OTHELLO (plot, characters, setting, dramatic structure)

Posted by: eva on: November 4, 2008

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Othello, dibuat berdasarkan berbagai sumber yang kemudian dirangkum lengkap ….

Plot : Othello

In the opening scene, begins in Venice with Iago, a soldier under Othello’s command arguing with roderigo, a rich and foolish gentleman who wishes to take Othello’s girlfriend, Desmona as his own. Iago explains his hatred of Othello for choosing Michael Cassio to be his Lieutenant and not him as he expected. Iago first asks his friend Roderigo to tell Desdemona’s father Brabantio that his daughter has left to marry Othello, a marriage Brabantio opposes because Othello is a Moor (an African). Brabantio confronts Othello, and they take their argument to the Duke, who has ordered Othello to Cyprus to stop a Turkish invasion. Othello explain how he and Desdemona fell in love each other deeply despite their differences, the Duke gives Desdemona permission to travel with Othello. By the time they reach Cyprus the foreign threat is gone.

Iago persuades Roderigo to engage Cassio into a street fight and gets Cassio drunk. Iago has his revenge on Cassio when Othello strips Cassio of his rank for misbehavior. Then Iago decides to make Othello believe his wife is unfaithful. He encourages Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead with Othello to be reinstated. Iago suggests to Othello that Desdemona is Cassio’s lover. Trusting Iago and mad with jealousy, Othello promotes Iago. Othello ask Iago to help him. Iago plants Desdemona’s handkerchief in Cassio’s room. Cassio gives it to his mistress, Bianca. Othello believes Bianca’s possession of the handkerchief is proof that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. He verbally abuses his wife in front of others, who are shocked at the change in the noble and powerful man.

Iago has manipulated Roderigo into trying to kill Cassio. The attempt goes wrong, and Cassio wounds Roderigo; Iago stabs Cassio in the leg. Othello hears Cassio cry out and thinks Iago has killed him. He returns home, ready to kill Desdemona. Meanwhile, Iago “finds” the wounded Cassio and accuses Bianca of causing Cassio’s injury. Iago quietly kills Roderigo and sends Emilia (Iago’s wife) to Desdemona with news of what has happened.

1. a. Major character :

· Othello ( Male )

· Desdemona ( Female )

b. Minor character :

· Iago ( male )

· Duke of Venice ( male )

· Brabantio ( Male )

· Cassio ( Male )

· Roderigo ( Male )

· Emilia ( female )

· Lodovico ( Male )

· Bianca ( Female )

Characters

Othello

Othello is the Moorish general for whom the play is named. He is a middle-aged African, who has come to the aid of Venice in their war against the Turks. While in Venice, he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Desdemona. Against Venetian custom, he chooses to elope with Desdemona and must answer for his action to the Senate. At the same time, a new threat from the Turks means that the Venetians must send him to Cyprus. When the Senate approves of his marriage, Othello asks that his wife accompany him to Cyprus because he does not want to be without her. This request reveals his deep love for his wife, although it ultimately leads to her death. From all accounts, Othello is a brave and strong military man, capable of saving the Venetians through his cool command. Other characters often refer to him as the “noble” Moor, and there is reference to his princely caste in Africa. As a black man, Othello is both imposing and exotic, to the Venetian characters in the play. He is meant to be impressive as well to the audience. Yet the issue of Othello’s race was probably both enticing and troubling to Elizabethan audiences, as it certainly continued to be in the centuries of audiences to come. Like Iago, Othello is one of the most complicated of Shakespeare’s characters. He is, on the one hand, a larger than life hero. On the other hand, he seems to be preternaturally gullible in his impetuous acceptance of Iago’s ordering of reality. On the one hand, he is a crafty and intelligent military leader. On the other hand, he has been called stupid by critics of the play. On the one hand, he is a romantic and passionate lover. On the other, he is a cold-blooded murderer. These inconsistencies or contradictions in his character are further complicated by the issue of race. It is difficult to know just what Shakespeare intended for his audience to make of Othello. Is Shakespeare attributing Othello’s gullibility to his race? Or is he suggesting that it is because of his race that others choose to degrade him to such an extent? Is Othello heroic because he is black or in spite of it?

