The Turkish-Venetian War in Othello Essay -- Othello essays

The Turkish-Venetian War in Othello According to A. L. Rowse, William Shakespeares Othello is one of the most immaculate plays ever pen (13). There is practically nothing in it that does not contribute to plot or character development (unlike Hamlet, which is filled with a large cast, complexities, and sub-plots). G. B. Harrison agrees that the construction is perfect (1058). Only two brief scenes with a clown in locomote III dont seem to advance the play any. That, and one strange plot fraction the Turkish war and change of locale from Venice to Cyprus. If the play be merely about Iago convincing a jealous Othello that his wife is sleeping with Cassio, why bickering having a war between Acts I and II? None of the characters are killed or wounded in the war, nor does the politics of the Venetian acquisitions affect the plot (in Act IV, scene 1, Lodovico speculates that Othello is angry because hes called home, but we know hes really angry because he thinks his wife is cheating on him), nor are there any speeches expounding on either the glories or horrors of war, such(prenominal) as there are in Henry V and Julius Caesar. Why then, in this most perfect of plays, is there such a major element as a war? What possible relevance could it have to Iagos plots and Othellos jealous rage? I contend that the war is highly important--it is the very crux upon which the entire plot turns. When we first meet Othello, he is the epitome of a calm, self-assured, non-provocative military general more concerned with honor, virtue, and his social stand up than with war and battles. His very first line is, It is better as it is (1.2.6). This is a conservative, contented man, actually opposed to violence. Note how he breaks up the fight betwe... ...ith Introduction. Lanham, MD University Press of America, 1985. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http//www.eiu.edu/multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line no s. Vaughan, Virginia Mason, and Kent Cartwright, eds. Othello New Perspectives. Cranbury, NJ Associated University Press, 1991. Wayne, Valerie. Historical Differences Misogyny and Othello. The Matter of Difference Materialist Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed Valerie Wayne. Ithaca, NY Cornell University Press, 1991. Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. The move Qualities of Othello. Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p. Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957.