Speech in Shakespeare's “Othello” has a power beyond that of actions. It is Othello's fantastic tale that gets him Desdemona at the beginning, Iago's poisonous suggestion that leads the general to murder his own wife, Emilia's testimony that traps the villain at the end. All this talk is not true, and we will never know for sure whether Othello's handkerchief is magic or why Iago created his plot; but words, whatever their truth, convince the characters even more than material evidence. When characters control their speech, either by remaining silent or by bursting out, they wield the most powerful power they can have over the world of the play. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Iago, a skilled manipulator, is in complete control of his voice. He deals with Roderigo's purse by convincing the young man that he will send the money to Desdemona, then works on harder prey. Seeing Cassio finish speaking to Desdemona, Iago mutters, "I don't like that," a comment he claims to be private but wants Othello to hear. Othello asks Iago what he said, and Iago replies: “Nothing, my lord; or if… I don’t know what. After insinuating Cassio's guilt, Iago has Othello mention that Cassio visited Desdemona several times before her marriage. Iago exclaims: “Indeed!” then falls silent, despite Othello's requests for an explanation. These two lines arouse Othello's suspicions because they seem unintentional and are therefore more likely to be indications of Iago's true thoughts. But the words themselves are innocent. That Iago disliked everything Cassio did, perhaps kissing Desdemona's hand or even just standing next to her, is probably true; Iago hates everyone in the room, especially Cassio. His other comments make no sense, but they are pauses that invite Othello to infer the darker motivations behind them; It is Iago's silence, not his speech, that frames Desdemona. Iago excuses his silence by saying that "often my jealousy/forms faults which are not faults", and he is honest. He talks about Cassio's military inexperience and his sordid affairs, warns Othello against Desdemona's unnatural behavior and deceptive practices. And yet he avoids directly accusing Cassio and never claims that Desdemona is having an affair. Instead of lying, Iago uses silence to force Othello to fill in the gaps. If Iago had exposed the whole accusation, Othello would probably be incredulous and ask Desdemona to confirm the truth, just as Emilia, when Othello tells her of Iago's deceptions, asks her husband: "Have you ever said that she was wrong? Although he admits it, he has never done so, replacing this assertion with circumstantial evidence. For example, he says that Cassio had an erotic dream about Desdemona, and the audience is no more justified in rejecting this claim than Othello is in believing this. Cassio's tongue loosened against his will before, revealing a less noble officer than he first appeared. He has previously made mildly insulting remarks about his social inferiors, telling Desdemona: "[Iago] speaks at home, madam, you can appreciate him more in the soldier than in the scholar", and excuses his own “race” for having kissed Emilia. (Since Cassio knew that this "courtesy" would offend Iago, his reasons for taking it are somewhat suspect.) After Iago gets him drunk, Cassio shows the true extent of his sense of superiority. He shouts: “Thelieutenant must be saved before the elder,” and attacks Roderigo for his presumption, shouting: “A knave will teach me my duty? Iago partly proves Cassio to be the "rash and very suddenly angry" man he claimed, unworthy of the lieutenancy, and partly makes him so, just as he handles Othello. Cassio's courtly and hyperbolic praise of Desdemona, "a servant/this description of paragons and savage fame", may also have transformed during sleep into the vilest, "the accursed fate which gave thee to the Moor! " Cassio, obsessed with safeguarding his reputation, can only allow himself to admit his mistakes to Iago, whom he trusts, who has already seen Cassio's drunkenness, whose opinion he cares little for and who has a much worse opinion of the lieutenant than any confession. If Cassio has faults other than drinking, fighting and prostitution, he takes great care to hide them. He also has a certain virtue, and can barely bear to admit his drunkenness when Othello calls him. to explain his fight, Cassio responds: "Please forgive me, I cannot speak." Montano, the other fighter, is too injured to explain what happened, and Roderigo escapes by orchestrating the silence of his comrades, Iago. remains the only one capable of telling Othello what happened, and by his favorite tactic of pretended reluctance, convinces