Poetry and Plays: Essay Two
Imagery of Light and Darkness in Shakespeare’s
Othello
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Jason Rama – 2219343
ENGL212
Virginia Gillese
20/10/2008
Darkness, in many ways, seems more tangible, more dense and more real
than light.
However, the substantiality of the dark is an illusion, for darkness is
nothing but the absence of light. This idea is central to the imagery and the
theme of many of William Shakespeare’s plays, particularly Othello. In this play
light represents all that the Elizabethans upheld as good: beauty, innocence,
rationality, Christianity, divine authority and, above all else, order. In
Shakespeare’s time, a great deal of weight was carried by the notion of a natural,
hierarchical order divined from God (Nothof and Thompson, 28). According to
this system, those in power were invested with the divine right to rule, for they
were perceived as chosen by God. From this pinnacle, all others formed part of
the hierarchical structure. The aristocracy had the right to rule over the base of
society. Christians had the right to impose their will upon infidels. Parents
maintained absolute rule over their children. This structure formed the
foundation of order, and order was of the utmost importance to the hegemonic
class as a means of maintaining their position. Thus, light becomes symbolic of
order in many of Shakespeare’s plays.
Darkness, in contrast, represents the negation of these Elizabethan values
through base ugliness, vulgarity, carnality, passion, and chaos. When order is
contravened, darkness fills the vacuum left by the retreating light. Those who
stand in opposition to natural law obstruct the light and cast shadows from
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which chaos breeds. Through imagery of light and darkness, Shakespeare’s
Othello depicts both the Elizabethan sense of order and the damage caused when
this order is disturbed.
The play begins at night and in darkness, for the natural order has already
been disturbed. The reader quickly learns that Othello, a converted Moor and
general of the Venetian forces, has wed Desdemona, the daughter of an
influential senator named Brabantio, without her father’s consent. Iago, who
serves the play as both an embodiment and a catalyst of chaos, informs Brabantio
from the cover of darkness that his daughter is lost to him:
Zounds, sir, y’are robbed! For shame. Put on your gown!
Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul.
Even non, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise! (1.1.83-86)
Thus, Othello, on account of his Arabian complexion, is equated with darkness.
In response to this information arising from the shadows of the street, Brabantio
begs for light:
Strike on the tinder, ho!
Give me a taper! Call up all my people!
This accident is not unlike my dream.
Belief of it oppresses me already.
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Light, I say! Light! (1.1.137-141)
Thus Brabantio seeks relief from the dark disorder that has disrupted his sleep as
he sets off to confront Othello.
In Scene Two of the first act, Iago begins his deception of Othello within
the darkness of night. Shakespeare evokes darkness and the play of shadows
during this scene through the use of torches. Iago informs Othello that Roderigo
has told Brabantio of his marriage to Desdemona. As Othello considers how his
service to the state will overshadow the outrage of the senator, Cassio arrives
with officers bearing torches to convey a summons from the Duke. The Duke
and the order he represents is immediately equated with light as Othello notes
the arrival of Cassio with the words “But look, what lights come yond?” (1.2. 27).
The arrival of these messengers is the first association of the Duke and the Senate
as a source of light against the darkness threatening Venetian order.
Scene Three begins within a council chamber with the stage instructions
indicating that the Duke, Senators and Officers are set at a table with lights.
These dignitaries are in the midst of a dispassionate and rational discussion of
the disposition of the Turk. Through reason, they deduce that the Turkish fleet,
which seems destined for Rhodes, is in fact headed towards Cyprus. Othello is
to be dispatched to prepare the defense of Cyprus, as he is the most seasoned
general at the disposal of the council. Thus, as the scene shifts from the darkness
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and shadows of the night into the light of the council chamber, order and reason
are brought to bear.
However, as Brabantio levels his complaint against the Othello, the mettle
of the Duke and his senators is put to the test. They are swayed by the passion of
Desdemona and by the confidence of Othello to sanctify their marriage, which
defies the natural order in that it is against the wishes of bride’s father, is
interracial and is cross-generational. Furthermore, the Duke allows Desdemona
to accompany Othello to Cyprus as he sets off to battle the infidels. It is this
deviation away from reason towards passion that breeds the chaos and darkness
that is to follow in Cyprus.
If Venice represents the centre of light and order, then Cyprus lies at the
very edge of its influence. Cyprus is at the periphery of civilized society and the
influence of the Duke and his senate. The island represents the frontier where
the battle between light and darkness, order and chaos, and the divine and the
heretical is still being waged. Nothing is certain in Cyprus.
Therefore, when Othello declares that the Turkish fleet has been destroyed
and the night is to be filled with celebration, the potential for bedlam is great.
Within the darkness, drunkenness and disorder of this night in Cyprus, Iago puts
in motion his plan to ensnare Desdemona and destroy Cassio and Othello. This
begins when Iago convinces Cassio to raise a cup to “black Othello” (2.3.30).
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Cassio, who becomes drunk easily, then wreaks havoc by attacking Roderigo and
stabbing the governor of Cyprus, Montano, when he tries to intervene. Bells are
rung and shouts of mutiny are heard amidst the general anarchy of the night.
Upon this scene, Othello arrives.
Othello, as the representative of Venice, should be an example of reason
and order amidst this chaos. However, much is foreshadowed when Othello,
angered by all that has transpired, bellows:
Now, by heaven,
My blood begins my safer guides to rule,
and passion, having my best judgment collied,
Assays to lead the way.(2.3.203-206)
Othello quickly discovers from Iago that Cassio is to blame for the violence of the
night and casts him away, never more to be his officer.
