OTHELLO LECTURE 5 A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ACT

OTHELLO LECTURE 5: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ACT 2 SCENES 1 & 2

OUTLINE 1. What are the dramatic effects of the play thus far, and how are they achieved? 2. What is the dramatic function and symbolic significance of the storm in Act 2 Scene 1? 3. How does Shakespeare develop the characters of Othello, Desdemona, Iago and Cassio? 4. What is dramatic irony and what are its effects in the play? 5. What is the dramatic purpose of Act 2 Scenes 1 and 2?

A WORD ABOUT DRAMATIC EFFECTS Achieved through language Provides actors with the means to create the dramatic effect of fear, joy, day, night, tempestwracked sea, and keep the audience constantly engaged through creation of conflict The imagination of the audience must respond to the language of the play, creating in their minds the storm in Act 2, Scene 1.

DRAMATIC EFFECTS CREATED BY Use of blank verse, patterned sound, and prose Diction i. e. choice of words and verbal irony Choice of imagery used Choice and structure of sentences Use of repetition Length and thought structure of speeches Use of soliloquy Cumulative effect of dramatic irony Dramatic actions (not just words but deeds)

ANALYSIS OF DRAMATIC EFFECTS (INTERNAL & EXTERNAL) What intended effect does the choice and form of a word, phrase, line, sentence, speech, image, symbol have upon its actual context in a given scene within the play? What ‘expected’ effect is the performance of a given Act, Scene, or Dialogue Sequence likely to have upon a viewing audience in an actual theatre?

Down strumpet! O Lord, Lord!

DRAMATIC EFFECT OF PROSE IN ACT 1 SCENE 3 Roderigo & Iago are left together and the dialogue moves to the everyday tone of prose Iago’s main speeches are weighty and deliberately rhetorical, especially in his second long speech to his dupe, Roderigo With its repeated emphasis on need for money – ‘put money in thy purse’

IAGO’S CYNICAL LOGIC IN ACT 1 SCENE 3 Iago’s use of his characteristic vigorous prose creates the effect of “reality” without being realistic The language is somewhat like common speech yet “raised” above the ordinary level Has the effect of showing Iago’s confident egoism And his tendency to reduce everything to the barest physical (love is merely a ‘lust of the blood’) and material terms (his solution to every problem is ‘put money in thy purse’) Intended to convince Roderigo – that success with Desdemona is within reach

DRAMATIC PURPOSE OF ACT 2 SCENE 1 To make apparent the change in scene setting To plunge the audience into the crisis of the storm To provide a picture of the reunion of Othello and Desdemona in Cyprus To develop the character of Cassio To introduce Emilia & other minor characters To throw further light on the characters of Othello, Desdemona, and Iago To develop Iago’s plot

IAGO, A MACHIAVELLIAN MALCONTENT Individuals in conflict with their world in society The main fact in life: struggle Human affairs about winning and losing Deceit as a means for a clever individual to achieve domination Through manipulative use of language The best language is the most operative Language is a most powerful weapon in the struggle for primacy in human affairs and relationships

ALL PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS FROM VENICE TO CYPRUS Major dramatic implications at different levels A move from a secure social order To the random and uncertain conditions that prevail in Cyprus; the shadowlands of society Arrival of Desdemona and Othello in Cyprus is heralded by a storm Symbolizing the passage from relative security to relative chaos at social as well as psychological levels

CYPRIOT SOCIETY A remote and enclosed outpost Benefits of Venetian civilization not available to the same degree or extent Desdemona is the principal loser here Who, having chosen to travel with Othello to Cyprus, has isolated herself from her family Making her much more potentially exploitable and vulnerable

FOR EXAMPLE - IN ACT 4 SCENE 1 Othello becomes viciously angry with Desdemona while she is in conversation with Lodovico, and strikes her Desdemona states: I have not deserved this. and Lodovico replies: My lord, this would not be believed in Venice, Though I should swear I saw’t. ’

TECHNIQUE FOR SUGGESTING THE STORM AND VIVID NATURAL BACKGROUND THROUGH THE USE OF DESCRIPTIVE BLANK VERSE DIALOGUE First Gentleman talks of “a high wrought-flood…’twixt the heaven and the main” Montano adds the idea of the wind, speaking “aloud at land” Says that it was a “blast” that “shook our battlements” Second Gentleman adds to the picture with “the foaming shore…the chiding billow seems to pelt the clouds…the wind -shak’d surge, with high and monstrous main”