the general that Cassio was more at fault than he really was. Othello believes that Iago is more reluctant to condemn Cassio than he is because of his loyalty. to his “worthy friend”. Because Iago does not say Cassio is bad, Othello thinks he is worse; Because his trusted ensign remains silent, the general believes the truth is too horrible to reveal. But when Iago remains silent, it is to avoid revealing something good. He hates to admit it just as much as Othello shudders when he contemplates his wife's infidelity. Othello assumes, because he cannot bear bad deeds, that no one can. When Iago says that Cassio is going to bed: "With her, on her, whatever you want", Othello falls into an epileptic fit. He thinks it is as painful for the hesitant Iago to say such things as it is for himself to hear them. The Moor cannot even tell Desdemona of his alleged crime; he “should...burn modesty to ashes/Have I even spoken of your deeds...Heaven stands still.” With Iago, his mouth is freer to shout: “Damn it, obscene minx: Oh damn it, damn it! but Othello does not notice this effect of Iago's presence. At first it is a joy that Othello cannot name, he "can't speak enough of this content, it stops me there", but once Iago has finished his work, the voluble Othello has no more content to say. Every time the general opens his mouth to praise Desdemona, Iago warns him, "No, you must forget all that," and in Act III, Othello's wonderful stories of "the vast and the idle lairs” have become “fantastic lies” about the magical powers of the handkerchief. , to frighten Desdemona. Speaking of the handkerchief, Othello asks Desdemona where it is, and she does not answer at first. His constant questioning: "Isn't he lost? Isn't he gone? Speak, isn't he away?" implies that Desdemona is hesitant here. “Heaven bless us!” is her last unfortunate response, as if praying to be forgiven for adultery. Her mind refuses to understand Othello's meaning, and so she does not think about his words and lies about the handkerchief, as if that will protect her from his powers. His pauses also cause Othello to trust him less in both the future and the present, as his initial hesitation makes the lie even more transparent. Shortly after, she commits the sameerror for similar reasons. Othello never tells Desdemona what she allegedly did until it is too late. He calls her a whore and Emilia a whore, but prostitution is not Desdemona's alleged crime. He orders her to swear that she is honest and she will not do so, perhaps because of confusion that he meant "honest about the handkerchief", perhaps out of sheer dejection or modesty but probably because that she cannot believe that Othello does not love her; she blinds herself to Othello's meaning and asks if he is mad because of Brabantio, which is obviously not the case. “[Othello’s] malice can never taint my love,” Desdemona says, as if her husband simply isn’t feeling himself. ("Wickedness" in Shakespeare's usage often oscillated between "unnatural" and the modern sense) She then decides, despite all signs to the contrary, that politics is the real reason for Othello's behavior. And when she knows she is lost beyond all hope in the face of her husband's love, she refuses to say it, but only, "I have no answers." She manages to swear that she is neither a whore nor a whore, an unfortunate choice of words in the context of being treated as "a public commoner" and not an adulterous woman, as those words could mean either. His sincere prayer: “Heaven forgives us! » just like before, Othello is about to believe her and returns to renewed suspicion. Othello, already believing that Desdemona was lost, told her with questionable theology to be "doubly damned", but the first element for which she would be damned (dishonesty) is the same as the second. He wanted Desdemona to convince him that she was truly honest, and that her avoidance of Othello's orders, although she somewhat made up for it a few lines later and even swore her loyalty just after Othello left the room, the damnation just like Iago's silence. "I can't say 'whore,'" she confides to Iago and, oddly enough, she shares this quality with him. (Iago speaks it in Othello's presence, but never, even during a soliloquy, in reference to Desdemona.) Othello trusts Iago because the ensign will not mention dirt and suspects Desdemona for this same quality. Iago's poison has made "what is to him as succulent as locusts... as pungent as the coloquintida"; Othello oscillates between believing Iago and not daring to do so, but by the time of their "marriage" he is ready not only to hear her but to slander her. As Iago listens patiently, Othello rages against Desdemona's infidelity