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Christine Liu

ENG 473 Shakespeare

Professor Bjork

12 December 2007

Divided They Fall: The Tragedy of Isolation in Othello

In Othello’s last speech, he entreats Lodovico and Graziano, “Set you down this, / And

say besides that in Aleppo once, / Where a malignant and a turbaned Turk / Beat a Venetian and

traduced the state” (5.2.360-363). This statement illustrates that Othello never succeeds in

becoming a part of the Venetian world and always sees himself as a foreigner on the outskirts of

that world. The element of perpetual foreignness in Othello fuels the feelings of suspicion and

mistrust that move the story along. Because all of the characters are foreigners at some point,

they all find themselves in surroundings that are strange and unfamiliar to them. This notion of

foreignness leads them to feel displacement within their surroundings and therefore causes not

only a pervasive feeling of ignorance among the characters, but also a general unfamiliarity with

the natures and motivations of the people around them. As McGinn argues, “Othello has to be

ignorant of his wife’s real love for him in order to be persuaded by Iago. Desdemona has to be

ignorant of her husband’s weakness of character in order not to worry about the jealousy her

advocacy of Cassio might inspire. So too must she be ignorant of Iago’s character” (McGinn 70).

The mix of foreign locations and foreign characters serve to add to the personal isolation that

each character feels. Othello and Desdemona become more and more isolated from each other as

Iago preys upon Othello’s suspicions and insecurities. Iago’s malicious plots stem from his being

passed over for a military promotion and therefore being isolated from the social station to which

he feels he is entitled. This isolation blinds them to the dangers of deception surrounding them,
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and as the events of the story unfold, it becomes clear that it is precisely this isolation that

ultimately leads to their destruction.

The different settings and locations Shakespeare employs is a physical manifestation of

the displacement and alienation of the characters, in that no one ever feels quite at home or at

ease for long. As the play moves between settings, “[the] field of action shifts from war, where

Othello is absolute, to the isle of the Cyprean Queen and the domain of Love in which Othello

confesses his inexperience and inadequacy, and where the cynicism of Iago passes for world

knowledge” (Hecht 136). The Venice in which Othello takes place is a sophisticated and

cosmopolitan city full of diversity as well as unity. The varied character of the city is built upon

its dynamics of individual identities alongside the idea of a unified Venetian identity. In this

way, Venice is a clearly defined setting with strict boundaries, and the Venetians are both aware

of this and proud of it. As Brabanzio unequivocally asserts, “This is Venice. / My house is not a

grange” (1.1.107-108). The Venetians have a very clear idea of what it means to be Venetian,

and Othello is never fully able to identify with that idea. Othello and Desdemona’s marriage is

greatly influenced by the structural order of Venetian society so long as they remain within its

boundaries. However, when the action of the play moves beyond these boundaries to Cyprus, the

dynamics of the relationship between Othello and Desdemona shift. Through his doubts

concerning Desdemona’s faithfulness, Othello subconsciously reveals his fundamental fears that

he has no place in her world, no matter how much admiration his military achievements gains

from the citizens of Venice or how assimilated into Venetian society he thinks he should be. Nor

can Desdemona ever truly be a part of Othello’s world; she has no comprehension of the military

world other than the sensationalized stories Othello tells her of his military exploits. Raised

within the sheltered boundaries of Venice, she no longer has that identity to hold onto. The
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change in their marriage is reflective of the disruption and upheaval that this spatial change

brings. Geographically, they are moving away from the closed structure of Venice to a more

open structure of society, and where the social structure changes drastically.

The contrast between Venice and Cyprus provides a basis for the comparisons and

transformations that permeate the play, and the ramifications of this geographic displacement

quickly become evident. When Othello strikes Desdemona, “Lodovico comments: ‘My Lord,

this would not be believed in Venice, Though I swear I saw’t.’ Cyprus has unhinged the

dignified and moderate general, to such an extent that Lodovico finds it hard to believe his eyes”

(McGinn 77). In Cyprus, Othello and Cassio are no longer the only foreigners. The Venetians

also find themselves in a world in which they are alienated from the all the comforts of a familiar

and structured society. Throughout the play, there are references to many foreign places, such as

Aleppo, Barbary, and Rhodes. It is unlikely for Shakespeare’s audience to have more than a

cursory and vague understanding of the many strange and exotic locations that are mentioned

throughout the play. Because they would not have been exposed to these foreign locales and

would therefore have no frame of reference for these places, Cyprus becomes as a sort of limbo

between Venice, the height of civilization, and the perceived barbarism of the Arab world. Just

as Othello himself feels displaced between two cultures, Cyprus provides a setting in which all of

the characters are trapped between that which is foreign and that which is familiar.

For Othello, life in Venice is a constant source of dubious self-identity and cultural

ambiguity. When the play opens, Othello’s commitment to leading the soldiers against a Turkish

enemy shows that he has chosen to embrace the city of Venice as his home. He adopts their

Christian faith as his own, and his marriage to the daughter of a senator of Venice as cements his
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civic and legal ties to the city. In response to the brawl between Cassio and Roderigo, Othello

says angrily,

Why, how now, ho? From whence ariseth this?

Are we turned Turks, and to ourselves do that

Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites?

