Characters: Othello

• Act 1 Scene 2

  • Othello is seen as the mediator and prudent
  • "Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them"
  • He understands that violence is not the solution to peace; he also uses his voice to assert his reasoning for marrying Desdemona
  • He is immune to toxic masculinity that defines many heroes in literature
• Act 2 Scene 3

  • Othello is seen as a military general/leader - he often puts his obligations to others needs
  • "Cassio I love thee,/But never me an officer of mine"
  • This scene implies that Othello is willing to sacrifice his own loyalties to become the perfect leader
• Act 1 Scene 3

  • Othello's love to Desdemona is portrayed by their mutual respect for each other
  • "Send for the lady... And let her speak of me to her father"
  • Othello appreciates her opinion and allows her to fight her own case, breaking conventions at the time
  • "She loved me for the dangers I had passed/ And I loved that she did pity them"
  • "Greedy ears"
• Act 3 Scene 3

  • Othello's mind has begun to disintegrate
  • "Thou has set me on the rack" = The metaphor connotes medieval torture and implies Iago's inevitable control over Othello plus incessant thoughts plaguing his mind
  • Irrationality - "Farewell the tranquil mind"
  • No longer trust his feelings or Desdemona - "give the ocular proof"
• Act 3 Scene 3 and Act 4 Scene 1

  • Othello feels his identity is being stripped away from through Desdemona's infidelity; Shakespeare argues he seeks revenge
  • Speech in Act 3 Scene 3 is full of "Death" & "Damnation"
  • "I will chop her into pieces. Cuckold me!"
  • He is humiliated and enraged at his portrayal of being a cuckold
  • Shakespeare also argues that Othello no longer cares about the truth, but for his masculinity to be reinstated and Desdemona (a signal of his insecurity) dead