Peter+A+Othello

Peter A.

In the tragedy of __Othello__ Shakespeare uses the motif of heaven and hell to emphasize the forces of good and evil and to show that people are not always how they seem. The forces of evil or hell are represented by the deceitful and manipulative Iago whereas the forces of heaven or good reside in the pure Desdemona. Othello is tricked by the Iago to think falsely that Iago lies with heaven and that Desdemona's allegiance is with hell. These forces of Heaven and Hell fight inside of Othello until he unravels and resolves to kill Desdemona. When Othello realizes he has been tricked he calls for heaven to smite down the evil Iago unfortunately by the time he realizes Iago's true intentions he has already killed his beloved wife.

In the play of __Oth____ello__ heaven primarily represents purity and is usually associated with Desdemona, however it is often used by Iago to deceive describe himself. The idea of Heaven as respresenting purity can be shown in Othello’s reaction to Cassio having Desdemona’s handkerchief, "By heaven, I would most gladly have forgot it. / Thou said'st, it comes o'er my memory, /as doth the raven o'er the infected house,/Boding to all--he had my handkerchief (Act IV, Scene I) ". Othello is angered by the fact that the pure handkerchif, which represents his wife, has been tainted by Bianca and Cassio. Heaven also appears in the vocabulary of Iago he says, "Heaven is my judge (Act I, Scene I)". This leads me to believe that Iago is experiencing delusions of grandeur, he for whatever reason thinks he is doing righteous work when in reality his deeds are evil this would support the "psychopath" hypothesis.

Hell being that dialectic opposite of heaven logically represents evil and corruption. It is usually associated with unfaithfulness, which is actually interesting as unfaithfulness = lack of faith and lack of faith often times means going against god or in other teams siding with the devil. When Iago's scheme is revealed the meaning of hell changes to represent him, this can be seen with Othello's initial reaction, "I look down towards his feet -- but that's a fable /If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee (Act V, Scene II)." Iago of course survives proving once and for all his demonic allegiance.

The characters in the play of __Othello__ do not always have clear intentions. Iago is the best example of this, most people see him as an honest out to help as an almost agent of heaven. Iago, ironically, is the one who points out this idea that people are not who they seem, "When devils will the blackest sins put on, /they do suggest at first with heavenly shows, / as I do now (Act II, Scene III)." Iago knows that people will probably perceive his plan as devilish so he wears a heavenly guise so that people will side with me and so his plan will be able to work.