"...for my part, he keeps me rustically at home, or, to speak more properly, stays me here at home unkept; for call you that keeping fora gentleman of my birth, that differs not from the stalling of an ox? His horses are bred better..." Act I.i.1
In "As You Like It", I feel as if there is really no true antagonist. The story starts out with Oliver treating his younger brother, Orlando like dirt. Oliver basically tricks Orlando into fighting in this wrestling match that Oliver believes Orlando will lose badly. Then, when his plans don't work out accordingly, he chases after him. But that pursuit quickly becomes pushed to the background. Another character I believed was going to be the antagonist was Duke Jr. But, like Oliver, that was not really made that prominent to the audience. In addition, there was no real pursuit. There was not a sense of a conflict, battle, or anything that required the characters confronting their enemies. At the end of the play everyone just got along all fine and dandy and there was no real resolution. Shakespeare clearly showed his laziness in the the lack of real antagonists.
"Duke Frederick, hearing how that every day Men of great worth resorted to this forest... where meeting with an old religious man, after some question with him, was converted." Act V. iv. 77
One of the major themes of this play is the power nature has on the characters. Throughout the play, the people who are facing difficult times often retreat to the forest. This allows them to escape the life in the city and experience real nature firsthand; something they were all not accustomed to. For example, while in the forest, Oliver changes his feelings for his brother, Orlando, after he experiences nature and the animals there. Another example is where Orlando writes all of his love poems and messages about/to Rosalind on the bark of the trees. This shows that nature has a positive effect on the characters. Touchstone seems to be the only character who truly does not like the forest. He was talking about city life and how it was more civil and simply better than the life of someone who lived out in nature. He also wished that he could go back to the city (pg 23). But other than that, nature is what brings all of the characters together in the end and allows them to live in harmony and gives them the chance for lots o' marriages.
First off, for your viewing pleasure, you can watch a high school project that I randomly found on "Othello". I wouldn't bother posting this if it weren't for the song that they sing at the end. So if you would enjoy a little chuckle, watch this. :)
Throughout all of history, adultery has been a prevalent, constant offense in societies all around the world. No matter what culture, time period, or region of the world, adultery finds a way to crop up in daily life. Traces of adultery can even be linked back to Shakespeare’s time, as demonstrated through Othello. This sin is still being committed four hundred years later. Men and women alike are still being accused of and grieving from the effects of adultery. This is established by songs such as “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy and even cause for impeachment of a United States President.
The first example of how adultery is a timeless theme in humanity is illustrated when the character Desdemona is wrongfully accused of committing adultery. Even today, similar allegations are being made. Desdemona is contrasted with the song "It Wasn't Me" by artist Shaggy. In the song, Shaggy is cheating on his girlfriend with his neighbor. His girlfriend then catches him -multiple times - yet he denies he ever committed the act. Under guidance of his hard-to-understand friend, Shaggy is led down a path of lies and deceit. However, in Othello, Desdemona is not anything like Shaggy. While both Shaggy and Desdemona shut down any ideas that they were cheating on their significant other, Desdemona is the only one who is innocent. Desdemona loved Othello above all others and said in the story how she would never treat her husband as husbands often treat their wives. She described to Emilia that she would not even dream of cheating on Othello, saying “No, by this heavenly light!” (Act IV.iii.51) when asked if should would consider committing adultery. Shaggy did not have this conviction. He had little regard for his significant other because, on top of cheating on her, he also lied about it. In the song, the singer says, “I had tried to keep her from what she was about to see. Why should she believe me when I told her it wasn’t me?” (Shaggy) Shaggy lacked the honor and obedience that Desdemona clearly conveyed. There are many reasons people commit adultery; however, curiosity and boredom are among the most common. Some people get a thrill out of breaking the rules and seeing if they can get away with it. The adulterers often admit they love their significant other or spouse but still lie and cheat. Shaggy definitely abused his freedom in this case and ended up hurting his relationship with his girlfriend, something extremely common in the human existence.
Adultery is not only demonstrated by famous, 90’s R&B celebrities. Even society’s esteemed seem to be unable to escape the tempestuousness that infidelity can bring. In 1992, former president Bill Clinton was accused of committing adultery while he was in office. The country was in a state of outrage once they heard the news. However, his own wife had forgiven him. When Hilary Clinton was interviewed after the incident, she said, “You know, I'm not sitting here – some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette. I'm sitting here because I love him, and I respect him, and I honor what he's been through and what we've been through together. And you know, if that's not enough for people, then heck, don't vote for him” ("In 1992, Clinton Conceded Marital 'Wrongdoing'"). Even though Bill Clinton was publically unfaithful to his wife, she still remained faithful to him. This is similar to how Desdemona was faithful to Othello. He had murdered her because of jealousy, yet she was not angry with him. This blind love and devotion is also shown throughout the world and history.
