Summary:
An examination of the degree to which Othello's language in Act V of William Shakespeare's play was consistent with his speech throughout the play. A confident, noble man at the beginning of the play, Othello changes through Acts III and IV as Iago successfully manipulates him into believing Desdemona is unfaithful. Othello's language becomes more barbaric during these two acts, making it more consistent with his language in Act V.
Othello's language in Act V is inconsistent to what it was in the beginning of the play (Acts I&II) because Othello was a confident & noble man who was passionately in love with his wife Desdemona. However, as the play progresses in Acts III3&IV Othello's language changes as he is manipulated by Iago into believing Desdemona's infidelity. This in turn changes Othello's nature into becoming a jealous wreck and also his language into barbaric and somewhat hell-like, thus being consistent with his language in Act V.
In the beginning of the play, Othello portrays himself to be a noble man with a calm nature. This is evident through his speech (Act I Scene III) to the Duke of Venice regarding Brabantio's accusations of witchcraft toward him. Brabantio allows his negative emotions to affect his judgement, whereas Othello uses poetic and wise language which connotes his calm & rational manner while he explains to the Duke of his & Desdemona's apparent love for one another. It is through his calm and rational manner which persuades the Duke to dismiss Brabantio's accusations. While Brabantio speaks rashly and often very aggressively toward Othello, Othello does not do the same. Instead of lashing back out at Brabantio, his language is seemingly poetic and wise connoting his calm and rational nature. Although stating 'Rude am I in my speech...' Othello presents his humble and calm nature when compared to Brabantio. He knows that he is speaking politely but feels the need to apologise beforehand in case he may offend anyone without knowing. Othello often says wise statements during his speech such as 'unvarnished tale deliver of my whole course of love' when re-telling the audience of how he came to marry Desdemona. He also remarks that his love for Desdemona 'is the only witchcraft' he used. From these wise statements, it is clear that Othello is rational and calm when dealing with confrontation.
Another example is when Othello asks the Duke to allow Desdemona to come to Cyprus with him when she asks to. He states 'I ...beg it not to please ...my appetite...but to be free and bounteous to her mind...' which depicts his noble nature as it is evident that he puts his wife's needs before his own. This indicates his feelings for his wife.
Othello also portrays himself as a husband passionately in love with his wife. During his many speeches through which he proclaims his love, Othello uses strong heavenly imagery to connote his passion and desire for Desdemona. One example of this is Act II Scene I where Othello returns from his battle against the Turks. The two lovers embrace each other and Othello then speaks of his undying love for Desdemona and compares it to the heavens. In stating that his love is 'Olympus-high' Othello implies that his love for Desdemona is immense and infinite. He also speaks of his 'soul's joy' 'comfort' and also that if he was to die then, it would be 'most happy'. From this, it is evident that Othello is extremely fond of his wife and that his relationship with her is a very strong and positive one.
From Acts I&II, it is therefore obvious that Othello's language is inconsistent to what it is in the rest of the play, especially in Act V. His language in these two Acts promoted strong positive connotations in regard to his personality as being noble and calm and also his marriage with Desdemona as being strong. Now as the play continues into Act V, Othello's language changes into crude language with 'hell' imagery giving negative connotation.
In Act III, the transformation of Othello's personality and also his language is obvious. It was mentioned earlier about heavenly imagery used by Othello to depict his stable marriage. However, In Act III Scene III, Othello is no longer confident with his marriage as his language changes from heavenly imagery to hawking imagery. Othello now speaks of his wife as a 'haggard' the image of an untrained hawk to connote his suspicions of her infidelity. It is evident that he now does not think highly of her as he states he will 'whistle her off' meaning he will dispose of her if she does happen to stray away from him. It is evident Othello begins to doubt his marriage in this Act as he allows Iago to manipulate him and believe the lies Iago feeds him. By the end of this Act, Othello's language completely changes as he now speaks in 'hell' imagery which gives negative connotations. He now believes Iago's stories of Desdemona's infidelity although he has no proof. From his change of perspective toward his wife & marriage, his language also changes as he speaks of her in a crude manner like he no longer respects her. This is evident as Othello calls his wife a 'whore' and also when he cries 'Death and damnation!' as Iago suggests Desdemona and Cassio sleeping together. As Othello becomes more confident of his wife's unfaithfulness, his language reflects his fury toward her as he vows revenge on her. In using 'hell' imagery on pg 127, Othello compares his now hatred for Desdemona with the venom of 'aspics' tongues' which connote his negativity toward her and also through his desire to 'tear her all to pieces!'
Also, in Act IV, Othello's language is consistent with that of Act V due to Othello's continuing vow of revenge against Desdemona and Cassio. This is especially evident in Act IV Scene I where Othello believes Cassio boasted about sleeping with Desdemona. Overcome with rage and jealously, he now uses 'hell' imagery to indicate his wish for her to die from her supposed infidelity. He now regards her as trash seeing that he wishes for her to 'rot and perish, and be damned' He also speaks of his 'heart turned to stone' and wanting to 'chop her into messes' because of her unfaithfulness, which is consistent with the cold and heartless language he used before killing Desdemona in Act V.
His coldness toward Desdemona is greatly emphasised in Act IV Scene II when he accuses her of being dishonest with him. Othello no longer cares for his wife and so does not listen to her as she tries to persuade him of her loyalty. His coldness toward Desdemona is apparent as he again refers to her as a 'whore' and no longer as his wife while Emilia goes to fetch Desdemona. When speaking to her, Othello is again cold to her while claiming her of being a liar and 'damned' to hell with 'the devils' and also calling her a whore to her face. This again emphasises his consistency in language in Act V before he kills her and also when he confronts Iago after learning of his ....
Act V Scene II is of Desdemona's death when Othello strangles her. In this Act, his language is consistent of those in Acts III&IV because Othello no longer regards Desdemona as his wife, but as an unfaithful creature. This is evident as he continues to demand her to pray for forgiveness and mention her going to hell as he murders her. After this scene, Othello's main language consistencies in Act V with Acts III&IV are when he realises his wife's innocence.
Now he mentions hell because he believes that is the fate that awaits him because he murdered an innocent woman. Prior to this, he believed this was Desdemona's fate because she apparently was unfaithful to him. However, after learning the truth, Othello looks forward to being punished for his sins by crying out '...whip me ye devils... roast me in sulphur... wash me in...liquid fire...' He also uses 'hell' imagery when mentioning Iago calling him the 'demi devil' as he is left to wonder how one single man could cause him utter loss and manage to destroy his entire life in only a matter of days.
Therefore, Othello's language in Act V is consistent to that of Acts III&IV after he is manipulated by Iago into believing Desdemona's infidelity with Cassio. However, prior to this, his language in Act V is inconsistent to that of Acts I&II because he was still a confident and noble man with a stable and happy marriage. It the actions of Iago throughout the play that transform Othello.
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