Posted: September 5th, 2023

Explore the Relation Between Othello and Desdemona

Furthermore, the tragedy of the play is Othello hubris forcing him to murder his wife – the action which proves his Inability to Integrate with Venetian society. Shakespeare presents the relationship between Desman and Othello in a deeply Immersed way by defining it both in terms of their personal interaction, and the reaction and interference of the characters in the play. Most importantly, the antagonist of the play, Ago, uses Adhesion’s “goodness” as the net to “enmesh” Othello, In addition to his other victims Including Cassia and Ordering. Gags Machiavellian plot to be evened with Othello, “wife for wife” depends heavily on his ability to destroy his marriage – thus confirming the importance of Desman. The status of Desman and Toothless relationship as a major point of conflict is clear from the very beginning of the play – where Ago and Ordering attempt to “poison the delight” of Abrogation by revealing that Desman had secretly married Othello. In terms of context, the concept of marriage without parental consent was taboo in Jacobean society, and would’ve been controversial even in Venetian society – which was considered much more relaxed than Jacobean Britain.
It Is also Interesting to note the use of the word “poison”, which Is a strong theme throughout the play -? ND foreshadows Toothless eventual request that Ago “get me some poison” in order to murder Desman. Foreshadowing is further utilizes by Shakespeare in Act II Scene l, where he has Barbarian warn Othello to “look to her Moor, she has deceived her Father and may thee”. This effect Is heightened by Toothless claim that he places “my life upon her faith”, a moment of great irony which perfectly complements the claim that ‘in losing [Desman], he loses himself.
It is important to note the great trust Othello places in Desman In this scene and how it coincides with his nonevent, eloquent speech which prompts the Duke to acknowledge “this tale would win my daughter too”. The poetic blank verse which Othello speaks, and has led some critics such as A C Bradley to describe him as “the most romantic among Shakespearean heroes” is in stark contrast to the clumsy, monosyllabic prose which he speaks later In the play – by which point his confidence In Desman, and therefore himself, has been destroyed by Ago.

There is some element of truth in Othello claim that he “loved too well” and it is this resolute nature which ultimately dooms him. His rashness, which would have been praised as decisiveness on the battlefield, forces him to dismiss Cassia perhaps too swiftly – and place too much trust in “honest Ago’, whose role as “ensign” should be confined to military affairs – not his general’s private life. It could also be argued that Othello was doomed by his race, in the words of Anta Lomb the inflict of the play derives from “the threat of a black man and a white woman” to the “patriarchal” Venetian society.
The racist semantic field used in the opening scene, “thick lips”, “old black ram” and simply “the moor” sets a precedent for the rest of the play, and Othello final speech where he acknowledges he is an outsider, “circumcised dog” is evidence that Lagos manipulation has forced him to question himself and become the stereotype Ago depicted him as. Ultimately, the relationship of Desman and Othello is integral to the play, and Othello descent into barbarism is facilitated by his loss of faith in Desman.
Othello himself placed his “life upon her faith” – and as a resolute man he was left with no choice but to destroy himself when he felt she had betrayed him. Lagos malignant, calculating intelligence led him to the conclusion that the moor he hated could be destroyed by his love for his wife – Just as Ordering could be destroyed by his lust, and Cassia by his arrogant, flirtatious nature. Lagos ability to detect the weaknesses of those around him is the characteristic which defines the tragedy of ‘Othello’, and thus the knowledge that Desman is Vital to her Husband’ allowed him to exact his Machiavellian plot with tragic consequences.