Act Three Scene Three is a key scene in portraying the huge change in Othello’s character, at the start of the play his character is one of high standards and is respected by many of the other characters, ‘for I have served him, and the man commands like a full soldier’ (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 35-36). His leadership skills as general of the Venetian army are widely respected. The audience witnesses his ability to handle a situation calmly under pressure; this is revealed when he is accused of witchcraft to ‘lure’ Desdemona by Brabantio. His reaction then was of a man confident in his speech, ‘keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them’ (Act One, Scene 2, line 25). Throughout the beginning of the play many of Othello’s good qualities are illustrated, through his actions, his eloquent and beautiful speech and through several other characters.
Othello is widely respected by many characters in the play, although there are characters who detest him. Roderigo’s jealousy that he has lost out to Othello over Desdemona’s love leads him into Iago’s evil plot. Another character who hates Othello is obviously the cruel cold blooded Iago, it is this character that corrupts the mind of the moor in Act 3 Scene 3, so well that near the end of the scene Othello tells him, ‘O blood, blood, blood!’ (Act 3, Scene 3, line 448) portraying the scenes importance and effectiveness. Iago tells Roderigo that he hates the moor because he chose Michael Cassio as his lieutenant and overlooked him. ‘I know my price I am worth no worse a place’ (Act One, Scene One, line 11) this seems to be the chief motive for his vindictiveness. His anger is that of a man who has been down-graded, and whose career is blocked for lack of paper qualifications. It is, one recognizes, an understandable reaction; but it provokes revenge out of all proportion.
Another motive follows fast upon the exposition of this reasonable disappointment, but this one is wholly irrational: Iago hates Othello because he is black, illustrating the racist views of Venetians in the 16th Century. In the presence of the general, Iago appears loyal and respectful; behind his back he loses no opportunity to abuse or diminish him, usually his abuse is of racial nature, ‘you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse’ (Act One, Scene One, lines 111-112). Iago is the reason of the play’s tragedy; Shakespeare skilfully uses this character to set a platform for all the tragic events that occur in the play. In Act 3 Scene 3 Iago accomplishes his main goal, his knowledge of Othello’s weaknesses and his manipulative skills lead to the corruption of the moors mind and his pledge to Iago that neither Cassio nor Desdemona will live-adding to the importance and effectiveness of the scene.
Despite all his positive attributes, Othello does have his flaws-exploited to great depths by his ancient, Iago. One of the themes in the play was jealousy, which is repeatedly mentioned in the play. ‘It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on’ (Act Three, Scene Three, lines 164-165). It is jealousy that brings about the change in Othello’s behaviour as the play progresses; another of his weaknesses seems to be that he is close-minded and too quick to believing Iago’s word; a gullible character that proves to be easy prey for Iago.
This act represents the beginning of Othello's giving up language; until this point in the play, Othello has spoken with beautiful images, convincing speechifying, and used his language to express the eloquence and beauty in his soul. From this point forward, notice how Othello's use of imagery and story become less and less frequent, and how he begins to rely upon Iago for speech and explanation. And just as language is the power with which Othello was able to persuade Desdemona, his loss of it is a resignation of this power that attracted her to him. In Act Three Scene Three, he is reduced to a inarticulate blubbering mess, this is evident in his soliloquies, he begins to break down emotionally, he even results to saying things like: ‘haply for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation’ (Act Three, Scene Three, lines 260-261) Othello believes that his wife has been unfaithful because he is black, rude of speech and because he is old. The influence Iago has on him is so great that Othello even starts to speak and think like Iago, using animal imagery to describe women, ‘O curse of marriage, that we can call these delicate creatures ours and not their appetites!’(Act Three, Scene Three, lines 265-267) ‘were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys’(Act Three, Scene Three, line 400). The immense change in Othello, whom in many senses is the hero of the play, shows very clearly the importance and effectiveness of Act Three Scene Three.
The change in Othello’s character is so great that several other characters are taken aback by his rash actions and behaviour. His aggression rises and it is at the end of Act Three Scene Three that he is now possessed by Iago, they make an alliance with each other, ‘I am your own for ever’ (Act Three, Scene Three, line 476) once again clearly illustrating the importance and effectiveness of this scene.