Desdemona

Desdemona is a wealthy, beautiful, young Venetian woman who falls in love and then elopes with Othello. She is naive to the ways of the world; however, she is well spoken and confident, as revealed to her statements in Othello’s defense to the Venetian Senate. Desdemona leaves her home and family behind when she follows Othello to his posting in Cyprus. Unbeknownst to Desdemona, Iago uses her to plot against both Cassio and Othello. In Cyprus, Desdemona takes the part of the disgraced Cassio in pleading to her husband for clemency. This action, in turn, feeds Othello’s jealousy. Desdemona’s naivety prevents her from seeing that her pleading for Cassio enrages Othello. In addition, her innocent carelessness with the handkerchief that Othello has given her provides Iago with the vehicle he needs to “prove” Desdemona’s infidelity to Othello. Desdemona proves herself to be brave, loving, and self-sacrificial in her final scene. Although she pleads for her life as she is being murdered, she continues to treat Othello with love. Indeed, when she rouses briefly after being smothered, she tells Emilia that she has killed herself and that she alone is responsible for her death. In doing so, she tries to save Othello from the guilt of her death. However, she dies as she tells this lie, a particularly awful moment. From a Catholic perspective, because she dies in a state of mortal sin, she sacrifices her eternal soul in a futile attempt to save Othello.

Iago

Iago is Othello’s ancient. Iago is arguably the most evil of all Shakespeare’s villains and, ironically, perhaps the most interesting character in the canon of Shakespeare’s work. He is complicated and difficult to understand because his hatred seems so motiveless. Iago is highly intelligent, yet highly malignant character. He effortlessly manipilates all those around him to do his bidding ( kill Cassio, destroy Othello, discredit Desmona’s Virtue) by taking advantage of their trust and using his victim’s own motivations (Roderigo desire for Desdemona, Cassio’s desire tobe reinstated) and weaknessess (Othello’s pride, cassio’s impaired judgment whilst drunk), to achieve his ends. Perhaps the most evil action on Iago’s part in the play is not his betrayal of all the other characters but his refusal to reveal to Othello his motivation for doing so. In the end, Iago performs verbal suicide, refusing to speak another word.

Duke of Venice

He sends Othello with his wife Desdemona to Cypress to thwart a suspected Turkish invasion there. When Brabantio tries to have Othello punished for allegedly seducing his daugther Desdemona with magic, The duke displays his wisdom, learning the truth by allowing Brabantio, Othello and Dedemona to tell their sides of the story. He later wisely tells Brabantio to accept Otello and Desdemona’s marriage.

Brabantio

Brabantio is Desdemona’s father and a Venetian senator. A very powerful man in Venice. Brabantio is very angry, as well as the fact that his daughter has married a foreigner and a black man. Ultimately, however, he blames Desdemona: he warns Othello that he should look to his wife, stating that her deception of her father might portend a similar deception of her husband.

Michael Cassio

Cassio is a lieutenant to Othello. A handsome and honorable man, Cassio receives a promotion from Othello that enrages Iago, beginning the action of the play. Cassio is tricked by Iago into becoming drunk and striking the governor of Cyprus. This action leads to his dismissal from Othello’s troop and the loss of Othello’s affection for him. Under Iago’s guidance, Cassio attempts to regain Othello’s favor through Desdemona. However, this action makes Othello very jealous of Cassio. In addition, Cassio’s interaction with the courtesan Bianca further enrages Othello. While Cassio is meant to be seen as the innocent wronged victim of Iago’s machinations, it is true that he is unable to hold his liquor, that he engages in a brawl, nearly killing an important man, and that he treats Bianca very badly. Ultimately, Cassio’s reputation is restored, and he becomes the deputy governor of Cyprus.

