OK, now I'm back and hopefully without any hassle from the technical gremlins who caused me problems earlier today!
Now to get back to Iago. As I wrote earlier, he is one of the most despicable characters that WS created. One of the reasons we despise him so much is that Othello trusts him implicitly, but then Iago "does a dirty" and betrays Othello's trust. But not only does he do that, but he causes Othello to murder his wife through his devious scheming and plotting. And all this is despite the fact that he is known as "honest Iago" throughout the play.
Lawrence Fishburne (Othello) & Kenneth Brannagh (Othello)
The famous Shakespearean critic, A. C. Bradley says of this evil man: evil has nowhere been portrayed with such mastery as in the evil character of Iago. [Iago] stands supreme among Shakespeare's evil characters because the greatest intensity and subtlety of imagination have gone into his making.
Iago cannot be ignored in this play. He has nearly 1,100 lines to speak, more than Othello himself. Othello represents integrity and nobility; Iago is synonymous with deviousness and evil.
If we agree that Iago is loathsome, how can we see that Othello is always the 'nice' guy in comparison? How could he have believed all of Iago's lies and then doubted his wife's innocence and then killed her as a result? Isn't the Moor here as bad as his 'honest' lieutenant?
Some critics justify Othello's behaviour by stating that as a middle-aged soldier, he is inexperienced in the world of women, while some critics say that Othello is sexually innocent and a romantic idealist. He has complete faith in his wife and when she falls and/or fail in his eyes, his complete world collapses with her. Ironically, perhaps the grimmest scene in the play occurs when Iago is off-stage.
In Act V sc.2, Desdemona pleads and bargains for her life, "Kill me tomorrow: let me live tonight!" but her pleas are in vain. Othello, whose mind has been poisoned by Iago, smothers her to death and justifies himself saying," "I that am cruel am yet merciful."
In this scene, Othello is not insane and this is what makes this murderous scene so chilling. Because Desdemona has done wrong (he believes), she must pay the ultimate price and die. And of course, behind all of this stands Iago.
Comments: Facebook or wsdavidyoung@gmail.com
Next time: Shakespearean insults and ripe language.
Now to get back to Iago. As I wrote earlier, he is one of the most despicable characters that WS created. One of the reasons we despise him so much is that Othello trusts him implicitly, but then Iago "does a dirty" and betrays Othello's trust. But not only does he do that, but he causes Othello to murder his wife through his devious scheming and plotting. And all this is despite the fact that he is known as "honest Iago" throughout the play.
The famous Shakespearean critic, A. C. Bradley says of this evil man: evil has nowhere been portrayed with such mastery as in the evil character of Iago. [Iago] stands supreme among Shakespeare's evil characters because the greatest intensity and subtlety of imagination have gone into his making.
Iago cannot be ignored in this play. He has nearly 1,100 lines to speak, more than Othello himself. Othello represents integrity and nobility; Iago is synonymous with deviousness and evil.
If we agree that Iago is loathsome, how can we see that Othello is always the 'nice' guy in comparison? How could he have believed all of Iago's lies and then doubted his wife's innocence and then killed her as a result? Isn't the Moor here as bad as his 'honest' lieutenant?
Some critics justify Othello's behaviour by stating that as a middle-aged soldier, he is inexperienced in the world of women, while some critics say that Othello is sexually innocent and a romantic idealist. He has complete faith in his wife and when she falls and/or fail in his eyes, his complete world collapses with her. Ironically, perhaps the grimmest scene in the play occurs when Iago is off-stage.
In Act V sc.2, Desdemona pleads and bargains for her life, "Kill me tomorrow: let me live tonight!" but her pleas are in vain. Othello, whose mind has been poisoned by Iago, smothers her to death and justifies himself saying," "I that am cruel am yet merciful."
In this scene, Othello is not insane and this is what makes this murderous scene so chilling. Because Desdemona has done wrong (he believes), she must pay the ultimate price and die. And of course, behind all of this stands Iago.
Comments: Facebook or wsdavidyoung@gmail.com
Next time: Shakespearean insults and ripe language.
