CORINNENOTES
THEMES IN "OTHELLO"
JEALOUSY
Jealousy is a major theme of the play.It acts as a motive for Iago to plot the downfall of Othello(he wants the position of officer,thinks Othello has slept with Emilia and is in "love" with Desdemona).The imagery surrounding jealousy makes it a monster which controls the characters.Emilia describes jealousy as "a monster/Begot upon itself,born upon itself" and even Iago warns Othello to beware of the "green-eyed monster",ironic considering how Iago is affected by jealousy.Othello's flaw is that he cannot understand human nature and he therefore cannot recognise the fact that he is jealous.
POWER
Iago's need for power contributes to the downfall of the characters.For Iago power equals a position in society which he desperately needs.In manipulating the characters it is Iago who holds the power.He is able to control Othello,Cassio and Roderigo.He has more trouble in gaining power over the women in the play.At first Iago is able to control Emilia but as the play progresses he looses this control.As Iago is influencing Othello the goodness of Desdemona can be seen to be influencing Emilia,so that she acts as the weak link in Iago's plan.
APPEARANCE & REALITY
Appearance and reality is a theme which reoccurs throughout Shakespeare.In "Othello" this theme plays a crucial role.The military values which Shakespeare has explored:honesty,trust and friendship which are supposed to exist between soldiers allow Iago to full manipulate the characters.The imagery throughout the play hints at the fact that appearances are deceptive.Iago mentions the Roman God Janus who has two faces and even tells Othello "men should be what they seem" despite the fact that he has already revealed "I am not what I am".None of the characters in the play truly understand each other.Othello is considered to be a savage outsider and even Desdemona,who has a much less biased opinion of Othello,saw his "visage in his mind" does not understand him,partly no doubt due to her innocence.Othello himself does not understand what people are like,he doesn't see past Iago's mask and he does not really know Desdemona-he admits he knows only of the "tented field".Having said this none of the other characters understand Desdemona either,Brabantio says she is a "maiden never bold" and Roderigo thinks that she can be bought with presents.Iago's downfall proves to be the fact that he does not understand women-and so he can never truly be in control of Emilia.
A PLAY OF CONTRASTS
"Othello" can be described as a play of contrasts.The contrasts which Shakespeare created help provide characterisation and link with the other themes of the play.
ORDER/CHAOS
The play can be split into two sections,that of the order of Venice and that of the chaos of Cyprus.In the play Venice represents civilisation and order while Cyprus represents chaos.It is important in the creating of dramatic tension that Othello's descent into madness happens in Cyprus.In creating the idea of chaos light and darkness also are important...
LIGHT/DARKNESS
Light represents everything which is good while darkness represents chaos and evil.It is important in creating dramatic tension that parts of the play,for example Act5,Scene1,take place in the dark as it creates fear and panic and highlights that evil is being done.When Desdemona is murdered it is also important as it shows how darkness is destroying the light, "put out the light".The issue of being fair or black is also used to highlight racial stereotypes: "your son in law is far more fair than black" and it highlights how the characters cannot understand who Othello is,or see past the stereotype of the Moor.
HEAVEN/HELL
Images of heaven and hell are used extensively throughout the play-usually to contrast the roles of Desdemona and Iago.The characters all refer to Desdemona in terms of heaven, "divine", while Iago is referred to in terms of hell.The contrast is most apparent when Iago looks to hell to create the monster which will destroy Othello, "hell and night/Must bring this monstrous birth to the worlds light",while Desdemona looks to heaven to protect Othello from this monster, "heaven keep that monster from his mind".When Othello descends into madness the change is shown most obviously in that he changes Desdemona from the angel to the devil, "O devil,devil".The images of heaven and hell(and light and darkness) link closely with the images of good and evil...
GOOD/EVIL
The contrast of good and evil is created by all the other contrasts Shakespeare used.Desdemona can be seen to represent everything which is good while Iago represents everything which is evil.Iago's role has been questioned in the 20th century as to whether he is simply a representation of pure evil or a mere opportunist.