Othello, Desdemona, the duke, Brabantio and officers.
http://personal.colby.edu/personal/l/leosborn/wsengraving/oth13.htm
Summary:
The duke meets the senators to discuss the Turkish invasion of Cyprus saying that Turks have turned toward Rhodes. One senator guesses that Turks' change of target aims to mislead Venetians because Cyprus is far more importance than Rhodes. Then, the message of Turks joining with more forces toward Cyprus proves Turks' tricks. Then, Othello, Brabantio, Cassio, Iago, Roderigo and some officers arrive. Brabantio accuses Othello for stealing his daughter, Desdemona. The duke is initially believes Brabantio but then turns his side to Othello after Othello's explanation. Othello admits marrying Desdemona but denying the use of magic. Desdemona comes in and states her true love for Othello due to his story. The duke is persuaded by Othello and dismisses Brabantio's accusation toward Othello. The duke decides to send Othello to Cyprus to defend the island. Othello accepts and requests Desdemona to go with him. The duke agrees. After they leave to prepare for their voyage, Iago advises Roderigo to follow Othello to Cyprus and threatens suicides in order to win Desdemona's love. Iago plans to use Othello's honest to bring him to demise.
Literary Devices:
There are many literary devices being used in this scene. Shakespeare uses literary devices in his text to bring richness and clarity and further conveys a deeper meaning of his language. For example, "The food that to him now is as luscious as locusts shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida"(1.3.391-392), it is an example of simile. Iago compares the Othello's taste of food to the delicious taste of locusts and then to the bitter taste of coloquintida. By using the simile, Iago expresses his wish of Othello's change to a bitter situation. " Look to her, Moor, if though hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee."(1.3.333-334), it is an example of foreshadowing. Brabantio foreshadows that Desdemona will deceive Othello later because she deceived her own father right now. The use of foreshadowing raises reader's interest and curiosity of following the plot. "So please your Grace, my ancient. A man he is honesty and trust. To his conveyance I assign my wife..."(1.3.321-324), this is another example of foreshadowing. Othello thinks Iago is honest and he trusts Iago, and it foreshadows Iago's betrayal later because from what we know, Iago is deceitful and is not loyal to Othello. Again, it makes readers want to read more. "After some time, to abuse Othello's ear..."(1.3.438), it creates a suspense because, as the readers, we are curious about what Iago is going to do to destroy Othello and how Othello is going to response to Iago's betrayal. Overall, by using literary devices, Shakespeare makes his language more colorful and meaningful and it is one of the reasons why Shakespeare's works are famous.
Interesting Question:
Q: Would Brabantio give up his plan of divorcing Othello and his daughter, Desdemona?
A: I think Brabantio would not give up divorcing Othello and his daughter because Brabantio does not know Othello too much and still keeps his bad impression on Othello. He thinks Desdemona decieves him so Desdemona will deceive Othello too later on. In order to protect his daughter from possible hurts in love, he might keep planning to separate them.
Class Activity:
Record all the instances of "eyes", "vision" and "seeing" you can find.
What conclusions can you draw about how Shakespeare is using this symbol?
Shakespare uses lots of "eyes","vision" and "seeing" to portray the characters. For example, a senator thinks Turks' retreat of Rohdos is "a pageant/To keep us in false gaze"(1.3.24). The use of "false gaze" easily describes Turks' purpose of misleading Venetians. Another example is when the messenger observes Turkish's return, "Their backward course, bearing with frank appearance"(1.3.44-45). "Appearance" is the "visions", so Venetians could see their motions by their appearance. "Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense-"(1.3.76), this an example of the use of vision. Since Desdemona is not blind, Othello must have used magic to steal her. Shakespeare uses "blind" to exaggerate Brabantio's worries about Othello's stealing of his daughter so that readers will easily believe in Brabantio's words that Othello does steal Desdemona. "To fall in love with what she feared to look on!" (1.3.116), the use of "look on" is an example of "seeing". Brabantio shows his racist toward Othello saying that his daughter, Desdemona, will not fall in love with Othello because of her fear of looking Othello's face. The use of "seeing" here describes Brabantio's character of racist and prejudice in order to make him distinctive compared to other characters. "By being in his eye.."(1.3.278), this is an example of "eyes". Desdemona states she doesn't want to be in his father's eyes which means she doesn't want to be presence seen by his father. By using "eyes", its description becomes vivid and imaginative. Shakespeare's use of "eyes","vision" and "seeing" in his language clearly portrays the character's inner emotions and creates a depth in his meaningful words. Furthermore, "eyes","vision" and "seeing" in Shakespeare's language are symbols that could also represent Shakespeare's' own inner emotions.
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