OTHELLO NOTES

THEMES
THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF
MILITARY HEROISM AND LOVE
Othello is a great warrior who is clumsy when it comes to love. He wins Desdemona’s heart through tales of military heroism. He is happy when she is at his side, but he is lost when the war is called off. He is bereft (empty) of purpose on the island of Cyprus and it begins to wear on his relationship with his wife.
As a general, he is respected and admitted into Venetian society. As a man he is confused by the role he must play as husband and lover.

THE DANGER OF ISOLATION
The action of Othello moves from Venice to the island of Cyprus. Protected by military fortifications as well as by the forces of nature, Cyprus faces little threat from external forces. Once Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia, and Roderigo have come to Cyprus, they have nothing to do but prey upon one another. Isolation enables many of the play’s most important effects: Iago frequently speaks in soliloquies (speech made while alone on stage); Othello stands apart while Iago talks with Cassio in Act IV, scene i, and is left alone onstage with the bodies of Emilia and Desdemona for a few moments in Act V, scene ii; Roderigo seems attached to no one in the play except Iago. And, most prominently, Othello is visibly isolated from the other characters by his physical stature and the color of his skin.
Iago is an expert at manipulating the distance between characters, isolating his victims so that they fall prey to their own obsessions. At the same time, Iago, of necessity always standing apart, falls prey to his own obsession with revenge.

MOTIFS: Recurring devices that inform the story

SIGHT AND BLINDNESS
Othello is obviously different from those around him. Desdemona, however, sees only the man. She has the power to see him for what he is in a way that even Othello himself cannot.

The beginning of Act II consists entirely of people staring out to sea, waiting to see the arrival of ships, friendly or otherwise. Othello, though he demands “ocular proof” (visible proof), is frequently convinced by things he does not see: he strips Cassio of his position as lieutenant based on the story Iago tells; he relies on Iago’s story of seeing Cassio wipe his beard with Desdemona’s handkerchief (III.iii.437–440); and he believes Cassio to be dead simply because he hears him scream.

The action of the play depends heavily on characters not seeing things: Othello accuses his wife although he never sees her infidelity, and Emilia, although she watches Othello erupt into a rage about the missing handkerchief, does not figuratively “see” what her husband
has done.

SYMBOLS
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Handkerchief
The handkerchief symbolizes different things to different characters. Since the handkerchief was the first gift Desdemona received from Othello, she keeps it about her constantly as a symbol of Othello’s love. Iago manipulates the handkerchief so that Othello comes to see it as a symbol of Desdemona herself—her faith and chastity. By taking possession of it, he is able to convert it into evidence of her infidelity. But the handkerchief’s importance to Iago and Desdemona derives from its importance to Othello himself. Othello claims that his mother used it to keep his father faithful to her, so, to him, the handkerchief represents marital fidelity.

The Song “Willow”
As she prepares for bed in Act V, Desdemona sings a song about a woman who is betrayed by her lover. She was taught the song by her mother’s maid, Barbary, who suffered a misfortune similar to that of the woman in the song; she even died singing “Willow.” The song’s lyrics suggest that both men and women are unfaithful to one another. To Desdemona, the song seems to represent a melancholy and resigned acceptance of her alienation from Othello’s affections, and singing it leads her to question Emilia about the nature and practice of infidelity.