Emilia

Emilia is Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s lady in waiting. The two are good friends; yet Iago persuades Emilia to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief from her and give it to him. Emilia does so, but it seems clear that she has no idea of the terrible ramifications of this act. In the final scenes, when she realizes what she has done, she condemns Iago to Othello and reveals her role in the handkerchief plot. In this moment, Iago runs her through with his sword, killing her. While Emilia is surely culpable for her part in the plot, her utter surprise at what Iago has done in some ways exonerates her. Her love for Desdemona is genuine, and if she had fully understood the depths of her husband’s villainy, it is unlikely that she would have cooperated with him. Nonetheless, she pays for her part in the deception with her death, although she dies in an honest confession of her own part, rendering her death less problematic than that of Desdemona.

Roderigo

Roderigo is a companion of Iago. A wealthy gentleman, Roderigo is in love with Desdemona. Iago uses Roderigo’s love for Desdemona as the device through which he gains both Roderigo’s financing and complicity in his plots. Roderigo is villainous in the play; he works against particularly Cassio in what he thinks is a plot that will finally unite him in marriage with Desdemona. Of all the characters in the play, Roderigo is clearly the least intelligent. He plays the part of the heavy in Iago’s machinations. After tricking Cassio early in the play, he falls victim to Cassio’s sword at the end.

Bianca

Bianca is a courtesan. While some have interpreted this to mean a prostitute, it is not clear at all from the text that this is the case, since only Iago describes her in this way. Bianca is a woman with whom Cassio is having an affair. Her importance to the play concerns the handkerchief plot, and while her role is small, much turns on the scene where Othello observes Cassio and Bianca discussing the handkerchief.

Lodovico

Lodovico criticizes Othello for murdering his wife Desdemona and falling from grace to act like a common slave not the respected man. Responsible by nature, he seizes control of events in the final scene, taking Othello’s sword from him after he wounds Iago and later places Cassioin charge of evil Iago while he heads abroad to recount the sad events that happened in Cypress.

Themes/Motive

Jealousy

Traditionally, Othello was read as a cautionary tale about the destructive nature of the green-eyed monster, jealousy. Certainly, the play is filled with examples of jealousy, each contributing to the claustrophobic atmosphere of plot and counterplot, all orchestrated by Iago. Iago himself attributes his hatred of Othello to numerous sorts of jealousy: he is jealous of Michael Cassio because he believes that Cassio has been promoted unjustly over him and because he believes that Cassio might have had an affair with his wife. Iago is jealous of Othello because he believes that Othello might have had sex with his wife and because he says that he loves Desdemona himself. It is almost as if Iago examines the various kinds of jealousy he finds in himself in order to exploit those jealousies in others. For example, he first manipulates Roderigo. Roderigo, in love with Desdemona, is very jealous of Othello and by extension of Cassio. His jealousy makes him an easy dupe for Iago’s plotting. Likewise, Bianca is jealous of any woman in whom Cassio might be interested, and thus she also can be manipulated by Iago. Of course, the most destructive jealous rage that Iago incites is that within Othello. Iago uses his own fear of cuckoldry as the basis for his plot against Othello. By projecting his own feelings (and a common cultural fear) onto Othello, he is able to convince Othello that what he fears most, Desdemona’s betrayal, is a reality.

· Active Characters : Othello, Iago, Emilia, Lodovico, Bianca

· Passive Characters : Duke of Venice, Cassio, Roderigo, Desdemona

· Setting : Venice, Cypruss

Dramatic Structure

1. Rising Action

· Iago and Roderigo met, then they inform Brabantio, Desdemona’s Father of her Relantionship with Othello

· Brabantio complains to the Duke of Venice that Othello bewiched his dougther and had has done to his fair Desdemona

· Othello explains how he and Desdemona fell in love.

· The duke order Othello to Cypruss to fight the turks with Desdemona to Follow.

· Iago to manipulate Othello and make he think that his wife has been unfaithfull with Cassio

2. Climax

· Othello is very jealous and decides to kill his wife and orders Iago to kill Cassio

· Emilia ( Iagos’s wife ) arrives, and explain that Desdemona’s innocence, recognizing that Iago is behind the tragedy.

· Iago kill Emilia

· Falling Action

· Othello is realizing that Desdemona’s innocence

· And Othello tries to kill Iago but is disarmed by Lodovico

· Othello commits cuicide with a dagger, holding jis wife’s body in his arms.

3. Catastrophe

· Othello (Hero) and Desdemona (heroin) was died .

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