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Othello essay - imagery and symbolism
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Essay written by an A-level English literature private tutor + A* student. A high level (A*) Othello essay on imagery and symbolism for Edexcel A level English
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Explore the ways in which Shakespeare makes use of imagery andsymbolism in Othello. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual
factors and ideas from your critical reading.
Shakespeare employs imagery surrounding sight and blindness in order to further
the theme of illusion. Additionally Shakespeare presents natural and animalistic
symbols as the governing forces of the characters’ behaviour further emphasising
the illusion of which they are trapped in as well as their disconnection with reality,
critiquing the appropriation of power through the consequent tragedy. Additionally
the animalistic and natural imagery begs the question of fate and free will, and how
these concepts are, too, ultimately an illusion.
It could be argued that Shakespeare’s Othello depends on characters being
trapped within illusion due to their inability to see the truth. Therefore Shakespeare
utilises imagery surrounding sight and blindness in order to illustrate this idea as
well as foreshadow the tragedy of the play. Othello demands ‘ocular proof’
however contradicts himself in his approach to Desdemona’s supposed in delity. It
can be argued that this is due to Iago’s manipulation of language ‘But for a
satisfaction of my thought/ think, my lord/ my lord, you know’. Iago oscillates
between the de nitive ‘know’ and subjective ‘think’. These speci c lexical choices
are used by Iago to plant doubt in Othello’s mind. Rea rming his role as the
playwright. In toying with the binary oppositions of ‘think’ and ‘know’, perception
and illusion overtake sight hence they can be interpreted to usurp the role of
‘ocular proof’. Suggesting Othello’s blindness to the truth. It could be interpreted
that the displacement of sight is symbolic of Othello’s displacement in the natural
order by Iago. These distortions of reality therefore serve to foreshadow the tragic
end of the play. Potter acknowledges this manipulation to be true of Iago’s
character ‘Others, too, are only an instrument. They can be moulded like clay’ this
is inherently evident as Iago continues to use language as a tool. He manipulates
images surrounding sight and exploiting the truth for his own gain; ‘Men should be
what they seem or those that be not, would they might seem none’. Iago suggests
to Othello that a man who puts on a false face must work at maintaining this
facade. However this irony serves to deceive Othello as an audience is aware that
Iago is referring to himself as opposed to Cassio. The enigmatic exclamative
employed reinforces Iago’s appearance as ‘honest’. Consequently the confusion
between illusion and the de nitive continue to manifest. Alternatively Iago utilises
the enigmatic exclamative in order to suggest the importance of perception.
Should Othello have perceived Iago to be speaking about himself the tragedy may
have been avoided. Ward suggests that Othello is an ‘epistemological tragedy’.
However Ward fails to consider the intertwining of knowledge, perception and
illusion. Should Othello have acknowledged the serpentine syntax employed by
Iago ‘Men should be what they seem or those that be not, would they might seem
none’. Which serves to directly align him with the devil and the duplicitous serpent
of the original sin; tragedy could have been avoided. Therefore one should argue
that this is not an ‘epistemological tragedy’. Rather the tragedy is founded and
maintained in the illusion of the characters. A Jacobean audience would have been
familiar with the idea of the devil taking on a human form. Within the largely
superstitious era Othello would have been regarded to be foolish for being blinded
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