Jonathan+Layne

Jonathan Layne Senior English December 17, 2009  Shakespeare should've named the book "Iago"   Why do people take pleasure in reading William Shakespeare's //Othello//? Perhaps it's because of the confusing Shakespearean language. Maybe it's because the concepts are relatively new to them - or even familiar. Sure, the story has many concepts that may be interesting to some; love, jealousy, duality, betrayal, etc - but in the big picture - to me, Othello's greatest theme is criminal intent and doings, mainly seen through the character of Iago.   Firstly, we'll start with how the other main characters are below Iago. There's the concept of love - Othello, a Venetian general falls in love with Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian Senator. My qualm about this circumstance is the way that they fall in love - it seems all too fake.  OTHELLO - "From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes, that I have passed...these things to hear would Desdemona seriously incline...My story being done she gave me for my pains a world of sighs. She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them ** ( **Shakespeare 37-39, lines 132-170)."  Seriously, this is the foundation for their love. Desdemona loves him for his bravery as a soldier and Othello...well he loves her because she loves him. Whether or not Shakespeare intentionally left out details or seriously made that the end-all be-all, this spectacle of love seems insignificant. With regard to Iago, Othello and Desdemona's fragile and hollow love is a harbinger of disaster.   Furthermore, this notion of love - shallow love - only foreshadowed the lack of faith Othello had in Desdemona and also his jealousy once Iago set him off with the handkerchief story. Othello didn't even consider that Cassio obtained it by coincidence. While Othello is in hiding from Cassio, he sounds like a raving idiot as he talks to himself "Look how he laughs already! (177, line 99)." He doesn't even realize that Cassio's still talking about Bianca being an unworthy whore. After reading through Brabantio's confrontation with Othello, it was somewhat of a disappointment to see such a seemingly smooth Othello to fall this low. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Chiefly, the concepts of duality and betrayal are very significant to me because those themes overshadow the themes of love. The way the characters play into Iago's plan makes him look like a behemoth among critters. This makes Iago my favorite character. As a mischievous character, he does very well and carries out his objectives successfully. The character of Iago was the only part of the book that I could hold on to, otherwise I would have set the book on fire. He manipulated the situations that led to the downfall of Desdemona and Othello - two characters that had it coming due to an insecure relationship. Expectedly, they fell within Iago's plan so easily. The handkerchief should've never been dropped as it was a Othello's first present to Desdemona. That was careless on Desdemona's part. As for Othello, he gave into Iago's words with absolutely no hesitance. He chose his friend over the one he loved and took the lies as final words. That calls for marriage counseling but unfortunately, Othello was crazy enough to kill Desdemona on their first encounter after he heard about the handkerchief so there was no sane discourse there. So much for understanding; a lack of understanding was what their love was. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Importantly, one thought that made a great intellectual impression on me was why Iago did what he did. Why would he devise such an elaborate plan to destroy lives? <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">OTHELLO: ...Why he hath thus ensnared my soul and body? IAGO: Demand me nothing; what you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">(257, lines 315-317) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Iago's actions has a lot to say about the human condition even though the book has little to say about it, at least outright (just look at the quote above). Though this may sound like a huge assumption, the only way to enjoy this book for me was to try and believe it. Why couldn't Iago simply tell Othello he did all of it because he was torn over the lieutenancy promotion? This was because that wasn't the case and nobody would've understood if he told his reasons anyway. He did it because he could. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Norms of rationality in revenge can be regularly seen throughout history - an eye for an eye for example. Iago's actions question this norm. A crime of Iago's magnitude brings inconsistency to the convictions of the criminal archetype. One's jealousy over one's superior's choice of military promotion doesn't call for such an elaborate plan; to make the superior suffer by making him believe he has reason to kill his spouse and then kill himself. The way things play out for Iago is odd and funny. By making Iago get caught in the end, Shakespeare leaves readers with two approaches to react to Iago in the ending. One would be to ask what the point was if he got caught in the end. Another would be to dismiss a chance to appreciate the true meaning and just think, "Justice is served. That's it I guess." The lesson to be learned from Iago's fate and perhaps even the other characters isn't so much that people are vengeful or that people get away with what they want. The point of telling such events is to teach how humans are irrational. From my earlier criticism of Desdemona and Othello, one can see how common sense fails to override the storyline but this is the one thing that makes the book enjoyable. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> In summation, I was fairly pleased with the story of Othello because Iago dominated the other characters in an exceptional way; how his actions begged the question of rational revenge. On another note, Shakespearean language made the book unnecessarily long and boring at times. With what was left to be learned through this cluster of mumbo-jumbo vernacular, the book actually left an engrossing message (with credit to Iago) - the book isn't a question of rationality but a question of boundless possibilities of human emotions and action. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">MLA CITATION __ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Shakespeare, William. __Othello__. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster inc., March 2009.