Othello

Speech

My response to the play 'Othello' has changed drastically throughout the course of studying it. At first, I thought it was going to be plain boring- I mean, fifth year of high school, fifth booring shakespearian play. But as we continued reading the play, and as I continued writing my personal reflection entries, some deep inward reflection helped me realise that 'Othello'- the play, not just the character, actually has some depth to it.

I came to this conclusion as I was thinking about the characters Shakespeare created and, as usual,   ignoring the techniques he used. You see, characters are just more interesting to me, although in examining the characters, I linked them to the techniques used to bring them to life. Take Iago for example. A responder can certainly dig a lot deeper into his actions, and even take his personality and create a whole background.   For example, his level wellbeing is certainly not as high as the other characters. He is obviously not very self secure, as can be told from his immediate reaction to being passed over for promotion. This was, for those of us who do not remember, immediately consoling himself, reassuring himself that it was indeed he, not Cassio, who deserved this promotion, and then continuing to decredit Cassio.

A responder can further conclude that not only is his sense of security impaired, but that he must have either not received very good morals growing up, or have experienced some form of childhood trauma- whether it be being bullied by peers or something more serious- which would make him insecure in his position in life and feel the need to belittle others to feel in control.   This has been supported by the language Shakespeare puts in Iago's mouth, and the imagery which is associated with him. Riddled throughout his soliloquys and general speech is imagery associated with darkness and the devil. Iago even goes so far as to say the devil helped him 'entrap them all'. During Shakespearian times, this...