Initial Reaction
In act 1, Cassio listens to Iago’s idea and asks Desdemona to help him make peace with Othello and get back his ranking. Iago begins to put thoughts into poison Othello’s mind that Cassio and Desdemona are together. They never speak of what Iago is saying to them. They both just keep it a secret. This lack of communication is what’s giving Iago the power over them and tearing their relationship apart.
Character Analysis
Desdemona is portrayed as the devoted and loving wife that would do no wrong to Othello. But there is more to her character; Desdemona seems as the perfect wife. But in the beginning we find out that she’s really in love with Othello, but this heroic idea of him. She’s more attracted to his stories of adventure and not really into him inner self. She seems a bit shallow and vapid when I read this.
Theme Analysis
The plot begins to get more complex as Iago’s evil scheme begins to unravel. Truth is a theme that really made me think. Truth itself such a powerful force, it can bring people together or tear apart everything they believed in. Shakespeare reveals that truth does not discriminate and it can be misinterpreted by anyone which can lead to deception. Iago does not tell lie he just reveals with is happening and everyone else is interpreting the way they want.
I think Desdemona has always been that perfect child and marrying Othello is a huge way to rebel. As you stated that she said she was more interested in Othello’s stories then him as a person can just reinforce that she wanted to break out of the social norm and go for something that would give her the satisfaction for making her own decisions. Her father was basically going to sell her to the highest bidder, that doesn’t give her much control.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Desdemona was attracted to Othello because she was more out for an adventure. She wanted a different life that she would have had if she married a normal venican man. I think sometimes people can be caught up in someones experiences instead of what they are on the inside.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point and evidence made in your character analysis. It is easy at first to overlook Desdemona and not include her as being a flawed human, as a person who is also tempted and can make mistakes, which Emilia points out to her in act 4. One thing i would suggest is to state that Iago: twist, distorts, or mixes lies with truth. Only because he does lie and tell Othello things that never occurred like Desdemona lying naked with Cassio; however, I agree that by twisting the truth and adding a lie here and there he can deceive people into believing his lies.
ReplyDeleteI think you are absolutely right that Desdemona is more in love with Othello's stories rather than Othello himself. It is probably because her lifestyle was completely different than Othello's. i agree that truth is a huge component in this play because the whole play is based on figuring out what is really going on.
ReplyDeleteOne could argue that Desdemona absolutely married Othello to both rebel from her father and to get away from the life she was in at the time. You could also argue that Desdemona married Othello on PURPOSE because she knows how insecure he is and thinks she can twist him around her little finger. There are so many little things you could take the wrong way because of the lack of real, solid information in a piece like this. We could make all sorts of various assumptions about the characters. It would be interesting to see what Shakespeare was really thinking of at the time.
ReplyDeleteHahaha that is true. Iago doesn't exactly lie, he just doesn't tell the entire truth. He goes all the way around it. It reminds me of the SAW movies, where the guy doesn't actually kill anyone, they kill themselves. He just sets it up.
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