Othello's Final Speech in William Shakespeare's Play

Othello's Final Speech in William Shakespeare's Play

The five screen interpretations where all with the actors playing

Othello as, Welles, Olivier, Hopkins, White and Fishburne. All five

were produced on video format with a contrast of film and stage

presentations. I have decided to focus on the three presentations of,

Olivier, White and Fishburne. The final speech of Othello starts with

Othello near to or cradling the limp lifeless boy of Desdemona after

he has killed her. Iago has been arrested and Emilia is dead. The play

is closing in the traditional Shakespearian way with an explosive and

emotional ending similar to Romeo and Juliet with the loves killing

themselves as a result of misfortune and lies. In the films there is a

mixture of setting and performance styles and some of the Othello's

are "blacked up" as they are of Caucasian natural skin. This speech is

important as it is the culmination of the whole play and all the

issues raised as to the love and mind of "the Moor" are addressed. The

whole last scene, Act 5 Scene 2 is a closing of the tragic and

powerful story. This scene is as important as Act 2 Scene 2 or Act 4

Scene 1 all of which will be reviewed in this essay. The importance of

each theme covered in Othello will also be looked at and I will

investigate its meaning and why it was used as it was by Shakespeare.

As well as this I will also review the context in which specific words

and phrases have a massive impact. As well as film interpretations I

will also look at artistic pieces namely paintings by Colin and

Delacroix of different parts of the scene.

The speech begins with two important words "Soft you...

... middle of paper ...

... raise with Othello lying

over Desdemona and have Lodovico, Gratiano, Cassio and Iago stage

front and when Lodovico draws the curtains the lights will fall and

the last three lines will be delivered in darkness. My Othello would

be one which the critic A.C.Bradley wrote about when he described

Othello in 1904, "From some wonderland", "his own nature is romantic".

This character would play the final speech with much compassion and

with a wistful tone of voice.

Overall I feel the Branagh piece is the most effective as it addresses

more of the themes running through the play and the final movement of

Iago is highly symbolic, resting at the feet of his dead master and

his wife, like the "Spartan Dog" he is described as by Lodovico. The

techniques used were excellently portrayed and executed by the

talented Fishburne.