This second essay is not as good as the first, but still manages to weave in techniques. It is severely lacking in evidence as you can see from the studyit teacher’s comments.
‘In a tragedy, conflict and suffering draw out the true nature of the chief characters inch by inch’ (John Russell
Brown) What do we learn in this way about ‘the true nature’ of Desdemona OR Othello? Illustrate your points with evidence from the play.
John Russell Brown once noted that ‘in a tragedy, conflict and suffering draw out the true nature of the chief characters inch by inch’. In Shakespeare’s
Othello , Othello is portrayed as a man attempting to overcome the racial prejudice against him and win the respect of the more ‘civilised’ born-and-bred Venetians. In this he succeeds, eventually becoming a general held in high regard. However, ‘honest’ Iago, his jealous once-friend, feels betrayed by
Othello’s decision to promote Michael Cassio to lieutenant instead of himself. Bitter and resentful, Iago takes out his revenge by plotting Othello’s downfall. Iago exploits Othello’s innate insecurities, exposing the ‘Moor’ within – a man ruled by his emotions; illogical and bestial.
It was a common belief in Elizabethan times that the temperature of your homeland determined your personality.
Thus Othello, being a Moor, is presumed to be of a hot and passionate nature. However, there is never any evidence to suggest that Othello is truly like this. He has shows incredible eloquence and political savvy in his address to the Duke and Brabantio, speaking in blank verse just as any Venetian aristocrat would. Evidence needed We see him calmly restoring order in Cyprus after Cassio’s disastrous encounter with Roderigo.
Evidence needed Before the beginning of the play, Othello’s only impulsive action is to marry Desdemona without the permission of her father.
However, Othello has never felt completely at home with the Venetians. Although he says ‘My services which I have done the Signiory/Shall out-tongue his [Brabantio] complaints’, this is just false bravado. Good analysis of quote but could go further Inwardly, he is uncertain whether he has been truly accepted . Good These insecurities, combined with his extremely trusting nature, allow him to be easily manipulated by Iago. Iago too, is an outsider – a commoner amongst aristocrats. Perhaps this is one reason why Iago is able to so effortlessly exploit Othello – because he, too, has experienced feelings of alienation.
At the beginning of the play, Othello is much respected by the Europeans, despite the fact that he is a Moor. He has proven his worth time and again on the battlefield, posessing not only great combat skill, but also strategic prowess.
Othello displays calmness and authority, preventing a fight between Iago and Roderigo. ‘Good signiour, you shall more command with years/Than with your weapons. Othello is a man of great dignity and modesty. Here, he ironically dismisses his speech as ‘rude’ in an eloquent address to the Duke. ‘Rude am I in my speech/And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace’. Othello earns the admiration of Desdemona when he describes the story of his life. Nice She loves him for the nobility he undoubtedly retains, despite the cruelty and hardships of his life. ‘I saw Othello’s visage in his mind’. Othello is shown to be capable of greatness, but this potential is wasted as he slowly reverts to the stereotypical Moor that he is assumed to be by the Venetians.
The Othello whom Shakespeare presents to us in Act V is a far cry from the sophisticated, refined man we met in Act
I. Iago has planted the seeds of suspicion in his mind, hinting at an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. Ingeniously,
Iago exploits Othello’s two main weaknesses: his insecurity and his willingness to trust. War is the only thing Othello has known all his life – Desdemona is the first woman he has loved, and Iago makes him doubt his faith in her. Had
Othello known her longer, the outcome might have been drastically different. Good But Othello begins to doubt his self-worth, having an inherent belief that Cassio, being a Florenteine, is superior to himself. Othello is of an ‘honest and trusting nature’ and unquestioningly believes Iago. He is overcome with jealousy, which eventually gives way to rage - although claiming to never believe rumour without ‘ocular proof’. Othello’s love for Desdemona is called into question when he strikes her in Act IV. However, it is more likely that this is simply further evidence of his degeneration. Othello has been consumed by animalistic passion. He is finally led to bringing about the death of his beloved Desdemona, and in doing so, his own destruction. How would Elizabethans see his behaviour?
Desdemona too, undergoes a change. In Act I she is shown as independent and bold. ‘… and I a heavey interim shall support by his dear absence. Let me go with him’ However, she gradually becomes more and more submissive to her husband, eventually forgiving him for her own murder. ‘Farewell, commend me to my kind lord’.
Relevance? Q asks you to focus on Othello OR Desdemona
It is unclear what Shakespeare was trying to portray here. Desdemona is presented as a free spirit, capable of going against the wishes of her beloved father. She too is much admired among their circle of friends. ‘Our great captain’s

captain’ However, by the end of the play, she has become the stereotypical ‘perfect’ wife – innocent, meek and in complete servitude to her husband. Othello, as has been said, earned the trust of a society prejudiced against him.
Except when under Iago’s influence, Othello acts always with nobility. Yet this is lost as he gives in to his emotions, finally becoming the thing he never was before, but which society expected of him. Perhaps Shakespeare is saying that although we might force ourselves to conform ourselves to please society, we can still never change who are. Or perhaps he warns us of the dangers of assumptions – did Othello revert to his base nature, or was it the unsaid expectations of society finally coming to light?
It is dangerous to see the world in black and white. Although Othello was ruled by his passionate jealousy, we must not forget that he was all the time under the influence of Iago. Othello was not completely innocent, it is true, but his only crime was a disproportionate amount of trust in human honesty. Nice argument