“We loved with a love that was more than love” (Poe 9). This kind of love is out of the ordinary; it is a kind of love everyone aspires to find and almost no one gets. This kind of love is eternal and continues even after death. Some would say that Othello and Desdemona’s love was this kind of love, as before Othello murders his wife he still expresses his undeniable love, “One more, one more./ Be thus when thou art dead, and I will kill thee/ And love thee after…/ So sweet was ne’er so fatal…” (5.2.17-20). Othello and Desdemona’s love did seem to be true, but the way Othello wooed Desdemona was too dramatic, his importance of reputation was greater than the value of his wife, and his rash behavior showed that their love was not really true …show more content…
In this case, Othello wins Desdemona by telling her stories about his tragic past. He had experienced terrible injuries from battles, was imprisoned by his enemy and even sold to slavery. It is the way they fell in love that shows that their love based on passion rather than true love, “She lov’d me for the dangers I had pass’d,/ And I lov’d her that she did pity them” (1.3.183-184). Desdemona fell in love with Othello because she pitied him instead of falling for him because of his character or his morals. She only knew Othello by his past and the two were so quick in falling in love that there was no period where they really got to know each other. With that, Othello has a passionate way with words to express his love for Desdemona, “O my soul’s joy!... If it were now to die,/ ‘Twere now to be most happy, for I fear/ My soul hath her content so absolute/ That not another comfort like to this/ Succeeds in unknown fate.” (2.1.200-204) Just like that he using his dramatic vocabulary in such a short timespan of eloping with Desdemona. Coleridge confirms that, “Othello had no life but in Desdemona:—the belief that she, his angel, had fallen from the heaven of her native innocence…” Calling a girl you do not know very well an “angel” is out of the ordinary and too
/ [Duke:] If you please, / Be't at her father's. / [Brabantio:] I'll not have it so. / [Othello:] Nor I. / [Desdemona:] Nor I" (I.iii.254-262). Even in time of war, Othello's and Desdemona's love holds true. They cannot stand living apart for a long period of time. Brabantio also knows that Desdemona will only show her loyalty to Othello, so he would rather have her away with Othello than home with him. Much later, Othello and Desdemona again show each other their love. Othello plans revelry for the evening in celebration of the defeat of the Turks and in celebration of his marriage to Desdemona. Once the celebration begins, Othello leaves Cassio on guard and departs to consummate his marriage: "Come, my dear love, -- / The purchase made, the fruits are to ensue; / The profit's yet to come `tween me and you" (II.iii.9-11). Othello only wishes for the best from his new marriage with Desdemona. He shows no sign of any desire for anything bad to happen. Othello's and Desdemona's marriage stays free of problems because their love for each other stays strong.
The relationship between Desdemona and Othello in the play ‘Othello’ is used to express and observe the way that humans are selfish by nature. Although both Desdemona and Othello do sincerely love each other, both of them find great personal gain in their marriage, which clearly contributes to their feelings for one another. Othello, who is a black leader in an overwhelmingly white, Christian society, has come from a troubled and difficult background, being “sold to slavery” and working in the military all his life. In finding a good Christian wife in Desdemona, he finds someone to always support him in hard times, as evidenced in his summary of their romance, “she loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them”. This quote suggests that their love is more self-serving than he lets on; Desdemona loves Othello for the adventures he has been on and the stories he tells, and Othello loves Desdemona because she listens and devotes herself to what he has to say. When Desdemona gets a chance to explain their relationship herself, she is particularly proud of the fact that she “did love the Moor to live with him; my downright violence and storms of fortunes may trumpet to the world”. We note that she mentions her ‘violence’, the way she deliberately disobeyed her father and fled his company to secretly marry a man who is not one of her father’s approved suitors. This furthers the idea that Desdemona seems to be in love with Othello because of the adventures he has been on, and the excitement and liberty of her being with such a man; she is seeking her own freedom in a misogynistic society by defying her father to marry Othello. Their relationship is
to be weak and naïve in the eyes of her father. We can tell this from
heavens forbid. But that out loves and comforts should increase even as our days do
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello and Desdemona’s marriage was doomed from the start. They did not start well; their marriage was controversial because of their race and Othello’s failure to follow proper etiquette while he was courting her. However these issues could have been overcome with time. The biggest problem is Othello’s attitude to Desdemona. Othello’s model of Desdemona prevents him from considering her a person. He thinks of her instead as superior to himself in every way, to the point that she is a god. Her race, beauty, and status make her godly in his mind. She becomes untouchable in Othello’s mind, and he begins to distance himself from her. Because Othello thinks of Desdemona as “Alabaster”(5.2.5) he will never consider
When Othello and Desdemona were not yet married, Othello would tell stories of the wars that he had fought in. That is what led Desdemona to fall in love with Othello. The two had rushed into their marriage. They married each other because they were in "love" with in each other. They did not even really know each other. I do not think that either of them really knew of the notion of "love" to begin with. Othello was much older than Desdemona, which made them two really different people. She was young and had a full life ahead. He was set in his ways and was a bit more reserved. When Desdemona eloped, she deceived her father. This fact made Othello
Despite the talent that shrouds Christian Borle, also known as William Shakespeare from Something Rotten!, or the living musical goddess that is Sutton Foster, my favorite performers are the off-Broadway college troupe Team Starkid, famous for their satirical musical re-enactments of beloved stories, such as Harry Potter (A Very Potter Musical), and various super heroes (Holy Musical B@tman). Their ingenious writing, infused with witty, subtle humor is why their musicals are a joy to watch; however, I admire the group for what they embody. Starkid is a fusion of directors, writers, and actors at the University of Michigan with a simple adoration for the performing arts. Today, they are one of the most popular off-Broadway online theatre troupes,
"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not” (Picoult, 384). This quote is the definition of true love, something the two protagonists of this play sadly never had. The tragedy Othello is about a general of the Venetian army, and his beautiful wife Desdemona, whose lives are completely ruined by the deceitful, cunning, and cowardly Iago. One of Iago’s biggest accomplishments was breaking up Othello and Desdemona's relationship by getting it into Othello’s head that Desdemona was cheating on him. This really made the reader question Othello’s feelings towards Desdemona as for someone who claimed to have love Desdemona with a passion, Othello sure was quick to believe Iago’s lies and turn on Desdemona. Based on his actions towards Desdemona, Othello proved that he does not truly love Desdemona because he is insecure, lacks trust, and is a very jealous person.
