Othello and Iago Equals Tragedy

            Othello is about a Moorish man who had it all, but lost it all – his wife, his honor, and his life – due to the villain, Iago’s, trickery. The movie stays true to the play. The title character doesn’t start out being evil, but by the end of the story, the role of the villain is his fate. In fact, Othello is kind and caring, loves his wife, and is a prosperous man. Eventually, he is driven mad from false information fed to him. In his madness driven rage, he fires his right hand man, Cassio. He thought Cassio was having an affair with his wife, Desdemona, whom he kills towards the end of the tragedy. Even as he smothers Desdemona in the film, Othello weeps because he still loves his wife. I believe that his two tragic flaws are his pride and gullibility. Fishbourne portrayed these attributes by slightly changing his voice’s tone when he feels threatened as well as clenching his jaw. It would shame him if his wife slept with another man; therefore he felt he had to get rid of them both so to keep his honor intact. Even though he has little information, Othello acts in accordance with Iago’s words, even though there is no physical proof against Othello’s wife, Desdemona.

            Desdemona doesn’t seem to have much of a role in this story except as a tool of destruction. I found her role in the film version trivial. She never evolves from the naive, young woman she is at the beginning of the film. I felt like Desdemona spoke in a whiney tone as she searches for her handkerchief. I also found her overtly passionate when she kisses Othello good-bye in front of all the soldiers – I was embarrassed for her. Without Desdemona, Iago couldn’t create the story of her affair with Cassio, but she offers little else to the story. Othello could have easily been told with Iago proclaiming that Cassio was planning a coup against Othello and the outcome would have been the same.

In 16^th century, having a title stripped away was shameful. Cassio’s supposed affair with Desdemona is a catalyst of Othello’s fall from grace. With the crime, he loses his title of lieutenant. Othello was a proud man and he would not have let anyone or anything take that title away. Desdemona’s death brought no honor. It did bring the shame of demotion, which Othello so desperately tried to avoid. Othello’s shame is heightened by Emelia’s speech proclaiming Desdemona’s innocent.

There is little to compare between Othello’s Emelia and the nurse in Romeo and Juliet. The two women just do not have much in common. The nurse in Romeo and Juliet is a true romantic. She is enthusiastic about Juliet being with Romeo. She also likes to play flirty games with Juliet when giving the young woman information about Romeo. Emelia, on the other hand, doesn’t trust Desdemona’s husband, Othello, and doesn’t think Desdemona should be with him. While Juliet’s nurse offers support and good cheer, she doesn’t offer much guidance whereas Emelia is wise and offers sound advice. She is the voice of reason, not only when discussing marriage, but also when she shows Othello what a travesty it was to kill Desdemona. Personally, I didn’t find Emelia lighthearted nor did she serve any comedic purpose, especially in the film. She was either reasonable when giving advice or scornful as she lectures Othello about the heinous crime he committed.

            Near the end of the play, Emelia says,

Yes, a dozen; and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they play’d for.
But I do think it is their husbands' faults
If wives do fall: say that they slack their duties,
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite:
Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace,
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them; they see and smell
And have their palates both for sweet and sour,
As husbands have. What is it that they do
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is: and doth affection breed it?
I think it doth: is't frailty that thus errs?
It is so too: and have not we affections,
Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have?
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.

(IV, III, 84-103)

In this she is tells Desdemona that it’s the husband’s fault if a woman dishonors the man. A woman will get bored, especially if the husband is negligent in tending to the wife’s needs. Any woman needs to have some fun now and again. What woman would want to stay with a jealous or restraining husband, she hypothetically asks. Emilia advises Desdemona to show Othello that she is just as intelligent as he is and that she has the same needs.

            Devilish Iago, Emelia’s husband, is much like Aaron from Titus Andronicus. Both men are ruthless and cunning. However, there is a difference between Aaron and Iago. While Aaron just wants to spread destruction as well as commit evil deeds, Iago longs to get ahead. He has a motive - to gain power in a world where he won’t be able to get it. He admits his motive and discusses Venice’s pecking order in lines 11-33 of act I, scene I,

I am worth no worse a place:
But he (as loving his own pride and purposes)
Evades them, with a bombast circumstance
Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war;
[And, in conclusion,]
Nonsuits my mediators; for, “Certes,” says he,
“I have already chose my officer.”
And what was he?
Forsooth, a great arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
(A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife),
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More than a spinster - unless the bookish theoric,
Wherein the [togged] consuls can propose
As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,
Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election:
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds
Christian and heathen, must be be-lee'd and calm'd
By debitor and creditor - this counter-caster,
He (in good time!) must his lieutenant be,
And I ([God] bless the mark!) his Moorship's ancient.

He is willing to do anything to get what he wants and does. It is Iago’s yearning for power that is his downfall. What defeats Aaron is the fact he’s heartless.

            Even though he has one real motive for acting devilishly, there doesn’t seem much more than that one purpose He enjoys spreading the lies and making a mess of everything. Iago seems pleased when other people experience misfortune. He wants people to suffer and for them to lose everything because he has nothing but a wife and lower position in the military. He wants to have a high ranking position, and maybe even to rule, but he can’t, therefore he will spread destruction and ruin the lives of higher-up men and women.

