The traditional role for soldiers in Elizabethan times Essay Example for Free

The traditional role for soldiers in Elizabethan times Essay The traditional role for soldiers in Elizabethan times was as a hero, very brave and fighting for the country. Black characters were normally seen as slaves and not important people. I agree with the title that Shakespeare has inverted these roles in Othello. I am going to study the two characters Iago and Othello. Iago plays a soldier who hates Othello and causes a lot of trouble. Othello is a black General who thinks that Iago is his loyal friend. In Iago Shakespeare has turned the idea of soldiers being brave, heroic and fighting for ones country to a villain who only looking out himself and has no sense of loyalty. Othello is different to traditional Black roles because he is seen as a powerful soldier who is sophisticated and respected instead of savage and low in society. Iagos philosophy is contrary to how soldiers are expected to behave. He is not following Othello out of loyalty In following him, I follow but myself. This shows he is only following Othello for personal gain, whereas soldiers are expected to fight for country and leaders. This would have intrigued the audience and given them something new that they werent used to. Unlike the traditional image of black characters in Elizabethan plays Othello is portrayed as sophisticated and important. When he is accused of witchcraft and corrupting Desdemona by Brabantio he stays calm and controlled handling the situation in a civilized manner, convincing Brabantio that maybe it is not a bad marriage after all. When Othello is talking to Brabantio he recounts the times he has told him tales from his life of being taken by the insolent foe and sold to slavery; of my redemption thence and portance in my travellers history this shows us that he has been through a lot so is worldly and experienced. His redemption shows us he is not a pagan as Brabantio described him. This would fascinate the audience who normally saw black characters in a very different light, and would shock them to see a black person in such a place of power. The impression we get of Iago as he persuades Othello is that he is very manipulative and cunning. He thought out his plan, scheming, almost like he playing a game of chess as each part of his plan falls into place. Iago knows that Othello is a bit insecure in his position so he uses flattery to get his trust. My Lord you know I love you. This makes Othello feel more secure. The way that Iago uses the things he knows about people shows us he is the one in control making things happen, as if he is the puppet master and all the other characters are just his puppets. Iago twists the story of how Desdemona and Othello she did deceive her father marrying you to make Desdemona look bad and untrustworthy. The audience like Iago because he is the one in control who makes everything happen. Without him the play would seem duller. He charms us with his cleverness and the way he speaks to the audience also makes them feel more like his friend. Soldiers were meant to be seen as people who follow the order of command instead of being the ones in control; Iago is the opposite of this. As Iago persuades Othello our opinion of him disintegrates and he starts to fit the traditionally weak character black people were given. His language becomes fragmented and disjointed No, not much moved: I do not think but Desdemonas honest. Not keeping the control he seemed to have at the beginning of the play. We can see that Iago has significantly influenced Othello as Othello takes on Iagos animalistic language I had rather be a toad and misogynistic terms impudent strumpet. Not only has he lost his controlled measured tone he also get to the point where he losses physical control and goes into a trance or fit. Othello takes on the villainous aspect of the traditional black role by the way he treats Desdemona Desdemona My Lord Othello I am glad to see you mad Desdemona why sweet Othello? Othello Divel. This shows us his darker side, as he is unforgiving and harsh even when she is crying. At the end of the play when Othello realises that Iago has tricked him he does regain some of the nobility he had in the beginning of the play. His speech returns to the eloquent and structured way he talked before although he still uses the animalistic tones he picked up from Iago as he describes himself as a circumcised dog. He is still insecure about how people see him so he explains of one who loved not too wisely but too well romanticising the fact that he has killed his wife which makes the audience feel sorry for him. He feels remorse and kills himself which makes it seem like a more valiant death instead acting like the savage villains black roles were normally given. Iago is the only one left at the end of the play alive that knows the whole story and what went on. He retains control by swearing not to speak leaving the other characters not knowing exactly what went on giving us an enigmatic ending. This shows us how very strong willed he is, as he has not changed but instead suspends our impression of him. I agree that Shakespeare inverts the traditional roles given to soldiers and black characters but I dont think that it is as straightforward as that. At the beginning of the play Othello is not very much like traditional black characters but as the play progresses we see him start to fit into that role more although he does redeem himself somewhat in the end. Iago shows no redeeming qualities that a soldier should have and is only working for his best interests right up until the end of the play. When Shakespeare wrote the play what was he trying to say? What he shows in this play is that on the outside a black character who is the leader of a white soldier, but looking deeper, we see that it is still the white person in control using Othello, exploiting him and eventually making him lose his life. Even when the black person is given power the white person is the one in control and it all ends tragically. Maybe in a society in which black people were not given many opportunities he was trying to justify this fact. Or maybe Shakespeare was just being a playwright trying to pull in large audiences by writing about sex, violence, exotic black characters and unconventional soldiers.