Themes: Love (Grade 12 NSC Matric English HL): Revision Notes

Themes: Love

Introduction to love in Othello

William Shakespeare's Othello remains popular today because it explores themes that still matter to us, including love, jealousy, and race. The theme of love serves as a major component of the play, since Othello and Desdemona's relationship forms the central point of conflict, struggle, and eventual tragedy.

Shakespeare presents the concept of romantic love in various forms throughout the play. Romantic love can be understood as the deep attraction between two people, with the hope that this connection will last for a long time. This type of love appears through Othello and Desdemona's marriage, which officially recognises and strengthens their love in a traditional way. Additionally, the theme of love shows itself through physical attraction, emphasising the importance of romantic desire in maintaining their relationship.

However, love can also create problems, as strong feelings can lead to deception and unfaithfulness. The consequences of this become clear in Othello's rage when he believes Desdemona has been unfaithful. This connects to social expectations that control how love can be expressed, especially in the Jacobean era where women were expected to behave in certain ways. The concept of love and how people understand it changes over time, meaning that its historical meaning has been completely transformed between the 16th-17th century and today's society.

Love and hate

Othello is a domestic tragedy in which true, romantic love gets destroyed by hate. The binary of love and hate forms a central part of the play. Throughout Othello, the audience sees different relationships - Emilia and Iago as well as Othello and Desdemona. However, it becomes clear that Othello's love for Desdemona can be described as true love. The focal point of their marriage can be understood as being surrounded by love as a healing agent. This becomes particularly noticeable when Othello claims that:

Scene 3 highlights the reciprocal nature of love, showing their love is based on understanding ('she did pity them'), making it a foundational aspect to their relationship. This becomes clear to the audience at the beginning of the play, where their conversations are equal, with both parties holding power and stage-time. Their shared language and joint imagery (such as the semantic field of religion) establish their union within the structure of the play itself.

The strength of their love gets further confirmed when they reunite:

These loving words from Othello suggest how natural disasters cannot shake their love, as her presence calms him. The imagery of a 'tempest' gets used by Shakespeare to show the power of true love. This idea appears throughout his other texts too, for example in Sonnet 116 he states that love 'looks on tempests and is never shaken' (Sonnet 116, line 6). However, it can be understood that, although natural destruction cannot shake love, human interventions can influence it. Shakespeare uses this to introduce the main conflict in the play, where Iago's deceptive love breaks down the understanding and trust that exists between them. This interconnects with the dichotomy of the natural world vs. the man-made world.

Iago's manipulation of love

Iago's character becomes particularly significant because it is his 'performance' of false love that replaces and subverts Desdemona's true love. This proves important because it portrays Iago as being unable to love, only being driven by his obsessive desire to bring Othello down and his deep-rooted hatred for the Moor. He states this from the start:

"I follow him to serve my turn upon him" (Act 1, Scene 1)

Here it becomes clear that he is using Othello's trusting and loving behaviour towards him as a strategic advantage to cause his downfall. As the play progresses, Iago uses this trust Othello has in him, challenging his beliefs that Desdemona is honest and loyal:

In this quote, Iago portrays his ability to psychologically manipulate Othello by touching upon his insecurities about marrying Desdemona, whose father disapproved of him due to his race. As a result, he manages to plant a seed of doubt, turning their love against them. Shakespeare uses another branch of love, through false friendship, in order to demonstrate how hatred can overpower love.

However, critics have noted the ambiguous nature of Iago's revenge. Some have claimed that his plan to poison Desdemona and Othello's relationship stems from his own jealousy at not being able to experience Othello's desire for himself. This means that there are some homoerotic undertones to the way Iago behaves towards Othello, which creates multiple ways in which Iago's character can be understood, suggesting the complexity with which he was constructed.

