Othello - Act 11 Scene 11

OTHELLO
ACT 11,SCENE 11

Act 11 Scene 11 of Othello has hardly ever been of any interest to critics.However, its significance though little cannot be ignored altogether. As such the scene plays no important role in the movement and development of the plot ,but it is important from the production point of view. Being a accomplished dramatist,Shakespeare, while writing his plays was keenly aware of the limitations of the Elizabethan Theatre. The success of a play on the bare and unfurnished Elizabethan stage relied greatly on the visual imagination of its spectator.The language put into the mouth of the herald creates an image of festivity and celebration.The use of phrases and words ,such as "to make bonfires","dance", and "liberty of feasting",adds a dramatic quality to the proclamation,and prepares the audience for the celebration depicted in the following scene(111).In addition to this, the audience come to know the time of action of the present scene (five o' clock), and also that of the following scene (just before eleven) ,through the utterance of the herald: "this present hour of five till the bell have told eleven". Note that this utterance is significant for the Elizabethan stage where there was no means of lightening or change of scenery to suggest the time of action of a scene.In 'HAMLET' also Hamlet asks Horatio:"What hour now?",and Horation relies,"I think it lacks of twelve".

The scene of the herald is sandwiched between the two harsh scenes of Iago's plotting and Cassio's brawl.It is a scene of markedly slower pace after the rush of the previous scene. It gives the audience a sense of time lapse.Moreover,this scene allows the actors to freshen up after a lengthy scene.

This scene is also important from the 'groundlings' point of view in the Elizabethan theatre.The indication of a festival would not have only relieved them from rush of action in the previous scene, but also catered to their low taste. In the case of a more conscious spectator this scene would evoke the feelings of suspense and tension. At the end of Act 11 scene 1,Iago leaves the stage after delivering the words of his ominnous soliloquy, but also leaves behind him a looming shadow of villainy under which the audience experience apprehension. Although the spectator hears of a celebration, yet he anticipates something more; especially, when the herald announces that there should be celebration on part of "every man (according) to what sport and revels his addiction lead him". These words suggest that Iago the very kind he is , is going to employ the occasion to put his villainous scheme into action .The night of rejoicing appears as a perfect opportunity for Iago to carry out his devilish plan because he turns every good thing into evil.

In addition to this,the mention of two incidents together in this scene,namely,"the perdition of the Turkish fleet",and "the celebration of his (Othello ) nuptial",appears to be very appropriate. It excites the feeling in the audience that now there will be a shift of the battleffield ;the war will no longer remain on the battlefield between two armies , but a war in the private life of the protagonist . And after this scene it is noticed that there is no mention of Turkish war ; the attention of the audience is diverted wholly on the private life of Othello .This scene also bring out the fact that Shakespeare does indeed apply the Turkish war as a structural device to plunge into a war-like situation (This device is also employed in other Shakespearean tragedies,e.g.,in 'Macbeth' in which there is a mention of Norwegion war). The term 'perdition' used for the turkish fleet is re-echoed twice in Othello's speech. Firstly, in Act 111 scene 111, Othello while addressing Iago says:

"Excellent Wretch!Perdition catch my soul,but I do love thee!
And when I love thee not, Chaos is come again".

Secondly,while talking of the handkerchief, Othello utters to Desdemona (Act 111 scene lV ):

"To lose't it or give 't away were such perdition As
nothing else could match".

Hence,one cannot ignore the significance of this scene in pointing to the cessation of the war without and starting of it within.

There has been a great debate as to the duration of the action in Othello.The majority of critics are of the opinion that there was a gap between Othello's arrival in Cyprus and that of the murder of Desdemona . It follows that they support the use of 'long time'. However, Act 11 scene 11 is one of the most careful indications of 'short time' in the play. In this repect, Daniel's (critic) school of thought seems very peculiar. He opines that the play has been tampered with ; since there is no text earlier than 1622 (six years after the death of Shakespeare), he suggests that in the original play (as Shakespeare wrote it), there may have been a scene indicating the lapse of time between the arrival Cyprus and Cassio's brawl, or between the brawl and the temptation of Desdemona's murder. In the first case (the second case does not involve scene 11, which is our present concern) , there is a suggestion that Daniel thinks that scene 11 is only meant to inform the audience of the celebration . If it were so then Shakespeare could have used one of the major or minor character to talk of the celebration in a few words. After all in 'Macbeth' one does see Macbeth himself talking of the "solemn supper" (Act 111 scene 1) to celebrate his kingship. There has to be a valid reason for Shakespeare to insert an entire separate scene for the proclamation in Othello, and the most probable explanation for it could be that through this scene he has shown that there was only a small gap between the arrival in Cyprus and Cassio's brawl.

It follows that Shakespeare aim was to make the spectator (for he did not aim at readers) feel a vehement haste in the action ,hence he made Cassio's brawl occur on the night of rejoicing. It also seems that Shakespeare did not pay much attention to make the spectator feel the fair probabiltyof the action .This is one of the reasons why Othello is considered to be a play unique in its structural formation.

One should also appreciate the fact that the language and style adopted in the proclamation is in accordance with the custom and tradition of Elizabethan times. It is not only full of dramatic potentialities (as mentioned before), but also incorporates in itself the appraisal of Othello for whom it is meant. The herald mentions the name of Othello twice ;as "oue noble and valiant general", and also as "our noble general".

In conclusion, Act 11 scene 11 is a good example of Shakespeare's alertness in writing his plays.The placement of the scene, its language and , the choice of words clearly depict that as a dramatist , he was keenly interested in enabling his audience to fully understand the plot and the theme of his plays . It is only for a mature dramatist like Shakespeare who can insert such a scene, which for others is 'merely' a scene of proclamation ; and his accomplishment of the motifs for which he did so is evident from his huge success as a dramatist even on the bare and unfurnished stage of his times.