Othello: What You See Is Not What You Get

It is apparent in Shakespeare’s tragedy that Othello’s inability to discern between appearance and reality is directly correlated to his lack of self-awareness which essentially incites his downfall. French renaissance philosopher and sceptic, Michel de Montaigne recognised the falsity of appearances and proposed that man cannot know all. Though Montaigne did not preclude a belief in the existence of truth, he adamantly opposed against the idea of locating truth in false notions. This significant issue concerning the disparity between appearance and reality is explored in the frequent utilisation of dramatic irony throughout Othello. By recurrently regarding Iago as “honest” and trustworthy, Othello’s incapability of distinguishing the true nature of Iago from his false visage is emphasised.

Somehow Iago manages to manipulate Othello into thinking that Desdemona cheated on him. When he demands that she show him the handkerchief he had given her, and she does not, he is convinced that she is being unfaithful. This is when he decides that he must kill her. Later in the novel Othello suffocates Desdemona out of jealousy.

Othello believes that Desdemona is his possession, an object in his life which is supposed to show he honour and reputation as a man, therefore the belief that Desdemona has broken that honour and nobility forces Othello to destroy her.

The ideas of truth and perception are hard to differentiate in everyday life, making the real truth harder to seek. The main functions in Othello are perception and truth which is a person’s viewpoint or their interpretation of reality, and truth being what actually happens, and these facts can be easily manipulated. Othello, written by William Shakespeare, is a general who is constantly tormented between the false and real truth by Iago who skillfully manipulates him throughout the story. In Plato’s The Republic, he also talks about these themes, saying that the truth can be shaped by your view of reality and by stereotypes. In Othello, Shakespeare is saying that perception can easily alter the truth of others, making the truth harder to accept.

268-269). This could indicate his first real signs of recognition. He gets a sense of detachment and is able to look at himself and compare his actions as others would. He goes on to describe Desdemona as ‘’ill –starred’’ meaning ill-fated. This brings him back to square one in my eyes, these words showing us that he still believes there is a chance that her fate was already set out for her, and therefore nothing could have been done. He places responsibility in the hands of fate - he calls Desdemona an "ill-starred wench" – this hardly being a gallant course of action. I found it interesting that he goes on to plead ‘’ wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire’’ (V.II. 278). Using the word ‘’wash’’ is a strange way to describe a punishment, as usually it would be associated with purification and cleansing. Here he is asking to be cleansed with ‘’liquid fire’’ but one cannot be washed with fire, fire is associated with burning and destruction, and more importantly hell. He knows he will go to hell for it, ‘’fiends’’ (V.II.273) snatching him back from heaven. In his initial self-disgust and remorse at realising the truth of Desdemona's innocence, Othello is genuinely anguished. "This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven and fiends will snatch at it." (V.II.272-273) - Imagery being used to describe hell to us and how he sees it through his eyes, ‘’fiends’’ being another word for devil. It is clear that he is in torment because of her death, but is it because

and manages to convince Othello without any concrete proof, which is amazing. After this, Othello is so filled with rage and caught up in Iago's lies that he refuses to believe Desdemona when she denies everything. Othello knows that he can't let her live knowing that he has been ridiculed:

Othello has just come to me in a fit of sadness after killing his wife Desdemona. “My wife! my wife! what wife? I have no wife./ Oh, insupportable! Oh, heavy hour! / Methinks it should be now a huge eclipse / Of sun and moon, and that th' affrighted globe / Should yawn at alteration.”(5.2.111-115) he exclaimed as he bursted into my chamber. How twisted a man must be to kill his love and mourn her death just minutes after. I found his word choice very troubling, as he described how the earth and space and universe is all off balance now that she is no longer apart of it.

He has a disrespect for most things and cannot even be truthful to himself. He declares that Heaven will be his judge. This is unfortunate, taking into account the sort of curses he uses. Desdemona is described by others before the audience sees her speak for herself. Despite Iago's coarse references, her father and husband describe her as being a gentle, loving woman. Even Iago dares not refer to Desdemona in anything other than glowing terms in the presence of her father. Brabantio's assumption that she must have been drugged to fall in love with Othello stems not only from his racial bigotry, but also from his belief that his daughter is "tender, fair and happy" (1,2,66)

Almost all people, at some point in their lives, have experienced jealousy. But almost all people are given an equal opportunity to overcome this most unbecoming quality. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, however, this fatal flaw developed by the play’s main protagonist, Othello, is not easily subdued. Instead, Iago, the catalyst for Othello’s jealousy, manipulates him into believing that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with his lieutenant, Cassio, transforming Othello from respected general to reviled outsider. Iago achieves this desired effect by fabricating a web of illusions that not only mislead the Moor, but turn him against those whom he loves the most.

