Essay
Masculinity - Othello essay
- Module
- Shakespeare
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
Essay written by an A-level English literature private tutor + A* student. A high level (A*) Othello essay on Othello for Edexcel A level English
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Explore how Shakespeare presents masculinity in Othello. You must relate your dis-cussion to relevant contextual factors.
Shakespeare employs the construct of masculinity in Othello as a means of manipulation
as well as through the binary oppositions of masculinity and femininity. Moreover Shake-
speare employs the character of Desdemona in order to subvert the traditional stereotypes
of femininity, by presenting her as a strong independent woman he is vicariously exploring
masculinity as a social construct.Furthermore by exploring the power dynamic between
Iago and Roderigo through the tropes of the gull and the malcontent he seeks to traverse
the emasculation of Roderigo by Iago. In this way it is possible that Shakespeare seeks to
critique socially enforced gender roles.
Shakespeare utilises the character of Desdemona in order to subvert the construct of femi-
ninity and in this way Shakespeare presents the theme of masculinity through her. In Oth-
ello’s description of Desdemona she is portrayed to be an active woman ‘she’d come
again, and with a greedy ear, Devour up my discourse’ the use of the conditional tense
‘she’d come’ suggests that she initiated any interaction with Othello, presenting her as an
active woman. This is reinforced through the use of synaesthesia ‘greedy ear/..devour up
my discourse’ this contrasts the idea of women as timid, further presenting her as subvert-
ing feminine ideals. In addition to this the alliterative plosives ‘devour/..discourse’ paired
with the animalistic verb emphasises the outward desire she has for Othello, illustrating
her to overturn the image of her as a passive entity in their relationship. Furthermore it
could be argued that Desdemona is presented to be masculine through her articulate
speech and her employment of the rhetoric ‘to you I am bound for life and education: my
life and education both do learn me’ to manipulate much like Iago. The utilisation of
anadiplosis presents her to be firm in her beliefs further illustrating her as a dominant
woman, which may be perceived as an inherently masculine trait. As women were typically
othered due to their gender and lack of education, moreover they were seen to be natu-
rally inferior in intellect, Desdemona is however persistent in her position, challenging
these stereotypes through her articulation, allowing her to stand in a position of power.
This relates to Beauvoir’s theory that a women must imitate a man in order to be seen as a
human, therefore Desdemona rejects her role as an other and must embody masculine
traits in order to do this. However embodied persona is cleverly contrasted through the
verb ‘bound’ as it has connotations of Desdemona as an object colluding with the domestic
stereotypes of women as well as women as a possession of men. It is possible that whilst
Shakespeare intends to portray a strong woman he maintains the idea that women must
fulfil their gender roles, they will be forever be trapped in the bounds of the patriarchy.
Thus presenting the natural duality of Desdemona’s character through the encompassing
of the binary oppositions of masculinity and femininity. This may be as he wants to dis-
courage women in the Jacobean era from presenting themselves in the same way, as is
seen through the demise of Lady Macbeth.
Moreover in a similar way to which Desdemona asserts dominance over her father by ma-
nipulating her education, Shakespeare displays masculinity through the concept of domi-
nance and exploring how this may be used to manipulate others; as seen through the
power dynamic between Iago and Roderigo; the gull and the malcontent. Whilst Roderigo
is higher up in the great chain of being than Iago it is clear that Iago emasculates Roderigo
in order to gain power to achieve his goal of degrading Othello and causing his eventual
demise. This is initially seen through Iago’s use of imperative verbs ‘Call him/.. Rouse
him/.. Proclaim him/.. Plague him’ the direct instruction could be seen as an attempt by
Iago to climb the great chain of being and reduce Roderigo’s power as he would typically
be the one giving instructions. Moreover each imperative is written to be more grim than
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