            From Aaron to Iago, Shakespeare’s villains most certainly have evolved.  Iago becomes a multi-dimensional and more realistic character because he has a reason for his wrongful deeds. He acts to gain something for himself. He doesn’t care what happens to those around him. Iago has his wife, Emelia, steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. Unbeknownst to Emelia, it’s to make Desdemona look like she’s had an affair. He then feeds lies to Othello about Desdemona and Cassio. Iago also kills Cassio and frames him for the murder of Rodrigo.  This character is pure evil, because not only does he do all these horrible things, but he does them under a ruse of friendship and caring for his friends. He doesn’t care if people get hurt. All of these attributes remind me of the devil. Even as he takes his last breath in the movie, there is a slight smile and a knowing look. He seems pleased to have caused all of this woe and destruction. Iago knows he will be remembered long after his death and that is a sort of honor for him. Like the devil, Iago will never die. His body was slain, but people will remember him – they will remember the events just as people remember the devil because of the destruction his spreads.

            One of Iago’s worst deeds happens in Act III, scene III. In that scene Iago convinces Othello that his wife, Desdemona, cheated on him. Iago wants to gain power and he thinks the best way to do that is by pretending to be a friend to Othello by letting him know what he’s ‘seen’. The villain also wants to destroy Othello’s life because he has prospered and rose in the ranks, even though he is not a native of Venice while Iago, a Venice citizen, is a mere commissioned officer.  The ploy works. Othello is driven mad from the ‘news’. Iago replaces Cassio when he is let go from his position as right hand man. Then, Iago and Othello plot to kill both Desdemona and Cassio. Because of her murder, Othello loses the love of his life, his job, and because his life’s destroyed, he kills himself. This scene is a big turning point for the story. It’s when Othello goes crazy - he turns from being the hero the audience has come to know and love into the vengeful villain. Iago’s plot to gain power and destroy Othello’s life becomes a reality.

            Iago needed to appear to have ‘evidence’ of Desdemona’s infidelity. So, he never quite answers Othello’s questions and says cryptic lines that could be interpreted as Desdemona doing Othello wrong. He also has his wife, Emelia, steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. Some of the ‘evidence’ he gives Othello is in lines 38-39 when he suggest Cassio might have departed from Desdemona’s side. In 94-102 he implies that Cassio isn’t being a gentlemen because he’s spending time with Desdemona – Cassio knew Othello loved Desdemona from the first time they met. Again, Iago hints that Cassio isn’t an honest man in lines 125-141, although Othello doesn’t believe Iago’s accusations. To prove his point he talks about ‘stealing’ the jewel of the soul in lines 155-161. Iago tells Othello about the ways of women in Venice in lines 201-204 and to back up this fact he reminds Othello, she deceived her father in lines 206-207 and 209-210. Iago later tells Othello, in lined 413-426, that he lay with Cassio, who talked in his sleep of making love. After taking Desdemona’s handkerchief that fell, Iago discusses the cloth with Othello in lines 433-435 and 437-439. All in all, Iago feeds Othello 8 pieces of ‘evidence’.

            Iago is a complex character and he could be overplayed by an inexperienced actor. As stated above, his personality changes from one scene to the next. Iago often speaks to the audience so that they know his real intentions and those monologues could easily become melodramatic, but Branagh uses subtle glee to show Iago's enjoyment of the calamities. Branagh picked up on Iago's intelligence and his ability to plot as well as his debonair demeanor that Iago uses to his advantage.  Branagh understands that Iago has long lost himself in his greed and yearning to get ahead.

The actors were perfectly chosen for their roles in Othello. Branagh shows Iago's sly and twisted nature through small smirks and astute gestures while Fishbourne portrayed Othello's change from a calm, collected giant into a crazed beast with subtle vocal changes and graceful movements.  However, of the two actors I felt that Branagh dominates the film. He easily slips from the fake, friend Iago to the real, devilish man he is. Every time I rewatch scenes from Othello, I enjoy Branagh’s portrayal and respect the actpr even more because he captures the minute details about the character’s mannerisms that could be overlooked 

I felt the movie was an accurate rendition of the play as how the Elizabethans would have seen it. The actors interacted with the audience as much as they could, which isn’t easy to pull off because the movie isn’t live. Their costumes, props, and buildings were historically accurate. The fighting scenes weren’t explicitly gory either – there is blood and murder, but nothing is overdone.     

Comedy is used throughout Othello to break up the tension. An example of the wit in the story is in these lines,

 I learn’d it in England, where, indeed, they are

most potent in potting; your Dane, your German, and

your swag-bellied Hollander--Drink, ho!--are nothing

to your English.

(II, iii, 72-75)

Lighthearted jests are part of life, just as horrible events are. Without any humor, tension is never broken – like in Titus, where no humor is present. The viewer never has time to dwell on what unfolds and can never understand why it happened. It’s just one scene after another filled with violence. In real life, people have time to figure out what has befallen them, plus life isn’t just one bad event after another, thus adding humor creates a more realistic play. The inclusion of jokes and jests indeed show a maturity. In Titus, which was an early play of Shakespeare’s, it was all about having as much gruesomeness as possible with little care to the characters or the plot. But as Shakespeare grew and had more practice in story development, he understood that there was a need for comic relief. The tragic events come to be more powerful when mixed with humor. Humor is needed in tragedies. It supports and heightens the woe. Here are characters enjoying themselves and the viewer comes to love them, but then disaster strikes which cause the characters lives to change forever, and usually for the worse.

             

Works Cited

Othello. Dir. Olver Parker. Perf. Kenneth Branagh and Fishbourne Laurence. 1995.

Romeo + Juliet. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. 1997.

Shakespeare, William. "Othello ." The Riverside Shakespeare. New York: Houghton Mifflin

Company, 1997. 1251-1288.

Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus." The Rivershide Shakespeare.

New York: Hiughton Mifflin Company, 1997. 1104-1139.