Brooklyn High School of the Arts
Othello and Grit
Damon Climer
EES21QH03
Ms. Milliner
January 20th, 2017
Tragedies are common place in literature. They are able to reflect the darker shades of morality, paint a series of unfortunate events, and in some cases, show us the perseverance of man through these hardships. This ability to endure hardship is known as grit, which comes in various forms depending on the person demonstrating it and the mindset they approach conflict with. In Othello there are two rather noteworthy characters who have managed to display grit over the course of the play are the main villain Iago and Othello’s wife Desdemona. On the other side of the spectrum, we have those who have failed to show themselves to be gritty, be it from the beginning or from the second act onward. These two are Roderigo and
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Her grit, however, came in the form of patience. When Othello eventually fell into jealousy as Iago had planned, Desdemona remained ever patient with him. Even as Othello condemns her for misplacing his handkerchief, she stays calm and speaks earnestly and asks many a question, never once lashing out in return. In the final scene of the play, she lies on her deathbed and speaks of her own innocence to her very last breath. Ms. Duckworth as well as Ms. Winkler proposed a question, the question being, “Who among us stays the course, running the race we committed to rather than choosing a different, new pursuit, after stumbling and losing ground?” (Duckworth, Winkler, “True Grit”) Desdemona is that type of person. For all the accusations she has had to put up with over the course of the play of adultery and unfaithfulness, she never once thought of leaving Othello for his outrage and always kept an open ear. Her grit was one of endurance; even in the face of doubt and until her untimely demise she always had faith that her husband would come around and calm himself with
For Shakespeare’s Iago, humans are affected by their emotions - these can be empowering or debilitating. Literature naturally mirrors this and within Othello Iago is empowered by Roderigo’s infatuated debilitation. In Act I Scene III, Roderigo is brought into a deep despair due to his inability to court Desdemona. He proclaims, “I will incontinently drown myself”; the hyperbole represents how much he craves for Desdemona. However, Roderigo is not the focal point; it is in fact Iago who feeds off his vulnerability by manipulating him into fighting with Cassio. This represents Iago’s Machiavellian nature in that he is able to make Roderigo give him money as well as bringing Cassio into a state of fury; this is so he is stripped of his Lieutenant rank and in turn promoting Iago to Lieutenant. This parallels what Iago’s monologue at the very end of Act I Scene III is trying to establish; the foreshadowing of the events that will occur. In a way this does allow for the concept that through Iago’s seeming adversity, he has strengthened his motives. On the other hand, Rodrigo’s adversities have led him down a path of turbulence making
The character Desdemona in William Shakespeare’s play Othello holds on to her dignified behavior until the very end, when her life is taken by her jealous husband, is indicative not only of her chaste mind, but also of her virtuous fortitude. Women of that time were largely seen mostly one of two extremes – either virtuous or licentious. Desdemona’s strength as a virtuous woman are clearly illustrated in two pivotal scenes in Shakespeare’s play: in her poise when confronted with her husband’s collapse of his gentlemanly facade; and in the dignified way she faces her own demise head-on, feeble on affirmations, yet overflowing with grace.
She never truly changes, even after all of the hardships that she faces throughout. Her final words illustrate how powerful and loyal she was. She says to Emilia, “Nobody; I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. O farewell” (V, ii, 125-6). Before saying this, Othello strangled and tried to kill Desdemona. He thought that she was dead, but just as Emilia came in, Desdemona said her last few words. Emilia asked her what happened and who had done this to her. And in response, Desdemona said that quote above. Although Othello was the one who killed her, she did not want to expose her husband. She remained loyal to him even after all of the terrible things that he did to her. Desdemona never said anything negative about Othello throughout the play, and did not use animal imagery once. Although not every character was evil, the ones who used animal imagery were truly separated from those who never used
These behaviours allude towards tension due to their dissimilarity to the accustomed conduct of Othello and Desdemona. Desdemona’s growing fear of Othello is evident. in the precautions she takes to avoid his anger. Desdemona places the importance of Othello’s commands above her need to confide in Emilia.... ...
In Greek, Desdemona means ‘the unfortunate’, perhaps reflecting an ideology that she is not meant to be liked, merely pitied for her misfortune as a tragic victim (commonly defined as someone who dies due to the faults of others). Throughout Othello, Desdemona is presented as pure and innocent – in regards to this, Auden’s comment is unusual as Desdemona is seldom criticised; indeed many critics are complementary, giving her titles such as ‘gentle Desdemona’.