STORM SCENE (NO ELABORATE SCENERY) Upon Cassio’s arrival, audience imaginatively ‘hears’ and ‘sees’ the great contention of sea and skies: ‘High seas, howling winds, / guttered rocks’ Dramatic effects: Makes the story of the Turkish naval disaster more credible Heightens our anxiety for the safety of the voyagers from Venice

CRITICAL RESERVATIONS REGARDING DESDEMONA? As Desdemona waits near the harbour for Othello’s arrival Spends some time in trivial banter with Iago The audience might have expected her to go to the harbour front to check on Othello Instead, she interrupts her talk with Iago to ask whether someone else had gone: “Come on, assay…there’s one gone to the harbour? ”

AMBIGUITY There is the further oddity that Desdemona seems able to accommodate herself with surprising ease Given Iago’s vulgar, insinuating line of talk Her defense of her conduct may, however, be taken as sincere, for she states: “I am not merry, but I do beguile / The thing I am by seeming otherwise”

THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STORM The storm functions to create additional suspense The safe arrival of the main characters remains for some time in question Othello’s arrival is awaited for with some anxiety (dramatic effect) This anxiety highlights the general admiration for his person and achievements Othello’s delay also allow us (the audience) to sense the depth of Desdemona’s love for her husband

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STORM The personal drama of Othello & Desdemona is set against a background of a national crisis, and a crisis at sea. The storm symbolically foreshadows the disorder that soon will rage in the hero’s soul (dramatic effect) Dramatically embodies the tempestuous passions that are at the very heart of the play

THE RAGING TEMPEST IN OTHELLO’S MIND (LATER IN THE PLAY) “Damn her, lewd minx! O damn her, damn her! / I will withdraw / To furnish me with some swift means of death / For the fair devil. ” (3. 4) “I will chop her into messes. ” (4. 1)

THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE REUNION IN CYPRUS Almost immediately Othello & Desdemona had to separate after marriage and leave for Cyprus Othello’s first words on landing are for Desdemona: “O my fair warrior!” Her first greeting for him is full of sincere emotion: “My dear Othello!”

FOR OTHELLO TO SEE HER AGAIN GIVES HIM CAUSE TO PROCLAIM: “O my soul’s joy! If after every tempest come such calms, / May the winds blow till they have wakened death. ” (Note sound in relation to sense) He is experiencing “content so absolute” that “if it were now to die / ‘Twere now to be most happy” Their reunion is so full of tenderness and love

DRAMATIC IRONY AND THE DRAMATIZATION OF DECEPTION The theme of deceitful appearance is intimately connected with the use of irony in this play At the root of all verbal irony is a contrast between what is being said, implied, suggested, on the one hand And what is actually the case, or is meant, on the other E. g. Othello’s and Cassio’s reiterated use of ‘honest’ in relation to Iago The great ironies of the play have their origin in Iago

DRAMATIC IRONY AND IRONIC EFFECTS The conscious ironist pretends to be unaware that the appearance is only an appearance The victim of the irony remains unaware of the contrast between the reality and the appearance In the case of Othello, the audience is in a position to experience intimately the ironist Iago’s diabolical pleasure in his dealings with his victim [Ironic effects – the audience’s complicity in Iago’s perverse plotting] Iago reveals at every turn what he intends to do with Othello, Roderigo, Brabantio, Cassio All of whom to a large extent remain in ignorance of his plans for them

SITUATIONAL & VERBAL IRONY Commonest kind of dramatic irony involves a character undertaking a course of action which leads where he least expects it to (victim of irony of situation) Apart from the web of verbal ironies surrounding the attribution of ‘honest’ to Iago, Desdemona is sure that Cassio & Othello will soon be ‘as friendly as you were’ Her words do come true but ironically not in the sense she intends; they are united once more but only after her death

EVERY LINE OF OTHELLO’S FIRST 2 SPEECHES HAS A DOUBLE-EDGED MEANING AND FORCE Reunion has an undercurrent of dramatic irony The Moor’s almost childlike joy at being once more with his wife is full of a sense of tragic impermanence We are made to feel (dramatic effect) that even as he speaks, the “unknown fate” to which he refers so innocently is preparing the end of his brief happiness

