Clown in William Shakespeare's The Tragedy Of Othello:
Comic relief and symbolism
The Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare is the author of some of the most famous tragedies every written. The Tragedy of Othello is one of the rawest of all of his works, given that it is a romantic drama that hinges upon one of the most primal emotions of all human beings -- the sensation of jealousy. The jealousy of Iago for the great Moorish general Othello, and Othello's debilitating fear that his young wife Desdemona has been unfaithful is frustrating for the audience to watch, given the unjustified nature of both Iago's and Othello's emotions. However, as he does with all of his dramas, Shakespeare uses humor to provide comic relief during tense situations. This can also be seen in the character of the gravedigger in Hamlet and the use of the Porter in Macbeth. In Othello Shakespeare also uses a Clown, to please the 'groundlings' watching the tragedy with light humor and a representation of themselves who 'sounds' like a lower class individual. The use of comic figures, like the Clown in Act III, Scene 1 also contains important foreshadowing of the tragic events to come.
The Clown's function in the plot is simple -- he tells the musicians outside of Othello's quarters to stop playing. However, his language and use of humor and puns is quite elaborate. The impressive nature of his verbal panache is not purely functional. The Clown mocks the musician's playing ability, suggesting they sound nasal: "Why masters, have your instruments been in Naples, / that they speak i' the nose thus?" (3.1). The Clown's humor softens the impact of scene that immediately preceded it, when Iago tricks Michael Cassio into behaving in a drunk and unseemly fashion.
The previous scene is extremely significant for the plot of the play. It demonstrates how, although his primary vehemence is reserved for Othello, Iago also loathes Cassio, because Cassio has been promoted instead of him. Iago easily tricks Cassio, as the younger man has no tolerance of wine, to drink more than he should. Iago knows of Cassio's "infirmity" of his intolerance for alcohol (2.5). Cassio becomes drunk, quarrels, and outrages Othello with his behavior.
Iago's actions intentionally cause Cassio to lose his new position, and worse, make him more beholden to Iago. Iago urges Cassio to use Desdemona to become endeared to Othello. Iago wants to make Othello believe that Desdemona was unfaithful to Othello with Cassio. Cassio hopes that even by creating an innocent relationship between Cassio and Desdemona, simply making it seem as if Desdemona is sympathetic to a perceived rival, Othello will become suspicious.
It is Cassio who asks the musicians to play outside of Othello's door. "Masters, play here; I will content your pains; / Something that's brief; and bid 'Good morrow, general'" (3.1). This is exactly what Othello does not want to hear, however, as the Clown orders them to leave. Just as Cassio will later use the precisely wrong way to importune Othello's favor to get back his position and reputation, he symbolically does the same with the musicians. Othello wants silence, to enjoy his first night with his bride, not to hear music. This silencing of the musicians, however, will symbolically parallel Othello's silencing of the truth from his wife and from Emilia, Iago's wife and Desdemona's handmaid. It will also be a symbolic action mimicking Othello's later smothering of his wife.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Clown's speech is that it is notable for its lack of poetic imagery, in contrast to the speech used by Othello, Cassio, and Desdemona. When Iago is trying to trap Roderigo or Cassio, like the Clown he often uses wit and plain-spoken verse. This is typical of other lower-class characters, such as Iago's wife Emilia. Emilia...
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