Othello arguments

• Love can become so obsessive that it becomes destructive, painful and a kind of madness

  Theme: failure of love/ barriers to love

  Points:

  - Iago's obsessive fraternal love for Othello led to him feeling jilted at his lack of promotion, although this is only one interpretation of Iago's motive we can see it permeate.

  - Othello's love for Desdemona borders on obsession - distracts from the work at hand and destroys itself - epitomised through all the death at the end.
• Jealousy has a corrosive power over love and heightens the irrationality of it

  Theme: failure of love/ barriers to love

  Points:

  - professional jealousy of Iago sets the whole play into motion

  - Iago's sexual jealousy - women as a threat to the military bonds that iago and othello share, also Iago feels he's ben cuckolded and wants revenge.

  - jealousy as a form of tyranny in Othello, insatiability of the "green eyed monster" and its relentless disturbance of Othello's peace of mind, heightens the irrationality of him.
• Romantic love often at odds with the love we owe family and friends

  Theme: failure of love/ barriers to love

  Points:

  - Othello's failure to reconcile his working duty and his romantic life.

  - Iago's supposed sexual jealousy of Othello and Desdemona's relationship.
• to love is a human weakness

  Theme: failure of love/ barriers to love

  Points:

  - this is Iago's primary view of love, he believes it is a weakness and it causes obsession and irrationality - ironic considering he's even more irrational than the characters in love, and its his apathy that destroys the people in the play.

  - antithesis is it brings out strength in Desdemona and Othello, their love initially appears transcendent and Desdemona can stand up against her father because of it.
• true love is a perfect spiritual union between two kindred spirits

  Theme: pure, romantic or innocent love

  Points:

  - Desdemona and Othello are very similar, both crave adventure and can see something profound in eachother - "she loved me for the dangers I had passed, and i loved her that she did pity them"
• female honour and chastity contradicts men's sexual desire for women

  Theme: love and sex

  Points:

  - double standard of the conduct of men and women, men allowed to chase and court who they want, women forced to remain chaste and innocent.

  - irony in that Desdemona was never adulterous but her ending was tragic, she even takes the blame in dying shows female learned subjugation

  - masculine code of honour threatened by the idea of female sexuality, this is how Iago can destroy Othello by making him believe his wife was unchaste
• to feel loved is to have a new identity and feel a sense of purpose/ to feel empowered

  Theme: pure, romantic or innocent love

  Points:

  - Othello struggles between his sense of purpose toward his wife and his work - cant reconcile his professional identity and his spousal one.

  - Desdemona feels purpose to serve Othello as he's now her lord, her allegiance moves for father to husband so she's always the subdued one.

  - question of empowerment in the institution of marriage - Emilia and D trapped, Bianca wants marriage but ironically she has more power now despite her being condemned as a "strumpet"
• sexual passion and desire are essential to love but lust and fear of betrayal can make sex an obstacle to love.

  Theme: love and sex

  Points:

  - dichotomy of sexual love, doesn't always mean lust; instead lust is a barrier to love

  - Iago only capable of feeling lust and so cannot and doesn't want to feel love for anything as he views it as a weakness.

  - from the beginning theres a suggestion that Desdemona and Othello have a sexual relationship, its not until they get to Cyprus that this is corrupted.
• through Iago, shakespeare explores the sinister and manipulative nature of those who are motivated by revenge and jealousy

  Theme: love and sex

  Points:

  - Iago as the machiavellian malcontent, puppeteer of the other characters because he craves revenge on Othello for whatever reason he has.

  - Othello becomes murderous as he begins to get jealous and is purely motivated by revenge o Desdemona, even in her death there's a sense of perverted justice as he wants to put her out of her isery quickly
• marriage can be both a holy vow and also a social contract - it's bond can be both positive and negative

  Theme: love as a social contract

  Points:

  - Desdemona freed in marriage to Othello from her father, but realistically she's just transferred allegiance from one "lord" to the other.

  - question of empowerment in the institution of marriage - Emilia and D trapped, Bianca wants marriage but ironically she has more power now despite her being condemned as a "strumpet"
• to be a wife is to be loyal - completely and unquestioningly obedient

  Theme: love as a social contract

  Points:

  - Tragic that Desdemona is unremittingly loyal, as the 'ideal' wife should be but she's brutally murdered by the person her loyalty was for.

  - learned subjugation of the female characters end up being their downfall

  - Emilia subverts this, not through adultery but through refusing to be subdued at the end by her husband, yet even when speaking out she's murdered - theres no winning for the women.
• Revenge


  Iago's motiveless revenge, Iago's attempt at create reasoning, Execution of Iago's revenge, Execution of Othello's revenge, (Othello's view towards revenge)
• Power and Powerlessness


  Othello's lack of power due to his race, Othello's physical power, Power of language (Iago), (Iago lack of power at the end) Desdemona's diminishing power
• Conflict


  Racial conflict, Iago and Othello conflict, Othello's internal conflict
• Love


  Power of love, Fragility of love, Othello's torment of loving Desdemona
• Isolation


  Isolation by race, Iago's intentional isolation, Pinnacles of Isolation
• Jealousy


  Iago's view of jealousy, Othello's internalised jealousy, Desdemona's lack of jealousy
• Women


  Desdemona's strength Desdemona's loyalty, Emilia's bravery