CORINNENOTES
WHAT IS REVEALED ABOUT CHARACTER IN ACT 3, SCENE 3, LINE 91-283?
"When I love thee not/Chaos is come again".Act 3 Scene 3 is a defining scene in the play,after which chaos does indeed come for Othello.This scene illustrates Iago's manipulation skills,Othello's lack of knowledge of human nature,the redefinition of their relationship and the importance of the theme of appearance and reality in the play.
While Iago's role as a manipulator has been established from the first scene,Act 3 Scene 3 shows how Iago's ability to manipulate is not restricted to the characters of Roderigo and Cassio.Iago controls the conversation between him and Othello by repeating Othello's lines and answering questions with a question: "Honest,my lord?".Iago's language shows how he is able to manipulate Othello.He deliberately echoes Brabantio's line in Act one Scene three: "She did deceive her father,marrying you",knowing that doubt has already been cast on Desdemona's honesty. Iago's role in relation to Othello is also redefined in this scene.Iago is no longer simply Othello's ensign,Othello now sees him as a friend: "Thou dost conspire against thy friend".This false impression allows Iago to fully manipulate Othello and it is surely a tribute to Iago's skills as a manipulator that Othello sees him as a friend.The scene also shows how Iago is not as aware of himself as he thinks he is,the monster of jealousy which he warns Othello of has already affected him.
Othello's lack of understanding human nature is most apparent in this scene.His "For such things in a false disloyal knave/Are tricks of custom" is a suprisingly accurate description of Iago and yet Othello let's himself be blinded by the military values of friendship and trust which are supposed to exist between soldiers,thinking that Iago is "full of love and honesty".The scene also shows how he equally does not understand himself,he is unable to recognise jealousy " 'Tis not make me jealous".For all Othello's speech about Desdemona's virtues he fails to recognise the virtue of Desdemona's which is most obvious to the audience-her love for him.This is not to say that the impression of Othello which was created in the first two acts has disappeared in this scene.The line "Haply for I am black/And have not those soft parts of conversation" could be seen to be Othello's modesty,as shown in Act one.However given the effect which Iago has had on him I would be inclined to say that it shows how Othello is now referring to himself in terms of the stereotypes used by the other characters in the play,hinting to the audience of his descent into madness and reminding them of his position as the outsider,showing them why he is open to Iago's manipulation.The way that Othello is manipulated in this scene creates sympathy for him.The audience is aware of Iago's true nature and his plan to bring chaos to Desdemona and Othello's world and therefore may even feel like accomplices who can do nothing to stop Iago destroying Othello.
Images of jealousy are used extensively throughout the play and are used in this scene to show the characters of Iago and Othello.Iago describes jealousy as the "green-eyed monster" and warns Othello to "beware...of jealousy!".The audience is however able to recognise this as being ironic-it is the "monster" of jealousy after all that provides his motives in Act one so he is affected equally as much as he intends Othello to be.Othello's "As if there were some monster in thy thought/Too hideous to be shown" links with the images of jealousy in the play.This line can also be used in the debate that many critics have taken part in as to whether Iago is a representation of evil or an opportunist.If Iago is an opportunist it suggests a monster which has taken over Iago's mind.However it can also be argued that this line could refer to the monster which Iago has created to destroy Othello,or even the monster which has always been part of Iago.
Images of heaven and hell are used by Shakespeare in this scene to show the effect that Iago has on Othello.Othello repeatedly looks to heaven, "By heaven,I'll know thy thoughts".By line 283 however Iago has made Othello doubt heaven, "O heaven mocks itself".The fact that Desdemona is referred to in terms of heaven throughout the play, "divine", means that the audience is able to recognise that not only is Othello beginning to doubt heaven and the goodness which it represents but that he is beginning to doubt Desdemona.The diminishing of the power of heaven over Othello also prepares the audience for Othello's descent into maddness.As Iago is surrounded by images of hell it shows how,at this point in the play,hell,and the evil which it represents,is triumphing over the goodness of heaven.
In this scene the theme of appearance and reality is explored to show how both Iago and Othello are not as they seem to the other characters.Iago states that "Men should be what they seem" despite the fact that he has previously revealed to the audience "I am not what I am".Iago is again referred to by Othello as being honest,"This honest creature".References to honesty are found throughout this scene,showing the importance placed on honesty by Othello due to the military values which surround him,and showing how he believes in the image of what Iago should be,honest and trustworthy,rather than what he actually is. Equally up to this point in the play Othello has remained in control of the situations which have arisen.In this scene his inability to rationalise events which involve his emotions is shown.Despite the fact he says to Iago "I'll see before I doubt" he lets Iago persuade him of Desdemona's infidelity without him actually seeing proof and is then confused: "Why did I marry?".This scene also reveals that Othello and Desdemona's relationship is not as it first appears.Desdemona trusts Othello implicitly,as she shows in later scenes,Othello does not have this trust however.This is not to say that Othello's love for Desdemona is any less than Desdemona's love for Othello,it is simply a different kind of love, undoubtedly due to Othello and Desdemona's differing age and life experience.
Act three Scene three has been labelled by some critics as being the most powerful scene in all of Shakespeare's plays.This is no doubt due in part to the way in which the characters of Othello and Iago are explored.Othello is shown to be naive and unable to control events in his personal life,despite how good a soldier he is.Equally Iago's skills as a manipulator are shown in all their glory.The audience is made aware of how Othello is unable to fully understand Desdemona,and the scene prepares them for Othello's descent into maddness.Most of all it is a key scene in explaining the characters of Iago and Othello-and the chaos which Iago causes.