Repeated Image Clusters of Love and Magic in Othello Arthur David Hash Western World Literature In Othello love is made to be deceitful and evil, spawned from magic. References of magic are used to define Desdemona's love for Othello. Black versus white, good versus evil, these themes are provided to the reader by a deceitful Iago. Convincing Rodrigo, other characters and perhaps the reader that their love could only be the result of some spell cast by Othello to usurp her love. Iago spins on his web of deceit. Desdemona's love is not true. It is the result of some magic. Twisting reality Iago convinces them and the result is death. The story begins. Branbanzio confronts Othello. " .O thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter? Dammed as thou art, thou hast enchanted her, for I"ll refer me to all things of sense, if she in chains of magic were not bound- (p.2121 line 63-66). Enraged, Branbanzio lashes out against Othello. He mind is clouded by rage spawned from taunts yelled to him in the night by Rodrigo and Iago. When he approaches the duke with his affairs the scene is described. "She is abused and stolen from me, and corrupted by spells and medicines bought of mountebanks. For nature so preposterously to err, being not deficient, blind or lame of sense, Sans witchcraft could not." (p 2124 line 60-64) Branbanzio can't believe this match. His daughter cannot be in love with the moor. He can only believe that witchcraft is to blame. This seed planted, he rants in front of the court only later to be calmed by his old friend Othello. Shakespeare uses the references as an aside. In reality they may have only been involuntary reaction to the situations. Maybe if he says what he thinks out load then it will make the fact of his daughter betraying him a fallacy. Othello says his tales enchanted her-She"d come again with a greedy ear Devour up my discourse; - (p.2126 line 148). He reminds his friend Branbanzio that he has told him his tales and they moved his daughter.
