A tragic play centres on peripeteia. To what extent can Act 3 scene 3 be regarded as the turning point in the play"Othello"?

We could also consider ActIIIsciii  to be a turning point for Iago, as he is promoted to Othello’s Lieutenant as a result of his manipulation and bonding with him. This is a great contributor to the tragic outcome because it is Othello’s naivety and ability to trust others easily that makes him susceptible to being manipulated. Othello has great trust in Iago and values his opinions and thoughts. He constantly asks him to reveal them:

      ‘What dost thou think?’

This shows that Othello has an understanding and feels connected to Iago as he is able to listen to his inner-thoughts. Although the audience sees that Othello trusts Iago through the entirety of the play, it is this crucial scene where the trust has been truly highlighted by Shakespeare. This trust Othello feels contributes to the tragic outcome as he has allowed himself to be manipulated to the extent of killing his own wife.

Iago deceives Othello through his use of flattery, persuasion and imagery to convince him of Desdemona’s adultery. Iago uses flattering language to convince Othello to believe in him as a noble character:
      ‘Honest, my lord?’
This quote show an example of Iago’s false respect and flattery he uses for Othello, which is a persuasive device used to make Othello feel powerful and in control of Iago. This contributes to ActIII sciii as a turning point as the audience is shown that Othello has a lot of trust in Iago as he asks him to reveal his innerthoughts:
    ‘If thou dost love me, show me thy thoughts’

This is an example of Othello’s belief in Iago that is only shown clearly in ActIII sciii, hence contributing to it as a peripeteia.

Iago continues to act as a friend to Othello in this scene as he warns him of the dangers of jealousy:
    ‘O beware, my lord, of jealousy: It is the green-eyed monster’
He is suggesting that he may be overruled by his own jealousy to make Othello start to panic. He worsens this by using the fact that Othello is an outsider to warn him of Venetian women:
    ‘Let God see the pranks they dare not show their husbands.’
Iago’s generalisation of women as all being unfaithful in this quote makes Othello’s mind run wild as he believes that Desdemona will be capable of this deception. These subtle hints create the change in Othello’s feelings he begins the scene as a loving and devoted husband:
    ‘I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again’

Othello expresses here that he believes in their relationship because everything else in life is of no importance as long as he has Desdemona. However by the end of the scene Othello is persuaded of Desdemona’s infidelity, with intent to:
    ‘tear her all to pieces’
This is clearly fundamental to the bloody outcome which is now foreseeable, showing that ActIII sciii has to be considered as a possible turning point of the play.

It could also be seen that ActIII sciii is not a turning point as these temperamental emotions of the protagonist are evident throughout the play; he is clearly a naturally jealous and passionate character as within a few lines his temper changes from calm and polite:

      ‘I greet thy love,’
to being expressive and full of anger:

      ‘O, damn her, damn her!’

This proves that Othello has an emotional imbalance and can turn to rage easily because he is indecisive about whether he passionately loves his wife or wants to murder her. Therefore when his emotions change easily in ActIII sciii it should come as no surprise to the audience that he has turned on his wife. As his rages are presented throughout the whole play, it could be seen that there is no turning point due to his emotions.

It was also inevitable that due to the patriarchal society that the play was written in that Desdemona would be a vulnerable victim who is represented as being weak. This makes her a predictable target for tragedy. Moreover she surprisingly tries to break out from the conventions of the patriarchal society through her lies to her father which makes her even more of a predictable victim. As a result it should come as no shock when Othello turns on her as it could be seen she is being punished; hence there is no evidence of a turning point.

It could also be seen that there is no turning point throughout the play as the audience is introduced into a world entangled by lies and jealousy in ActI sci which is bound to end tragically. We see Iago’s hatred of the moor from the beginning as he imagines ways of inflicting pain on Othello:

      ‘plague him with flies’

 This shows Iago’s urge to seek revenge on his enemy. The introduction of the ‘frowned upon’ relationship of Desdemona and Othello is also shown straight away. It seems illogical to pinpoint a specific turning point when it seems the tragic outcome has been established in the anterior time of the play. Moreover, the audience sees Iago’s manipulation continuing to unfold throughout the whole play; so it could be seen that the play has multiple turning points as different events trigger different factors that contribute to the tragic outcome.

In conclusion I think it can be widely regarded that ActIII sciii is a turning point of the play as it is where the audience sees the majority of Iago’s manipulation, and his plan falling into place. The changes that we see in the protagonist from the beginning to the end of this scene are evidence of his change in circumstances and fortune as he falls from prosperity. The handkerchief which has been an essential prop throughout the play comes to true purpose in this scene also. However in my opinion, although I can see why ActIII sciii is regarded as a turning point, and in some respects agree, I think that there is in fact no turning point in the play. As an audience we see Iago’s scheming unfold throughout the entire play and therefore are constantly anticipating the tragic outcome which seems to be inevitable from the beginning of the play because it had already been set up by the deceit between Shakespeare’s characters.

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

William Shakespeare, ‘Othello’, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984.

Secondary Sources:

Aristotle, ‘Poetics’, c.335 BC

Oxford Dictionaries, , Oxford University Press.

---