At this stage of the play, Iago fully assumes his role as darkness incarnate.
Though he claims to be seeking revenge against perceived harm done him by
Othello, the character of Iago is really a force of chaos seeking only to staunch all
light and to destroy all order. Iago confirms this in his soliloquy following his
discussion with Cassio about using Desdemona to win back Othello’s favour:
Divinity of hell!
When devils will the blackest sins put on,
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They do suggest at first with heavenly shows, (…)
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all. (2.3.350)
Like many of Iago’s speeches, imagery of darkness is linked to the idea of
corrupting righteousness through malice. Thus, it is clear that Iago seeks the end
of light and the destruction of those who bask in its glow.
As Iago weaves his dark web of deceit, the shadows of doubt begin to
plague the once self-confident Othello. The darkness of Iago’s accusations
become manifest in Othello’s own self-conception: “My name, that was as fresh /
as Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black / as mine own face” (3.3.383-385).
Othello continues to demand proof from Iago as he cannot endure doubt. When
Iago informs Othello that Cassio now possesses the handkerchief given by
Othello to Desdemona, Othello is convinced of Desdemona’s guilt. At this point,
rationality and order are vanquished as Othello becomes obsessed with “black
vengeance” (3.3.444). The imagery of darkness is manifest in Othello’s
description of his purpose as akin to the Pontic or Black Sea, dark and
unyielding. Iago, delighted with how he has poisoned the mind of Othello,
begins to swear service to Othello in enacting his revenge by mocking the order
that he has destroyed as he utters “Witness, you ever-burning lights above”
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(3.3.460). Thus, Iago becomes wed to Othello’s dark purpose as he exclaims “I
am your own forever” (3.3.476). The darkness that has always existed within
Othello has now risen in response to Iago and threatens to overwhelm all that is
noble, rational and light.
Imagery of darkness thus becomes associated with the apparent guilt of
Desdemona. For instance, Desdemona’s handkerchief is referred to as a “raven”
that reveals infection (4.1.21). Desdemona, for her part, is at a loss as to the
reason why she has lost the faith of Ohtello: “by this light of heaven, I know not
how I lost him” (4.1.149-150). When Emilia asks Desdemona if she would ever
cheat on Othello, Desdemona responds “No, by this heavenly light!” (4.3.67).
Emilia replies: “Nor I neither by this heavenly light. / I might do’t as well o’ th’
dark” (4.3.68-69). In this way is Desdemona’s fidelity linked with holy lightness
and adultery is cast as an act of darkness.
Darkness, however, overcomes both goodness and light. As Act Five
begins, Cassio battles Roderigo and both suffer mortal wounds. Cassio calls for
light and surgeon, but Iago is the one who makes an ironic entrance as the bearer
of a light. The light Iago is carrying, however, does not prevent him from
putting an end to Roderigo’s life while feigning ignorance of who he has just
stabbed: “Kill men I’ th’ dark?” (5.1.63). Again, darkness and ignorance prove to
be Iago’s greatest allies.
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In the final scene of the play, light is snuffed out and darkness is made
complete. Othello enters Desdemona’s room with a light. However, he cannot at
first bring himself to “scar that whiter skin of hers than snow” (5.2.4) as he sees
Desdemona sleeping. Thus, he compares Desdemona’s life with the light of his
torch:
Put out the light, and then put out the light
If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,
I can again thy former light restore,
Should I repent me; but once put out thy light,
Thou cunning’st pattern of excelling nature,
I know not where is that Promethean heat
That can thy light relume. (5.2.7-13)
Thus, the light of life, once extinguished, cannot be lit again. Nevertheless,
Othello smothers Desdemona, and with her all light within himself as he utters:
“Methinks it should be now a huge eclipse / Of sun and moon, and that th’
affrighted globe / Should yawn at alteration” (5.2. 98-100). Desdemona arises
once more and claims that nobody but herself is responsible for her death. Thus,
she is shown to be true and the guilt of Othello, which she sought to assuage,
becomes all the more damning. Emilia emphasizes this when she exclaims : “O,
the more angel she, / And you the blacker devil” (5.2.129-130). Therefore, as the
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light of Desdemona’s life is extinguished, so too is the light that once existed
within Othello.
However, in order for Shakespeare’s tragedy to come to an end, order
must be restored. Therefore, Iago is brought before Othello. Othello at first
states that Iago is a devil, but corrects himself as he looks at Iago’s feet which are
not cloven as a devil’s would be. Iago is but a man, and Othello must therefore
bear his own guilt. Othello wounds Iago, who must face the censure of the
authorities. Othello then takes his own life so that justice can prevail and order
be restored. The bed curtains are then closed, and the corpses of Desdemona and
Othello are hidden from sight.
Therefore, Shakespeare’s Othello uses imagery of light and darkness to
develop the idea that deviations within the natural order are answered by chaos.
All that is associated with the maintenance of the natural order is also connected
to images of light. That which offends the natural order is symbolized by
darkness. Thus, the moral disorder of the play is mirrored by the falling of light
into darkness and answered by the ultimate death of Desdemona and Othello in
the final, ecliptically rendered scene.
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Works Cited
Nothof, Anne, and Veronica Thompson. English 212: Poetry and Plays Unit 2:
Plays Study Guide. Athabasca: Athabaska University, 2007.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Penguin, 1998
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