The Question: Shakespeare’s presentation of marriage and romantic relationships.
Line of Argument Othello is a domestic tragedy in which true, romantic love is destroyed by hate. The binary of
love/hate is central to the play.
Desdemona and Othello’s love is initially depicted as true and strong, though by the end of the
play it is corrupted by the likes of Iago- suggesting that evil overcomes love?
Is love destructive in Othello?
Handkerchief as a symbol of their degredated love, and the journey of Othello and Desdemona’s
marriage, but also Iago and Emilia’s.
By the end, social values and regulations destabilise Othello’s love as his fear of being cuckolded
is more dominant than his trust in his wife.
Introduction Shakespeare explores the key theme of love in his play Othello, exploring the complexity of
romantic relationships and the way in which love can also be destructive, influencing the
behaviour and downfalls of characters. For example, the female characters are portrayed as
blindly loyal to their husbands at times, as marital obedience was held of high importance in the
16th century, and similarly Othello’s love also becomes problematic, turning to jealousy due to his
fear of being cuckolded. By combining this binary of love and destruction in his play, Shakespeare
is perhaps illuminating how love can be a weakness for some characters, and it can often be
easily influenced by outside forces.
Love for the male characters is their greatest weakness, but the greatest strength of the female
characters.
Point 1 The relationship of Othello and Desdemona is central to the play, and at first Shakespeare
presents love as a strengthening force for the two characters, as their feelings for one another
Depiction of seem honest and true…
Desdemona and
Othello’s love at Desdemona and Othello’s love towards each other informs the strength of their
the start of the marriage at the start of the play. The idealistic depiction of love is amplified through
play... Othello’s racial differences, as Desdemona ignored the social taboos concerned with an
interracial marriage. A03
o A05- Konstantin Stanislavski- ‘Desdemona is resolute, courageous, and resists
the orthodox type of marriage prescribed by tradition.’ Idea that she follows her
heart in her marriage to Othello- for love not convention.
Their love is like a healing agent: ‘she loved me for the dangers I had passed I loved her
that she did pity them’ (Act 1.3)- reciprocal nature of their love highlighting it is based
on understanding. Their exchanges are also equal and both seem to share equal power-
idea of their unity. Othello loves Desdemona for her feminine grace and sympathy; she
loves him for his masculine heroism. Essentially, Othello and Desdemona love each other
harmoniously because of the differences they perceive in each other.
Act 2.1- their reunion: “my dear Othello”- Desdemona not only employs a possessive
pronoun to establish her bond with Othello, but fluidly completes the missing syllables in
his previous line: “O my fair warrior!”. This smooth interchange between them stresses
their untouched bond and synchronous relationship, elevating Desdemona to the same
position as her husband. By describing her as a “warrior”, Shakespeare applies a typically
masculine attribute to her character, allowing her to mirror the strength of her partner.
o A03- their reunion also takes place in Cyprus- ironic setting for a tragedy about
love as this was believed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
BUT- the reference to the tempest perhaps implies that with this love will come
Line of Argument Othello is a domestic tragedy in which true, romantic love is destroyed by hate. The binary of
love/hate is central to the play.
Desdemona and Othello’s love is initially depicted as true and strong, though by the end of the
play it is corrupted by the likes of Iago- suggesting that evil overcomes love?
Is love destructive in Othello?
Handkerchief as a symbol of their degredated love, and the journey of Othello and Desdemona’s
marriage, but also Iago and Emilia’s.
By the end, social values and regulations destabilise Othello’s love as his fear of being cuckolded
is more dominant than his trust in his wife.
Introduction Shakespeare explores the key theme of love in his play Othello, exploring the complexity of
romantic relationships and the way in which love can also be destructive, influencing the
behaviour and downfalls of characters. For example, the female characters are portrayed as
blindly loyal to their husbands at times, as marital obedience was held of high importance in the
16th century, and similarly Othello’s love also becomes problematic, turning to jealousy due to his
fear of being cuckolded. By combining this binary of love and destruction in his play, Shakespeare
is perhaps illuminating how love can be a weakness for some characters, and it can often be
easily influenced by outside forces.
Love for the male characters is their greatest weakness, but the greatest strength of the female
characters.
Point 1 The relationship of Othello and Desdemona is central to the play, and at first Shakespeare
presents love as a strengthening force for the two characters, as their feelings for one another
Depiction of seem honest and true…
Desdemona and
Othello’s love at Desdemona and Othello’s love towards each other informs the strength of their
the start of the marriage at the start of the play. The idealistic depiction of love is amplified through
play... Othello’s racial differences, as Desdemona ignored the social taboos concerned with an
interracial marriage. A03
o A05- Konstantin Stanislavski- ‘Desdemona is resolute, courageous, and resists
the orthodox type of marriage prescribed by tradition.’ Idea that she follows her
heart in her marriage to Othello- for love not convention.
Their love is like a healing agent: ‘she loved me for the dangers I had passed I loved her
that she did pity them’ (Act 1.3)- reciprocal nature of their love highlighting it is based
on understanding. Their exchanges are also equal and both seem to share equal power-
idea of their unity. Othello loves Desdemona for her feminine grace and sympathy; she
loves him for his masculine heroism. Essentially, Othello and Desdemona love each other
harmoniously because of the differences they perceive in each other.
Act 2.1- their reunion: “my dear Othello”- Desdemona not only employs a possessive
pronoun to establish her bond with Othello, but fluidly completes the missing syllables in
his previous line: “O my fair warrior!”. This smooth interchange between them stresses
their untouched bond and synchronous relationship, elevating Desdemona to the same
position as her husband. By describing her as a “warrior”, Shakespeare applies a typically
masculine attribute to her character, allowing her to mirror the strength of her partner.
o A03- their reunion also takes place in Cyprus- ironic setting for a tragedy about
love as this was believed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
BUT- the reference to the tempest perhaps implies that with this love will come
