English Literature

Goodnight Desdemona Good Morning Juliet

Iago enters Act II scene ii carrying two buckets of filth to represent both dramatic and thematic purposes in the play. Dramatically, his buckets lead Desdemona and Constance to the conclusion that the academic's work is "bull*****" and that Constance was used by Professor Claude Night, and that she is better than the academics that use her and call her work theirs. Dramatically Iago leads Constance to Desdemona so that she can discover herself and find that she has been used, abused, and that much of academics and the world of higher education is a lie. In addition, Constance learns that Desdemona is a much stronger character than shown in "Othello," and so, Iago's device also allows for dramatic character development in the play.

Thematically, the buckets Iago carry signify his fall from grace, he puts it "from officer, to sweeper of his sewers" (MacDonald II, ii.). However, the buckets and Iago's entrance with them also signifies another theme of the play, that the play was really written as a comedy. Iago ads some comic relief here, and his buckets signify that Shakespeare's work may have been "filth" at the time, and he had to turn it tragic to make it more acceptable to audiences. Looking for the Wise Fool who should have been present to keep these plays comic, Constance must have her interlude with Desdemona to set up the rest of the action of the play. Iago and his buckets of filth are integral to the Act because without him, Constance would not discover Desdemona's warrior side, she would not be able to show Othello that Iago is treacherous and not to be trusted, and she would not ultimately have to fight Desdemona and end up in the next play, "Romeo and Juliet." Thus, Iago portrays the ultimate theme that the plays were comedies, and also portrays the "filth" that muddies much of the academic world. Dramatically he and his buckets serve a vital purpose, and thematically they serve a vital purpose, and without them, Act II, scene ii would not make as much sense or be as funny as it is.

References

MacDonald, Ann-Marie. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). New York: Grove Press, 1998.