‘Paradoxically, texts present the most passionate relationships as the most destructive.’
In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents relationships in this extract and elsewhere
in the play. (25)
Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ explores themes of passion and destruction through the medium of tragedy,
exploiting pity and fear to the upmost intensity as the relationship of Othello and Desdemona is
scrutinised and warped into a terrible Jacobean caricature of female passivity and black savagery.
Extracted from the civilised comfort of Venice, Othello and Desdemona experience an enclosed
domesticity within the fortified walls of Cyprus, in which the clamour and tension of this war-ridded
territory exerts extreme pressure onto their new marriage. It may be perceived that it is the
overwhelming passion of their marriage that causes their tragic destruction, yet one might equally
argue that it is a lack of realism that leads them to an inevitable demise. Alternatively, the
relationship existing between Othello and his Ancient, Iago, could be identified as the corrupting
factor leading to the loss of Othello’s rationality and Desdemona’s murder.
Perhaps Shakespeare’s most notable presentation of a passionate relationship is that which takes
place in the court scene in Act 1. Defying all previous accusations and expectations, Othello and
Desdemona command respect and reverence from their peers through the subversion of societal
expectations. Their relationship grants Othello civilisation and Desdemona independence, a reality
that is a far cry from the supposed barbarian (as presented by animalistic imagery such as ‘black
ram’, ‘Barbary horse’) and ‘maiden never bold’, who would blush at the very motion of her body. The
passionate connection first presented between Othello and Desdemona, is portrayed as the purest
form of love and passion – that of soulmates, which has been consolidated in marriage. This idea is
embodied in the semantic field of religion that saturates their speech when confession their love; a
lexis such as ‘consecrate’, ‘peace’, ‘rites’, and ‘heaven’ depicts their relationship as holy, pure, and
sanctified by God. This imagery also presents their union and passion as one designed by ‘Fate’ –
Othello’s frequent referral to higher powers, God or the universe (‘We must obey the Time’),
demonstrates his belief that their love is pre-destined, and therefore their future unchangeable and
inevitable. Ironically, it is this naïve submission to Fate and overwhelming practices of idolatry and
worship that may be considered the most significant factor in the creation of their tragedy, allowing
Othello to fall vulnerable to the ‘poison’ and ‘pestilence’ of Iago. Whilst the audience is impressed by
the faith Desdemona inspires in her husband, who values her word as much as his own (‘Here comes
the lady; let her witness it’), a fearful anxiety arises as he contends to Brabantio’s churlish allegation
that she may betray Othello as she did him, declaring ‘my life upon her faith’. Placing his fate in the
hands of his lover, it becomes apparent that Othello’s life and sanity depends on her honesty and
loyalty – such public displays of passion Othello performs to his lover Desdemona also arguably
make him vulnerable to equally extreme passions of a more destructive nature.
Overwhelmed with domestic idolatry and worship towards his wife, Othello loses a certain sense of
grounded rationality in this imbalanced relationship. In the final stages of the tragic arc, the
audience witnesses the consequences of such devotion and blindness, as his thoughts have been
corrupted by the idea of Desdemona’s apparent infidelity, and his speech becomes littered with
oxymoronic language representative of his conflicted state – ‘so sweet was ne’er so fatal’ and ‘this
sorrow’s heavenly’ – his previous belief that ‘when I love thee not, chaos is come again’ has
undeniably manifested in reality. Shakespeare’s direction of Othello in the extract also exemplifies
the internal conflict he experiences surrounding their relationship – feverishly kissing his doomed
lover repeatedly out of desire and frustration, ‘one more, one more’, he reveals a passion that is torn
between his intent to love Desdemona and to kill her. This lunacy is recognised by his lover, ‘you are
fatal then/ When your eyes roll’, who sees him overwhelmed in a fit of passion not unlike the one
In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents relationships in this extract and elsewhere
in the play. (25)
Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ explores themes of passion and destruction through the medium of tragedy,
exploiting pity and fear to the upmost intensity as the relationship of Othello and Desdemona is
scrutinised and warped into a terrible Jacobean caricature of female passivity and black savagery.
Extracted from the civilised comfort of Venice, Othello and Desdemona experience an enclosed
domesticity within the fortified walls of Cyprus, in which the clamour and tension of this war-ridded
territory exerts extreme pressure onto their new marriage. It may be perceived that it is the
overwhelming passion of their marriage that causes their tragic destruction, yet one might equally
argue that it is a lack of realism that leads them to an inevitable demise. Alternatively, the
relationship existing between Othello and his Ancient, Iago, could be identified as the corrupting
factor leading to the loss of Othello’s rationality and Desdemona’s murder.
Perhaps Shakespeare’s most notable presentation of a passionate relationship is that which takes
place in the court scene in Act 1. Defying all previous accusations and expectations, Othello and
Desdemona command respect and reverence from their peers through the subversion of societal
expectations. Their relationship grants Othello civilisation and Desdemona independence, a reality
that is a far cry from the supposed barbarian (as presented by animalistic imagery such as ‘black
ram’, ‘Barbary horse’) and ‘maiden never bold’, who would blush at the very motion of her body. The
passionate connection first presented between Othello and Desdemona, is portrayed as the purest
form of love and passion – that of soulmates, which has been consolidated in marriage. This idea is
embodied in the semantic field of religion that saturates their speech when confession their love; a
lexis such as ‘consecrate’, ‘peace’, ‘rites’, and ‘heaven’ depicts their relationship as holy, pure, and
sanctified by God. This imagery also presents their union and passion as one designed by ‘Fate’ –
Othello’s frequent referral to higher powers, God or the universe (‘We must obey the Time’),
demonstrates his belief that their love is pre-destined, and therefore their future unchangeable and
inevitable. Ironically, it is this naïve submission to Fate and overwhelming practices of idolatry and
worship that may be considered the most significant factor in the creation of their tragedy, allowing
Othello to fall vulnerable to the ‘poison’ and ‘pestilence’ of Iago. Whilst the audience is impressed by
the faith Desdemona inspires in her husband, who values her word as much as his own (‘Here comes
the lady; let her witness it’), a fearful anxiety arises as he contends to Brabantio’s churlish allegation
that she may betray Othello as she did him, declaring ‘my life upon her faith’. Placing his fate in the
hands of his lover, it becomes apparent that Othello’s life and sanity depends on her honesty and
loyalty – such public displays of passion Othello performs to his lover Desdemona also arguably
make him vulnerable to equally extreme passions of a more destructive nature.
Overwhelmed with domestic idolatry and worship towards his wife, Othello loses a certain sense of
grounded rationality in this imbalanced relationship. In the final stages of the tragic arc, the
audience witnesses the consequences of such devotion and blindness, as his thoughts have been
corrupted by the idea of Desdemona’s apparent infidelity, and his speech becomes littered with
oxymoronic language representative of his conflicted state – ‘so sweet was ne’er so fatal’ and ‘this
sorrow’s heavenly’ – his previous belief that ‘when I love thee not, chaos is come again’ has
undeniably manifested in reality. Shakespeare’s direction of Othello in the extract also exemplifies
the internal conflict he experiences surrounding their relationship – feverishly kissing his doomed
lover repeatedly out of desire and frustration, ‘one more, one more’, he reveals a passion that is torn
between his intent to love Desdemona and to kill her. This lunacy is recognised by his lover, ‘you are
fatal then/ When your eyes roll’, who sees him overwhelmed in a fit of passion not unlike the one
