"Othello, the Moor of Venice"

"DESDEMONA.  What wouldst thou write of me if thou shouldst praise me?

IAGO.  O gentle lady, do not put me to't, 

               For I am nothing if not critical".

 (Shakespeare, II.i. 117-120)

This moment between Desdemona and Iago was a source of great confusion for me.  Not so much in that I did not understand what was happening rather I could not grasp why it was happening.  Why did Shakespeare decide to place this conversation in such an awkward place?  Desdemona has just found out that her new husband is lost at sea.  The idea that she would indulge in a conversation about what Iago thinks of women seems so far-fetched; most wives would be panicking and fearing for their spouse's life.  To me, this moment poked holes in Desdemona's character and made her seem superficial and naive, not recognizing the severity or emergency of the moment.  Additionally, why would Shakespeare have this as the moment to present Iago as a misogynist?  During this scene, the reader picks up on Iago's sense of resentment for Othello and Desdemona.  Yet, Desdemona can only see him as humorous and as a result their relationship becomes slightly more friendly.  For this scene, the only idea  I had was that Shakespeare may be foreshadowing something that is going to happen between Iago and a female character, but I do not quite understand the significance of educating the reader of Iago's misogyny at this particular moment in the play.   

"Othello, the Moor of Venice"

The handkerchief makes its first appearance in Othello, the Moor of Venice in Act III.  Shakespeare uses the handkerchief as a symbol, yet it is not universal.  In this, the handkerchief holds a different meaning for each character.  To Desdemona, it is a symbol of the love between Othello and herself.  To Emilia, it is a way to please her misogynistic husband even though she is going behind Desdemona's back to give it to him.  To Iago, it symbolizes evidence and proof of Cassio and Desdemona's relationship.  To Othello, the handkerchief symbolizes the sanctity of a marital relationship and how significant remaining faithful is to him.  He recounts a story of an Egyptian mind reader who gave his mother the handkerchief.  If his mother kept it, "'Twould make her amiable and subdue my father Entirely to her love, but if she lost it Or made a gift of it, my father's eye Should hold her loathed and his spirits should hunt After new fancies" (III.iv. 53-57).  Therefore, Othello sees the handkerchief as a symbol of loyalty in marriage.  This story serves to advise Desdemona that if she loses that handkerchief or if Othello finds it in the hands of another, their marriage will cease to exist in happiness.

"Othello, the Moor of Venice"

Unlike many of Shakespeare's plays, Othello, the Venice of Moor lacks many changes in setting and scenes of action.  The story is presented primarily through dialogue,  more specifically intimate dialogue rarely among more than three characters.  This projects a tone that makes the play seem as if it was acted out in secretive whispers.  Iago knows many of the other characters' secrets and often uses them against them.  For example, in Act III, Iago knows that Cassio approached Desdemona asking her to put in a good word for him with Othello.  Iago urged Cassio to do this.  Yet, he uses Desdemona's praising of Cassio to promote his case that she is cheating on Othello with Cassio.  "Look to your wife. Observe her well with Cassio.  Wear your eye thus, not jealous nor secure.  I would not have your free and noble nature Out of self-bounty be abused" (Act III.iii.198-201).  Iago uses the information he has on other characters in such a way that makes him appear sweet and innocent.  Additionally, Iago is very clever in his ways.  He gives his counterpart characters all the tools so that they may come to the assumption on their own rather than Iago blatantly telling them which only elevates his innocent appearance.  

"Othello, the Moor of Venice"

Shakespeare develops a theme of deception early on in Othello, the Moor of Venice. In Scene one of the first Act, Iago and Roderigo go to the house of Brabantio and claim he has been deceived by Othello, the captain of the Venetian army, in that he married Brabantio's daughter without his knowledge or consent.  Roderigo, obviously angered by the fact that Desdemona did not choose him, presents the idea that Brabantio may have been deceived by his own daughter.  "Your daughter, if you have not given her leave, I say again, hath made a gross revolt, Trying her duty, beauty, wit, and fortunes, In a extravagant and wheeling stranger Of here and everywhere" (Shakespeare, I.i.131-135).  At first, Brabantio does not believe he has been deceived by his own flesh and blood, rather he supposes his daughter was drugged and did not freely consent to the marriage.  When Desdemona confesses her love for Othello, then he declares "treason of the blood."  At this point in the play Brabantio and Roderigo experience deception.
In Act 2 and Act 3, Shakespeare furthers this theme through dramatic irony.  The audience is aware that Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio are all being deceived.  The most obvious display of this deception occurs when Cassio is pressured to drink and fight by Roderigo and Iago which results in Cassio's loss of position in the Venetian army.  Desdemona, too, is being deceived by Iago.  Iago is making her appear as an adulterer to the eyes of Othello who, by default, is also being deceived.  In all but one of these cases of deception (Roderigo's feeling deceived by Desdemona), the culpability lies upon but one character: Iago.