Key Ideas

• Love, Historical Context and Historicism (Act 4, Scene 2)

  Emilia staunchly defends Desdemona and in the audience there is perhaps a hope that tragedy will be averted and that Othello will believe her, and consequently true love will prevail. This is not the case however.
• Christianity

  • There is quite a lot of discussion here about oaths.
  • Oaths of love were important.
  • Given the Christian context of this play, any dishonesty would incur damnation not just from her husband Othello, but also from God.
  • Breaking such an oath would mean that not only her life on earth would be in peril but so would her eternal life.
• Disorder

  • Alongside this though we note that Othello confuses heaven with hell and lies with the truth.
  • At this point, therefore, everything has been turned upside-down and the world is in chaos.
  • Disorder reigns.
• Promiscuity

  • We see the negative path upon which Othello and Desdemona’s love has travelled.
  • When Othello says, ‘I took you for that cunning whore of Venice’ it becomes clear that in Othello’s mind, Desdemona’s identity has been entirely subsumed by her (supposed) promiscuity.
• Catharsis

  • At this point in the drama the audience begins to realise the danger that love and its misinterpretation can offer.
  • This is cathartic for the audience because most people watching will have experienced love in one form or another.
• Fatal tragedy

  • Although there are points where the tragic ending of this love could be stopped, none of the characters seem to be capable of doing this.
  • Thus the tragedy moves inexorably towards its conclusion.
• Tragedy (Act 4, Scene 2)

  Desdemona’s reflection on her ‘wretched fortune’ links to another concept within tragedy—the idea of the wheel of fortune
• The wheel of fortune

  • If life goes well, then the individual is at the top of the wheel.
  • However ‘fate’ or events in life can easily turn the wheel’s rotation so that the individual finds themselves at the bottom of the wheel, where tragedy can sometimes occur.
  • At this point, Desdemona seems aware of the process.
• Domestic sphere

  • The wedding sheets placed on Desdemona and Othello’s bed are about to become winding sheets (used to wrap dead bodies), as this bed is about to become her grave.
  • Although events have moved out into the public sphere, they will eventually move back to the very domestic sphere of their bedroom, the place where they have previously made love.
• Roderigo

  • It also becomes clearer now about the tragic destination of Roderigo.
  • Since he has been paying Iago and is under the illusion still that Iago will arrange a meeting between him and Desdemona, this seals his fate to be caught in the cross-fire of the tragedy.
  • He is very likely to die and the audience may well pick up on this.
• Come-uppance

  • So embroiled however is Iago in all his plotting and machinations that the audience may also understand that he will soon trip up, and that he too will find himself a victim of fortune.
  • He has already been recognised as a type and they will wish to see him get his ‘come-uppance’.