Othello knows that killing his wife is wrong even before he did it by saying “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men” (5.2.6) In doing all of these compassionate and benevolent acts, Othello shows his desire to help Desdemona, despite killing her. His love is so deep for her that he doesn’t want her to live her life being called a whore and destroying the hearts of other men. A deep inner pain, manifested as rage, is tearing him apart on the inside. Othello goes on to list the hardships he would have gone through for his beloved wife but the one thing he can’t endure is having his heart broken, his love cruelly discarded. Ultimately, Othello recognizes his act and still commits the crime and then kills himself after saying “I kiss’d thee ere I kill’d thee: no way but this; Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.”

Near the end of the play Othello, after Desdemona was murdered, Othello still cared more for his reputation than her death. He wished for Venice to still remember him as a heroic warrior, rather than a weak moor who submitted to jealousy. His jealousy was also a product of his love for his reputation. If he was jealous that his love whom he was in a relationship with was being unfaithful, then he would have talked to her to reconfirm her love for him. He was more enraged at how his reputation was tainted in his ancient Iago’s eyes.

In her final moments, Desdemona chooses not to blame Othello for her death because she saw that the honor of their love was more important than honesty. After Othello was convinced that Desdemona was cheating on him, Othello had started to show his disappointment with her. He had even gone as far as hitting her (4.1 134). Despite this, Desdemona continued to stay true to Othello. Othello, though, decides to kill her. Desdemona senses a change in Othello and she has a feeling that she will die soon due to the hands of Othello. This does not stop her, though, from continuing to care for Othello. Even when Desdemona was found after Othello strangles her, she still believed that her death was not the fault of Othello. Emilia comes into the couple’s bedroom after Othello smothers Desdemona, but hears Desdemona cry out. Seeing her dying, Emilia asks who would do this. Desdemona replies that it was her fault: “Nobody – I myself. Farewell / Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell!” (5. 2. 125-126). Not only does she try to protect Othello’s reputation by blaming herself, Desdemona tells Emilia to remind Othello about her showing that she stills respects Othello. By trying to hide the fact that Othello had murdered her, Desdemona has chosen to put the honor of their love above honesty.

Othello’s behaviour and dialect changes drastically throughout the play as a result of misguided trust in Iago. During the beginning of the play, Othello expresses his love for Desdemona. “I cannot speak enough of this content; / It stops me here; it is too much of joy. They kiss. And this, and this, the greatest discords be/ That e’er our hearts shall make.” (II.i.189-93) Othello is happy that he married Desdemona and he expresses his love openly for her. However, Othello’s behaviour changes as Iago’s influence causes him to become jealous and angry. “Hang her, I do but say what she is: so delicate with her needle, an admirable musician- O, she will sing the savageness out of bear- of so high and plenteous wit and invention-“ (IV.i.183-86) Othello still feels love towards Desdemona but blinded by anger from false information, he allows himself to feel hatred and negative thoughts towards Desdemona, as seen in the change of his dialect. As the play progresses, after Othello kills Desdemona, his attitude towards the situation changes drastically. “Of one that lov’d not wisely, but too well; Of one not easily jealous but, being wrought, Perplex’d in the extreme; of one whose hand, Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away.” (V.ii.340-43) Filled with guilt and remorse

This essay will discuss the part that illusion and reality plays in developing and illuminating the theme of Shakespeare's The Tempest. This pair of opposites will be contrasted to show what they represent in the context of the play. Further, the characters associated with these terms, and how the association becomes meaningful in the play, will be discussed.

This causes something inside Othello to snap, one can literally see on page 121 how his trust in Desdemona is shattered once and for all, how his mental state gets critical and how, in consequence to this, his wings turn black. The angel that Othello once might have been has started to fall. Othello subsequently orders Iago to arrange an executioner for Cassio and swears that he himself shall take care of Desdemona. The scene ends with Iago looking back on the once strong Othello, smmirking and saying “I am your own