Violence In Othello

Through the reading several connections were made, by way of examples, of how Shakespeare used violence to add to the mood or idea he wanted to bring to his audience. In reviewing Shakespeare’s work, are we can find that at one time or another the use of warfare, murder, suicide, rape, mutilation, and or canabolism were all used as a main ideas. The trouble is that while we can only speculate the reasons from the use of this violence, we will never know the full purpose Shakespeare had in mind when writing. There are, however, several conclusions to be pondered. One ideas is that Shakespeare was simply writing to fit the attitudes of his time. People of his time thought of woman and the poor as less than, so Shakespeare wrote them as such. He could take the idea of stereotypical behaviors, and play them to extreme measures. Another conclusion is that he would use violence as a form of empowerment of the weak, against the strong, in the way of political violence and intolerance.

“Shakespeare did not seem to be "addicted" to violence. Rather, he observes in Shakespeare a gradual decline of violence for its own sake and an increasing tendency to equate violence with disorder and tyrannical behavior”
To take these principles as they were, and use them to view Othello, we can see how the stereotypical display of race and place is portrayed.

Desdemona could do very little to clear her name, as Iago, being a man had lied against her and said that she was unfaithful. It was not until Othello heard it from Cassio in the end, did Othello believe her innocence. It was as if her word as a woman, even his wife, meant nothing. Of Course in the end we see the act of suicide when Othello takes his own life after realizing he is a murder. In the first act of Othello we read about how he was sent off to battle with the Turks, but nothing of the bloody encounter. Othello returns as a hero and praised for this great act. It was interesting that even though Othello was indeed a murder, he was seen as a victim of circumstance. Some of my fellow students shared how it was his truly his own undoing, that he did not make himself more aware of his surroundings. Instead he blindly chose to believe

Iago.
Titus, being one of Shakespeare's bloodiest plays, it is easy to find examples of the violence. The idea of murder, mutilation, rape, and cannibalism is most evident. The reason as to how or why Shakespeare developed this plot line is again left to speculation. It has been said by some that it may have come from events concerning the Roman Empire or perhaps the Greeks. Perhaps still it was a combination of many bloody hateful events Shakespeare was hearing of and pooled all this ideas together to form the plot line for Titus. While it was indeed his bloodiest play, it was very popular in its time, losing popularity over time then due to the same graphic violence that once made it so popular. While we, in general, see Othello as a character of circumstance, Titus was well aware of his evil choices and is, to me, the clearly one of the villains of the piece. If to compare, Iago and Titus are more alike than Titus and Othello.

Shakespeare, William, Stanley Wells, and Gary Taylor. The Complete Works. Oxford: Clarendon, 2005. Print.

"Violence in Shakespear's Works" Shakespearean Criticism Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 43. Gale Cengage 1999 eNotes.com 9 Dec, 2016