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READ THIS
Desdemona, guessing that she is about to die, prepares for her own death by singing the plaintive song,
"Willow".
THE EVOLUTION OF ETIQUETTE
Etiquette -- i.e. how to behave when in company -- is a relatively new thing dating back to the 15th and
16th centuries, the time of the Renaissance.
In the medieval world -- that era which preceded the Renaissance -- etiquette virtually did not exist.
People behaved instinctively, as children do. They belched if they felt like belching. They farted in public
if they desired to relieve themselves.
There were no rules for how to treat a lady. Men sulked publicly if they felt offended, or would launch into
fist fights at the drop of a hat. The stories of knights rescuing damsels in distress? It is far more likely
that the knights would put an unprotected damsel into distress!
This all changed during the Renaissance -- or, for England, the Elizabethan Age -- when suddenly men
became concerned about how they should be behaving when in public. To give them guidance, manuals
began to drafted on what manners were good and what was to be avoided.
The manuals examined almost every facet of life: from eating to drinking, how to speak, how to walk and
dress, how to behave in the presence of women. Men in high society now had something to guide them,
rules which they could follow meticulously.
The rules were first formulated in Northern Italy, in Venice and Milan. From there, Renaissance etiquette
slowly filtered across the length and breadth of Europe. It would take time, however, and sometimes even
centuries for the upper classes to change.
Indeed, during the Elizabethan Age, the English were generally regarded as uncouth, while the English
in turn viewed the Italians as fops.
Notice how Iago is highly critical of the way in which Cassio continually kisses his fingers when he speaks
to Desdemona. Iago thinks it stupid, and his viewpoint probably echoed that of the average Englishman.
Etiquette would also take ages to filter down to the lower classes of society, with the working classes not
being affected until the 19th century, perhaps even later. Indeed, even today, people of the lower socio-
economic class battle with the elementary rules of behaviour at formal gatherings like weddings, where
they still like to drown out anyone making a speech.
One finds this differentiation of manners very obvious in Othello. Desdemona and the Duke are
perhaps the most sophisticated. Brabantio's behaviour, on the other hand, was at times questionable in
that he allowed his instincts to lean towards revenge. Cassio knew the rules but possibly applied them
slavishly, while at times overdoing it.
Iago? Well, he was very much a law unto himself, although he appeared to know how to behave in the
presence of a lady. Note, for example, how he treated Desdemona with the utmost respect but, on the
other hand, treated his own wife in the most uncouth way. And Iago was a person who took revenge to
an extreme.
Emilia is almost typical of the lower cast, so much so that she is often referred to almost as if she were
a prostitute. At the same time, however, she was able to recognise poor behaviour in others, and
especially noted the intense jealousy which Othello exhibited.
Othello himself found it a problem to balance his own behaviour. When he was in Venice and everyone
about him was behaving to the book, he followed suit. When in Cyprus, on the other hand, and there were
few people to guide him, his etiquette slipped badly.
Notice his outbursts of jealousy even when there was little to provoke it -- typical of pre-Renaissance
behaviour. Observe his crassness when addressing his innocent wife about her apparently missing
handkerchief. And, of course, his unprovoked striking of Desdemona in full view of the gathered
dignitaries.
In many ways, therefore, the play is all about Othello's descent from the status of a dignified man who
portrays all the expected etiquette of Venice. By the end of the play, however, he is behaving like an
uncouth medieval barbarian.
With the various levels of etiquette -- or lack thereof -- all around them, the sophisticated Elizabethan
audiences would have noticed immediately Othello's slide into pre-Renaissance depravity.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
EMILIA: "I would you had never seen him!"
DESDEMONA: "So would not I my love doth so approve him,
That even his stubbornness, his cheques, his frowns --
Prithee, unpin me, -- have grace and favour in them."
- Show how Emilia's wish is in total contrast to Desdemona's. (4)
[Need help?]
Emilia's wish is that Desdemona had never even met Othello.
Desdemona, on the other hand, is the opposite. Her love "so approved him", she says, that she
still finds "grace and favour" in him, in his anger, in his unexpected bad temper, etc.
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- Why is Desdemona still completely loyal to Othello even after he has abused her
so? (2)
[Need help?]
Desdemona is the image of the tragic hero. She is perfection through and through, will not condemn
Othello in any way but will willingly accept every punishment he choses to inflict on her.
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"If I do die before thee prithee, shroud me
In one of those same sheets."
- Explain why Desdemona wants to be buried wrapped in "one of those same
sheets". (4)
[Need help?]
The wedding sheets are a symbol of purity and honour. Desdemona wants them on her bed now so that
she may be strangled on them. Then, afterwards, she wants her pure body to be wrapped in them for
burial.
There are smatterings of the sacrificial lamb in this, the lamb that is sacrificed for the sins of the many.
Or of the virginal sacrifices of the ancient world, where the selected virgin would willingly stretch out upon
the altar and be slaughtered with a dagger so that the forthcoming season will produce a bumper crop.
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"My mother had a maid call'd Barbara:
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad
And did forsake her: she had a song of 'Willow;'
An old thing 'twas, but it express'd her fortune,
And she died singing it: that song to-night
Will not go from my mind."
- What is the purpose of singing a song at this critical stage of the plot? (2)
[Need help?]
Have you ever heard this song being sung? It is very heartrending. It is therefore the perfect song at this
stage, where Desdemona is about to be sacrificed, and in essence sings to the gods at the moment of
her tragic death.
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- Why does the song "Willow" come into Desdemona's head? What is its
significance? (4)
[Need help?]
The words of the song are irrelevant, so hopefully there is no need to understand them.
The song presumably reminded her of her mother who had a maid, Barbara, who had been abandoned
by her lover. Her heart was broken and she died, but while she lay on her deathbed, she sang the song
"Willow".
Now, while Desdemona herself is preparing her own deathbed, the song floods back into her memory and
she sings it as her own dirge.
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DESDEMONA: "Hark! who is't that knocks?"
EMILIA: It's the wind."
- What does the exclamation, "Hark! who is't that knocks?" tell us about Desdemona's current
state of mind? (2)
[Need help?]
Desdemona is overwrought with sadness and fear, so much so that every noise -- even the wind --
disturbs her.
It reminds one of Macbeth who, on the night he murdered King Duncan, was also disturbed by every
sound. "How is't with me, when every noise appals me?" Macbeth asked as an echo of
Desdemona.
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Desdemona and Emilia's final conversation before Emilia leaves Desdemona to her fate reveals a marked
difference in the two characters.
- Can you show how this is so. Why is this? (6)
[Need help?]
Emilia is attempting to introduce some lightheartedness into the evening and discusses whether or not
she would have an affair. Desdemona says that she would not "by this heavenly light!", whereas
Emilia joking says that she would rather wait until darkness and then do it.
If the price was right, says Emilia, then it would be only "a small vice" -- although she wouldn't be
tempted to do it for small things like rings, trinkets and clothing. Nevertheless, she would certainly do it
"for the whole world".
Desdemona, on the other hand, says that she would never be tempted to be unfaithful, not even "for
the whole world".
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