Doubt as elaborated in Otello and Othello (Shakespeare's and Giuseppe Verdi's Operatic adaptation) - Essay Example

?Draft Doubt as elaborated in Otello and Othello I would like to be supported primarily through, but not limited to, the "web scene" in Othello Act 3 and Verdi's Opera act 2. I would love it if you could incorperate the varying factors that make Othello/otello susceptible to the deceptions of Iago, and demonstrate how those factors work to cultivate the seed of doubt that Othello grows in his heart regarding the fidelity of his wife Desdamona.  Authors use themes for different ways in a play or narrative. Not only are themes captivating in a narrative, they are also educative to the audience. The author uses them to convey the intended message to the audience. This is because themes comprise of the main ideas and information as presented by the author in a particular text. Some of the films produced immensely borrow from original classics, thematically and contextually. While the casts and scenes could differ significantly, just like in the case of Othello and Otello, there is similarity in the content presented; both share similar themes and characters. Giuseppe Verdi's Operatic film, Otello is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s original play, Othello. The two share a number of themes, especially the theme of doubt. Drawing reference from Shakespeare’s play Othello cast III and Giuseppe Verdi's film Otello, cast II; this essay will address the theme of doubt as presented by Otello/Othello. Iago, in both the play and the film, manages to instill doubt in Othello/Otello concerning his wife, Desdemona. Defined as the status between belief and disbelief, doubt instills uncertainty and loss of surety in a particular issue in question. Doubt necessarily does not have to involve any form of evidence. Rather, rumor plays a big role in instilling doubt in a person. Especially if there are any particular sign related to the issue under discussion, there are reasons to cause worries to the concerned person. Ioga, creatively and imaginatively instills doubts in Othello about the infidelity of his wife, Desdemona. Although he initially did not buy the allegations, Othello gradually fell into Ioga’s deceptions, believing that his wife was cheating on him. Several factors contribute to this development. At the beginning of the third act in Shakespeare’s play Othello, several things take place that make Othello doubt his wife and her relationship with Cassio. As the scene opens, Cassio sends musicians to play music under the general’s window. Initially, he hoped to appease the general, Othello in order to win reappointment in his position. However, Othello saw the futility of this, especially due to the growing popularity of Montano in Cyprus. Just when Othello sends the musicians away though his peasant, Cassio uses the same person to ask Emilia to go speak with him so that he could have access to Desdemona privately. Iogo takes this as an opportunity to blackmail Cassio and Desdemona. In fact, he offers to call for Emilia immediately, and then figure out a way to take Desdemona away from Othello so that he could speak with her. When Iago exits, Emilia enters, telling him that Desdemona and Othello had been discussing his case. Coincidentally, just as the second scene opens, Desdemona, Cassio and Emilia enter talking, with Desdemona making a vow to make sure that Othello reinstates him as the lieutenant. Just then, Iago and Othello enter. Immediately, Cassio leaves, giving a lame excuse by pointing out that he felt too uneasy, and could not do himself any good. When Othello asks whether he had seen Cassio leave, Iago offers that Cassio should not have behaved as a guilty man upon Othello’s approach. To make it worse, Desdemona urges Othello to forgive Cassio, reinstating him as the lieutenant. Giving an assurance that he would speak to Cassio about the request, she accuses him of responding to the request grudgingly and with hesitation. Despite his assurance that he would deny her nothing, she appears rather dissatisfied, exiting in anger. Iago takes this opportunity to make his case to Othello, about his suspicions about his wife, Desdemona and Cassio. He begins by stating that he does not trust them, reminding him that Cassio acted as the intermediary between their courtships. When Othello asks Iago whether he believes in Othello’s honesty, Iago reluctantly refuses to answer. In Othello’s mind, with his words and accusations, paints an adulterous picture of his wife, cuckoldry, and of hypocrisy. Iago even suggests that Othello watch her actions with the Cassio. These accusations make him start doubting his wife. At this instance, he starts developing doubts about his wife. In fact, he reveals that he knew that his wife was gone. One of these factors is Ioga’s greed for power and love to control other people. In fact, he did not have any particular intentions of helping Othello in his matrimonial woes. Although his wife Desdemona had gradually lost interests in her husband, clear from Othello’s declaration, she did not have any extramarital affairs with Cassio. Ioga, being knowledgeable of the problems between Othello and his wife, took that as a blackmail to win political power from Othello. He insists that he had overheard them both in bed having sex. According to him, Desdemona was already in love with Cassio, which prompted Othello to reveal openly that he knew she was gone. Somebody, as he suspected, had taken away from her. It was however out of Ioga’s convincing power and lure to deception that Othello started believing in him. At one instance, Othello demanded for evidence proving his wife’s infidelity. This showed that although he was worried about his wife and her love for him. He was not fully convinced that she had a different man in her life. Additionally, when Ioga accused her of having an affair with Cassio, this raised his doubts further on the authenticity of the information presented by Ioga. However, as Ioga kept on insisting that he had caught the two having sex, this raised considerable doubts in him concerning his wife. Works Cited Nanda, Serena and Warms Richard L. Cultural Anthropology. Belmont, Calif: Thomson Wadsworth, 2013. Print. Read More