens. I feel like the film shows Iago’s intelligence more so than the play. I never would have visualized Iago hiding behind the pole but actually controlling the conversation. I can see this type of behavior continuing throughout the play where Iago is out of sight but watching his plan unfold.

In Othello, the opening passage by Iago gives us some vital information about not only the play and what might unfold, but about Iago himself and his very intricate character. We see in this opening passage Iago confessing his hatred of Othello to Roderigo because he was not chosen to be lieutenant. Iago starts off by giving one of a few reasons why he should have been chosen . He says, “Three great ones of the city, In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capp’d to him.” (Act 1. Scene 1. Lines 8-10). According to Iago, “Three great ones of the city” were personally backing him for this position. Although we don’t know who these people are, we can assume that they are well respected individuals whose opinion carry some weight with it. Now upon giving such recommendation, they also off-capp’d (took off their caps) to Othello which is a sign of respect and humility from one individual to another. This type of behavior would only help to prove Iago’s eligibility for this position because such behavior would also be expected of Iago. However as we know, Iago didn’t receive this position but instead Michael Cassio did, who Iago feels was completely undeserving of this title. Iago says, “says he, ‘I have already chose my officer.’ And what was he? Forsooth, a great arithmetician, One Michael Cassio, a Florentine” (Act 1. Scene 1. Lines 16-20). Iago starts of by proving Cassio’s unworthiness of the job of lieutenant by defining him as an arithmetician, which is someone who has the knowledge of war but has never had any actual experience in battle. He also defines him as a “Florentine” which in this context is someone who is clearly not a native to Venice, the setting of the play. So all in all, an inexperienced foreigner was chosen instead of Iago despite the recommendations and military experience he had. This is the core of Iago’s hatred towards Othello and it is important to note this because it gives us some insight into his motives to seek revenge against him. One last interesting thing from this passage is how Iago ends it. He says “And I -God bless the mark!- his Moorship’s ancient.” (Act 1. Scene 1. Line 33). What is interesting is how he doesn’t refer to Othello by name, but instead calls him a moor which is an offensive word to define someone of color. We know that Iago hates Othello, but this line gives his hatred some meaning and intensity because he uses that word with passion. He truly has no respect for Othello.