Bourne Readers: November 2016

LANGUAGE AND STRUCTURE

LANGUAGE IN OTHELLO

Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists used language to establish and build dramatic atmosphere, to define time, place and character. But in Othello, language is not simply the medium by which the drama is conveyed: in this play language is action. Othello ‘falls’ because he believes a man whose every utterance is deceptive. When the hero is taken in by false words, tragedy is the result. This play shows us the power of words; we watch as characters construct their own and others’ identities through language, and exert power either by speaking, remaining silent or silencing others.

Othello is written in blank verseand prose. Blank verse consists of unrhymed iambic pentameters, with five stressed syllables and five unstressed syllables to each line. Shakespeare uses this traditional form flexibly, however, varying the pace of his writing to achieve specific effects. He also creates specific idioms for each of his characters. If we look at the language of Othello and Iago we can see how the dramatist creates not only character, but also the theme of opposition which is central to the play. From his opening speeches in Act I Scenes 2 and 3 it is clear that Othello’s characteristic idiom is dignified, measured blank verse. This is appropriate, given his status in the play. His use of blank verse also helps establish his heroism.

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Othello speaks clearly and purposefully. His authority also comes across in these lines, and there is a sense of both danger and beauty – entirely appropriate to the speaker – in his references to ‘bright swords’ and ‘dew’. We are immediately aware that the hero is an impressive character and a powerful speaker. This power is reinforced in the next scene when Othello uses words not just to defend his elopement with Desdemona, but also to enable him to keep her; if he does not speak convincingly the “'bloody book of law'” (I.3.68) may deprive him of his wife. Desdemona acknowledges her husband’s rhetorical power when she enters. We already know that she was seduced by his storytelling; now we discover that she uses the same dignified and purposeful idiom that he employs. Through their shared speech patterns Shakespeare conveys the harmony and mutual affection of Othello and Desdemona’s match; the lovers are as Iago expresses it “'well tun’d'” (II.1.198) at this point. Each of Othello’s long speeches in this scene could be compared to a poem; expressing the nobility and romance we come to associate with the tragic protagonist. Many critics see Othello as Shakespeare’s most ‘poetic’ hero, a fitting judgement given the fact that we focus of the protagonist’s experiences of love in this play. But Othello does not just speak of his love poetically; he also speaks of his glorious career as a soldier in the same vein, thus establishing himself as a great military man. The orderliness of his verse suggests not just his confidence, but also the fact that we, and the senate are wise to trust in his composure and reason. Linked to this, Othello’s reference to and pride in his “'estimation'”(I.3.275), also help to convey a sense of the hero’s worth; while also suggesting that the way in which you are perceived by others – your reputation – is going to be an important theme in this play.

When Othello begins to see himself and his wife through Iago’s eyes and is corrupted by Iago’s idiom, his stately style begins to break down. At his lowest point, just before he falls to the ground in an epileptic fit, Othello’s words convey his agitation:

Lie with her, lie on her? We say lie on her,
when they belie her! Lie with her, zounds!, 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 shakes
me thus. Pish! Noses, ears and lips. Is’t possible?
Confess? handkerchief! O devil!(IV.1.35–41)

There are a number of points to be made about this breakdown. Firstly, Othello’s fractured sense of self is conveyed through the lexis and syntax. Previously the hero spoke of himself in the first and third person (their usage conveyed his nobility and status as hero); now his use of pronouns ‘we’, ‘they’, ‘his’, ‘I’, ‘me’ suggests insecurity. His use of questions suggests this too. Othello’s identity is threatened because he no longer feels he ‘knows’ his wife; he cannot trust her looks and words. There is a terrible irony in the fact that Othello declares “'It is not words that shake me thus'”; the events of the play and the violence of his outburst here suggest that words are the cause of Othello’s destruction. Note the use of disjointed prose rather than measured verse: reason has given way to passion. Othello has also begun to use oaths (“'zounds!'”) which are associated with Iago, suggesting not only the ensign’s power as a speaker, but also his ability to influence and control the powers of speech of others. Right at the end of this speech we struggle to make any sense of Othello’s words (“'Pish! Noses, ears and lips. Is’t possible? / Confess? handkerchief? O devil!'”). These lines suggest the hero’s degradation and degeneration.

