Othello: analysis of Shakespeare's tragedy and themes

Othello: Fool & Hero

Every Shakespearean hero has his own unique qualities, whether those be virtue or savagery of the soul, a tragic turn to the character or a humorous nature. To some degree this may be altered and shaped by the play-actors. Othello, as a character, is a prime example of this. He may be seen, in differing productions, as a villainous and barbarous fellow and as a savage, or he may be the innocent and naturally gentle victim of the serpentine Iago. Either interpretation would be fair, for the play proposes so many different ways of looking at him through the eyes of the other characters that one would be justified in drawing any number of conclusions about the way he should be acted. In analyzing the play for character then, it is important not to base one's interpretation of Othello solely on personal instinct or the image of the way one's private and perfect imaginary actor would perform the role. Rather the interpreter should consider the nature of Othello as Shakespeare is most likely to have imagined him in relationship to the original audience and time. Even more importantly one must take into account the archetypal role which Othello plays. The details of character and nature in terms of personality may rightfully take back seat to the importance of the character of the archetype which is being presented through Othello. Understanding the characters fulfillment of and struggle with this grand archetypical role may provide far more insight into character and motivation than would a partisan description of personality. According to historical sources and a close analysis of the play, it would seem that Othello is cast into the archetype of the classical Fool -- one who is tricked and infected by evil, becoming a scapegoat for the community and bearing pain for their enjoyment and enlightenment -- yet he is defined not merely by his part in that role but in his awareness of the role and struggle against it.

To understand the way in which Othello's nature is defined by the Fool archetype, one must first understand the history and nature of that archetype itself. This history and its relationship to Othello is clearly put forth in an excellent essay by Hornbaker. One of the more awkward aspects of performing Othello for modern audiences is the fact that the main character is obviously meant to be dark-skinned, and that he is subject to any number of racial epithets and stereotypes which he eventually proceeds to fulfill. It is well-known that in Shakespeare's time the play was performed in blackface, with a white actor darkening his skin to an inhumanly black shade -- and this is a tradition which today is generally done away with because it seems contrary to the promotion of racial harmony. However, Hornbaker makes a very credible and fascinating case to the point that the blackface in Othello was not meant to be racist, but rather was designed to provide a realistic mode by which to tie the story and character into a long tradition of using blackface in morality plays which dated back to ancient pagan religious rites in which characters such as the Harlequin, the traditional Fool, and certain devils were all played in blackface for symbolic rather than racial reasons.

Before delving more into the relationship between Othello and the ancient theatrical Fool tradition, it is important to stress that this is not merely a symbolic or literary point. Rather it must be understood that if Othello was originally meant to be played as an archetypal Fool, then this says more about his nature and character than any other single insight into his existence. Many elements of his personality, such as the fine balance between innocence and cruelty which one sees displayed in his open trust of Iago and his willingness to brutally butcher his wife make far more sense once they are brought into a more medieval perspective in relationship to the Fool tradition. In this light, his character melds with an ancient ideal, and to some degree is freed from the difficulties of the script to become part of a tradition which gives vital personality to his character. That said, one may return to the interaction within the text of the Fool tradition and the Shakespearean reworking of it.

As earlier referenced, the blackface of pre-Elizabethean theatre was not designed as a racial commentary. Inasmuch as Othello becomes a racially charged story, that is a reinterpretation of the tradition. In the original form, blackface was used to indicate specific metaphorical roles: the demon and the fool. Medieval drama was based in pagan celebrations which dealt with the story of the God and the Goddess and their antagonist. Over time, the black horned god figure was Christianized and identified with the devil -- he was only to reappear on certain contrary church holidays such as the Feast of Fools and within the context of drama. "For your horned and blackened devil is the same personage, with the same vague tradition of the ancient heathen festival about him...the blackfaced devil was quite often blurred with the fool, and their origins in pagan festivity are virtually indistinguishable in medieval and early Renaissance tradition." (Hornback, 26) Blackface, in its association with the sooty faces of horned demons, was associated both with diabolical evil, but also far more innocently with the natural fool and scapegoat. The horned God played an important role as a sacrificial figure and a bringer of enlightenment in the original cultures -- in the morality plays, the fool was an object lesson in morality and intelligence, and served as a scapegoat for the pressures of the community. Othello who is in the play blackfaced because of his race is being simultaneously cast after the tradition of the abject natural fool of the old morality plays. This creates a necessary link within the text between the textual obsession with blackness and darkness and its repetition of the idea of fools and foolish -- which are referred to dozens of times. (Hornback)

Other elements of the Fool tradition are also visible in Othello. For example, throughout the play those duped by Iago are called fools, though this most particularly is applied to Othello. Iago becomes important here because he plays opposite the Othello-Fool as a perfect updated version of the "villainous trickster/wit-intriguer Brighella" who in the post-Rennaissance theatrical era was generally "scarcely more than [a] lackey" (Hornback, 26), just as Iago is scarcely more than Othello's ancient. Additionally, Othello's obsession with his handkerchief is a classical sign of the Fool. Othello speaks of it, saying: "That handkerchief / Did an Egyptian to my mother give; / She was a charmer, and could almost read / The thoughts of people" (Othello, 3.4) This is reminiscent of the traditional medieval fools who carried "ever-present handkerchiefs of the Morris dance and the natural fool's 'muckender.'" (Hornback, 26) which served as a necessary part of their identity and symbolism.