However, despite her initial defiance, she appears to completely accept her role as subordinate and obedient wife once married. Built upon Renaissance beliefs and according to Elizabethan and Shakespearian society, women were expected to be chaste, loyal and obedient to men. Throughout the tragedy, Desdemona remains loyal and loving to Othello, despite his abusive, harsh and judgemental treatment as the play progresses. In act 4 Desdemona refers to herself as ‘your wife [...] your loyal wife’ the repetition of the possessive pronoun highlights the idea that she belongs to Othello and all her loyalties lie with him. Even till her death she remains faithful despite him murdering her.
One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers. From the beginning Othello is noble, quick to act, judicious, trusting, and gives much weight to the importance of duty. These are all traits that serve to make him great at the beginning of the play, and later, ironically become key elements in his downfall. These aspects can be considered the internal causes of Othello’s tragic flaw. “Othello's nature is all of one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute…. Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood.” Othello is pure an...
... the character Iago. Revenge is also a flaw that most people wish to inflict upon others and have to deal with at one time or another in their lives. It is also one that many people are able to connect to, as they have either been seeking payback or have been avenged. Due to these flaws, a strong connection between today’s society and the well-known character of Iago exists. These humanlike qualities in Iago give to him an appeal to modern-day society. The Othello characters Othello and Iago have many flaws that make them seem even more realistic. Shakespeare incorporated flaws into his characters, allowing for more truth to be seen in them and as a result, there is a wider public appeal. The modern world is still able to connect to Shakespearean literature; (omit) it can be deduced that characters with flaws have more of an influence on society than those without.
The death of Desdemona is a result of the lies and manipulation of Othello and Cassio by Iago. Through his suggestion to Cassio, Iago can now be certain that Cassio will entreat Desdemona to petition for him with Othello. Cassio does implore Desdemona and she responds, “Be thou assured, good Cassio, I will do all my abilities in thy behalf” (Act III Scene III). Iago manages to obtain the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona that had strawberry patterns on it from Bianca.
Because of Othello, the character starts to trust it's all valid and showcases a bigot generalization—that of a "savage" executioner. We meet two folks at an opportune time: Iago and Roderigo. Iago, who's been taking money from Roderigo in some kind of "course of action," is steamed at "the Moor," Othello, our deplorable legend.
As they get closer, you can see the tension growing in the kiss, symbolizing the rising action of the play with Othello’s growing unease. With the eyes open, you see the two of them regarding each other, Othello with suspicion and Desdemona with confusion, trying to work out what is wrong with Othello. By the end of the kiss, Desdemona desperately squeezes her eyes shut, trying to appease to Othello on last time and stop him from harming her, but from Othello’s wide, unwavering eyes, you can see his decision of killing Desdemona has been made and he will not back down from it. Another actor’s choice is when Desdemona strokes Othello’s face as she is dying from him smothering her. Through this action, it is shown that despite his wanting to kill her, she still loves him.
Othello start talking to you and ask her that, have you be think your crime, Desdemona was totally lose what crime I have not done any crime. Othello ask Desdemona about the handkerchief that you give the handkerchief to Cassio she said no but he does not listen to her. Othello said you have to die today, Desdemona said no please let me live this night and kill me tomorrow. But Othello kills her.
Even on her death bed, Desdemona’s character of an inanimate object belonging to Othello is carried on. It is lead on by Emilia’s question of “who hath done this deed” (5.2.137) referring to Desdemona’s death and her reply, “Nobody. I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. Oh, farewell!”(5.2.138-139), overall putting the responsibility of her death upon herself. Leaving the readers impression of Desdemona as one filled with sympathy and rage against her unwillingness to fight her independence as well as against the men of this time period for not realizing the importance of such a woman.
Othello starts the play respecting Desdemona, but is so easily swayed by Iago to believe that “[Desdemona is] a whore” that his decency toward and respect for her drops drastically as the play continues (III, iii, 410). By the end of the play, he simply sees her as an obstacle keeping him from living with sanity that he kills her just so that he doesn’t have to think about her anymore. Iago uses Emilia in his plot to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief, making it his
In Shakespeare’s Othello, the main characters, Othello, Desdemona, and Iago all carry unique and dominant personality traits that define their fate throughout the play. Othello, the main character in the play, is a very respected character from his background of defending Venice. His main characteristic of jealously overtakes his stellar reputation. Desdemona, also known as Othello’s wife and daughter of the Venetian Senator, Brabantio, is very devoted and honest with her new husband.