Othello: an Extraordinary Person
The Bard of Avon has created an exceptional person in the character of General Othello in the tragedy Othello. Let us in this essay examine in detail the multi-faceted personality of this doomed hero.
Helen Gardner in “Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune” talks of the hero’s exceptional personal qualities:
Othello is like a hero of the ancient world in that he is not a man like us, but a man recognized as extraordinary. He seems born to do great deeds and live in legend. He h as the obvious heroic qualities of courage and strength, and no actor can attempt the role who is not physically impressive. He has the heroic capacity for passion. But the thing which most sets him apart is his solitariness. He is a stranger, a man of alien race, without ties of nature or natural duties. His value is not in what the world thinks of him, although the world rates him highly, and does not derive in any way from his station. It is inherent. He is, in a sense, a ‘self-made man’, the product of a certain kind of life which he has chosen to lead. . . . (140)
Despite the wonderful personal attributes he possesses, Othello still falls prey to the sinister Iago. His gullibility and naivete make this possible. Francis Ferguson in “Two Worldviews Echo Each Other” describes how Othello carries out Iago’s plan of destruction:
Othello moves to kill Desdemona (Act V, scene 2) with that “icy current and compulsive course” which he had felt at the end of Act III, scene 3. We hear once more the music and the cold, magnificent images that express his “perfect soul”:
Yet I’ll not shed her blood,
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.
He tells himself that he is sacrificing Desdemona to “justice”; but we see how clumsily (like a great baby) he fumbles to get Desdemona smothered at the second try; how he roars and blubbers when it’s over. When Emilia yells at him, “O gull! O dolt!” she only puts a name to what we have seen, even while the great Othello music was in our ears. (137)
The most radical change during the course of the drama is undergone by the protagonist, the Moor. Robert Di Yanni in “Character Revealed Through Dialogue” states that the deteriorated transformation which Othello undergoes is noticeable in his speech:
Othello’s language, like Iago’s, reveals his character and his decline from a courageous and confident leader to a jealous lover distracted to madness by Iago’s insinuations about his wife’s infidelity. The elegance and control, even the exaltation of his early speeches, give way to the crude degradation of his later remarks. (123)
Is it his “gullibility” which leads to his downfall? Morton W. Bloomfield and Robert C. Elliott in Great Plays: Sophocles to Brecht posit the “lack of insight” of the hero as the cause of his tragic fall:
Othello’s lack of insight, cunningly played upon by Iago, leads to his downfall. And as the full enormity of his deed dawns upon him in the great scene of tragic self-revelation at the end, the audience may perhaps experience catharsis, that purgation of the soul brought about by an almost unbearable pity for him and his victims, and by terror at what human nature is capable of and what pitfalls await us in life. Throughout the play, the audience posses the information which Iago's victim does not have; the viewers know all along what Othello does not know. From that omniscient view, they look upon this tortured human being with a strong sense of the irony and tragedy of his position. (39)
From the text of the play a number of clues can be gleaned which round out the description of the general. In William Shakespeare: The Tragedies, Paul A. Jorgensen describes the general in Othello:
Though scarcely the “barbarian” (1.3.353) he is called, the Moor is emphatically black, probably rough, even fearsome, in appearance, and a foreign mercenary from Mauritania in refined Venice. Though of royal blood, since the age of seven he had a restrictive, painful life, being sold into slavery and spending most of his life in “the tented field” (1.3.85).
His “occupation” (3.3.357), to a degree found in no other Shakespearean hero, is war. He can therefore speak of the great world little “more than pertains to feats of broil and battle” (1.3.87). But that he loves the gentle Desdemona, he would to have given up a life of unsettled war and his “unhoused free condition / … For the sea’s worth” (1.2.26-27). (58)
The first appearance of the protagonist is in Act 1 Scene2, where Iago is pathologically lying about Brabantio and himself and the ancient’s relations with the general and about everything in general. Othello responds very coolly and confidently to the pressing issue of Brabantio’s mob coming after him: “Let him do his spite. / My services which I have done the signiory / Shall out-tongue his complaints.” However, Cassio’s party approaches first, with a demand for the general’s “haste-post-haste appearance” before the Venetian council due to the Turkish attempt on Cyprus. Indeed, this talented soldier is no mere daughter-snatcher!