Given the wealth of evidence of associations between blackface, natural fools, and Moors, I am suggesting that Burbage in blackface as Othello, especially, as we shall see, in light of Shakespeare's deployment of other emblems of natural folly, would have been quite as likely to call to mind the now-lost natural fool tradition of comic abuse on the Renaissance stage as the now more familiar association with evil. In addition, other obvious emblems of natural folly, such as the Moor's standard stage apparel, would have reinforced associations between Othello and the abject, a scapegoat natural fool." (Hornback, 26)

If one accepts that Othello was designed to be viewed as the traditional fool, then much of his motivation and his tragedy comes into sharp relief. The play can be seen as his battle against fate and nature as he struggles to divest himself of the role of the Fool. He attempts this first through fine language and storytelling, but his language is perverted and destroyed by Iago. He still will not give in to the role of the Fool, and is determined above all not to be cuckolded (as traditional theatrical fools so often were in the most humorous fashions). Only at the end, having finding himself tricked into killing his own faithful wife does he accept his foreordained role, crying out about himself "O fool! fool! fool!" There is a sense throughout Shakespeare that his characters are aware that they are on stage and living their lives within a playhouse. Consistently through monologues and puns, characters show themselves aware of the limits of their world. "Characters address the audience and introduce themselves in Shakespeare, as do Trinculo in The Tempest or the porter in Macbeth." (Moore) One may assume, then, that if Othello is being cast as a devil and a fool, he is to some degree aware of this and may experience the need to overcome this theatrical stereotype in addition to the racist stereotypes which may exist in Venice or Cyprus. One may view Othello's nature then as one which is torn by the struggle to overcome the expectations and prejudices of his station and costuming.

His overcoming is powerful indeed. Though Othello enters the play looking every bit the Fool in costume, and proceeded by such lines as would prepare the audience for the coming of the Fool (as when Iago speaks of him as a black ram or as a horse, and others call him lascivious or savage), he manages by virtue of his speech to momentarily defeat these expectations. "Given their expectations of folly and Othello's own claims to be 'Rude... In [his] speech' (Othello, 1.3), I hardly need mention that the audience was no doubt struck by his eloquence." (Hornback, 26) Othello uses fair words and storytelling to win the love of a woman, the respect of the city elders, and even the acquiescence of her father. Othello's power is in fair words (as Iago's is in foul words), and it is not until he gives up his commitment to fair speech that he falls into the trap of becoming the Fool which he fears to be.

Many critics point to the overwhelming power of the spoken word in Othello. It seems to be most common to associate the power of word with Iago -- after all, he is the one who with his mastery of language pulls the hidden puppet strings of the entire play. However, it is also important to see the way that Othello uses the power of language. It is vital to his character and nature to see him as something of a rude poet -- he is a warrior certainly, and somewhat rough around the edges, but he also has a grace to his speech which is great enough to win him friends. Othello is, in short, a storyteller. He refuses to allow himself to be defined by his archetypal role as a fool, and throughout the play continually redefines himself with stories. He speaks of great sorrows, of great heroism, and his magical past (regarding his handkerchief), and of his loyalties to the state. He always emphasizes qualities he wishes to be truly seen as his own, and his dialogue helps maintain them. However, as he gives up on defining himself as not jealous and as fair spoken and gentle, and turns increasingly to defining himself as a honorable warrior, he begins to fall into a trap.

The most significant character change in Othello over the course of the play may involve his language. At the beginning, he uses no profanity and no crudities. His speech is refined and beautiful, and quite the opposite of Iago's. Iago consistently uses profanity and speaks of sex in disgusting and animalistic ways, likening it to flies and maggots and goats and such. Critics such as Kermode point out that under Iago's influence Othello slowly changes his vocabulary, and is infected with the same sort of vocal disgust that Iago has. "For the tactician Iago has correctly guessed Othello's reaction even to the possibility of his wife's unfaithfulness, and at first with all the hesitations proper to an honest man (and an inferior) communicating such a suspicion, he infects Othello with his own disgust." (Kermode, 176) Othello moves from speaking well to using terrible profanities and crudities, and if one reads but a small portion of his speech in the latter parts of the play this change is so obvious that it cannot be escaped.

Not only does Othello's choice of vocabulary change over the course of the play, but even his syntax begins to unwind. In the beginning he speaks beautifully. His rhyme and off-rhyme is beautiful and subtle and his sentence structure is both comprehensible and complex. As Iago begins to infect his mind, however, Othello becomes increasingly incoherent. "The noble Othello has been transformed from an eloquent warrior who could explain what he meant to someone [to one] whose anger prevents him from speaking in a straightforward way. The ambiguity of Iago's speech has changed Othello's language." (Hadfield, 140) Eventually he drops into prose like a madman:

Lie with her! lie on her! We say lie on her, when they belie her. Lie with her! that's fulsome. --Handkerchief--confessions--handkerchief! -- To confess, and be hanged for his labour; -- first, to be hanged, and then to confess. -- I tremble at it. Nature would not invest herself in such shadowing passion without some instruction. It is not words that shake me thus. Pish! Noses, ears, and lips. -- Is't possible?--Confess--handkerchief! -- O devil! -- " (Othello, 4.1)

It is important to watch this unraveling of his vocabulary and syntax because it give great insight into the changes in his character. Othello is, one may understand, a Fool by nature -- meant to be simple and occasionally vicious, spat upon by life, driven from place to place with his tricks and his ill luck. This is something he is able to overcome by means of sheer will and creative power. He should be seen as depending upon his voice as much as Iago does, and as guarding his reputation and his ability to survive as a non-Fool with as much jealousy and passion as Iago guards his station. They are, in fact, very much alike. It is precisely because of this passion for upholding his place and guarding against falling into the role of the Fool that Iago is able to take advantage of him.