and pours out his words in a flood of images mocking the gentle seas that brought the couple to Cyprus. Desdemona does not keep her peace throughout the play; she speaks at Cassio's behest and Iago's manipulation. She pesters Othello with the costume, promising to "make him lose his patience" and issuing a long, repetitive entreaty with her haunting cadences of: "Won't it be soon?... won't it be tonight?... tomorrow's dinner." then?" etc. Othello dismisses Desdemona and murmurs an affectionate aside, apparently about to give in, but Iago turns his words against her and implicitly contrasts them with his own righteous reluctance. Othello, although possessing an elegant tongue, professes his own inexperience in speaking before the Duke's council; he is suspicious of his own words, doubting whether they have sufficiently wooed Desdemona, and in his worry wonders if she is fed up with him because he is missing "parts" "Iago demonstrates the power of his words by using them to cast doubt on those of Desdemona, but Othello does not understand the tactic. "It is not the words that shake me like this," exclaims. he fell into acrisis, and yet, of course, it is; words and the play of his imagination. For Othello, more honesty lies in Iago's hesitant speech than in Desdemona's lengthy reprimands. As Iago tightens his grip on Othello's mind, he speaks more freely. At first he swears, "you couldn't [know my thoughts] if my heart were in your hands" and "I'm not obligated to...express my thoughts," but he later changes tactics, saying: “as I am obliged to do.” , receive it from me. He tells Othello what the general already half-believes, thus reinforcing Othello's confidence in words with him. The more Othello listens to Iago, the more the words control him, and the less he realizes it. He instantly abandons his demand for “ocular evidence”; Cassio's mocking words and Desdemona's worried speech convince him at least as much as the sight of the handkerchief. Through skill and luck, Iago finds enough evidence to prevent Othello from realizing that he only heard half the conversation and saw no evidence. This "handkerchief scene", which mixes verbal and visual evidence, confuses Othello's confidence in the visual with his suspicion of speech, and makes him put all his trust in Iago's story. And it is at this moment that Desdemona, although words could help her the most, remains silent. Because Desdemona, unlike Othello, does not want to harm her beloved, another character must bear witness for her. The somewhat Emilia, less pure and virtuous, until then silent, calls for help, mocks Othello and condemns Iago. It is difficult to say how much Emilia knew of her husband's plot, but she is about to unmask him, knowingly or not, in front of Desdemona; she also moans, “I thought so then” upon hearing his plan. She stood there while Othello shouted at his wife, demanding the handkerchief that Emilia had given to Iago. Despite all these suspicions, she only opens her mouth when Desdemona is already dead. Iago complains that his wife constantly harasses him when she's not in public, but he also claims that she's slept with about half the army, and we never hear Emilia harass her husband. She declares herself eager to make him happy, doing "nothing but pleasing his fantasy", and indeed she seems to have a strange idea that Iago's fantasy can be satisfied, thus avoiding the realization that she has married a “half-devil” whose only joy on earth is to destroy the greatness of men better than himself. When she questions him about any of his crimes, suggesting Desdemona's guilt, she adds: "I know you didn't do it, you're not such a villain./Speak, for my heart is full. Emilia, like Desdemona, does not dare to incriminate her husband. Unfortunately for Iago, Emilia is not the embodiment of virtue, virginal silence, and devoted marital love that Desdemona plays. This woman finds the role of servant to a kind mistress more important than that of Iago's wife. Like Othello, she has two competing relationships, one based on love, the other based on authority; for her, the positions are reversed. Emilia and Desdemona discuss sexual infidelity as equals; Iago gives orders to his wife. Similarly, Othello “marries” Iago and then abuses Desdemona. Othello oscillates between trusting his fears and his hopes for his wife, oscillating between explosive rage, explosive love, and silent horror. If he cannot name "the cause", Emilia can as well, mentioning it no less than five times in fourteen lines. It is not for nothing that she is Iago's wife; her shrewd calculations about what it would take to make her cheat on her husband contrast with the innocent, impractical purity.