Emilia is Evolving!

Well, judging by the fact that I'm writing this late, and the fact that I already know that Iago stabs Emilia because of her knowledge about the whole Othello-Desdemona-Cassio situation kind of makes this whole essay obsolete. However, I am going to pretend that I know nothing about the evolution of Emilia. Emilia is one of the most important characters in the book near the end, but at the beginning she seemed to be no different than a normal Elizabethan woman. Once Emilia finds Desdemona's handkerchief, she shows her true self, going along with the theme of Shakespearean characters not being who they are. Emilia is actually really smart and insightful. She is also brave in the face of danger, as she talked back to the men of her time period, something that should have never been done (all of the men carried swords you know). Emilia truly is a dark horse, because she goes from being one of the least important, side characters of the book, to the one who actually figures out Iago's plan and reveals him to everyone, betraying her own husband.

Visual Soliloquy

So, let's talk about Iago. He is pure evil. That's it. Really. Well, maybe not. According to one scene near the ending of Othello, he may not be as evil as he would at first seem to be. In this particular scene, Iago and Othello decide that they are going to kill Cassio and Desdemona, respectively. However, at the end of the scene, Othello makes Iago his lieutenant, which is what Iago wanted all along. At this point, something breaks inside Iago, and he shows true emotion, in a visual soliloquy. Iago is seen crying at the end of this scene. This is most likely because his plans have gone way too far. Let me explain. Now, both Cassio and Desdemona are going to die, neither of which he wanted originally. Iago just wanted Cassio's job, and Desdemona was just a pawn in his plan. He had no wish for her to die. Also, the original Othello is gone, replaced by a colder, harder, jealous Othello monster thingy. Iago never wanted any of this, all he wanted was to get the job that he believed he rightfully deserved. Iago is not what he is in more ways than one.

Iago Uses Dat Language!

Iago uses words to manipulate Othello by adding in very small things to provoke him. For instance, Iago does not directly come out and say "Your wife is cheating on you with Cassio." Instead, he adds in tiny words, and keeps mentioning Cassio whenever he wants Othello to feel angry. By doing this, he is much more subtle, and he keeps everyone still thinking that he is "Honest Iago." He uses the word "think" a lot, to imply that he believes something, but that it might not be true. He does this when he talks about Cassio's honesty. By using "I think" he plants a seed that will make Othello think that Cassio is not honest. Iago did a similar thing when he was talking about Cassio in Cyprus. He says that he does not want to talk ill about Cassio, then talks ill about him. Iago also talked about Venice at one point in the conversation, and since Venice is a city of mystery, it makes the conversation more mysterious. Iago also references Brabrantio many times, reminding Othello about how Desdemona may be deceiving him.

Why Do We Care?

Well, it seems that John Marsden's modernized version of Hamlet isn't really all that different from Shakespeare's original version of Othello. Many of the characters were similar personality-wise, and it shows that even now Shakespeare's original characters resonate with modern readers. Polonius and Iago? Pretty much the same character. Both of them are scheming advisers to a powerful man. Othello and Hamlet? All-around good people with good battle skills, but also a short temper? Sounds similar to me. These characters all have similar actions and reactions to things, with a sense of surprise towards death (I've been reading ahead in Othello). These actions and traits still work when placed onto 21'st century characters, and that's why the Shakespeare's characters still work.

Why These Words?

Many of the words that I picked are now considered archaic, and I guess that's why I didn't know them. For instance, who uses the word Mortise? It basically means a slot that something else can be fit into. So why not just say that? Some of the other words had apostrophes in them, which made them very difficult to look up. "Ensteep’d" and "se'nnight" are contractions for "ensteeped" and "seven nights," and Shakespeare most likely did this for his iambic pentameter writing style. In this particular part of the reading, many words had to do with ships and water. Tempest, ensteep’d, and keel to name a few.

Polonius, the Mr. Binns of Denmark

Polonius is a character in Hamlet. He is the chief adviser of the king in the court of Denmark. And he is not a very exciting person to be around. His voice sounds dull and dry, he's old, and worst of all, he's a know-it-all. He is also the father of the beautiful Ophelia, which is fairly ironic as he is not supposed to be one of the more attractive characters in the book. Because he sides with Claudius, I believe that he will be killed off later in the book because, you know, Hamlet. Plus, I think that he may have been one of the characters that Shakespeare himself played because, well, look at them side by side:

                                                                                           Kind of creepy now isn't it

I speak Shakespeare apparently...

Shakespeare's influence, and modern-day texting both just go to show how anyone can just come up with a word that, if it gains enough popularity, becomes a permanent part of the english language. For instance, the word "selfie" is being permanently added to the official dictionary, as it was the most used new word in 2013. Another book that I once remember reading, entitled Frindle, was about a boy who created a different word for pen… or was it pencil… Anywho, at the end of the book
SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERS
"frindle" becomes an official word in the dictionary. This is probably what happened to Shakespeare. He created all of these new words, and they became commonplace, used in the everyday english language.