From declaring their undying love in court to murder after a second trial a few short days later, Desdemona and Othello are redefining love and how quickly it can change. Through two different trial scenes, Shakespeare’s Othello demonstrates the changes in Othello and Desdemona’s love by employing the shifts in who portrays the judge, the reason for each trial, and even though the situations have greatly changed what the similarities are between each trial. Because the judge of a trial or court case should have an open mind and not be personally involved in the case, the Duke is the ideal judge during the first trial scene. During the first trial Desdemona and Othello must declare their love for each other in front of the Duke and Desdemona’s
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This makes the Duke a fair judge and his ability to listen to both sides allows for a more just court system and being able to develop unbiased punishment, if necessary. The unfortunate shift from the Duke to Othello for the second trial scene negatively affects Desdemona. When Othello begins to act like a judge during the second trial when Desdemona is under interrogation for infidelity, it becomes quite clear that Othello has too much of a connection to the case and is unable to think logically. Othello enters the bedroom with the intent of murdering Desdemona, even though he asks her to “Think on thy sins” (5.2.47) in hopes that she will confess to cheating. A confession from Desdemona would not have been a prevention from her death, because Othello is overly focused on murdering her, no matter what she says to deny the accusations. This proves that Othello is too deeply involved to …show more content…
Othello is lead to believe by Iago that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. This is untrue, but through manipulation from Iago, Othello believes otherwise. After coming to the false realization that Desdemona is deceiving Othello, he poses the question of “Why did I marry?” (3.3.283). This is a breaking point for Othello, because in this question is the regret of his marriage to Desdemona, since Othello is under the impression that she is being unfaithful in their marriage. This particular question is referenced in the original trial scene because Othello testifies in court that the love between him and Desdemona is genuine, and that it was the right choice to be married, even if Brabantio did not agree. However, the disappointment of being with Desdemona, who is apparently an adulterous, stems from the lies that Iago told Othello, this is too much for Othello and he begins to wonder why he married Desdemona. Desdemona remains ignorant to the lies and believes that Othello still loves her. These feelings of regret and disappointment, along with more pressure from Iago, drives Othello to confront and then strangle Desdemona. Over the course of several days Othello and his point of view towards Desdemona changed drastically, due to the lies and manipulation from Iago. Desdemona, however, remains unaffected by the lies until the second trial
This makes the Duke a fair judge and his ability to listen to both sides allows for a more just court system and being able to develop unbiased punishment, if necessary. The unfortunate shift from the Duke to Othello for the second trial scene negatively affects Desdemona. When Othello begins to act like a judge during the second trial when Desdemona is under interrogation for infidelity, it becomes quite clear that Othello has too much of a connection to the case and is unable to think logically. Othello enters the bedroom with the intent of murdering Desdemona, even though he asks her to “Think on thy sins” (5.2.47) in hopes that she will confess to cheating. A confession from Desdemona would not have been a prevention from her death, because Othello is overly focused on murdering her, no matter what she says to deny the accusations. This proves that Othello is too deeply involved to …show more content…
Othello is lead to believe by Iago that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. This is untrue, but through manipulation from Iago, Othello believes otherwise. After coming to the false realization that Desdemona is deceiving Othello, he poses the question of “Why did I marry?” (3.3.283). This is a breaking point for Othello, because in this question is the regret of his marriage to Desdemona, since Othello is under the impression that she is being unfaithful in their marriage. This particular question is referenced in the original trial scene because Othello testifies in court that the love between him and Desdemona is genuine, and that it was the right choice to be married, even if Brabantio did not agree. However, the disappointment of being with Desdemona, who is apparently an adulterous, stems from the lies that Iago told Othello, this is too much for Othello and he begins to wonder why he married Desdemona. Desdemona remains ignorant to the lies and believes that Othello still loves her. These feelings of regret and disappointment, along with more pressure from Iago, drives Othello to confront and then strangle Desdemona. Over the course of several days Othello and his point of view towards Desdemona changed drastically, due to the lies and manipulation from Iago. Desdemona, however, remains unaffected by the lies until the second trial