essay help!!!!!!!!! mock on friday

Hi! Would anyone be able to look over this essay and give me some feedback in advance of my english mock on friday? it's aqa's a level 'love through the ages', an othello q. the question is "in the literature of love, marriage is typically presented through a male perspective. in light of this statement, explore how desdemona and othello's attitudes to each other are presented" (it's a past paper so you should be able to find a markscheme online if needed...). anything at all is helpful, even if it's just a read to tell me what level you think it would be. thank you so much!


In his tragic play, ‘Othello’, Shakespeare initially presents the relationship between Othello and Desdemona as one of mutual love and respect, before external forces (namely, the play’s antagonist, Iago) cause it to fail. Through this, then, both male and female perspectives on the marriage are shown (perhaps atypical for literature about love), with both Desdemona and Othello’s attitudes to the relationship being depicted. However, it is notable that there is more weight given to Othello’s views over Desdemona’s (perhaps due to the fact that his attitude changes far more drastically than hers ever does, and likely a result of his role as the play’s protagonist, meaning that narrative weight will naturally be given to him).

Initially, the relationship between the couple is shown to be incredibly loving and mutually respectful. Othello, when convincing the Venetian senate to send her with him to Venice, argues that ‘I love the gentle Desdemona’. Here, the use of ‘love’ implies a love which is pure and cerebral- rather than admiring Desdemona for the sexual pleasures she can give him, Othello seems to have genuine love for her. Indeed, use of ‘gentle’- a characteristic of her personality, rather than her physicality, further serves to elevate the love between the pair to a cerebral and high-minded plane. In this sense, Othello’s attitudes to love and marriage are painted in contrast to the lustful and sexually fixated perspectives of other male characters (such as Roderigo) which have been so far established. In doing so, Shakespeare highlights how Othello allows Desdemona to have autonomy (indeed, he demands they ‘call upon the lady from the Stagiary’- rather than just speaking for her, he wishes for her to have her own voice). This subversion of Jacobean expectance for female subservience therefore highlights Othello’s, perhaps atypical, respect for Desdemona and her perspective on marriage- meaning that characters in the play are equally willing to allow female perspectives on marriage to have weight. On an authoritarial level, Shakespeare also presents Desdemona’s attitudes to marriage. Upon being called on, she refers to Othello as ‘my lord’. Here, the much more typical deference to her husband is given a loving and affectionate tone- as though even when Desdemona is arguably deffering to her husband this is due to her own want to do so- rather than any control from Othello. In this regard, Desdemona’s autonomy over her choices and words, from the very start of the play, highlight Shakespeare’s presentation of both men and women’s attitudes to marriage. She goes on to fight for her right to love Othello, telling her father that she loves him just as ‘my mother owed you’ love. Desdemona’s confidence and control is therefore established through her attitudes to not just Othello, but marriage as an institution. Shakespeare allows her to defend herself, and as such, highlights female ability to have views on marriage equal to men.

Within the extract, Shakespeare explores the impact of external forces on Othello and Desdemona’s marriage- and as such, external views on marriage. Iago claims that Desdemona’s love for Othello is lessened due to their differences in ‘clime, complexion and degree’. Here, it could be argued that Iago’s view is representative of white Venetian society, with this fixation on race (‘complexion’) and class (‘degree’) being a consequence of this. In this regard, Iago’s manipulation of Othello and their relationship could be seen as an extension of external forces- and the attitudes of Shakespeare’s own contemparies- would have on an interracial relationship. Iago’s ability to destroy the relationship can then be seen as the result of external influence and pressure having an impact on relationships- meaning that it is not just the perspectives of husbands and wives that matter in relationships. Othello goes on to say that ‘this honest creature doubtless/Sees and knows more, much more than he unfolds’. The reliance from Othello’s part on external forces further highlights that external forces in marriages and relationships hold weight not just on the fall of a marriage, but in its supposed continuation- Othello believes what Iago is saying to be genuinely good advice and follows it as such. Use of ‘honest’, which is used for Iago throughout, is ironic given the audience’s awareness that this is a lie. In this sense, Shakespeare could be arguing that external perspectives are not necessarily beneficial to relationships- and indeed, when it comes to Desdemona and Othello, largely cause their downfall.