Individual ways of loving

Individual differences in portraying love make love so diverse and unique. The concept of love languages suggests that many individuals communicate their love through either actions or verbal expressions, and serves as testament to the different approaches people take to love. In Othello, both Desdemona and Othello start their courtship through verbal reinforcements of their love, where they make sure that their partner feels valued through their words. Similarly, their actions play a central role in confirming and showing their love; for example, when Desdemona disobeys her father to marry Othello, Shakespeare portrays the strength of her commitment to him. Similarly, she accompanies him to Cyprus even though it is much more dangerous there and her life might be under threat. Nevertheless, she prevails and stays by his side.

On the contrary, Iago and Emilia can be seen as complete opposites. Iago's misogynistic ways lead him to disrespect and abuse Emilia. Her adherence to being a loyal, trusting and loving wife are not returned with the same amount of commitment, as Iago only uses her when he needs her. However, she retains her strength as she asserts her own voice against him when she finds out about his evil schemes. This suggests that she rejects his false love in favour of herself and Desdemona.

Bianca and Cassio's relationship is also more complicated, as it appears one sided. Cassio is a lieutenant, who puts his career before anything else. The audience never really sees any direct affection from him towards her but she is completely in love with him. She is also involved in the messy handkerchief plot, thinking that Cassio is entertaining another woman.

Overall, all the characters have their own love plot and their own ways of showing it.

Love and race

Othello gets ostracised from the beginning, continuously being called the 'Moor' instead of General, although this is his position in the Venetian military. Most of the racially charged language is spoken by Iago, who draws on stereotypes in order to present Othello as an evil, black man who is only capable of violence. He does this because of a personal vendetta against Othello:

In personal suit to make me his lieutenant / Off-capped to him; and by the faith of man I know my price; I am worth no worse a place

(Act 1, Scene 1)

He wants to destroy Othello's marriage and Cassio's reputation because he was not given the position he wanted. In this way, Iago's own committed hatred of Othello becomes the perfect antithesis to love; both are strong, personal feelings towards one person, and completely consume the individual's attention.

Jacobean prejudices around race are prevalent in the play. In particular, Iago constantly uses animal imagery to describe Othello:

This sexually and racially charged image insinuates Othello's sexual deviance due to his race is corrupting Desdemona. This influences Brabantio to also view Othello in a hostile light, as Iago continues to use derogatory language about Desdemona in order to enrage her father more:

You'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse; you'll have your nephews neigh to you; you'll have coursers for cousins and jennets for Germans

(Act 1, Scene 1)

This presents Othello as an animal and any offspring they have will also be tainted by such animalistic characteristics. The language used also provokes the fear of miscegenation (mixed-race marriages) and exogamy (marrying outside one's social group). As a result, Othello and Desdemona's love becomes undermined by ideas of race that other people use against them. For example, Brabantio gets influenced by Iago to use the same racially-charged language against Othello:

Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her; / For I'll refer me to all things of sense, / If she in chains of magic were not bound

(Act 1, Scene 2)

He refers to the 'chains of magic' controlling Desdemona, not being able to fathom the idea that she could naturally fall in love with Othello.

Desdemona does not regard Othello's skin colour as important. She falls in love with him after spending hours listening to his adventure stories, suggesting that she started loving him for his character. She draws strength from their differences rather than seeing the negatives of their relationship. This might suggest the naive and blindness of her love towards him, because she is willing to sacrifice everything for her love – even her own life. It is only through the influence of Iago that Othello loses faith in her words and actions, distorting them in his mind to see them as false.

Love and symbolism

In Cinthio's De Gli Hecatommithi (1565), which is the text from which Shakespeare took inspiration for Othello, the handkerchief proves highly important for the protagonists. Signs and symbols in the play are essential in portraying love or infidelity. Exchanging meaningful gifts shows the love a partner has for their significant other, and Othello's handkerchief plays a central role in this. When first given to Desdemona, Othello explains how the handkerchief functions as a sign of fidelity – it holds almost magical qualities. During this era, handkerchiefs had different functions in the private and public sphere, as they were used for fashionable purposes or dropped by women for men to pick them up. Similarly, as for Othello and Desdemona, they were used as gifts or proof of commitment during marriage and courtship.

