Othello - Examine the importance and effectiveness of Act III, scene 3, considering the significance in terms of plot, character, theme and dramatic power.

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Examine the importance and effectiveness of Act III, scene 3, considering the significance in terms of plot, character, theme and dramatic power.

Othello is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, and was written in the early seventeenth century.  The main character in the play is a man called Othello.  He is a black General in the Venetian army who was originally brought from Africa on a slave ship.  One of the other main characters in the play is a man called Iago who is supposed to be Othello’s best friend.  Iago becomes extremely jealous when Michael Cassio is chosen to be promoted and he is overlooked.  Iago thinks he is much more suited to the job, and as we find out in this play Iago is willing to do anything to claim what he thinks is rightfully his.  Iago is extremely cunning and wants revenge on Othello.

Iago’s first move is to reveal a secret to Brabantio (Venetian senator) by informing him of how his daughter Desdemona is secretly in a relationship with Othello and how at this moment are “making the beast with two backs” (1.1.116).  This is an extremely crude and old term to say that Othello and Desdemona are having sex; Iago uses a lot a language like this throughout the play.  Brabantio is astonished by what he has heard from Iago, and as a first instinct will see that Othello is punished for marrying his daughter without his permission.  His theory is that Othello must have brainwashed Desdemona into loving him, by using magic (black people were then seen as having magical powers), because Brabantio can’t see why she would fall for someone like Othello, older and black.  Othello explains to Brabantio of how he has won Desdemona’s heart fairly, but Brabantio wants proof.  Othello asks for Desdemona to speak and she explains about how they are truly in love and that she wants to be with him.  The Duke and Senators take no further action against Othello, so Brabantio is overruled.  As this doesn’t work out as well for Iago as he hoped it would, he decides to plan a second move.  He cunningly cons a man called Roderigo (a gulled gentleman) into believing that Desdemona will get in bed with him if he gives Iago money.  As Roderigo isn’t the smartest person in the world he agrees.

Othello is sent to Cyprus with the army and Desdemona is left in the hands of Cassio.  Iago uses this as a perfect chance to ruin the relationship that Othello and Desdemona have.  He does this by taking advantage of Cassio’s polite and general manner, by telling Othello to be wary of Cassio and his “flirtatious” nature.  This already starts to put negative thoughts into Othello’s mind.  As the play goes on Iago tries to make Othello believe that Desdemona and Cassio are having a sexual relationship behind his back. Iago does not tell Othello this straight to his face though; he makes hints, letting Othello work the rest out himself.  This then leads to Act III, scene 3 which is the turning point of the whole play.  This is when Iago gives a full account of what he has seen and heard, all of this being lies.  I will give a full account of what happens in this scene later on in my essay.

The marriage that Desdemona and Othello have is unusual, due to them both being different races and Othello being a lot older then Desdemona.  When Brabantio discovers that they are together he comments on how Othello must have used magic to get Desdemona.  This could be seen as typical racism at the time.  There are many other points in the play which show how their society would have disapproved of their marriage.

We learn in this play of how Iago is an extremely evil man.  This play is very ironic: at time we the audience know much more then the people in the play.  We know how evil and two-faced Iago is by what he says during his soliloquies during the play.

In Act I, scene 1 we learn of how much Iago hates and despises Cassio for being promoted above him.  This is what kicks of the jealousy which provides the motive to go and get revenge on Othello for overlooking Iago for promotion.  We, as the audience, can see how Iago manipulates other characters to help get revenge on Othello e.g. he uses Roderigo to do his dirty work by telling him that he would fulfil Roderigo’s desire of sleeping with Desdemona.  Iago is also getting paid by Roderigo for this cunning and dirty deed.  Also Iago has no intention of getting Desdemona to sleep with Roderigo; it just feeds his plan for revenge on Othello.  Iago talks as though he has many reasons to despise Othello but he doesn’t give us any idea of what these actually are.  The only real reason he gives us at this stage is that he has been overlooked for promotion, by the man who is supposedly his best friend.  Often during this play Iago speaks of how he is constrained to loving Othello even though he detests him.  This is to cover up his evil plans to get revenge on him.  Iago uses many insulting phrases to describe Othello at this time; we have no justification for these insults.  These insults make the audience think that Othello is a disloyal person who shouldn’t be trusted to make important decisions.  Many of these insults are to do with his culture and he being an outsider due to his ethnic background.  Iago’s opinion is that outsiders should not be trusted and he and Roderigo use racist comments, such as:

“What a full fortune does the thick-lips owe,

If he can carry it thus!” (1.1.67-68)

This quotation above is also a slight turning point in the play as when Roderigo says this, Iago realises that it has only been luck that has stopped Brabantio from finding out about his daughter’s relationship with Othello.  He hopes to tell Brabantio what is going on in the hope that he will split the couple up.  Iago has a very negative view about Othello and Desdemona’s relationship due to Desdemona being younger and white and Othello being older and black.  He was describing their relationship like a man who is jealous.  The words Iago uses make it obvious that he envies what the couple have.  The language Iago uses when describing Othello and Desdemona’s relationship is extremely crude; he describes their current situation by saying:

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        “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram

        Is tupping your white ewe.  Arise, arise;” (1.1.89-90)

These words are very crude as he is describing that they are having sex but using animals to emphasise what he is saying even more.  All throughout the play Iago’s language is extremely crude even when he is talking to his wife and even Othello.

At this point, both Brabantio and the audience are likely to believe what Iago is saying about Othello and Desdemona because there is no evidence to suggest that Iago is lying.  We have also not met ...

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