The audience is surprised at the huge change in the moors character, prior to this scene they had seen nothing but his good attributes. They would have been surprised at his vulnerability; the ease at which Iago was able to change Othello is a great tragedy. The change in Othello’s character is so immense that even he acknowledges it later on in the play, ‘That’s he that was Othello: here I am’ (Act Five, Scene Two, line 281).
Although there will be tragic events at the end of the play, the real tragedy is the destruction of Othello by Iago. He is slowly losing his nobility and coming down to Iago’s level. Evil is corrupting his mind and his actions, and Iago’s words will make Othello an instrument of evil, just as Roderigo and Cassio had been used before.
At the start of Act Three Scene Three Iago is the less powerful character of the two, we can tell this because he has yet to start his true attack on the moor, but he wastes no time to start pouring poison down Othello’s neck. ‘Cassio, my lord? No sure, I cannot think it that he would sneak away so guilty-like, seeing you coming’ he weighs every word very carefully and skilfully. As the scene progresses Iago rises in stature, and he starts to attack Othello from every direction, supplying him with the ‘ocular proof’ he demanded. ‘….Such a handkerchief did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with’. When Iago talks about the relationship between Desdemona and Cassio, he deliberately puts up a poor defence that could not possibly be true, and therefore by Othello thinking how this is impossible, he believes he is thinking for himself. An example of this is where he says, 'Or to be naked in bed and not meaning any harm,' which is obviously an impossibility and therefore intentionally weak excuse.
It is ironic that many of the characters who call Iago, ‘honest Iago’ are the characters he destroys in his path for revenge. During the play we learn that Iago is a racist, from the very start of the play he makes racist remarks behind the general’s back, ‘you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse’. Another motive for his hatred to Othello is because he is black. In the presence of his general, Iago appears loyal and respectful: behind Othello’s back he loses no opportunity to abuse and diminish him. This is the reaction of one who, because he feels himself to be inferior, tries to reduce everyone to his own level. Frequently in conversation Iago shows this ‘reductive’ tendency, sneering at Roderigo’s passions, abusing women-even the most beautiful and virtuous are good only ‘ To suckle fools, and chronicle small beer’-and casting doubt on the integrity and competence of his superiors (slandering Cassio for drunkenness, and suggesting that Othello is a regular abuser of his wife). But in my view the best description of the character is his own observation when referring to Cassio, he remarks: ‘he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly’ and Iago is ugly; in the proverbial saying, he is ‘ugly as sin’. The conception that white/black=good/evil is confounded in Iago, than whom no one can be more opposed to Othello.
Iago is artful, and has studied human nature deeply. He knows that of all the torments which afflict the mind of man (and far beyond bodily torture), the pains of jealousy are the most intolerable, and have the sorest sting. If he could succeed in making Othello jealous of Cassio, he thinks it would be an exquisite revenge, and may end in the death of Cassio or Othello, or both; he does not care. After Iago has built up tension in Othello, he then uses the words ‘jealousy’ and ‘cuckolded’ to bring out a reaction from Othello to prove that he is breaking under all of his insecurities. Iago then says, ‘it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on’ Othello responds by saying weakly, ‘O misery’. He tries to dismiss the thought that he could be jealous, and asks Iago for proof. Iago then tells him to study his wife with Cassio and reminds Othello that, ‘she did deceive her father, marrying you,’ Iago twists good into evil, implying that she could deceive Othello also. Iago ends this speech by confessing his love for Othello and asking him to forgive him for loving him too much. Othello says, ‘I am bound to thee forever,’ as if Iago has replaced Othello’s relationship with Desdemona with an evil union. During these parts, Iago would be giving Othello great amounts of , maybe even too much - sympathy and seem very affectionate towards him. Othello would be speaking in a very depressed and exasperated way, using a lot of effort to speak.
