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Megan Cook
Susan Chambers
ENC 3334
13 July 2012
Human Nature: Wise vs. Animalistic, as seen in Othello
Tragedies are amongst the oldest and most quintessential of all genres of storytelling.
They tend to follow a specific plot-line and many of the protagonists share traits that label them
as the “tragic hero”. These traits (jealousy, anger, etc.) act as the incitement of their collapse,
either physically or emotionally, throughout the story. Tragedies also almost always share one
thing: a tragic end, usually resulting from the death of this hero. Oftentimes people wonder why
human beings have always been drawn to this type of literature. The stories are generally not
uplifting and characters that audiences grow attached to meet their demise in devastating ways.
However, readers throughout time are continuously drawn to tragedies because they relate to the
bare-bones of human nature. Tragedies cite the best and worst of human existence; they pay
tribute to the fact that all humans are imperfect beings capable of destruction and desperation.
For example, William Shakespeare’s Othello is a prime example of a classic tragic storyline.
Shakespeare documents Othello’s undoing in a way that does not seem too sudden or
unexpected, even relatable. Even though the play often seems too dramatic, with many theatrical
deaths and surprising twists, viewers have been so drawn to it for hundreds of years because of
its ability to relate to something inside all people: a bestial core that makes humans no different
than the other creatures with which they share the earth.
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At the beginning of Othello, the protagonist is introduced as understanding and levelheaded. Although Othello understands that his position in Venice is important and that he has
been crucial to the safety of the city, he also realized that his ethnicity posed problems with
others. In Act I, audiences immediately see the prejudice that Othello faces when his wife
Desdemona’s father, Brabanzio, finds out about Desdemona and Othello’s elopement. Brabanzio
makes racial slurs towards Othello, claiming that the only way he could have gotten Desdemona
to agree to marriage is if he had somehow casted spells and used magic to coax her into a
relationship. In one of Brabanzio’s first monologues, he explains in despair:
O thou soul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter?
Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her,
For I’ll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy curled darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, t’incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou-- to fear, not to delight (1.2. 63-72)
Even after audiences are able to ascertain Brabanzio’s feelings toward Othello (and, one
could interpret, the similar feelings of many citizens at the time), it is clear that Othello seems to
be above the judgement; he is confident in his abilities and in his choices. Othello speaks
poetically and slowly, choosing his words carefully. He is also modest but understands his
importance to the citizens of Venice. It is obvious that Shakespeare wanted to characterize
Othello in a certain way by making him almost inhumanly “put-together”. He seems to be such
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an upright citizen that his, in a way, seems too good to be true. How can someone such as
Othello, who deserves so much respect but receives relatively little from important people in his
life such as Brabanzio, be so calm and slow to anger? An example of Othello’s personality at the
beginning of the play can be shown in Act 1, Scene 2; after Iago tries to convince Othello that
Brabanzio will try to ruin his and Desdemona’s marriage, Othello responds coolly:
Let him do his spite.
My services which I have done the signory
Shall out-tongue his complaints. ‘Tis yet to know -Which, when I know that boasting is an honour,
I shall promulgate-- I fetch my life and being
From men of royal siege, and my demerits
May speak unbonneted to as proud a fortune
As this that I have reached. For know, Iago,
But that I love the gentle Desdemona
I would not my unhoused free condition
Put into circumscription and confine
For the seas’ worth (1.2. 17-28)
At this point in the play, Othello is so sanguine that even though he is threatened with the
annulment of his marriage he acts in confidence, proud of the work he has done for his country
and unperturbed by the thought of someone ruining that for him. He expresses that his love for
Desdemona conquers all things that could potentially cause him distress. This definitive decision
to make Othello this “perfect specimen” of human wisdom and attentiveness seems to take up a
greater meaning once the play progresses. As the actions of the plot develop and Iago’s plan to
basically ruin Othello’s life unfolds, it is clear that Shakespeare wanted viewers to see a palpable
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change in Othello’s character. Readers are on Othello’s side, but they realize that his demeanor
seems too good to be true. This set level of character allows spectators to track his character arc
from the very first extreme to the very last.
One of the first examples of Othello’s descent from this “perfection” in his character is in
Act 3, Scene 3 when Othello first shows signs of a jealousy that is clouding his thoughts and
ruining his judgement. While speaking with Iago, Othello is desperate for information regarding
Desdemona’s supposed shady actions and he grills Iago for more details. In distress, he begs
Iago :
I heard thee say even now thou liked’st not that,
When Cassio left my wife. What didst not like? And when I told thee he was of my counsel
In my whole course of wooing, thou cried’st ‘Indeed?’
And didst contract and purse thy brow together
As if thou then hadst shut up in thy brain
Some horrible conceit. If thou dost love me,
Show me thy thought. (3.3. 113-120)
At this point, Othello has not done anything drastic, but the unravelling of his emotions is
starting to show. He expresses a jealousy that was not seen in aforementioned passages and his
skepticism is unlike the paragon of self-control that he once demonstrated. Audiences are more
likely to empathize with this version of Othello because he displays characteristics that everyone
is familiar with: the inability to hide his insecurities, the frustration he feels, etc. It feels natural
that Shakespeare would use this version of Othello as a kind of bridge between the “perfect” and
“imperfect” versions.
Towards the end of the play, it is clear that Othello’s distrust and insecurities have
reached an all-time low. He acts in brutish ways; Iago’s mind games have gotten to him
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successfully and are beginning to destroy him. When he confronts Desdemona for supposedly
having an affair with Cassio, one can tell the hopelessness and anguish in his voice as he shouts
“By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in’s hand. / O perjured woman! Thou dost stone my heart, /
And makes me call what I intend to do / A murder, which I thought a sacrifice. / I saw the
handkerchief” (5.2. 67-71). Watching this scene, or even just reading it, one is clearly able to
hear the agony in Othello’s voice. It almost sounds as if he does not even believe his own words,
as if he is trying to convince himself, even in that last moment, that what he is doing is
warrented. His newfound monstrous tendencies have taken over; he acts like a primitive human,
justifying the killing of his wife as a sacrifice that needs to be made. Right after this, he proceeds
to smother Desdemona, truly demonstrating how far he has fallen from human decency
throughout the story. Even though Othello’s actions at the end of the play seem melodramatic,
Shakespeare is able to convey the change as natural, though indeed extremely jarring. The death
of Desdemona, and then Othello himself, represents this natural progression from grace to a
certain level of wickedness.
It could be said that Othello’s downward fall actually makes him a more believable
character. Shakespeare documents this regression as Othello becoming more and more
animalistic; reverting almost back to a state of the barbarism of an early human, victim to his
own emotions and unable to overcome his instincts. One of the major themes in Othello is this
“fall from grace” by the main character who was introduced as this sort of perfect man, i.e. an
“Adam”-type character, in the biblical sense. If Shakespeare is the “God” in his own creation
story of this fictional literary universe, then in Othello, Iago acts as the “fallen angel” and makes
it his mission to deceive and pressure Othello into retreating from the happiness he once knew to
a more carnal, bestial creature. Going along with this biblical motif, Desdemona herself would
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be the Eve character, acting as a sort of catalyst for the downward spiral of events that unfold
because of the actions presented by Iago.
Shakespeare realized that even though the chain of events in Othello seem extremely
dramatized and even unlikely at times, it is actually a simple re-telling of the first tragedy the
world has ever known. Human beings are able to connect with this story, or similar tragedies,
because everyone has their own “fall from grace”, be it from the beginning of time or through
actions in their own lives. Othello’s transition is written in a seemingly organic way, from birth
to tragic death, outlining the circle of life that all humans are able to understand.