The playwright frequently explores the theme of opposition, from the binary opposites such as black and white to the opposites of war such as Venice and Turkey. The wars between Venice and Turkey commenced at the end of the sixteenth century. Cyprus is the setting for every act excluding the first, and Cyprus was attacked and conquered by Turkey in the early 1570’s. Shakespeare used this setting as it allowed the plot to intertwine and develop into a tragedy. Another reason in which there is a war is to show Othello’s importance to Venice as a general. This is shown when Cassio says to Othello “he requires your haste-post-haste appearance, even on the instance”. This shows that Othello is a crucial figure in the war against Turkey and his presence is sought after.
Another form of opposition is the opposition of love and duty. During the Elizabethan/Jacobean time, the role of women was strictly to serve and obey their fathers until their marriage, in which they should then serve and obey their husbands. This was seen as their duty. In Act 1, Scene 3, Desdemona outlines this when she explains that she has a “divided duty” between her father and her husband; simply, she has to obey her father from birth, but now her marriage to Othello means she must obey her husband’s wishes also.
Desdemona supports this when she says to her father that “so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess due to the Moor my lord”. Desdemona’s mother chose Brabantio before her own father; therefore Desdemona protests that she should be allowed to do the same.
During this conversation, Brabantio and Desdemona fail to mention love even once, and this outlines the opposition in this play between love and duty. Desdemona consistently explains that she has a duty to both her father and Othello, but does not attempt to justify her marriage to Othello by her love for him. Desdemona uses phrases such as “my lord” to describe Othello as the male head of the house, rather than “my love”. The irony is that before Desdemona arrives, Othello explains that her father “loved me, oft invited me, still questioned me the story of my life” and this is the reason why Desdemona falls for Othello.
“She loved me for the dangers I had passed
And I loved her that she did pity them”
It is also interesting that Othello mentions his and Desdemona’s love for each other, yet Desdemona only describes her duty towards him. This may be the opposition between societies, as Othello expresses his feelings with love, while Desdemona has been brought up to be obedient and dutiful. The Elizabethan/Jacobean audience will agree with the fact that Desdemona must obey her husband now as this would be familiar in their own society; however the fact that Desdemona married a black man means this marriage will not approved of.
There has always been a large amount of discrimination between the races, however during this era, there was immense racial tension. The blacks were seen as nothing but slaves and amusement for the white people, who counted themselves as superior to any other race. This is why the Elizabethan/Jacobean audience would find it very difficult to accept the marriage between a white woman and black man.
The relationship between Othello and Desdemona is used by Shakespeare to show the opposition between the black and white. In Act 1, the discovery of Desdemona’s marriage to Othello offends a number of people, and results in many racist comments being made about Othello. For example, Iago conveys Othello and Desdemona’s marriage as “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe!” This use of animal imagery, a black ram, shows the racism towards Othello. Iago continues to make many more racist comments in order to turn Brabantio against Othello.
“I am one, sir that comes to tell you your daughters
And the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.”
This is another use of animal imagery showing that in that society the black race are degraded to the form of animals. The word “Moor”, short for “blackamoor” is also another racist term used by Iago. The fact that Iago is using such words to describe his general behind his back significantly shows to the Jacobean/Elizabethan audience that Iago is the deceiving character.
The opposition between honesty and deception is another which is very frequent in the play, and is mainly outlined by the character of Iago. He is only helping Roderigo, as he knows he can manipulate him rid of his money. This is shown in Act 1, Scene 3 when Iago remarks that Roderigo should “Put money in thy purse”. This is repeated eleven times in this scene, which shows Iago’s insisten voice showing what he really wants from the alliance.
Othello on the other hand appears to be a very honest and trustworthy man, however the dramatic irony comes when Othello says “my ancient; a man he is of honest and trust”. This is clearly not the case, as his ancient, Iago, is secret plotting against him and will later cause his downfall.
Overall in the opening act of ‘Othello’, the dramatic significance of Act 1 is the building up of the characters, suggesting what may lead to the downfall of the protagonist, Othello. The Elizabethan/Jacobean audience will know that this is a tragedy, and will expect this plot to develop quickly and dramatically. The playwright has used several techniques in order to build up the audiences views of the characters, such as the first scene when Iago and Roderigo are shown arguing, to the next few scenes in which Iago pretends to be on Othello’s side after exposing his secret marriage. The oppositions in the play work very effectively to not only build up the plot and drama, but also to establish the characters, as the honest can be seen in Othello, which the deception is portrayed in Iago.
