Humanities & Classics 1002
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Renaissance Forum
Humanities & Classics 1002 |
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Othello Posting
Many questions were raised in class about Shakespeare's Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. Questions about discrimination of the time and how it can be compared to that of the present, and many others which I will not list here, we were all there and we know what they were. But I feel that the most intriguing of all the issues raised is the question asked by Tom, that asking whose play is it, Iago or Othello's. This is the topic that interested me the most, and the one I wish to explore deeper.
It seems interesting to begin with for such a question to be asked. One normally would automatically assume that the play is Othello's, when taking into consideration of the name of the play and the obvious main character of the play, Othello. But what is the question really asking? Whose play is it? I have never thought a play or anything similar for that matter on such terms. The question sounds possessive in nature to me, and shouldn't the play belong to all the characters participating? But upon giving this more thought, it really is a great question that leads to interesting ideas of what the play is all about, and how Shakespeare wanted his audience to perceive this great tragedy.
There is no obvious answer to the question at hand, only speculation and grounds for great discussion. Both Othello and Iago have critical parts in the play, both feeding off of each other in individual ways. Othello is driving himself crazy with the thoughts placed into his head by his friend Iago, while Iago in turn keeps coming up with new lies and untrue testimonies to Desdemona's unfaithfulness to Othello, which only adds gas to the already blazing fire in Ohello's heart. But how are we left to feel after the outcome of the tragedy? Sorrowful for the great Othello for falling subject to a conniving worm whom he loved and called "honest Iago", who turned the life of such a perfect and ideal warrior into a helpless pawn, playing into his sick game? Or do we take with us the lesson that the world is not always how it seems, and we should beware of the presence of people like Iago, and be wise to what influences they can have on our actions? These are extremely difficult questions to answer, and every answer giving will be as individual as the person it is coming from.
I feel that in order to view and understand this play to its full potential requires full attention to both characters, and how they feed off of each other throughout the entire play. I am in no way saying that I completely understand this play, in fact, far from it. But I think in order to try one must see the play from both sides of the story. Othello was a seemingly enough "Renaissance man" who fell victim to something that neither he nor any other renaissance great could have prevented. In class we have called this fortuna, or more specifically, fate and fortune. But I see it as human nature overcoming renaissance ideals, and ultimately being in control of our lives. Shakespeare shows his audiences that no matter how much virtu an individual possesses, no matter how ideal he or she may be, fate and the nature of humans to be flawed will overcome. This must have been a powerful message during its time, and it remains to have the same effect on audiences today. This is the main message I took from the tragedy; one that could not have been delivered with out the play being both Othello and Iago's together.