In a game of jealousies and passions, patience, as a virtue, is presented as a foil to the “unbridled movements” observed in many characters. There are two aspects of patience in Othello, demonstrated firstly by the suspension of intellectual judgment and the repression of instinctive emotional responses until they can be validated and grounded in logic and truth, and secondly. on the other hand by resisting emotional pain and maintaining one's integrity despite the tragedies that may have happened to us. . The Duke, the voice of rationality, remarks: “What cannot be preserved when fortune takes, / Patience, its wounds are a mockery.” » Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Shakespeare presents this lack of patience in the main character Othello, who, as a result, falls to tragic depths. Initially rational, Othello is capable of preferring patient reason to passion or aggressiveness. He tells the enraged Brabantio, "Keep your swords shining, for the dew will rust them," demonstrating his mastery of his emotions - which seems all the more noble when juxtaposed with Brabantio's passionate and reckless aggression. The Blackamoor in this scene appears to be the more rational and composed of the two, while Brabantio continues to level absurd accusations of witchcraft against Othello and chooses to seek immediate emotional gratification through revenge, following his own imperfect sense of justice , which is, rightly so. emphasized by the Duke, based only on “low habits and low probabilities”. Othello is even able to subtly reprimand the impulsive Brabantio by suggesting "Good signor, you will command more with years/Than with your weapons." This moment demonstrates Othello's control over the situation and his emotions. Later in the play, prey to Iago's evil manipulations, Othello regresses into the state of a stereotypical Moor – emotional, impulsive and irrational. Othello's regression is first visible when he asks Iago for "satisfaction" instead of "proof" regarding Desdemona's life. loyalty. Iago previously establishes that "it is impossible that you should see [Desdemona and Cassio committing an act of adultery]." He further frustrates Othello by denying him knowledge of his thoughts – “You cannot [know my thoughts, even] if my heart were in your hands. Othello, however, as a soldier accustomed to the "tent fields" and the simple clarity of the military world, where good and evil are easily dichotomized between the Venetians and the invaders, is unable to settle for uncertainty and to patiently withhold judgment until the evidence is available. The certainty that Desdemona is loyal would solve the problem but unfortunately, it is impossible to logically prove loyalty; conversely, certainty would require a single act and justify the action, and Othello, seeking to save his pride and appease his. bubbling with emotion, demonstrates an affinity for action as he makes the logical leap: “To have a doubt once is to be resolved once.” » Instead of patiently searching for evidence, restraining unfounded emotions, and curbing rash actions, he longs for "whether I will be satisfied" and accepts Iago's flimsy suggestions as "satisfaction" - which is less of a logical proof that intellectual numbing and emotional appeasement. relates to Othello Cassio's putative dream with careful attention to detail, dramatically creating the scene in Othello's mind of Cassio and Desdemona loungingin libidinous sex. Othello, unable to adopt the stance of patience, succumbs to the compelling emotional demands of his imaginative reality and gives up. logic. Instead of accepting Iago's warning that "it was only a dream," Othello asserts that it denoted a "foregone conclusion." Othello, in his need for certainty, clings to a “foregone conclusion,” collapsing the temporal sequence in favor of emotional “satisfaction.” The insubstantial evidence that Iago's supplies thus become mere practical items to appease his intellect, while a stronger, more primitive need for decision and action takes over. Such action takes the form of revenge and murder - not much different from Brabantio's previous attack. Othello's decision to do so is another incident of thwarted patience – he is unable to bear the humiliation that Desdemona's supposed infidelity brings to his public name as well as the emotional pain he must endure. Iago pointedly warns the enraged Othello: “Patience, I say; your opinion might change. However, as Iago predicts, Othello rejects this advice completely, declaring implacable resolve and refusing to consider the value of patiently living out his sense of humiliation, pain, and injustice: Never will Iago...my bloody thoughts of violent rhythm look never return, never return to humble love, until a capable and broad vengeance swallows them up. The accumulated enjambment and unyielding energy coupled with magnificent maritime imagery illustrate Othello's inexorable rush toward the extremity of vengeance. Unable to heed the Duke's advice (that "patience makes his wound a mockery"), Othello dives straight into the comfort of action and resolution, forming a conviction to murder Desdemona, the "cause" of which he, delusional, identifies as “justice”. » Much of his emotional turmoil can be attributed to his inherent propensity to confuse the public and the private. Concerning Desdemona's alleged infidelity, his first reaction is to lament that "Othello's occupation has disappeared" after listing his farewells to the various aspects of his public life ("neighing of the steeds", "feathered troops", “great wars”, etc.). As a Moor within Venetian society, Othello is acutely aware of his status as the “other.” The public ramifications he sees as a result of Desdemona's supposed adultery cause him to feel the emotional pain even more intensely. Once again, he allows Patience to dissolve into oblivion – unable to live as “a fixed figure for the time of contempt/To point her slow motionless finger”, Othello wrongly concludes – “either I must live, or I can't stand life. .” He explicitly repudiates the value of patience by referring to the symbolic gesture of Patience personified, "turn[ing] his complexion there...[to] look dark as hell." This preference for immediate gratification also foreshadows his later decision to commit suicide rather than suffer the torment of living in guilt – “For, in my opinion, it is happiness to die. » Other minor characters like Cassio also demonstrate the consequences. from a lack of patience. Iago attributes Cassio's aggressive attacks during the drunken brawl to "a strange indignity, / from which patience could not pass." Cassio's subsequent reactions to his dismissal as lieutenant are also typically impatient. Despite Emilia's assurance that Othello "needs no suitor but his likes/ To take the surest opportunity head-on/ To bring you (Cassio) back again", Cassio..