Susan Snyder states "Barbantio, Iago and finally Othello see the love Between Othello and Desdemona as unnatural, ‘nature erring from it self’." Othello expresses this through his statement,
In Act II Scene I he tells her, "It gives me wonder great as my content to see you here before me. O my soul's joy!" and " If it were now to die, Twere now to be most happy" (Shakespeare 1168-69). Othello implies that his life was in chaos before he met Desdemona (1186). Othello, however, is also very insecure of Desdemona's love for him (Mabillard 1). He doesn't understand why she would go against her father and her society by marrying a man that is black (1). The only reason that he can come up with is that she married him for his courageous journeys (1). In Act I scene iii he explains to the Duke, "She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd" (Shakespeare 1157). In Act III scene ii he tries to put his doubts to rest
Othello and Iago love emotions shows throughout the play that they have certain different view on their wives. Othello is so in love with Desdemona that he can’t imagine the thought of her being unfaithful to him. The aspect of him and his unbreakable love for Desdemona can be seen in these lines: “But that I love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition, Put into circumscription and confine” (Othello 561;lines 25-28). Othello and Desdemona shows a healthy and genuine love for each other. Othello shows his affection for Desdemona despite their racial differences. Throughout the play Othello reassures us about their love and no one else’s thought can break it.
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
"Othello is set in a world and focuses on the passions and personalities of its major figures." (Thomas). Othello is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, Othello's wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio and advisor Iago. The play appeared in seven editors between 1622 and 1705. The themes of the story are racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal. Othello is a black soldier who is accused of stealing his wife Desdemona. Although Desdemona's father dislikes his daughter's choice, Desdemona loves Othello very much and the two are married. Othello’s right hand man is angered at the fact that Othello picked a man named Cassio to be more important than him and he also feels that he is messing with his wife. Iago plans to manipulate Othello but his plan eventually causes more hurt to most of the characters. Iago tries to use the meeting between Cassio and Desdemona as a way to make Othello believe she was cheating on him. Iago goes on with his manipulative plan by planting a handkerchief in Cassio's room, and goes and tell Othello about what he has seen Cassio do. Othello becomes jealous throughout the story and begins to believe that Cassio is talking to his wife. Iago persuades Othello to come up with a master plan to kill Cassio and Desdemona. As Othello tries to kill Desdemona, Emilia, Iago's wife, comes in to tell Othello the truth about Iago. Unfortunately it is too late. Othello had already suffocated her. When Othello
Shakespeare explores more than just excessive, impetuous love in portraying the Moor. Othello has been prepared for his role as a jealous, murderous husband from the beginning of the play because his love for Desdemona is suspicious. Othello immediately discloses that the love he and Desdemona share derives from his stories of war, which are strong and heroic: "She loved me for the dangers I had passed/and I loved her that she did pity them." (1.3.168-169). He explains to Iago, "But that I love the gentle Desdemona/I would not my unhoused free condition/put into circumscription and confine/for the sea's worth." (1.2.25-28). Othello tells Iago that sea treasures could not make Othello surrender his love for war and nothing could make him surrender his love for Desdemona. This shows that the power Othello derives from war describes the powerful quality of his love. It seems doubtful that the love Othello has for violent "feats of broil and battle" can be used to describe his love for Desdemona who is "of spirit so still and quiet that her motion/ blushed at herself," without compromising the safety of love (1.3.131, 1.3.96-97). In fact, when he returns from suppressing the Cyprus revolt, he calls out to Desdemona, "My fair warrior!" (2.1.180). Although Desdemona has fallen in love with Othello by listening to his "travailous history", stating that she is a "fair warrior" does not seem to be the next logical step in
The tragic play Othello by William Shakespeare, discusses the relationship between Othello and Desdemona that begins as loving, but abruptly alters to a hateful relationship due to a lack of truth. Dishonesty and misunderstandings between Desdemona and Othello drive the collapse of their marriage as well as Iago’s deceitful words which force Othello to discredit Desdemona’s love. William Shakespeare portrays the fall of the relationship of Desdemona and Othello due to his ability of believing false delusions he hears about his wife and the reason for this is from his distrust for women, his jealousy and the fact that he truly lacks confidence in himself, leads him to doubt the love Desdemona has for him.