The Significance Of War In Othello 2cv6e

The Significance of War in Othello Clark Chen English 117S Jeffrey Knapp It was noted from Professor Knapp’s lecture that something had gone amiss in Shakespeare’s life around the time that Othello was written. According to historians, Shakespeare had obtained a gentleman’s status and secured a well-established celebrity status, perhaps leading him to represent himself in a “sordid manner.” Othello may have been inspired by the playwright’s personal conflict between irrational emotions and rational peace of mind. Whether this is the case, it is certain that this turmoil of two sides, raw emotion and logical reasoning, is illustrated through the transformation of Othello. Jealous ion, the victor of this battle between reason and emotion, ultimately consumes Othello and transforms him from a beloved, respected war hero into a crazed man who kills his beloved and innocent wife. Though most may argue that the evil Iago, the sole disseminator of lies and malicious intent, is the only component setting the stage for this tragedy, the Turkish-Venetian war is the true catalyst of Othello’s transformation and the heartbreaking catastrophes that occur. Without the imminent threat of war changing the setting of the play from peace-time Venice to Cyprus, the tragedy that unfolds in Othello would not have occurred; thus it was essential that Shakespeare frame the tragedy of Othello and Desdemona with this war, which despite never explicitly happening, stages the emotional pyrotechnics necessary for the plot. The first step in proving my thesis involves juxtaposing Othello’s pre-war behavior in peacetime Venice with his wartime behavior in Cyprus. Although it is established that the war itself will not take place, the vastly different ways Othello handles two similar altercations

in the two different settings elucidates that this change in setting builds the foundation for the tragedy of Othello and Desdemona. In peacetime Venice at the beginning of the play, Othello is shown composed and self-assured. Act 1 Scene 2 shows Iago speaking poorly of Brabantio to Othello, musing that he (Iago) is not cruel enough to murder someone, though Brabantio may deserve it. Othello’s response and his first line of the play 1.2.6, “ Tis better as it is ” implies that he believes it is right to choose peace over violence and is a very collected reply. His composed and rational character is further illustrated in the ensuing conflict with Brabantio, who confronts Othello about seeing his daughter Desdemona. Iago fails to incite anger in Othello before the confrontation, and throughout the incident, Othello is entirely calm and composed in the face of Brabantio’s drawn sword and hostility. Brabantio spews verbal venom composed of racial slurs and harsh accusations: “ If she in chains of magic were not bound, Whether a maid so … fair…Would ever have … Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom Of such a thing as thou—to fear, not to delight.” Brabantio accuses Othello of sorcery and enchanting his daughter, for his fair Desdemona would never willingly be with a “thing” like Othello. Othello retorts calm and composed, “Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it Without a prompter. Whither will you that I go To answer this your charge?” Othello conveys that this is not the time for him to fight and simply asks, in an almost surreal, calm manner to whom should he go to respond to these charges. Could a man this calm and collected when dealt such hate and threat of violence be the same man to later kill that which is most beloved to him? These incidents that occur in the setting of peacetime Venice capture Othello’s character as a man who could not have done such a thing. Note the fact that Iago’s scheming

manipulation has not begun, and has yet to poison Othello’s mind with jealous lies. After the impending war moves the plot from Venice to Cyprus, a conflict that happens there illustrates a volatile, emotional side of Othello. The discussion of this irrational side to Othello in the following paragraph will illuminate the crucial necessity of framing the tragedy of Othello and Desdemona with a war that never occurs. After confirming that the storm has destroyed the Turkish fleet, and thus ended the impending war, Othello holds festivities to celebrate this incident as well as his marriage with Desdemona. He leaves to spend time with his wife but is notified of a conflict between Montano, officer at Cyprus, and Cassio his right hand man. Othello, arriving at the conflict, states: “Have we all become as savage as the Turks…? The next man who swings his sword must not care about his life, because the instant he strikes, he dies.” In peacetime Venice in the previous situation discussed, Othello met violence and hate directed at him by Brabantio with composure. The situation here in Cyprus does not hold the weight that the one in Venice did, for Othello is clearly in charge and his life is not in danger as when Brabantio threatened him. This observation magnifies the radical change of Othello’s behavior between peacetime Venice and wartime Cyprus, for his rational composure has been replaced with a display of emotional outrage not due to a change in severity of conflict, but by the difference in setting. Further proof is given in Othello’s following response in Act 2 Scene 3: “my blood begins my safer guides to rule, and ion, having my best judgement collied, assays to lead the way. If I once stir, or do but lift this arm, the best of you shall sink in my rebuke. … who set it on, … though he had twinned with me…shall lose me. What, in a town of war Yet wild, the people’s hearts brimful of fear, To manage private and domestic quarrel?”

