Reading through Othello for the first time I was taken aback by the characters but also the style of writing throughout the entire piece. Shakespeare within this play took time out to focus on the importance of what characters say or don't say. The two main characters, Othello and Iago, were my main focuses for the play on language that Shakespeare wrote throughout the play.
Right off the bat Othello is accused of witchcraft. He ingeniously denies the accusations but within the piece at no point does Othello come right out and testify that he did not use black magic on his new wife. He "dances" around the entire question and is found not guilty. Later on in the play we are introduced to the main story behind the sacred handkerchief which could lead the reader to believe 1) Othello is a believer of magic and the trial was just a clever way of denying the charge to keep his head or 2) Othello has no idea what he is doing and truly believes that he has nothing to do with magic regardless of the piece of cloth. If we are to side with the first option then Othello is truly a more cunning creature that I had first imagined and was able to use language/the ability to avoid subjects to his advantage. Iago is another character who uses speech/lack thereof to gain his true desires.
Othello is Iago's main focus and does he ever play him well. Iago uses language to say just the bare minimum to get Othello to believe the doubts that have been running rampid in his head and to turn a once level-headed man into an enraged killer. Shakespeare has written these characters very carefully so that their use of language was just as careful as himself. These characters (no matter their background in the military which would let the reader assume they aren't "well" educated) are more than aware of the powers and dangers of language and therefore use that to their advantage. Whether that be in a trial, like Othello, or to right whatever wrongs have been trust against them, like Iago.
2 comments:
I like your point about the use of language and I didn’t think of it until now but we’ve witnessed the play of language in the various Shakespeare plays that we already read so it makes sense now. When Othello was accused of witchcraft we see how his use of language was very convincing and I was persuaded as the audience that he did not use magic, if I were Desdemona I would have fell for him also. I like the point you bring up about the handkerchief and how it is related to magic. They way in which Iago uses language is a little different than Othello’s uses but is still just as effective. I agree with you in saying that these characters are more aware of the powers and dangers of language and use it to their advantage however I will admit I didn’t think of it that way until reading your post.
Othello is a play about gaps and silences as much as it is a play about things that are said. I think this is a crucial insight to understanding the play. If we look at Iago's speeches, he often emphasizes absence and those things that aren't there ("I am not what I am").
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