Othello and Authority

Authority is a legitimate or socially approved use of power which one person or a group holds over another. The exploration of authority is evident in the Shakespearean play   Othello, Pauline Hansons Maiden Speech and the Nazi Propoganda Poster, “Es Lebe Deutschland”. According to Othello, Pauline Hanson and Adolf Hitler, authority is the right to give orders and make others obey. The reflection of authority is subdivided in the texts through hierarchical and racial authority, including the authority over the emotions of an individual.

The exploration of hierarchical authority is portrayed in Othello through the utilisation of military rankings and in terms of social status characterised in both, men and women. A factor of Othello’s authority is the deep held respect in society towards him due to the experiences he has overcome as a person and as a general which is conveyed through anecdotes ‘ From year to year-the battles, sieges, fortunes that I have passed…Of being taken by insolent foe and sold to slavery….’ Othello’s past deeds as a slave and his victories as general present an authoritarian and influential figure in society and is a contributing factor to his place on the hierarchy as an influential figure which is evident through the alliteration present in his elegant manner of speech ‘Let him do his spite, my services which I have done the signiory shall out tongue his complaints’. The relationship between Othello, Cassio and Iago presented by Shakespeare draw attention to the rank and status of military officers and the effect their titles as soldiers has on their attitudes towards one another. Through the hierarchy of the military rankings, Othello is placed at the top, holding his position as general, maintaining great responsibility and supreme authority due to his experience and post portrayed through his conversations with other characters.   Through the dialogues between Othello and his lower ranking officers, it is evident that a hierarchical...