Othello, despite being explicitly aware that ion has replaced his better judgment, rashly seeks to move forward with action. He also brings to light the fact that despite the war itself not happening, Cyprus is a “town of war” with the remnants and threat of it instilling fear in people. This conflict, though dwarfs in comparison in severity with the Venice Brabantio incident, brings about an emotional response from Othello, thus illustrating that he himself is greatly affected by this change in setting from peace to war, Venice to Cyprus. Note once more that Iago has not yet dispelled jealous lies to Othello directly; Othello’s actions are a product of his own character which we now see has two distinct sides. The setting of war manifested in the setting of Cyprus is the switch that allows Othello’s actions and thoughts to be dictated by his emotional and irrational side. It is important to address and dispute the idea that war is order, for if war is order in the eyes of Othello, the change in setting from peaceful Venice to wartime Cyprus could not have been the catalyst that Shakespeare strategically uses in order to frame the tragedy between Othello and Desdemona. The main piece of text pertinent to this discussion is Othello’s burst of outrage after Iago thoroughly disseminates seeds of suspicion; he implies again and again that Desdemona is cheating on Othello. Othello has had the last straw, stating: “I had been happy if the general camp, Pioneers and all, had tasted her sweet body, So I had nothing known. Oh, now forever Farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content! Farewell the plumed troops and the big wars That makes ambition virtue! Oh, farewell! Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump, The spirit-stirring drum, th' ear-piercing fife, The royal banner, and all quality, Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war! And O you mortal engines, whose rude throats The immortal Jove’s dead clamors counterfeit,

Farewell! Othello’s occupation’s gone.” In this age, simply by locality of text Othello seems to relate the tranquil mind with the “plumed troops and big wars,” appearing to associate peace of mind with war. However, the opening line of this text suggests that this is not so. Othello says something akin to “ignorance is bliss”, as he would be content of Desdemona’s supposed infidelity as long as he did no know about it. That statement strongly implies that his tortured mind is aggravated not by the truth, but by his perception or knowledge of it. Despite his grandiose description of the “pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war,” the distinction between truth and interpretation through perception suggests that Othello is not saying that war is absolute glory or order. War at its coldest truth consists of killing: irrational and ionate. Othello’s ability to ignore that truth and perceive it as something that makes “ambition virtue” is calculated, chosen ignorance, which has allowed him to ascend the ranks of the Venetian military and become a wellrespected general. In this age, he bids farewell to ignorance or refusal to measure his life by truth, and chooses instead to accept truth and the tumultuous ions that are associated with it. In the age, war is a metaphor and example that illustrates how something quintessentially gruesome, irrational, and awful can be perceived in a good light. If Othello can accept the real nature of war as something that is inherently disorderly, he will accept that his thoughts of love for Desdemona in their current state are just as tempestuous and dangerous. The two distinct sides of Othello’s character, rationally composed and emotionally turbulent, as well as the important role of a catalytic war setting have been thoroughly discussed. A different perspective on why Shakespeare decides to use the setting of Cyprus to frame the tragedy focuses on Iago. Iago has uncannily precise insight of every

other character’s personality; particularly, his impeccable understanding of Othello’s character is perhaps the only way to ignite the pyrotechnics framed by the Turkish-Venetian War and lead to Othello’s tragic downfall. Essentially, Iago has knowledge of Othello’s wartime behavior; towards the beginning of the play, Iago states “I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof at Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds Christian and heathen.” He knows that Othello will be vulnerable in a setting of war, and only in that state will his lies have any power in manipulating Othello’s thoughts. The setting in Cyprus is ripe for Iago’s plans to come to fruition. Othello, victim of Iago’s carefully coordinated plans, kills his beloved Desdemona and then himself. Again, this tragedy could only have occurred in an environment of war. The rational Othello as seen in Venice does not seem capable of becoming a victim of Iago’s lies. As Iago stated with great determination in Act 1, “hell and night” has indeed brought “this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” The wartime setting at Cyprus towards the beginning of the play sealed Othello and Desdemona’s tragic fate, as they were all but Iago’s puppets on a string.

Works Cited Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Suzanne Gossett, Jean E. Howard, and Katharine Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays, the Sonnets. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2016.