Othello: Themes

Question 1

Love?

Answer 1

• Othello is a domestic tragedy in which love is destroyed by hate.
• Iago’s false love subverts and replaces Desdemona’s true love.
• Iago is incapable of love and driven by hate.
• Emilia’s loving tribute to Desdemona when she dies reaffirms the value of true love.

Question 2

Obsession?

Answer 2

Iago’s obsession with revenge drives the main plot forward.

• Othello’s obsession with his masculine honour leads him to destruction.
• Cassio’s obsession with his reputation leads him to act dishonourably when he asks Desdemona to plead his cause.
• The female characters are all powerless in the face of male obsession.

Question 3

Jealousy?

Answer 3

• Iago’s professional jealousy of Cassio is the catalyst that triggers the events of the main plot.
• Sexual jealousy is explored in all the couples’ relationships and is always destructive.
• The sexual jealousy we see is unfounded but plausible; both Othello and Bianca are deceived by the false proof of the handkerchief.
• Othello does not give in to jealousy too easily, as some critics have suggested. He takes a lot of convincing that Desdemona is false.

Question 4

Male-female rels?

Answer 4

• The male characters – fathers, husbands, lovers – all expect their women to submit to their authority.
• Initially Desdemona and Othello share a more equal relationship than the other couples; each was ‘half the wooer’.
• The female characters are objectified by the men, prized for their beauty or derided as whores.
• Female fidelity is a key part of masculine honour in the play.

Question 5

Revenge?

Answer 5

• Revenge is presented as dishonourable throughout the play.

Othello is degraded when he seeks revenge and he begins to act like a violent stereotype from Revenge Tragedy.

• Iago’s desire for revenge is presented as destructive, unnatural and egotistical.
• It is disturbing that the revenger, Iago, survives at the end of the play.