Although the plots of Shakespeare's plays are specific, the motivations of the characters - as well as of Shakespeare himself - have been the source of much debate. Arguments continue over interpretations of Shakespeare's intentions in part because his plays remain so profoundly relevant. At the end of the play, there are many unanswered questions, but the main one being: who is to blame for the tragic events? Based on the evidence put forward to them throughout the play, the audience each makes up their own minds-illustrating Shakespeare’s skill as a play writer. Shakespeare has based Iago’s character around the racist and sexist 16th century Venetians. His thoughts are in parallel to those of other men at that time, the belief that woman should be seen as sex icons and that blacks are mysterious and strange. It is of course this character that brings about the change in Othello’s character leading to the demise of several characters, remembering of course that the main reason behind Iago’s hatred towards Othello is due to the fact that Othello overlooked him as his lieutenant. Some people could argue that Iago is a psychopath; I would disagree with this because in many senses he does have a reason to be angry at not being appointed lieutenant, yet his actions were to say the least illogical. In the 16th century blacks were seen as odd, yet Shakespeare courageously breaks the stereotype. Yet despite having many fine qualities, it is his poorer attributes that lead him to murder. His gullibility made him easy prey for the evil Iago, whom had been plotting against him from the start of the play. It is in Act Three Scene Three where Iago takes full control of the once noble, loving and proud moor, reducing him to his own level of corruption. It is also arguable that had Othello withstood the lies coming from his ancients mouth, the tragedy would not have happened-but I believe that Shakespeare intended to make Othello vulnerable to show the result of his position in society, it’s because of the racism that was present at the time that Othello was made to feel insecure, the evidence for this is when Othello speaks in his soliloquy weighing up the reason behind Desdemona’s supposed betrayal. ‘Haply for I am black’ (Act Three, Scene Three, line 260) which as the audience knows is untrue but it is because of the racism in society that he came to the conclusion that his wife was having an affair with Michael Cassio. In my view Shakespeare intended to show the audience the result of racism, using Iago as his source of evidence. Despite Othello’s gullibility and close-minded approach I believe he is trying to show that Othello was meant to feel insecurity as a result of the racism that was around at the time.
Shakespeare uses many themes to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of Act Three Scene Three. Appearance vs. reality: Especially relevant to the issue of Iago's character; for although he is called "honest" by almost everyone in the play, he is treacherous, deceitful, and manipulative. Also applies to Desdemona, as Othello believes that she is deceitful and impure, although she is really blameless and innocent. Race: Race is an extremely important theme; it has a great amount of influence on how people regard Othello‹for those who distrust black people merely on looks never like Othello, like Iago. Race also determines how Othello perceives himself as a rough outsider, though he is nothing of the sort. Othello's race sets him apart, and makes him very self-conscious; it makes him work hard and look carefully after his reputation, so he is regarded as equal to the white people that surround him. Pride: Especially important with regards to Othello; Othello is defensively proud of himself and his achievements, and especially proud of the honorable appearance he presents. The allegations of Desdemona's affair hurt his pride even more than they inflame his vanity and jealousy; he wants to appear powerful, accomplished, and moral at every possible instance, and when this is almost denied to him, his wounded pride becomes especially powerful. Order vs. chaos: As Othello begins to abandon reason and language, chaos takes over. His world begins to be ruled by chaotic emotions and very shady allegations, with order pushed to one side. This chaos rushes him into tragedy, and once Othello has sunk into it, he is unable to stop his fate from taking him over. Self-knowledge: Othello's lack of self-knowledge makes him easy prey for Iago. Once Iago inflames Othello's jealousy and gets the darker aspects of Othello's nature into action, there is nothing Othello can do to stop it, since he cannot even admit that he has these darker traits. Honesty: Although the word "honest" is usually used in an ironic way throughout the text, most characters in the play go through a crisis of learning who and who not to trust. Most of them, unfortunately, trust in Iago's honesty; this leads to the downfall of many characters, as this trust in Iago's "honesty" became a crucial contributor to their undoing. Misrepresentation: This also allows Iago to gain trust and manipulate other people; misrepresentation means that Iago is able to appear to be "honest," in order to deceive and misdirect people. Othello also misrepresents himself, as being simple and plain-spoken; this is not for deceptive effect, but also is used to present an image of himself which is not exactly the truth. Good vs. Evil: Though there is much gray area between these two, Iago's battle against Othello and Cassio certainly counts as an embodiment of this theme. Iago and his evil battle to corrupt and turn the flawed natures of other characters, and he does succeed to some extent. By the end of the play, neither has won, as Desdemona and Emilia are both dead, and Iago revealed and punished.
