Say it, Othello

Say it, Othello.

Her father loved me, oft invited me,
Still questioned me the story of my life
From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes
That I have passed.
I ran it through even from my boyish days
To th' very moment that he bade me tell it,
Wherein I spoke of most disatrous chances,
of moving accidents by blood and field,
of hair-breadth scapes i;th; imminent deadly breath,
Of being taken by the insolent foe
And sold to slavery, of my redemtion thence,
And portance in my traveller's history,
Wherein of antres vast and deserts idle,
Rough quarries, rock, and hills whose heads touch heaven,
it was my hint to speak. Such was my process,
And of the cannibals that each other eat,
Theanthropophagi, and men whose headds
Do grow beneath tehir shoulder. these things to hear
would Desdemona seriuosly incline,
but still the house affairs would draw her thence,
Which ever as she coul dwith haste dispatch
she'd come again, and with a greedy ear
Devour up my discourse, which I observing,
took once a pliant hour, and found good means
to draw form her a prayer of earnest heart
that I would all my pilgrimage dilate,
Whereof by parcels she had something heard,
But intentively. I did consent
And often did beguile her of her tears,
When I did speak of some distressful stroke
That my youth suffered. My story bieng done,
She gave me for my pains a world of kisses.

(...)

Othello
Act 1, Scene iii (ln 127 - 169)


Othello speaks in traditional iambic pentameter as he addresses Desdemona’s father, Brabanzio. Defending his innocence, he soliloquizes about his personal story after being accused of stealing Brabanzio’s daughter, a socially unacceptable form of raptus. “Her father loved me once,” he says, implying that Brabanzio no longer loves Othello because of the illegitimate marriage that has occurred without a father’s consent. The fact that Othello asserts Brabanzio’s impermanent love, shows us that Othello believes Brabanzio may have regarded him as a filial figure. Desdemona goes against the will of her father by marrying Othello without the permission of Brabazio. Othello is invited in, welcomed as a stranger into the life of Desdemona and her father. As a guest in a social environment that is unfamiliar, Othello is conscious of how he is perceived. Brabanzio is curious about the “story of his life” but may be hesitant in yielding to unconditional trust, as he questions Othello year after year— similar to the way a guilty party is consistently interrogated by an officer of the law.
Othello’s use of the phrase “questioned… the story of his life from year to year” suggests that Brabanzio may not have only been interested in Othello’s personal history solely for the sake of getting to know him. Rather, Brabanzio is engaging Othello in a background check of sorts, making sure that he is trustworthy. Perhaps Brabanzio finds it challenging to secure a personal trust in Othello because of his inability to transcend racial perception. This, despite Othello’s having redeemed himself— proven himself worthy of trust— over and over again. There is a nuanced subtlety in Othello’s language that suggests he may have felt interrogated from year to year— perhaps never achieving a fully realized sense of credibility. Othello, whether reasonably or not, is conscious of the ways in which he is perceived in a society that is predominately white.
Othello must remain ever conscious of the ways in which he is perceived as an outsider of the white hegemony; one mistake, such as the secret wedding outside the jurisdiction of authority, and his legal and social standing could be compromised. The fact that he is in the court room not because of what he has done, but what Iago and Roderigo have conspired against him, reveals that within the framework of the law, some men are punished for breaking the law, and others are not punished for breaking the law. In this case, the guilty parties include the conspirators who have betrayed their comrade, Othello, who has betrayed Brabanzio’s trust, and Desdemona. But who is the character who has to defend his actions in court? Who escapes the discerning eye of authority and the law altogether? The answers are A) Othello, and B) his white comrades, Iago and Roderigo. Because Othello, being the Moor, cannot escape authority and the law, he is questioned, and now must battle on a linguistic level in the form of debate, so that he may prove himself innocent.
What is particularly troubling is that even after Othello has spoken of most “disastrous chance,” of “moving accidents by flood and field,” of being “taken by insolent foe and sold into slavery, of his redemption thence,” he must still redeem himself in order to gain the favor of his authorities and peers. His peers “devour up his discourse,’ like greedy pigs devour their slop. These people are often troubled by his strange stories. His words instill sympathy and compassion, and still others wish they could be “such a man” as he is. Othello’s language is the only “witchcraft he has used,” causing him to be a man that other’s admire, and still others, such as Iago loathe. His words then, like his racial status is something he must consistently be conscious of, as either construct yields great power and simultaneously great instability. In Othello’s tragic case, a danger that ends in the collapse of all constructs, including the very construct of his life.


Matt Dixon
1F, Aaron Gorelik