Explore Shakespeare’s Use of Soliloquy in ‘Othello’ Essay

Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists white plagued his theatrical convention to budge the inwardness of their characters, a soliloquy returns the audience with accurate access to the characters innermost thoughts and we observe more about a character than could ever be gathered from the action of the play alone. In Othello, both the hero and the villain lecture in soliloquy. Iago, the villain, speaks his soliloquies first (Othellos occur towards the end of the play), outline the audience in as he outlines his intentions and ideas. The soliloquies give us access to the feelings and motivations of both hero and villain, which heightens the book of the drama. They are also a source of a great deal of salient irony which increases the dramatic tension for the audience. In Othello, the design of soliloquies is crucial as the play is based on deceit and they provide us to have sex the motive of characters, especially Iago, and we see the characters in their true light as they en gage address and images which are typical of them.Iago illustrates the issue of deception through his soliloquies they are expenditureful as they evince Iagos true feelings. Iagos character is presented to us through his soliloquies, illustrating motives which he uses to justify his actions, making the soliloquies instruments to take the audience what makes Iago tick. Language is the source of Iagos power and his soliloquies reinforce this. Iagos soliloquy in Act1 Sc.3 is where he starts to formulate his cast to get back at Othello. When he is alone, he reveals his true motives. First he mocks Roderigo Thus do I ever make my fool my purse making the audience apprised of the fact that he is only using Roderigo. He is toying with Roderigo for my own sport and profit. He suspects Othello of cuckolding him and he wants revenge. Iago knows that Othello trusts him comfortably, and the fact that he says that he entrust use this against him shows just how devious Iago is He holds me wellThe better shall my purpose work on him.Othello holds Iago in very high regard and it is Iagos use of this that leads Othello to murder his wife. Iago is determined to drive out Cassio andtake his place, he considers how he could do this and decides to use Othellos trusting temperament to try to persuade him that Cassio is too friendly with Desdemona. Iagos soliloquy suggest that the use of Roderigo and Othello in the first act is leading up to a more serious deception as his web will ensnare Desdemona and Cassio too. The soliloquy shows his ability to improvise quickly, at the start, he is musing oer a possible plan, and a few lines later he has the outline of a subtle plan which will bring about his revenge. It is appropriate that Iago uses words which associate him with a devilish image stone pit and NightMust bring this monstrous birth to the worlds light.Without the soliloquy, the audience would not know of Iagos plan, or the extent to which he is capable of manipulat ing people. The soliloquy clearly shows Iagos evil nature and his use of devilish imagery reinforces this.An another(prenominal) of Iagos soliloquies in Act2 Sc.3 is also useful in wake us Shakespeares use of soliloquies. At the beginning of the speech, Iago reflects on how no one can impeach him of macrocosm the villain when he offers such good, helpful advice. We can see that he manipulates a grant of the characters and knows that he is acting. We see Iagos true maliciousness in this speech as he intends to use Desdemonas good nature to enmesh them all he wants to destroy an innocent with whom he has no quarrel so that he can carry out his revenge. The speech shows Iagos delight in his own cunning and acting abilities, revelling in the fact that he has the power to turn Desdemonas moral excellence into pitch. As is typical throughout the play, Iago shows that he has nothing but contempt for honesty and honour and he looks forward to corrupting them, associating honesty with foolishness. Iagos loyalty is only to himself, and he even plans to use his wife in his scheme.The imagery Iago uses is again crude and materialistic, he will persuade Othello that Desdemona pleads for Cassio for her bodys lust, and without her knowing it, her conviction in Cassio and her pleas for him to be forgiven by Othello only serve to undo her recognize with the Moor. Iagoslanguage in his soliloquies emphasises his deception, as with Othello and Cassio, he is generally polite and guarded. The soliloquy serves to provide the audience with another view into his evil mind that he cannot express in dialogue with other characters as he is trying to manipulate them and needs them to think of him as honest and trustworthy.Othellos language is a contrast to Iagos, he is seen as the most romantic of Shakespeares heroes, his speeches often emphasise this variance as he uses poetic lines and images. However, this language sees a significant change as Iago poisons Othellos mind, and hi s speeches soon take on similar traits of Iago, using devilish language and hellish imagery. Although Othellos soliloquy in Act5 Sc.1 shows a change from the chaotic mind he showed in Scene 4 his anger has passed to an innumerous affliction, and he speaks more like the Othello we saw at the beginning of the play. Othellos speech reveals a exit of things about Othello that we would not otherwise know. Othello sees himself as acting as a martyr and for justice as he suggests that his purpose is to prevent Desdemona from committing further sins of adultery. His repetition of It is the cause, plus the fact that he will not say what the cause actually is, implies that Othello finds it hard to take Desdemonas life and be divide from her. Othello does not want to spill Desdemonas blood some critics suggest that this is because he wants to avoid departure any mark of murder so he can feel blameless. Other critics see it as Othellos desire to leave Desdemona looking perfect Yet Ill no t shed her blood,Nor fall guy that whiter skin of hers than snow,And smooth as monumental alabasterIt is as if Othello wants to see Desdemona as she does usually, with no marks of murder on here. Throughout the rest of the speech, Othello uses complex imagery he speaks of a rose being plucked and then withering, he then says Be thus when thou art dead and I will kill thee,And love thee after.This suggests determination, but also pain and reluctance, Othello has to use symbols, Desdemona as a rose, by doing this, he avoids confronting the deed directly and distances himself from Desdemona as a person so that be might be more able to carry out the murder. The opposition (the play is heavily based on opposites and opposition) in Othello is clearly shown in his lines about weeping and sorrow But they are cruel tears this sorrows heavenly It strikes where it doth love.Othello implies that sorrow is heavenly, which is the opposite to what sorrow should be, this emphasises that Othello is acting out of love, as a martyr of love.Without the soliloquy, the audience might not have been able to know what Othello was thinking as he justifies his action in killing Desdemona. It portrays Othello as his usual calm self while he does not speak passionately and seems in control of what he is saying, the images and language he uses are opposed and shows that he is emotionally torn.From this, we can see that Shakespeare uses soliloquies to put forward what the dialogue between characters cannot we see the characters true emotions and motives when they speak in soliloquy and this is implied when they use language and imagery which is typical to them. Iagos soliloquies show his true nature, he highlights what his scheming has accomplished and indicates his future plans and actions. The audience has a chance to view his characters and what he thinks of the other players. Othellos soliloquies come later on in the play when we can see the changes in Othello as he is poisoned by Iago . They serve to portray Othellos nature to us and emphasise the beauty of his language.