Othello's Strumpet

Works Cited 1. Kermode, Frank. "Othello, the Moore of Venice." The Riverside Shakespeare.

Johnson, Dean Ed. Boston: Hougton Mifflin, 1997. 1246-1250.

2. Shakespeare, William. Literature, Structure, Sound and Sense. Othello. Perrine, Laurence Ed. Fifth ed. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988. 1063-1147.

Othello's "Strumpet" "...Desdemona appears to Othello a super subtle Venetian" (Kermode,1249).

Subtle, because he was first captured by her beauty and what he thought to be honesty.

Before Iago came along, Othello was most confident in his wives truthfulness. Iago's scheming ways soon persuaded Othello to believe that Desdemona was cheating on him.

After he decided to believe what his lieutenant, Iago said, he became stubbornly set on those ideas and never even told Desdemona what was going on. He was all of a sudden angry with her and calling her a whore. She could not defend herself, because she had no idea what had led her husband to believe that she was being unfaithful to him.

From the Library of Congress: TITLE: Thos. W. Keen...

Illustration of Othello and Iago

Othello and Desdemona in Venice, 1850, oil on wood...

I completely disagree with Othello's thoughts about Desdemona and the idea that Desedmona was a "subtle venetian".

When Othello said to Desdemona, " What, not a whore?" She Replied, "No, as I shall be saved" (Shakespeare, IV. ii. 86-87). This statement was undoubtedly the truth, but Othello was so captivated with what Iago had been telling him that he didn't think to believe her. She said to him, "No, as I am Christian, if to preserve this vessel for my lord from any other unlawful touch, be not to be a strumpet, I am none" (Shakespeare, IV. ii.

80-84). Desdemona didn't have any idea what Iago had been telling Othello about her and Cassio. She had no way of defending herself. Othello didn't even bother telling her what had made his suspicions surface. The only...