When Brabantio’s pack has drawn their swords with the intent to fight, Othello calmly states: “Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.” He is in charge; the accused controls the mob. Politely he addresses the mob leader. “Where will you that I go / To answer this your charge?” Brabantio demands prison for the general, but this conflicts with the duke’s request for the general’s presence in council. When they have reappeared before the duke, the latter greets Othello immediately and respectfully (“Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you / Against the general enemy Ottoman.”), but doesn’t even notice the senator Brabantio (“I did not see you. Welcome, gentle signior.” Noble Othello obviously outranks even the senator, in the estimation of the city’s leader. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants praises Othello standing before the senators:
In Act I, Scene III, the “valiant Othello,” as the Duke calls him, comes into the august presence of the Venetian senators. He enters with others but can be singled out by his soldierly bearing in which there appears a certain pride in his calling but no petty self-confidence. His appearance is that of a man mellowed more by experience than by years. He is not handsome as to facial features but has a good physique. When he stands to speak it is with a simple dignity and natural nobility. The deep organ tones of his resonant voice, the rich quality of which was born to him in a southern climate, commands the spellbound attention of his audience. (81-82)
Brabantio’s serious charges are handled expeditiously, and even trivialized by so brief a consideration by the august body, who quickly rally around the general. The duke tells Brabantio, “Your son-in-law is far more fair than black” – a compliment to Othello’s virtue and upstanding performance both presently in front of the senators and previously in battles.
Cassio’s ship lands first in Cyprus, before Iago’s and the general’s. While the lieutenant is chatting with Montano he heaps praise upon Othello: “Thanks, you the valiant of this warlike isle, / That so approve the Moor!” Eventually the third ship arrives with Othello. Instead of shouting orders about, he generously devotes his attention to those about him, beginning with his wife:
It gives me wonder great as my content
To see you here before me. O my soul’s joy!
If after every tempest come such clams,
May the winds blow till they have wakened death!
And let the laboring bark climb hills of seas
Olympus-high, and duck again so low
As hell’s from heaven! If it were now to die,
‘Twere now to be most happy; for I fear
My soul hath her content so absolute
That not another comfort like to this
Succeeds in unknown fate (2.1)
An imaginative, poetically creative general, without doubt! Next, the Moor shows consideration for the happiness of his soldiers by declaring a holiday of “feasting,” “sport,” “celebration,” since the Turkish fleet has mostly perished in the storm at sea.
Sometime later, the machinations of Iago result in the dismissal of Cassio. This is an emotional moment for the general since Cassio has been his friend for years. So at the time of the dismissal the general expresses his love for the lieutenant: “Cassio, I love thee; / But never more be officer of mine.” When Desdemona petitions her husband for the reinstatement of Cassio, the Moor commits himself to this generous act: “Let him come when he will! / I will deny thee nothing.” This is indicative of not only the general’s altruistic tendencies, but also of the depth of his love for Desdemona.
A VISIT TO THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE
Laura: Good morning, I have an appointment with Doctor Clark at 8:30.
Clerk: Let me pull your record. In the meantime, please sign-in and have a seat.
Nurse: Laura Nicholson.
Laura: Here.
Nurse: Follow me to Room A please.
Nurse: Here we are. What are your reasons for seeing Doctor Clark today?
Laura: Well, lately I have been feeling tired, and occasionally I have had really bad headaches and an upset stomach. On top of that, I have had this persistent cough for the last two weeks.
Nurse: When did you start having these symptoms?
Laura: I started feeling tired about two months ago; then, a little bit after that the headaches came. I got the upset stomach long before feeling tired.
Nurse: Are you taking any medications?
Laura: Only my vitamins.
Nurse: What vitamins are you taking?
Laura: I am taking a multi-vitamin tablet and extra Vitamin C every day.
Nurse: OK, let me take your vital signs.
Laura: How am I doing?
Nurse: Everything is good—normal blood pressure and no high temperature. Please wait here for a minute.