Many dramatic features are used in this part of the play, it is a very tense play and Shakespeare uses many techniques.
Shakespeare uses short lines, sub-meanings and repetitions effectively such as when Desdemona is about to be murdered, she sings the willow song this is very effective, as it shows her foreboding feeling of death especially as the willow tree itself is a symbol of forsaken lovers. In act 3 scene 4 when Othello asks Desdemona where the handkerchief is and she doesn’t know, he repeatedly says “The handkerchief!” this shows clearly Othello’s anger. In Act 4 scene 1, Desdemona is telling Lodovico about Othello’s anger at Cassio. Othello gets mad and strikes Desdemona. The conversation between Othello and Desdemona before he strikes her is very short and staccato. This adds a lot of tension.
Desdemona: My lord?
Othello : I am glad to see you mad.
Desdemona: why, sweet Othello?
Othello : Devil!
He strikes her
He uses dramatic irony very well, we know that Desdemona is not having an affair but Othello believes that she is.
All of these techniques create a very tense, emotional and dramatic atmosphere for the audience.
There are many thematic elements in this scene including love, loyalty, hatred and betrayal. But the most important theme in the play is Jealousy. Jealously is why I believe that Iago got Othello to kill Desdemona and Jealousy is why Othello killed Desdemona. The rest of the themes that I have mentioned earlier can all be easily seen towards the end of the play. Desdemona loves Othello and is loyal towards him but Othello feels betrayed and hates Desdemona.
There are six main characters in the play; they are Othello, Cassio, Iago, Roderigo, Desdemona and Emilia. Othello is the main character, he is a strong, intelligent general in the venetian army. He is a black man in a white man’s world. For the most of the play, Othello keeps quiet at the beginning but eventually he says a speech which tells us who he is and what he has done, He is a black prince from Africa and works for the venetian army, he has fought in many battles. Desdemona is Othello’s wife, she is a very beautiful, attractive woman who could have married any bachelor in the country. Desdemona to her father’s dismay marries Othello. Desdemona refused to listen to her father and turned down many marriage offers, Desdemona thought for herself and decided what she would like. Her father, Barbantio thought that Othello used witchcraft to get Desdemona to marry him but Desdemona is deeply in love with Othello. Desdemona is Shakespeare’s version of today’s independent woman. Emilia is Desdemona’s servant and aide but more importantly, Emilia is Desdemona’s teacher. She Warns Desdemona of the dangers in the world. We can clearly see this in Act 4, scene 3 when she talks to Desdemona about women and their husbands. Iago is Emilia’s husband, he is the villain of the play, he is the person who convinces Othello to kill Desdemona. We do not find out Iago’s motive but I think that he is jealous that Desdemona chose to marry Othello, he is jealous that Othello promoted Cassio and not him and I think that that he wants Desdemona, in act 2, scene 2 he says, “Now, I do love her too.” Iago seems to be a friend to everyone; he is called at many times in the play “Honest Iago”. He Is Othello’s trusted aide, he is Roderigo’s counsellor, he is ally to Cassio and he even advises Desdemona. Cassio is the man in the Venetian army who got promoted before Iago, for this Iago used him in his plot for Othello to kill Desdemona. Iago gets Cassio drunk and gets Othello to demote him. Iago hates Cassio, he claims that, “He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes [him] ugly. While I say that it is Iago’s fault for Othello killing Desdemona, it is also Othello’s own fault for he never asks Desdemona if she is having an affair. When talking to her, he talks in riddles such as, “Lend me thy handkerchief… That which I gave you.” He believes that because Desdemona does not have the handkerchief she must be having an affair. I think that Othello believes that love is so great it cannot be questioned. This can be contrasted with Bianca who in act 4 scene 1 comes straight to Cassio and asks him where he got the handkerchief from, “This is some minx’s token, and I must take out the work?”
Shakespeare based Othello on a story written by Giovanni Battista Cinthio called Gli Hecatommithi but Shakespeare improved the story in numerous ways. In the source, Cassio is a lower rank than Iago, Shakespeare changed this to give Iago another motive. Shakespeare added Roderigo who is a man who is deeply in love with Desdemona and is paying Iago for guidance and advice but Iago is doing nothing, he is just using this to get more money. Shakespeare has added Roderigo so the audience can see more of Iago’s evil plans in the conversations they have. It is only to Rodereigo that Iago admits his hatred of Othello. In the source material, Desdemona’s family knew about the marriage of Desdemona and Othello. Shakespeare has changed this to show that Desdemona has her own thoughts and independence. In the source there is no war. Shakespeare has added the simply to give the play a better reason for the change of location with all the characters being in the army. In the source, the journey to Cyprus was peaceful. Shakespeare made the journey more dangerous so that he could have the dramatic scene where Desdemona is waiting for Othello to arrive in Cyprus and she is not sure whether he is alive or not
Act 3, scene 4 is where we meet all 3 of the women in the play and see what they are like. The scene starts lightly with a clown telling jokes to lighten the mood but it is also a scene of tension, it is when Othello asks Desdemona for the handkerchief and she hasn’t got it. This is the where Othello starts to really believe Iago. This is the main part of the scene and the part of the play where different performances have differentiated most. There are many things to think about such as how should Othello say “The handkerchief!” he could shout this, he could say this firmly as a demand or he could say it whilst he was crying. I interpret it as he should shout it as he storms out of the room later. The handkerchief is the only thing that we hear of that is from his African childhood. He claims that an Egyptian enchantress gave it to his mother and that while she held it she would be desirable and loved by her husband but if she lost the handkerchief or made a present out of it she would be hated by her husband. This of course relates to Desdemona and now that she had lost it Othello now hates her. The handkerchief is the only superstitious object that Othello had and believed in.
The three women in this scene acted like they were supposed to in the time that the play was written but during the whole of the play they act differently. Desdemona starts the play of as a very assertive, independent woman but during the cause of the play becomes more submissive. She never argues with Othello and she even takes the blame for her own death. Bianca is seen as a whore and is scorned by the rest of the characters, even Cassio, her boyfriend, treats her badly. She claims that she is loyal to Cassio she says “I am no strumpet, but of life as honest as you that thus abuse me. We have no evidence that she isn’t faithful to Cassio. Emilia is a mix between Desdemona and Bianca; she has Desdemona’s innocence but Bianca’s knowledge of the world. She is loyal to Iago but she keeps her independence.
At some point during the play, all the women are independent and self-reliant. I think that this shows Shakespeare’s belief that women should be treated better.