However, as the play progresses, the handkerchief passes through the hands of many people. This suggests that its symbol as the couple's love gets forcefully transformed to something more sinister and cruel. This is because the handkerchief loses its meaning as a symbol of love and becomes something that others can easily change. For example, the handkerchief gets possessed by Iago and Emilia, who inevitably transform what it symbolises by handling it with ill intentions. In particular, Desdemona retains its loving qualities, while Othello starts to reject it – this rejection parallels a rejection of Desdemona. Her feelings become more anxious as he does so, and she drops the meaningful object of love. Consequently, it gets picked up by Emilia, who is unknowingly helping Iago execute his revenge plan. As Emilia passes it on to Iago, the handkerchief changes its meaning from love to hate. Iago becomes aware of its importance and turns it into false proof of infidelity. This change proves detrimental in initiating the transformation of the couples' marriage, where it becomes a symbol of unfaithfulness. In turn, the handkerchief becomes a destructive agent of their marriage, because it gets used as 'ocular proof' (Act 3, Scene 3) to inspire jealousy, doubt and misunderstanding.

Furthermore, as the handkerchief gets handled by Bianca, Cassio, Othello, Iago and Desdemona, it represents the problem of intervention in marriage. As marriage was an open, public spectacle in which the wife gets used as the husband's possession, many people would judge the relationships of others. Nothing was really private, making it easier for Iago to infiltrate and turn Othello against Desdemona. The involvement of many people in their loving relationship ultimately leads to its destruction.

Male friendship, deception and love

Male friendship in the play becomes central in causing the downfall of Othello. Iago, right from Act 1, devises a plan to destroy Othello for small and petty reasons. In particular, the banter that gets displayed between men is always in relation to women or female sexuality, and this culture of sexualisation gets used by Iago to foster distrust and disrespect towards women. The action gets amplified by the isolated setting of Cyprus, as characters are always in a state of anxiety. Furthermore, this setting proves important as it is where Iago first notices that Cassio is friendly towards Desdemona, starting his plan:

With as little a web as this will I / ensnare as great a fly as Cassio

(Act 2, Scene 1)

After hatching this plan, Iago tells it to Roderigo. Roderigo's character also gets exploited by Iago, making him feel like they are companions when in reality he was only a pawn in Iago's plans. He starts by acting like he is telling Roderigo a grand secret: that Desdemona is, in fact, in love with Cassio. This becomes especially clear when Roderigo says:

Pish! But sir, you be ruled by me

(Act 2, Scene 1)

He thinks he is the dominant one in the pair, showing how Iago is cunning and able to control others. Similarly, Iago uses many imperatives to make Roderigo obey him by saying things like 'Come hither' or 'Let thy soul be instructed' (Act 2, Scene 1). This sets Iago as the one who speaks the most, while Roderigo gets expected to be silent throughout. This shows Iago's obsessive nature for controlling others, even linguistically.

Notably, Iago positions Desdemona as the villain and depicts her as an untrustworthy person, hinting at his misogyny. This can be perceived by his jokes in the scene about women; his language gets saturated with this misogynistic attitude and hypocrisy when he calls Cassio a 'knave', even though Iago knows that he is the real knave himself:

Knave's a plain face is never seen till used

(Act 2, Scene 1)

This shows how Iago uses his position and his awareness of male doubt against others.

Throughout the play, Iago wants to achieve chaos, which he sums up by using a few musical metaphors. He describes Othello and Desdemona's relationship as 'well-tuned' (Act 2, Scene 1), using a metaphor to show how he can play around with them to undermine their current harmonious marriage. Iago has seen to be using their vulnerabilities against them and their relationships – this also gets shown by directors that use uncomfortable music in order to emphasise his evil nature.

