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Honesty in Othello
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A full, in-depth A* essay plan exploring the theme of Honesty in Shakespeare's "Othello", for the Pearson Edexcel A-Level English Literature.
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HonestyIntroduction
- Drives plot: male expectation of female dishonesty due to stereotypes of Venetian women
- Worrall claims Bianca’s identity as honest is exposed through her name despite her reputation
- Desdemona’s honesty can be explored through her last words and motif of the handkerchief despite the
adulterous accusations held against her
- Hamlet: “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand”
- Concept of fickle female rooted in Genesis
- Dishonesty was punishable by eternal damnation
- Abernethy: “irritating phase” that distracts from main plot, yet it drives the plot
Othello’s belief in other people’s honesty
- Baum – “with Iago, Shakespeare showed us how one motivated liar can have tremendous power, simply
because of the destructive force of his lies”
- Iago - calls him “honest Iago”, “Iago is most honest”, “thy husband, honest, honest Iago” – Iago is in
position where Othello should be able to trust his honesty, yet this is a seemingly oxymoronic phrase in the
context of the play - Iago’s reputation as an honest man, referred to as honest over fifty times in the play by
almost every character. Remains steadfast until the very end of the play
- “The Moor […] thinks men honest that but seem to be so and will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses
are” - Othello’s gullibility, Leo Africanus, 1550, Africans are gullible. Blamires – Othello’s inability to
understand people’s true natures is what leads to tragic ending
- Desdemona - “I do not think but Desdemona’s honest” - reputation of Venetian women, somewhat proved
by Emilia. Draper: “Othello listens to Iago as he never listens to Desdemona”; a man’s word was worth
more, particularly in Venetian context. Gullibility not jealousy as Othello’s hamartia; reasonable for him to
be honest in this situation; challenge to Greer’s view that Othello’s jealousy is his “enemy within”
Iago as dishonest
- Great use of dramatic irony by Shakespeare, importance of soliloquies in exposing his deception from
beginning; “I am not what I am”, lying, manipulation – devil (Coleridge “motiveless malignity”). Manages
to deceive people, Machiavellian, devilish – devil traditionally in Elizabethan stereotypes presented as
initially charming/alluring but then realise identity after too late - extreme dishonesty with no guilt YET O
thinks he is “honest Iago”
- Like Lucifer, fallen angel or Judas, compares himself to the devil “when devils will the blackest sins put on,
They do suggest at first with heavenly shows, as I do now” – simile, hellish imagery in semantic field
“hell”, “devils”, “sins” puts emphasis on him as the embodiment of dishonesty. Othello calls himself a
“cursed slave”, “whip me ye devils” – vowed that he was “bound to thee forever” – made a deal with the
devil and is now destined to go to hell
- Triggers O’s downfall from “far more fair than black” to that of a “monster” - semantic field of poison and
toxicity is used by Iago: “poisons”, “sulphur”, “sweet sleep”, “drowsy syrups”; hypnotic effect of Iago’s
lies causing him to collapse into chaotic prose as seen on page from sophisticated free verse “to please the
palate of my appetite” to speaking in the third person “that married with Othello” shows he feels detached
from own body
Desdemona as honest up until the end
- Although Burton says “wives are slippery, often unfaithful”, and Coryat said they “open their quivers to
every arrow”, there is much evidence Desdemona is in fact pure
- “Nobody – I myself” – only time she lies, yet must establish difference between an honourable and
dishonourable lie, especially as the Greek translation of “I, myself” is used as a repeated motif in Bible to
represent Jesus, links to Desdemona's last words and biblical events e.g. crucifixion where Jesus, like
Desdemona, wrongly accused and killed - Shakespeare included this to defend her innocence as it could be
used in Desdemona's defense to prove her innocence. Elizabethan audience would pick up on this motif
(same way picked up on “I am not what I am” meaning Iago was devil)
- Blamires: results in tragically ironic ending; “strumpet” and accused of adultery yet supposedly dies a
virgin) – women are expected to deceive since Genesis implies it (especially Venetian women have
stereotype of deception) – men’s misunderstanding of deception
- Handkerchief - Handkerchief represents her honesty (Hodgson) symbol of her reputation. Desdemona’s
purity and their unity - in many European countries, strawberries symbolize Virgin Mary (and were often
carved into stone pillars in churches and cathedrals in the middle ages due to their image of purity) - pure,
virginal and loyal. Boose - handkerchief also presents the two’s unity; strawberry horticulturally related to
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