Shakespeare's Othello Compared To A Square

Othello, a valiant soldier, has a much more complex character underneath the surface of his firm rough exterior. To represent these characteristics, in the form of a colored shape, I chose to compare Othello to a square with a red-orange exterior, contrasted with an ice-blue interior. This figure, while portraying some of the more literal traits of Othello, mainly focuses on his inner emotions, and his circumstances throughout the play.

The square is a shape that not only represents the plays character’s view of Othello but outlines his true inner character. First of al, the geometrical properties of a square support its representing character. The square, having straight rigid edges, appears to be a very strong shape. It’s sides and angle,

are all equal representing a sense of properness and uniformity, almost noble like. These properties represent the outside of Othello’s character extremely well for he’s a “valiant Moore” who comes “From men of royal siege”. He’s from royalty, so his character is supposed to be uniform and proper, just like the congruent sides and angles of a square. Also, the text introduced Othello as an extremely strong, physically capable man. He is described as a warrior whose arms have “Till now some nine moons wasted, have used. Their dearest action in the tented field”. He’s a warrior who has endured battles, sieges, fortunes, slavery. He has witnessed cannibals and “seen men whose heads grew beneath their shoulders”. Clearly, in the text, Othello epitomizes the stereotypical image of extremely physically and mentally strong warrior. His character appears to be rigid and strong, able to withstand external pressure. The shape is viewed in the same light, with straight rigid edges, contributing to a strong appearance (even though in reality it’s not that strong), and congruent angles and shapes, which symbolize Othello’s apparent nobility and sense of properness. The exterior of a square represents the reader’s initial outsider perspective of Othello in the text, however, there is much more to a character than what appears on the outside, which makes the square analogy more much better.

Apart from the similar exteriors, Othello, and a square share similarities interior qualities that make their comparison more complex and more valid.

In contrast to a square’s apparent strong uniform image, it is a considerably weak geometric figure, especially in comparison to shapes such as a triangle or a diamond. If enough pressure is placed on the edge of a square, it doesn’t evenly distribute its weight, usually faltering within seconds. In the same fashion, Othello’s character, although seemingly strong on the outside, falters when pressure is placed on him by Iago, ultimately ending up in a total collapse, Othello’s death. The seemingly week interior, of the warrior, is first introduced through Othello’s insecurities about himself when being made aware of Desdemona’s possible affair. When Iago suggests that Desdemona may be cheating on him, Othello jumps to the conclusions that she has done so because he is black, rough in speech, and older. He specifically states “Haply, for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have, or for I am declined Into the vale of years” when analyzing why Desdemona would ever cheat on him. The viewer can see Othello’s true vulnerability and inner weakness, that makes it so easy for Iago to take advantage of him. This lack of inner fortitude is one of his main character flaws, which makes the comparison between his character and a square true. They are both truly weak on the inside and this leads to further downfall, structural failure. He lets the structural pressure, Iago’s lies about Casio and Desdemona’s affair), cause him to unjustly murder Desdemona and eventually commit suicide, displaying the collapse of Othello’s character. He cannot withstand the idea of Casio and Desdemona having an affair and it causes him to crumble just as a square would crumble if pressure was placed upon it. He transitions from a noble strong leader to a collapsed murderer who commits suicide. He started off as a

rigid strong square, but with a little structural pressure, he crumbles into nothing more than ashes.

Along with Othello’s character crumbling, he is filled with rage during the play, almost as if his persona is lit on fire by Iago’s trickery. That is why the colors of the square, represent the idea of a flame. The outer red-orange of the square is reminiscent of the outer zone of a flame; the least hot area. Othello, similar to the orange-red part of a flame, seems extremely scary and dangerous from an outer perspective, however, he is not as ruthless and fierce (as hot), as he may seem on the inside. This seemingly enraged image of Othello is initially brought about by his former reputation as a ruthless warrior who has endured harsh wars and experiences, but it is contradicted by his true affection for Desdemona and his sympathetic situation. This is especially true when he faces the false accusations of using magic to woo Desdemona by Brabantio. First of all, in this scenario, he’s a victim who is being wrongly accused, which already plays on the emotions of the reader, but he also is able to admit his flaws as a rough man, which evokes even more sympathy from the reader showing another side to him. He is able to recognize his harsh exterior, and that action in itself expresses an aspect of innocence. Although the characters in the text view him as the fierce warrior, the audience is able to see a side of vulnerability. In other words, his apparent fierce character is not as dangerous as many believe him to be, similar to the way the orange part, the luminous zone, of a flame is often considered dangerous and very hot, however, it is actually the part of the flame with the least heat.

Closer to the end of the text, there is a moment when Othello is filled with rage and becomes dangerous, not because of his natural character, but because of Iago’s manipulation. This period of rage and anger is represented by the blue center of the square, representing the inner blue in a flame, the hottest, most dangerous part. Othello’s character goes through this stage where rage and anger cloud his sense of judgment. This is when Iago sparks the idea, that Desdemona is cheating on him. At this moment his character is very dangerous; his actions send up causing serious and permanent damage, the death of Desdemona. This rash murderous persona is seen just prior to the murder also as he plots the death of Desdemona after being convinced she is having an affair. His emotions take over and he is not using his brain when he says “Ay, let her rot and perish and be damned tonight, for she shall not live. No, my heart is turned to stone. I strike it and it hurts my hand.” In an instance, he goes from a loving spouse to a dangerous murderer filled with. He goes out of control and loses his mind. This side of dangerous fury is represented by the interior blue part of the square, the hottest most dangerous destructive part of the flame. This blue part of the flame, symbolic of Othello’s uncontrollable wrath, if provoked, ends up causing the death his wife Desdemona. The blue part of a flame can do great damage in a similar way, burning to anything that enters its presence. The inner blue part of a flame, represented by the blue center of the square, and Othello are both capable of causing devastation, whether it be the death of another or a harmful burn.

Othello’s character has many different sides to him, shown in the play. A square, with a fiery orange-red exterior, and a blue interior, represents various aspects of his character. The square, represents Othello’s exterior rigid image of a strong noble warrior, while also portraying his true inner vulnerability and insecurity. The bright orange-red exterior, the outer part of a flame, also exemplifies this scary outer image of Othello, when in reality he truly is innocent on the inside. Finally, the inner blue circle, the hottest part of a flame shows that capability of destruction that Othello possesses if provoked or manipulated. These concepts added together make up a symbol that conveys Othello’s character’s transition throughout the entire play from a valiant moor to a dead murderer.