Furthermore, Iago's exploitation of their vulnerabilities becomes possible because he preys on their most revered traits and turns them against each other - for example, Desdemona's faithfulness and Othello's strong outlook on honour. The audience feels complicit within this plot because only they are aware of Iago's evil plans due to his asides and countless soliloquies. In one of the asides, he ironically says:

As honest as I am

(Act 2, Scene 1)

Perhaps he believes he possesses his own form of 'honesty', or he is aware that he has everyone fooled about how virtuous he truly is. This makes the audience feel helpless as they watch him succeed in turning Othello against his own wife and killing her.

Homoerotic undertones: Iago and Othello

The theme of male friendship carries some homoerotic undertones, suggesting that there is a different way of understanding the relationship between Iago and Othello. This homoeroticism gets tightly bound up with the idea of homosocial relationships – this means that the military world of the play becomes significant in informing homosexuality. There are certain parts within the play that reinforce this, signifying the complicated feelings that Iago has towards Othello that go beyond simple hate.

One of these scenes occurs when Desdemona and Othello try to consummate their marriage:

The profits yet to come 'tween me and you

(Act 2, Scene 3)

This scene gets undercut by Iago instigating a fight between Cassio and Montano, which interrupts Othello's consummation. This interruption may stem from feelings of betrayal, specifically of the homosocial bond that Iago feels they have. Their wedding night gets further disrupted as other characters, such as Brabantio, enter this intimate sphere. Othello gets frustrated by such interruptions, but does seem to continue his consummation. This communicates the influence of male bonds, which inherently overpower the relationship Othello has with Desdemona. This becomes especially visible in the language Iago uses with Othello as the play goes on, drawing Othello closer to himself and further from Desdemona, implying the strengthening sense of male friendship with erotic undertones.

For example, Othello continuously praises Iago's love and honesty towards him, and Iago seems to reiterate his admiration for Othello, too. Although the audience may perceive this as a part of the facade Iago displays to bring Othello down, the strength of his words also implies a homosexual motive. As a result, Othello establishes a deep sense of gratitude and trust towards Iago, placing them in a pseudo-romantic relationship that gets embedded within this militaristic social sphere. This culminates in Act 3, where both men vow their loyalty to each other:

The body language employed by both characters symbolises a deep sense of intimacy between the two men. Such gestures get accompanied by religious as well as marital imagery. For example, the reference to 'heaven' and a 'sacred vow' reflect words spoken by spouses during their wedding vows, signifying that the bond they are cementing goes beyond conventional social meanings. Furthermore, Iago reinforces this vow by saying that he gives up his 'wit, hands, heart, to wronged Othello' (Act 3, Scene 3), depicting Iago's 'loyalties' and love for Othello.

Female friendship and love

As we have seen, male friendship endangers the female characters in the play. In particular, male friendship becomes central in affecting the way in which men perceive their own wives, being influenced by their peers to the point of murder and doubt. Jacobean England valued male friendship greatly, regarding it as a bond for greater knowledge. Shakespeare plays with this idea, making Iago use Othello's trusting disposition by seeing him a good advisor when in reality he is the main villain in Othello's downfall, along with Desdemona's. On the contrary, the friendship that gets presented on stage between Desdemona and Emilia is completely different. The audience experiences the way both women deal with their marriages and confide in each other, creating their own female space of protection in a patriarchal world.

Their friendship proves very unusual, however, as ostensibly there are no similarities between them. This is because Emilia is a maid who is older with more sexual experience than Desdemona, her mistress. Desdemona has little sexual experience due to her young age, making her more naive about the expectations as a woman. These differences are superficial, however; as they both share the same experiences of being women in a male dominated sphere and of being wives who have to adhere to certain social codes. Their bond also gets emphasised by the location; the fact that they are far away from home in Cyprus suggests that they feel lonely and need each other as companions. This push that forces them towards each other allows them to see their similarities, highlighting their equal sense of virtue and intelligence. Throughout the play, their friendship blossoms even more because of the abuse in their marriages and anxieties surrounding the aggression of their husbands. Emilia's experience allows Desdemona to find comfort in her words. This shows the development of love through friendship – platonic love.