DRAMATIC EFFECTS “…for I fear / My soul hath her content so absolute / That not another comfort like to this / Succeeds in unknown fate” His allusion to his own death falls on our ears with an ominously different sense From that which it has for the ecstatic Othello This is the peak of loving joy from which the Moor is to be dragged down Their reunion defines their happiness before the process of destroying begins…by Iago

REUNION CONTRASTED WITH CLOSING SEGMENT OF THIS SCENE Last part of this scene shows again a contrast in dramatic effect From the blank-verse dignity and joy of Othello and Desdemona We sink to the prose, matter-of-fact conversation between Roderigo and Iago pushes aside all poetry and beauty of love (which we have just seen / heard) And reduces Desdemona to that cheapness which will encourage, seduce, and urge on Roderigo

DEVELOPING THE CHARACTER OF CASSIO Ardent admirer of Desdemona: in his eyes she is “a maid / That paragons descriptions, and wild fame” She is “the divine Desdemona” “our great captain’s captain” Holds Othello in the highest regard and speaks of him as a god coming to breathe life-force into Cyprus

CASSIO A polished Florentine gentleman We note his actions: kisses the hand of Emilia and extends the same courtesy to Desdemona But this also suggests his susceptibility to the charms of pretty women (dramatic effects) Seems not to see evil in people; interprets Iago’s behaviour as that of a typical rough-hewn soldier – vulgar but with a heart of gold “You may relish him more in the soldier than in the scholar”

CASSIO His elaborate praise of Othello and Desdemona suggests the depth of his regard for both of them Note his diction is elegant and his manner is courtly But he is no paragon of virtue His easy-going nature, his reluctance to say no is fully exploited by Iago Seldom appears in the play, but his dramatic function is no less important

DEVELOPMENT OF IAGO’S PLOT: IAGO AS SPIDERMAN? As soon as he sees Cassio take Desdemona “by the palm” we can see his mind at work Kissing of a hand - only a small matter, an act of courtesy and chivalry on the part of Cassio However with Iago, this is a completely different matter, an opportunity too good to be missed: “as little a web as this will ensnare as great a fly as Cassio”

IAGO’S INTRICATE WEB OF DECEIT Note these actions: Cassio smiles on Desdemona and kisses his own three fingers. This is not overlooked by Iago: “If such tricks as these strip you out of your lieutenantry” Plans to use this observation to damage the character of Cassio to his advantage

IAGO POISONING OTHELLO’S MIND He watches the happiness of the reunion and sees them kiss; plans to destroy their happiness: “O, you are well tuned now, But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music” He will work on Othello’s mind and put the Moor “At least, into a jealousy so strong, That judgment cannot cure”

WILLIAM HAZLITT SAYS The Moor Othello, the gentle Desdemona, the villain Iago, the good-natured Cassio, the fool Roderigo Present a range and variety of character as striking and palpable As that produced by the opposition of costume in a picture

THEMES IN ACT 2 SCENE 1 Revenge The clash between: • Love and Hatred • Good and Evil • Appearance and Reality

DRAMATIC PURPOSE OF ACT 2 SCENE 2 To remove the tension from the citizens of Cyprus To celebrate Othello’s nuptials To increase the sense of the private domestic tension To make it possible for Iago’s plot against Cassio To add to the background of coming events

INCREASING DOMESTIC TENSION We hear the proclamation of festivities But we are not allowed to forget the domestic drama While the public will have every cause to celebrate Othello will soon have no cause for revelry The public revelry will stand as a contrast to the dark tragedy that is about to follow

MAKING POSSIBLE IAGO’S PLOT We recall Iago’s plot against Cassio He has employed Roderigo to engage in a brawl with Cassio in order to discredit him The relaxed atmosphere of drinking and disorder in the camp at night is just perfect for such a brawl We recall Iago’s soliloquy at the end of Act 1: “Hell and night Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light”

IMAGERY & GREAT IMAGE-PATTERNS Main image is of animals in action and through these the general sense of evil, pain, unpleasantness is heightened and sustained before the audience Underlies theme of supernatural evil: the Imagery of Hell and Damnation which has a crucial influence on the tone and atmosphere of the play