-
Essay / How Othello portrayed confidence and honesty in his love for Desdemona
In Othello's soliloquy to the Duke and the council, through his passage of verse, he is able to portray his sincerity and certainty in his love for Desdemona and to persuade the council. that he won Brabantio's daughter fairly and truly. Othello begins by addressing the council before whom he is accused, graciously calling them "mighty, grave, reverend... noble... masters" (1/2). This submissive diction clearly highlights Othello's position in the discussion, as he places his judges above him. However, this is also an example of Othello's masterful speech work, as he shows his respect we also understand that he wishes to influence them in his favor. To further achieve this, he agrees to Brabantio's claims that "I took this old man's daughter / It's quite true" (4/5). Although it may appear that Othello is confessing to the crime, he actually appeals to the council and wins them to his side by asserting that "my offense / To this extent, no more" (5/6). In this way, Othello disregards Brabantio's claims, saying that he simply married his daughter and stole her, but did not use any tricks or magic to obtain her. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The next part of Othello's speech further develops his masterful language by stating that he cannot speak beautifully because he only knows war and battles. He claims that his language is "coarse" and "not good at sweet phrases" (6/7), but the reader can clearly see that he masterfully manipulates language in order to convince the council. Othello then discusses his warlike prowess, but in a way that does not praise his actions, but rather makes it seem like a curse - because because of this he cannot talk much about “this big world” (11). Thanks to his diction of combat and war, Othello manages to slyly evoke that he is indeed a veteran, and perhaps to give rise to an idea of heroism and bravery within the council, which opposes the the idea that Brabantio wants to provoke with his attack on Othello. Overall, he manages to use his time at war as a way to show that he does not possess the knowledge necessary to influence Desdemona with anything other than pure love, and to influence the council in his favor by making them remember that he is a war hero. Othello ends by slandering Brabantio's claim by saying that he will “deliver / from all my course of love; what drugs, what charms, / what conjuration and what powerful magic, (15-17). So Othello bounces back from Brabantio's attack on him, as he has just explained that he has no way of actually doing these things, but instead he has only used what he knows - war , the battle and its stories to win Desdemona..