by William Shakespeare
Read for "Deception" theme
Engraving by Thomas Ryder, 1799.
"Othello. Act II, Scene I. A platform"
The Boydell Shakespeare Prints.
http://www.english.emory.edu/classes/Shakespeare_Illustrated/Stothard.Othello.html
In Othello, deep themes emerge through the character exploration of Iago. On a superficial level, Othello seems like an easy play to understand: Iago is jealous of his cohorts' success in their stations and in their marriages. But upon closer look at the specific moves Iago makes and the rationales he presents to the audience through his soliloquies, we find there is a much darker mind at bay.
Iago's fixation with the take-down of his cohorts is unsettling. While he convinces everyone of his undying love and devotion to their faces, he turns right around to the audience and states that he actually feel s the exact opposite. In our conversations with the NING classroom and the students in the Iago forum, I started to think about Iago's motivations and true rationales for his actions. In re-reading the play with the students and discussing possible motivations for Iago, I have realized that the point may not be entirely in the specific reasonings for Iago's actions, but rather the ambiguous nature of the unknown. By that I mean perhaps the point is that part of Iago's character is his questionability. We find ourselves questioning this move with this rationale or that motive with no rationale, but perhaps the biggest point of all is that Shakespeare has us questioning human actions, decisions, and abilities. Iago is a grey matter: he has dark elements in his desire to instigate downfalls, but he also has an empathetic side when he sees his plans utterly derailing other characters. So perhaps we are not supposed to pin-point one specific motivation for Iago; perhaps the exercise of discerning human character and capability is our real mission when assessing motive and actions in Othello.
Iago's fixation with the take-down of his cohorts is unsettling. While he convinces everyone of his undying love and devotion to their faces, he turns right around to the audience and states that he actually feel s the exact opposite. In our conversations with the NING classroom and the students in the Iago forum, I started to think about Iago's motivations and true rationales for his actions. In re-reading the play with the students and discussing possible motivations for Iago, I have realized that the point may not be entirely in the specific reasonings for Iago's actions, but rather the ambiguous nature of the unknown. By that I mean perhaps the point is that part of Iago's character is his questionability. We find ourselves questioning this move with this rationale or that motive with no rationale, but perhaps the biggest point of all is that Shakespeare has us questioning human actions, decisions, and abilities. Iago is a grey matter: he has dark elements in his desire to instigate downfalls, but he also has an empathetic side when he sees his plans utterly derailing other characters. So perhaps we are not supposed to pin-point one specific motivation for Iago; perhaps the exercise of discerning human character and capability is our real mission when assessing motive and actions in Othello.
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