Shakespeare uses certain ironies in the play, where he seems to be saying something to a person, but in fact is saying something completely different and evil. An example of this is in Act Three, Scene Three, where Othello says to Iago, 'I am bound to thee forever.' When Othello says this, he means how he is indebted to Iago, but the hidden, ironic meaning is that Othello is now the property of Iago, and will not escape his evil grip until death. These sorts of ironies again bring out the idea of the villains talking in riddles, which get passed on to Othello. This whole idea I think is showing how evil is so powerful that once it has you, there is no escape. Dramatic irony is used throughout the play, ‘men should be what they seem’ yet Iago not as he appears, he is the biggest hypocrite. Desdemona's choice of words to describe Cassio is unfortunate; she calls him a "suitor," not meaning it in a romantic sense, although Othello could certainly take it that way. Desdemona binds her reputation to Cassio's in an unfortunate way; she says that if Cassio is wrong, "I have no judgment in an honest face". Of course Desdemona means well, but she gambles too much on another person's honour. When Iago warns Othello of jealousy, dramatic irony is taking place: ’O beware my lord of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on.’ What Othello should be wary of is the monster Iago, who is feeding on Othello’s dark side, bringing it to the surface by his innuendos.
William Shakespeare uses a few dramatic devices as to structure and to keep Iago’s plan going at full flow, the handkerchief proves critical in Iago’s attack on Othello, it was the piece of evidence that Iago lacked to ensure that his plan worked. He had, at the time, yet to convince the moor that Cassio was ‘topping’ Desdemona. So the timing of Desdemona dropping her handkerchief was her downfall and Iago’s ‘ocular proof’ to Othello, he would finally unleash the ‘green-eyed monster’ within Othello. But the question that needs to be asked is: was it just Iago’s luck, that he was given the handkerchief at such a delicate time, aiding him greatly in his bid to prove to Othello that Cassio was having an affair with his wife. Or was it just brilliance by Shakespeare, upon realizing that there not many options for Iago to put forward as clear evidence, yet he adopted the plan to make the handkerchief as some kind of sign or symbol to show Othello and Desdemona’s unity and would therefore if, as it did, fall into Iago’s hands he would do the opposite and destroy their unity. In lines 460+ Iago continues to kneel down as if in the act of a wedding proposal, signifying the bond between Othello and himself. He has replaced Desdemona and become the closest person to Othello. Othello calls the honorable Desdemona a, ‘fair devil’ and a ‘lewd minx’. Iago’s final line is, ’I am your own forever’. This is implying that Othello’s newly founded evil spirit has married another. This is an evil parody of Othello’s natural bond with Desdemona, this being a clear example of the dramatic devices used by Shakespeare.
In Act Three Scene Three, the audience witnesses the relentless insistence, subtlety and opportunism of Iago as he takes advantage of the trust Othello has placed in him. At first, planting the seeds of doubt in the moor’s mind, Iago brilliantly adopts the role of concerned friend, reluctantly divulging others deceit. He withholds information pricking Othello’s curiosity, and plays shrewdly on Othello’s feelings. Left to himself, Othello turns Iago’s insinuations and suggestions into unpalatable reality. Though he talks of proof before he can act, Iago requires only to mention the treasured handkerchief, and to invent a story about Cassio dreaming of making love to Desdemona, before Othello is convinced beyond recall.
It is in Act Three, Scene where Iago starts to divulge his malicious plan. It makes Othello react, in a manner that he usually does not. Othello has many qualities that contribute to his overall worth; one being his trustfulness. At this point in time, Othello says that Iago is a man of honour and trust, and therefore has no reason not to distrust him. Many times Othello does not see the fake and malicious acts of Iago, this is done to extend the play and also add to Othello's tragic flaws. Othello trusts too easily, he is used to dealing with military people and on the battle field, a place where you put your life in the hands of others trust is very important. Iago’s reputation on the battle field is well known and is not tarnished. With Othello being a military leader for most of his life, trusting another military friend, is not uncommon, and therefore, Othello has no reason not to believe or trust Iago. So it can be said that Othello has a number of tragic flaws, one being trustworthy. It is not to say that being trust worthy is a bad characteristic, but to not trust your own wife is in my view a completely different matter.