The advice Emilia gives to Desdemona illuminates the pressures of having to be submissive, chaste and obedient wives to their husbands, who provide for them financially. Although Desdemona follows these conventional ideals, Othello's jealousy and rising contempt for Desdemona forces Emilia to talk about these unfair expectations:

This conveys the sexual appetite of men that women must satisfy, while also repressing their own desires. Emilia suggests that Desdemona and Othello's love is not as strong as she assumes it is, warning her of the real nature of all men. Furthermore, this reveals Emilia's complex nature as a character who understands the problems in marriage, trying to educate her friend to re-imagine married life – she seems to push Desdemona to see the harsh reality of being in a passive role. Emilia embodies this: she went through her own abusive marriage yet stands strong and believes in her own worth, seen through the way she speaks with a lot of wit and assertion. This contrast proves important, as it suggests that Desdemona's love might not be enough to keep Othello's jealousy down, as his manhood overpowers her identity.

Love through the ages: then vs. now

The way love gets expressed, understood and defined has changed dramatically since Shakespeare's Othello. Shakespeare's portrayal of love in plays such as Hamlet, Othello and Romeo and Juliet may now be considered conventional and almost cliché. The importance of marriage, in particular as a legitimising institution of love, has become less significant. Today relationships are more flexible and couples can choose a partnership that suits their expectations. Whereas arranged marriages were normal during Shakespeare's era, today most people marry out of love rather than obligation. Such changes can be linked to the rise of feminism, as women's position as submissive and meek has been contested, affording them more dominance in relationships.

Furthermore, the rise and emergence of the LGBTQ movement highlighted how love can come in various forms, diminishing traditional depictions of love between only men and women. This has been clear in the way media representations have changed; for example, some adverts now include gay couples as opposed to the traditional nuclear family which consists of a heterosexual couple with children. Consequently, all of these changes suggest that it has become more difficult to categorise love, due to its subjective nature. Although there is still a long way to go to achieve equality in expressing one's sexuality, the change in the definition of 'love' is very apparent today.

Nevertheless, Shakespeare's depiction of love may still hold some relevance today. In particular, the idea of arranged marriage and insignificance of love can be observed in some cultures today. This means that certain groups see this as part of their culture or tradition, enforcing it upon their children to form strategic pacts with other influential families.

Furthermore, some of Shakespeare's characters portray progressive perspectives when it comes to issues such as sexuality and gender equality. For example, Emilia exclaims:

This echoes modern feminist critiques, especially that of Mary Wollstonecraft who advocated to 'strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience' (A Vindication to the Rights of Women). As such, Emilia may be considered a proto-feminist, for she also asserts that women are intelligent with similar desires that should be addressed by their husbands too. Therefore, there are some concepts within Othello that can still be found cross-culturally in contemporary societies.

Overall, the theme of love in Othello assumes many different forms. Desdemona and Othello's love towards each other informs the strength of their marriage at the start of the play. This idealistic depiction of love gets amplified through Othello's racial differences, as Desdemona ignores the social taboos concerning love with marrying an Other. However, the social values and regulations soon destabilise their love. As we have seen, Iago's hatred serves as a direct contrast to the unconditional love portrayed by the protagonists' relationship. His toxic relationship with Emilia embodies this, legitimising his revenge plan as something that is within his nature. Alternatively, love in the form of homosocial relationships may also be a catalyst to his rage and jealousy.

Another way that love emerges in the play is through friendship. Male relationships in the play get informed by the world of the military, where being a soldier creates a strong network of love and loyalty that Iago later exploits. We have seen how the alternative world of female friendship portrays love in a compassionate and innocent way, as Emilia and Desdemona develop their own loving bond. Therefore, Shakespeare provides us with many ways to interpret love in the play, which is one of the main driving forces of the overall action.