Infidelity can be traced back to the beginning of time. Because of this, adultery is proven to be a timeless quality of human life that is likely to never be altered. As long as a lust for others is a part of the biology of people, then the sin will be committed. However, if there are people such as Desdemona in the world, then that number could decrease. If Othello were to see the pure love that his wife harbored for him, then he might not have murdered her. The same goes for the rest of the world. If people were to love each other more freely and openly, then accusations would not be made as quickly as they are. The Iago’s of the world would not convince naïve beings of false assumptions. All in all, the human condition would greatly increase.
Works Cited
"In 1992, Clinton Conceded Marital 'Wrongdoing'" Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis. 26 Jan. 1992. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .
Perrine, Laurence. “Othello”. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. Fort Worth.
Harcourt College. 2012. 1 361-462. Print.
Shaggy. It Wasn't Me. Shaggy. MCA Records, 2001. CD.
The character of Desdemona is contrasted with the song "It Wasn't Me" by artist Shaggy. In the (not quite school appropriate) song, Shaggy is cheating on his girlfriend with his neighbor. His girlfriend then catches him -multiple times - yet he denies he ever committed the act. Under guidance of his hard-to-understand friend, Shaggy is led down a path of lying and deceit. However, in "Othello", Desdemona is not anything like Shaggy. While both Shaggy and Desdemona shut down any ideas that they were cheating on their significant other, Desdemona is the only one who is true in her denying. Desdemona loved Othello above all others and said in the story how she would never treat her husband as husbands often treat their wives. She described to Emilia that she would not even dream of cheating on Othello, a thought that had crossed Emilia's mine once or twice when thinking of her own husband, Iago. Shaggy did not make this conviction. He had little regard for his significant other because, on top of cheating on her, he also lied about it. Shaggy lacked the honor and obedience that Desdemona clearly conveyed. In a way, Shaggy is more like Iago because he is lying in order to cover up a situation that results in hurting others but helps him and gives him some sort of gain.
Alright, what were Iago's motives at the end?! Why was he happy?! He is going to be tortured to near death and he is HAPPY?! It just makes no sense. So what exactly motivated Iago throughout the play? The whole time I was waiting to hear some big revelation of why Iago acted the way he did beyond the reasons he mentioned earlier in the story. Nevertheless, he was a cool character. All annoying-ness aside about how he ended things without coming clean about his motives, he was totally bad rear-ended for not spilling his secrets. I can't help but to admire a villain like this. Even though I am all for the good heroes, I love an even better bad guy. I don't really know what I am saying in this blog post; I mainly just wanted to get my questions out there that I asked about in the beginning. But seriously, what were his motives? Maybe one day someone will unearth a hidden sequel or epilogue that Shakespeare wrote...
Though Othello is the protagonist, the majority of the soliloquies and asides are given to Iago. Why?
Answer:
I think this play is similar to "Julius Caesar" in such a way that Julius is the central character, but not the main character. Othello is Caesar. The play is centered around him and he plays an important role, but he isn't the person who is driving the plot. That character is Iago (the equivalent to Brutus). Since the play is generally pushed by him, his soliloquies and asides are far more important than Othello's. If Iago did not let the audience in on what he was thinking or what his motives were, then the play simply would not make sense. All we would see is this crazy manipulator who is messing with everyone's lives for no apparent reason. Iago's asides are extremely imperative in order to understand the plot. If not that, they are important to maybe have the audience hate to love Iago's genius.
How would the effect of the play have been different if Othello had died before discovering Desdemona's innocence?
Answer:
The most obvious difference would be that he would not have killed himself. Othello takes his own life only after realizing that he wrongfully - even though it was already wrong to kill someone; it was just LESS wrong because she was cheating on him - murder Desdemona. The regret he felt after killing her was something I think all audiences could relate to on some level. Therefore, he received sympathy. In addition, this could ruin the audiences hatred for Iago. I can admit that while reading the whole story, I was a little bit on Team Iago, as I'm sure a lot of people were. However, when Othello killed himself due to Iago's actions, my love turned to a dislike (I can't say hate because who didn't love that creepy smile at the end?!). So if Othello never killed himself after knowing the truth, then people would remain on Team Iago perhaps forever.
(enjoy your mental break due to this nicely placed blank section)
The effect of the play would be different because audiences love to have problems resolved. So if Othello were to die before the innocence was revealed, then Shakespeare would have had an uproar of angry fans demanding an immediate refund, throwing tomatoes at the actors, crossing their hearts to never ever see another play again, etc. etc. But as for the characters within the play, they would not know of Desdemona's innocence and would theoretically go on forever thinking that she had committed adultery. This could greatly effect Cassio as well, considering he was the one that had been accused of being a partner in crime, if you will.