For Christian shame, put by this barbarous brawl. (2.3.152-157).

The irony of Othello, the foreign Moor, comparing the Italians to Turks and lecturing them on

proper Christian behavior, highlights the notion that everyone is somewhat out of place in his

surroundings. Although Othello is an accomplished and articulate military hero, he always

remains on the outskirts of Venetian society. Other characters repeatedly refer to him as the

Moor, which illustrates that from the perspective of the Venetians, he is never thought to be one

of their own. Despite his best efforts, Othello does not truly belong to this culture, nor can he

ever be considered a Venetian. For Shakespeare’s audience, “[Othello] would have been

recognized from the start as an anomaly… who has no real home, and therefore no civic

allegiance, but, far more suspiciously, one who, had things only been slightly different… would

have been fighting on the enemy side, with the Turks against the Venetians” (Hecht 123).

Shakespeare’s audience would not have accepted Othello as a Venetian, and it is clear that the

Venetians themselves cannot and do not completely accept him.

From the beginning, there are very clear distinctions drawn between those inside the

Venetian world and those outside of it. The inherent xenophobia of the Venetians surfaces during

Iago's opening comments about Cassio. Iago refers to him snidely as “a great arithmetician, /

One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, / A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife” (1.1.18-20). Although

he feels scorn for Cassio because Iago believes himself to be deserving of a promotion, it is not
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the only reason. He stresses the fact that Cassio is a Florentine, a fact that Iago clearly finds

distasteful. He is insulted that a man from Florence, a relative foreigner, is chosen over himself, a

proper Venetian. The presence of xenophobia is seen again when Brabanzio speaks against

Othello to the Duke: “Damned as though art, thou hast enchanted her, / For I’ll refer me to all

things to sense, / If she in chains of magic were not bound” (1.2.64-66). His fears arise from

Othello’s foreignness, and he uses the stereotypes associated with his foreignness to convince the

Venetians of Othello’s supposed guilt:

That thou has practiced on her with foul charms,

Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals

That weakens motion. I’ll have’t disputed on.

‘Tis probable, and palpable to thinking.

I therefore apprehend and do attach thee

For an abuser of the world, a practiser

Of arts inhibited and out of warrant (1.2.74-80).

As a foreigner, Othello is subjected to the suspicions and superstitions of a society that never

fully accepts him as one of their own. He is defined by his otherness. As Iago states, “Were I the

Moor I would not be Iago” (1.1.57-58), thus underlining the essential difference that separates

them. Othello will always been regarded as the Moor first and everything else second.

The driving force behind the play is the idea of an “other” intruding upon a world that has

a specific set of structures. Mark Rose writes, “We can think of Othello as a play in which

Shakespeare is recapitulating his own earlier representations of an absolute world of chivalry,

alienating them, and through Iago representing something like his own role in plotting the

disintegration of the absolute world” (Rose 67). The action of the play derives from the moment
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when Othello’s otherness begins to separate him from the people he had considered to be his

peers. Before the events of the play, it is evident that Othello functioned fairly well in Venetian

society. He tells the Duke, “Her father loved me, oft invited me, / Still questioned me the story of

my life” (1.3.127-128). However, when Iago purposely spurs Brabanzio’s fury with derogatory

comments emphasizing Othello’s foreignness and referring to him as “and old black ram”

(1.1.88) and “a Barbary horse” (1.1.113), the prejudice that Brabanzio always held against

Othello comes to light. In a world in which Othello as always been seen as an outsider, it is not

difficult to understand the ease with which he falls victim to his own insecurities.

Through this exploration of the fears and motivations of his characters, Shakespeare uses

a story set in Venice and Cyprus to uncover some of the negative aspects of the social ideologies

in England. The feelings of alienation and unfounded suspicion at the center of this play reveal

the basic prejudices that create divisions among races and nationalities. In alienating foreigners

from their world and mistrusting those around them, they only succeed in alienating themselves

and contributing to their own self-destruction. In creating Othello, Shakespeare is “acutely aware

of the large differences that exist between people, and also of the human tendency not to notice

and heed those differences” (McGinn 88). All of the characters feel some degree of isolation and

alienation from the other characters, and it is because of this distance between them that they are

unable to stop the tragedy from unfolding. The element of otherness that each one of them

experiences at some point indicates that they do not know each other as well as they should, and

the tragedy of the play hinges on the fact that all of the characters are either fatally ignorant of

what is happening around them or are mistakenly mistrustful of those who are innocent. Through

this story of outsiders turning against each other, Shakespeare provides a portrait of flawed

characters at odds with themselves and the hegemonic culture that has lead them to a tragic end.
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They represent the misunderstandings and prejudices inherent in all societies, and their

misguided actions reveal that a rejection of otherness can lead only to their own downfall.
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Works Cited

Hecht, Anthony. “Othello” Modern Critical Interpretations: Othello. Ed. Harold Bloom. New

York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.

McGinn, Colin. Shakespeare’s Philosophy: Discovering the Meaning Behind the Plays. New

York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.

Rose, Mark. “Othello’s Occupation: Shakespeare and the Romance of Chivalry” Modern

Critical

Interpretations: Othello. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed.

Stephen Greenblatt. First Ed. New York: Norton, 1997.