Othello, tragically, in Act Three, Scene Three, is thoroughly corrupted by Iago, says that he believes that Desdemona is honest, but yet he thinks that she is not. This is the part that Othello's ‘innocence' is torn to bits, because he does not know what to believe anymore. This is also where he comes to Iago for advice, which is what Iago has been waiting for. Othello is seen as a confused man without direction and does know what to do. 'By the world, I think that my wife be honest and think that she is not. I think that thou art just and think she is not’. (Act Three, Scene Three, lines 381-383) Othello then says to Iago: 'Damn her, lewd minx, damn her, damn her! Come, go with me apart. I will withdraw to furnish me with some swift means of death far that fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant.' (Act Three, Scene Three, lines 472-475) Here it shows that Othello is now starting to believe Iago. Another time that Iago starts to make Othello believe even more that is wife is unfaithful is when he tells Othello that he has overheard Cassio talking in his sleep about Desdemona and that he has also noticed Cassio wiping his face with the strawberry-embroidered handkerchief that Othello had given to Desdemona for his first present, ‘such a handkerchief… did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with’ (Act Three, Scene Three, lines 434-436). This now is where Othello is convinced that Desdemona has been unfaithful and vows revenge against Cassio and Desdemona. It is in this scene that Iago implants the suspicions and jealousy in Othello's head, which tragically bring about the events in the play. It is also here, where Desdemona tries to reconcile the differences between Othello and Cassio, in which Othello sees them together and reinforces the allegations that Iago has made to Othello. Iago helps by adding the gasoline to the fire when he tells Othello about how Cassio and Desdemona have known each other for some time. Othello is upset and vows revenge. 'Not with vain thanks… let me hear thee say that Cassio's not alive.' (Act Three, Scene Three, lines 466-470). Iago also reminds Othello that Desdemona has also deceived her father, her own flesh and blood, why not then lie to her husband. Othello then tells Iago that he is bound to him forever for all that he has done for him. The scene ends with Othello kneeling down to Iago, this symbolizes Iago’s rise in power and Othello’s fall in the scene that determines the tragic outcome of the play, portraying the scenes importance and effectiveness. This is also another dramatic device used by Shakespeare.
In Act Three Scene Three Iago, through his manipulation is able to bring Othello down to his level, corrupting the moors mind. Othello begins to use the black/ white imagery found throughout the play, to express his grief and rage at Desdemona's alleged treachery. ‘Her name, that was as fresh as Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face.’ (Act Three, Scene Three, lines 383-385) Although the allegations against Desdemona are personally hurtful to him, Othello focuses more on the public ramifications, rather than the private; there is great irony in this concern, since this rumored betrayal is a private one, and also since Othello's name is highly regarded, because nothing has really happened. Iago's "proofs" also rely on the animal imagery which has run throughout the play; he makes Desdemona and Cassio seem like lustful lovers, by describing them as ‘prime as goats, as hot as monkeys’ (Act Three, Scene Three, line 400). This comparison is calculated, since Iago knows that thinking of Desdemona as lusting after another man disturbs Othello greatly. Note how in this scene Othello begins to talk like Iago showing the scenes importance and effectiveness.
Subsequent to Act Three Scene Three, several characters are killed; including both Iago and Othello. In the scene after Act Three Scene Three, Shakespeare opens it with a few weak jokes from the clown to relieve the immense tension of the last scene. The sequence of events that lead to the death of Othello is much unexpected because even though there is a plan of Desdemona's death, Othello dying is totally unexpected to the audience and leaves a morbid air about the play. This dramatic irony is important because it makes the audience part of the play since it encourages them to think about what has happened and it imposes the question upon the audience as to why it all happened and what were Iago's motives. Shakespeare does not make it clear what Iago's motives were though, so it leaves an almost rhetorical question lingering in the audiences mind.
Throughout Act Three Scene Three, Shakespeare uses imagery, characterization, themes, ironies and language to illustrate the importance and effectiveness of Act Three Scene Three.
