othello change of characters

Othello - Change of Characters Othello's character during the
play is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage.
The other main characters in the play all form their own
opinions of him and as the play continues, his character begins to
deteriorate and become less noble. Chronologically through
the play Othello's character changes from a flawless military leader, to
become a murderer. Also as the play progresses, the other
characters in the play change their opinions of Othello which
causes the plot to happen the way it did. Throughout the first
act of the play, Othello was shown as many different characters
depending on who was speaking. Iago complains of Othello's
pride and "bombast circumstance" and is angered by the appointment of
Cassio, and educated military theoretician of Florence to
lieutenant, instead of himself. Although he knows Othello is a proud man,
his open and trusting nature in the beginning of the play will
be eroded by the conclusion of the plot. As Iago is speaking to
Brabantio about Othello, he uses the term "white ewe" to represent
Desdemona, and "black ram" when referring to Othello. By
using these terms, it shows that he is trying to give a bad impression of
Othello when he is speaking to the royal family in Venice,
because Othello is a Moor or a Negro. Iago shows his black hatred for the
Moor, and his jealousy of Cassio in his first soliloquy and also
reveals his evil intentions. As the act continues and Othello is being
searched for by a group of people, Iago attempts to incite
Othello into anger against Brabantio, but Othello does not take the bait.
He feels that he (Brabantio) may do his worst because
Othello is assured that his military services to the government will
outweigh Brabantio's complaints of him marrying Desdemona. These
answers to Iago's persistence show that he is still a character
of calmness and dignity, and he still has the self-assurance suitable to
command armies of men. When Othello is found by Cassio,

he seems to be relieved because he does not like personal conflict, which
would have occurred if Brabantio had found him instead.
After he is found, Othello is taken to Brabantio where he is interrogated
on how he possessed Desdemona enough in order to make
her run off with him. Brabantio damns Othello and calls him an
enchanter, saying that the "tender, fair, and happy" Desdemona was too
shy of marriage, which is why she shunned all of the suitors
sent to her. This entire scene helps to establish Othello as an alert and
composed leader. Later in this act, Othello offers to explain
how he won Desdemona. He chooses not to contradict or deny that he
has used "magic" but when the true meaning of the "magic"
comes to light it is shown that he used the magic of love and not a
conjured magic. Iago also suspects Othello of having some
kind of relationship with his own wife, although he doesn't know or even
seem to care whether or not his suspicions have any
foundation at all. Again, according to Iago, Othello is an "ass" because he
has a "free and open nature." This act works as an
introduction to the Othello character and shows how other characters
react to his presence in different ways. The remaining
acts of the play continue to show how the characters react to Othello's
lifestyle changes. Even though he must rid Cassio of his
lieutenant responsibilities forever, Othello explains how he still loves him.
If it were up to him Othello would have reinstated Cassio at
the first opportunity, but this would be bad political practice. He wishes to
appease Desdemona by doing this but he realizes that he
can't. These practices show that he is a good governor and does
not wish to arouse hostilities in the city, with an untimely pardon of
Cassio. Desdemona tells Emilia that Othello is not the jealous
type, which Othello believes to be true himself. However, as the play
progresses through Act 3, Othello talks to Iago telling him that

their prior conversation gave him reason to suspect Desdemona's
motives. As a reader, you can see that Othello's capacity for
judgement has deteriorated up to this point, not only is his state of mind
changing due to Iago's constant prodding, but his morals
have also deteriorated along with his character. As the play
winds to a close, the characters continue to show their own opinions on
Othello. Many of the characters have changed their initial
opinions because of Othello's obvious attitude change, but Iago is one of
the only characters that has kept the same mindscape,
besides Desdemona. Othello continues to disrespect Desdemona by
acting as if she was a prostitute, Emilia was her owner, and
he was a visiting buyer. This is blatant disrespect for his wife but she
does not sway her love and devotion from him. She does
however feel that she is at the lowest point she could possibly be at and
the only way to go is up, because her lover has turned into a
"beast." The last act of the play allows the characters to express
their last views of Othello, and how he has affected them. The night
where he plans on killing Desdemona is an important scene
because he is still knowing enough to ask if she has prayed to allow her
to have a clean soul when she dies. After hearing this
question, she realizes what he is about to do and pleads with him asking
why he is doing it. Desdemona always had faith in her
husband until the bitter end and this gave no help to her life. She died
because Othello was a pawn in Iago's game, and she had
nothing to do with it. The conclusion of the play signifies the
end of the frustration for many characters. Each of them has a different
view of Othello's character and through the duration of the
play, many of these ideas change, however Iago and Desdemona are
the only main characters that do not change. They continue to
have the same outlook upon Othello's unchanging character

changes. Each character looks upon Othello in his/her own way and that
is how much of the plot unravels as the play moves on.