As the extract progresses, there is increasing focus on male perspectives on Othello and Desdemona’s relationship, as Shakespeare looks at Othello’s attitudes towards marriage. Othello says that ‘her jesses were my dear heart-strings’ when speaking of Desdemona’. This implies Desdemona to be a hawker- and indeed, Othello to be her hawk. The control she supposedly exerts on him- with her ‘jesses’- is something which therefore causes him great pain, as it tugs his ‘heart-strings’. In this regard, Othello seems to believe that Desdemona has control in their marriage. While this initially seems true (as they are both on equal footing), as the play progresses this becomes decreasingly valid. In this sense, it could be argued that male perspectives on marriage are almost distorted by male fear around marriage and cuckoldry. This can be seen where Othello laments about the ‘forked plague [which] is fated to us’. The ‘forked plague’ here refers to the Jacobean belief that cuckolds grew horns which are visible to all but them. In this regard, it seems as though Othello fears marriage making a fool of him- again, Othello and Desdemona seems to be defined more by external forces than their own perspectives on it. ‘Fated’ almost implies this cuckoldry to be an inevitability- as though he is ‘plagued’ and followed by it. This could tie to contextual Jacobean fear of marriage- where young men feared being marriage in case they were faced the emasculation and mockery that came with cuckoldry. In this regard, Shakespeare could be drawing light on how male perspectives to marriage- here, through Othello’s view towards his and Desdemona’s marriage- can instil fear in men and thus destroy the relationship. Desdemona does not seem to experience such fear- indeed, she fears Othello only when he is about to murder her. This contrast could be to highlight the different levels of power men and women experience in marriage (and so, the difference in power Desdemona and Othello have)- while Othello’s fear of social ostracization is valid (and likely furthered by the racialisation of his society), it seems to pale in comparison to the violence Desdemona is at risk of. In this sense, it could be argued that men and women- and so, Othello and Desdemona- have such differing perspectives on marriage due to how differently they experience these relationships.
This male perspective then turns to looking at female sexual fidelity and virginity, with Othello wanting to control Desdemona’s sexual autonomy. Othello says that it is a ‘curse…that we can call these delicate creature ours and not their appetites’. Here, the referral to Desdemona as a ‘creature’ highlights Othello’s dehumanisation of her- indeed, calling her a ‘thing’ further highlights this possessive nature that characterises the later stages of their relationships. Use of ‘appetite’ draws out the food motif throughout ‘Othello’, which implies Desdemona to almost be greedy. In this regard, Othello is condemning Desdemona’s apparent sexual promiscuity (perhaps tying to the high premium placed on female sexuality both in the Jacobean era and in literature of love in general). In this sense, Othello’s perspectives on female sexuality seem to translate into his relationship taking on a controlling nature. He goes on to say that he would rather be a toad than ‘keep a corner of the thing I love/For other’s uses’. Again, Desdemona is dehumanised- she is a ‘thing’ to be ‘used’. This could refer back to the start of the play, where Othello is advised to ‘use’ Desdemona wisely. It seems as though wives are objects to be ‘used’ by husbands as they please- as though their own opinions on marriage do not matter. For Othello and Desdemona, it could be said that this highlights the changed nature of their relationship- whereas they start off as being on equal footing, their relationship degrades into one where Othello is controlling Desdemona- and his apparent ‘love’ for her will not reduce this control that comes with husband’s views to wife’s sexual autonomy.

However, it must be equally recognised that Desdemona’s view on marriage is also prominent towards the play’s end. She says that ‘the sun where he was born/sucked [jealousy] out of him’. Here, her apparent knowledge of Othello and his personality (with the reference to the sun likely referring to the Jacobean belief in the four humours) highlights the importance of her in their marriage- they both have resolute beliefs and views on each other. However, her view on him is clearly wrong (as Othello’s jealousy is his hamartia). In this regard, it could be argued that Shakespeare demeans female views on marriage (and Desdemona’s view on her relationship with Othello) as inaccurate and simplistic. However, Othello’s view on Desdemona (as disloyal) is equally wrong- perhaps, then, the argument is that the two are not as ideal of a relationship as they are initially portrayed. However, it here seems that this is due to both of them, as they both misrepresent each other- not just Othello and his male views. She further refers to herself as his ‘true and loving wife’. Here, Desdemona seems eager to define her role in the relationship- she is happy to be his ‘wife’. This seems to draw upon the play’s start, where Desdemona is happy to love Othello and be with him. In this sense, it seems as though her perspective on their love has not changed in the same dramatic way that Othello’s has. As such, it could be said that by the play’s end, the lovers disharmony is shown not through just their obvious destruction, but their contrasting views on one another and themselves.

Overall, therefore, while Shakespeare primarily does look at Othello’s male view on marriage, female ideas on marriage are also explored. When it comes to Othello and Desdemona’s relationship overall, then, it appears as though differing male and female ideas, external forces, and male fear of and desire to control female sexuality all contribute to cause the eventual downfall of the initially loving relationship between the pair.