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Othello essay - Relationships
Essay written by an A-level English literature private tutor + A* student. This essay explores relationships in Othello and was written for Edexcel achieving an A*
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Explore how Shakespeare presents the rela onship between Desdemona and Othello in Act.You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors (21 marks)
Shakespeare employs the rela onship between Desdemona and Othello as a central plot device in
order to explore the theme of appearance versus reality in illustra ng a reciprocal rela onship. In
addi on to this he toys with the construct of masculinity in order to cri que the appearance of a
reciprocal rela onship as well as u lise this plot device as a warning for Jacobean women who
believe they can manipulate the great chain of being and withdraw from the construct of
femininity.
Shakespeare presents their rela onship through the theme of appearance versus reality in order to
beg the ques on of whether their rela onship can be reciprocal. Othello u lises chiasmus in his
speech in order to present him and Desdemona as equal partners ‘she loved me for the dangers I
had passed And I loved her that she did pity them’. The presenta on of equality contrasts the
typical Jacobean conven ons of a rela onship. However whilst on appearance it may be portrayed
that their love is equal the concept of ‘pity’ suggests that he was entranced by her passivity. In
addi on to this the past tense verb ‘loved’ further foreshadows their love to con nue to feed o of
illusion. In order to further this argument one must consider Desdemona’s rst speech; in which
‘duty’ is repeated three mes. One may interpret this to con ict the idea of a reciprocal
rela onship and further present her as subconsciously passive towards her husband. Furthermore
she addresses him as ‘my lord’. The possessive pronoun suggests that she lives to serve only him,
moreover the tle ‘lord’ places Othello above her, subver ng the great chain of being and further
undermining the appearance of a reciprocal rela onship. It seems evident that despite her desire
to be ac ve she is inevitably trapped in the bounds of the patriarchy and therefore must show
obedience to her husband. Consequently, Rymer viewed Othello as a cau onary tale warning
women of the consequences of their subversive behaviour, no ng that it could result in death. Due
to this common idea its possible Shakespeare rejects the no on of a reciprocal rela onship
reminding women that this behaviour subverts the respected social constructs of masculinity and
femininity. In addi on to this it is possible that the struggle to form a reciprocal rela onship is
representa ve of the con ict between Venice and the O oman Empire for control of Cyprus, one
empire must emerge to be victorious therefore one will ul mately gain power and one will not;
Similar to that of Othello and Desdemona. Shakespeare presents this struggle through the
employment of military language when speaking about domes c a airs ‘the very head and front of
my o ending’ the military seman cs employed throughout the play creates an outward tension
between public and private a airs; foreshadowing the inevitable struggle for power and stability
within the rela onship between Othello and Desdemona. This ul mately forebodes the domes c
tragedy of the play. For this reason one can begin to understand why Desdemona is presented to
prance between the binary opposi ons of being ac ve or passive when building and presen ng a
reciprocal rela onship.
Shakespeare employs the rela onship between Othello and Desdemona through the explora on
of the social construct of masculinity and the consequences of subver ng this, in order to deter a
Jacobean audience from manipula ng the natural order.One way in which this is made evident is
through Shakespeare’s employment of Desdemona’s character as a subversion of typical femininity
within her rela onship. In Othello’s descrip on of Desdemona she is portrayed to be an ac ve
woman ‘she’d come again, and with a greedy ear, Devour up my discourse’ the use of synaesthesia
‘greedy ear/..devour up my discourse’ ini ally presents Desdemona as ac ve as well as more
typically masculine. This contrasts the idea of women as mid, further presen ng her as subver ng
feminine ideals. In addi on to this the allitera ve plosives ‘devour/..discourse’ paired with the
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