An A* English Literature essay titled 'How Does Shakespeare Present Othello and Desdemona’s Relationship in Act 1 of Othello?'. It critically analyses key moments in the play which demonstrate significant aspects of the relationship between Othello and Desdemona.
How Does Shakespeare Present Othello and Desdemona’s Relationship in Act
1 of Othello?
When considering the presentation of the relationship between Othello and
Desdemona in Act 1 of the play, one is struck by the blatant resistance to expectations
of Elizabethan society. Within the play, Shakespeare manages to establish a
somewhat liberated partnership between Othello and Desdemona within the context
of a highly discriminatory society. Therefore, it is rational to argue that Shakespeare
presents Othello and Desdemona’s relationship as being defiant of societal
expectations on multiple levels.
When introduced to the relationship in Act 1 Scene 3, we, as an audience, are able to
gauge the notion that the relationship contains an equal balance of power between
Othello and Desdemona, which defies common conventions of Elizabethan society.
When discussing the union of Othello and Desdemona, Othello demands that
somebody must ‘send for the lady’, as well as insisting that those in power ‘let her
speak of [him] before her father’. Not only does Othello’s use of imperative verbs
challenge the definite discrimination that he would certainly face at the hands of his
race, but it also demonstrates how Othello values Desdemona’s opinion. In this
marriage, she is not voiceless, as was typical in Elizabethan marriages. Furthermore,
Othello goes on to describe how when telling Desdemona the tales of his past, she
would ‘devour up [his] discourse’. In utilising the dynamic verb ‘devour’,
Shakespeare is enhancing the power and agency held by Desdemona in this
relationship, perhaps suggesting that she holds even more power than Othello
himself. It could be argued that in choosing to present the relationship between
Othello and Desdemona in such a way, Shakespeare may be criticising the overly
discriminatory nature of the culture of the Elizabethan era, therefore, perhaps
advocating for a new age of tolerance for those previously viewed as ‘other’ by general
society.
Upon closer inspection of the language used by Othello in Act 1, we are able to infer
that Othello is being presented by Shakespeare as romantic and sentimental, in
direct contrast to how he is perceived by characters such as Iago and Roderigo in Act
1 Scene 1. Throughout Othello’s spoken discourse, particularly in Act 1 Scene 3, we
can observe that Othello speaks in planned prose, carefully constructing his speech in
order to convey himself as being well-spoken and calculated, especially to the
members of high society to which he is speaking. This aligns with G. Wilson Knight’s
commentary on Othello’s final monologue, naming it ‘the Othello music’. With this in
mind, one could argue that Shakespeare may be problematising the overbearing
impact that racism had on society in the time at which the play was written. In
presenting Othello as the complete antithesis in person to the man described by
other characters previously in the play, Shakespeare, to some extent, could be
attempting to debunk the harmful stereotypes perpetuated by society towards people
of colour as a means of sparking further acceptance of those previously marginalised.
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