From this point on Othello and Desdemona struggle to understand one another’s use of language. The break-up of their marital harmony is conveyed through the disruption in the lines and Othello’s measured calm gives way to verbal bullying (see III.4.80–98). This pattern mirrors the disrupted lines of Act III Scene 3when Iago first started to poison Othello’s mind. Desdemona later says, “'I understand a fury in your words / But not the words'” (IV.2.32–3). By this point he misconstrues everything she says:

DESDEMONA: Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?
OTHELLO: Was this fair paper, this most goodly book
Made to write ‘whore’ upon? … What, committed!
Committed! O thou public commoner!
(IV.2.71–4)

Eventually, unable to comprehend his wife’s honesty, failing to see that her words should be taken at face value, Othello smothers and silences Desdemona. When confronted with the truth he then recovers, returning to the majestic idiom of his earlier speeches at the end of Act V . His final speech echoes his first speech to the senate, but Othello no longer speaks of himself as a worthy hero only. Now he compares himself to “'the base Indian'” and “'the circumcised dog'” (V.2.345 and 353), his words and syntax recall former glories, but also point towards the “'bloody period'” of the hero’s death (V.2.354).

CONTEXT

A soliloquy is a dramatic convention that allows a character to speak directly to an audience, indicating their motives, feelings and decisions. In Othello we are given access to the feelings and motivations of both victim and tormentor, which heightens the intensity of the drama.

Language is the source of Iago’s power too, but his characteristic idiom is very different. It is full of compounds, colloquialisms and oaths, befitting a bluff soldier. But Iago’s use of language is more complicated than this. We quickly notice that the villain slips between prose and verse, adapting his style to suit his different audiences and purposes. The blunt, persuasive and lucid prose of his exchanges with Roderigo conveys Iago’s base nature, but the ensign also makes use of a loftier style too, as in his parody of Othello’s idiom in Act III Scene 3(lines 465–72). This speech is an example of Iago’s power: he can manipulate his style effortlessly. Most worryingly for the audience, Othello begins to use the villain’s base idiom when he decides to revenge himself on Desdemona, showing his lack of judgement and Iago’s increasing authority over him. When he adopts Iago’s style and begins to eavesdrop (Iago might be seen as an eavesdropper when he speaks in asides) Othello shows that he has become “'well tun’d'” with the wrong character. Iago’s heavy use of asides also reveals his cunning, destructive power; he is able to not only direct but also to comment on the action of the play. His use of soliloquies reinforces his power. Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists used this artificial theatrical convention to evoke the inwardness of their characters, to show what they think and feel. Soliloquies are also used to convey information and for particular dramatic effect. In Othello the evil ensign speaks his soliloquies first (Othello’s soliloquies occur towards the end of the play), drawing the audience in as he outlines his intentions and ideas. Because we know exactly what his plans are, we might feel that Shakespeare forces us to collude with the villain in some way: Iago is so clever, such an impressive actor. Iago’s soliloquies and asides are also a source of a great deal of the dramatic irony of Othello, which increases dramatic tension for the audience. Finally, Iago is also able to manipulate his silences, as in Act III Scene 3 when he deliberately introduces “'stops'” (III.3.123) to infuriate and intrigue Othello. By faking a reluctance to talk he gains the opportunity to speak at length. At the end of the play Iago’s defiant and deliberate silence can seem suggestive of continued power (the villain refuses to reveal his motives and admit remorse) or power thwarted; he no longer has the ability to sway others with his words and has perhaps been silenced, like his victim Desdemona. It is both ironic and appropriate that Iago is unmasked by his wife, whose silence he has taken for granted and whose powers of speech he has not taken into account.

This discussion of the hero’s and villain’s contrasting idioms might be extended; each of the characters in Othello has his or her own style. For example, Cassio’s speech is gallant and courtly, Emilia’s salty and down-to-earth. The different ‘voices’ and styles in Othello are an important part of the play’s power to hold and move the audience. Another very important part of the linguistic power of the play is Shakespeare’s use of figurative language, the imagery, which is discussed in Critical Approaches: Imagery and Critical Approaches: Themes .

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