An analysis of Desdemona in Othello
"...Of one that loved wisely but not too well"(5.2.396) near the end of the play, Othello speaks this line right before he kills himself. This near famous line should sum up the whole of Shakespeare's Othello. The theme of this play is sometimes mistaken. It is not a play between the two main characters; Othello and Iago, nor is it so remotely a play on jealousy. The main emotion and the driving force behind this play is Love. Everyone is this play is acting upon the driving force of love. All that they say or do is for love. And it is love, in the end, that rips them all apart and causes misery, tragedy and grief. The character in this story that has the strongest most unwavering love is Desdemona. Shakespeare depicts Desdemona as a fine woman, a fair woman, and a sweet woman that is driven by fear and love to untruth. Shakespeare means for there to be equal parts of softness, passion, and strength in the character of Desdemona. Through Desdemona's softness she exem!plifies the hardness in Othello's decision at the end of the play. Desdemona's passion exemplifies the revolting nature of Othello's extreme jealously. Finally, Desdemona's strength exemplifies the very human quality that Shakespeare hopes to portray t
With Desdemona we can see the ultimate horror of the tragedy of Othello and how weak of a person, and a man, he really was. Desdemona is the play's dignity and the center of its pathos. From the beginning of this play she is shown to be of quick wit and blinding spirit. Her intense and unconditional love for Othello is shown in all her words and actions. Desdemona only did what she thought to be right throughout the play. Though she had only everyone else's best interests in mind, this was her tragic fall and the plateau to her demise. But, in the end Desdemona had what we call the "last laugh". Her ability to not lay blame nor accuse or be angry to anybody ultimately makes her the hero and higher quality person in this play. While the roles of women always seemed to be the ones that were behind their husbands, Desdemona took this role and gave it her own attitude. Through Desdemona, Shakespeare created a woman stronger than the man she stood behind. sband and she never gave up loving him as he did her. Not only does this final phrase of Desdemona's show her strength but it brings out how truly weak Othello was and how truly tragic was the situation. The most revealing aspect of her strength is in her death scene, which is also a show of her love for her husband. Another aspect of Desdemona's personality and character is her unwavering love and passion for her husband. There are many incidents in this play where we can see that Desdemona loves Othello with all her heart. First, there's the fact that Desdemona defied her father and "shunned the wealthy curled of our nation" (1.2.80-81) and ran "to the sooty bosom" (1.2.83) of Othello. Throughout the play Othello is always Desdemona's first concern. When Desdemona first steps of the boat her first concern is with Othello and his safety. Her first words are, "I thank you, valiant Cassio. What tidings can you tell me of my Lord?" (2.1.96-97) This shows that Desdemona is firstly concerned with Othello's safety. For the remainder of the scene, until Othello arrives, Desdemona's concern for her husband never wavers.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Cassio Desdemona, Iago Iago, Emilia Iago, Othello Desdemona's, Tell Othello, Shakespeare Desdemona's, Desdemona Desdemona, Othello Iago, Desdemona Shakespeare, Iago Desdemona, desdemona's strength, throughout play, love othello, profane liberal counselor, concern husband, desdemona's concern, spirit intense, love husband, desdemona shakespeare, driving force, profane liberal,
Approximate Word count = 1417
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
