"Jessie's Girl": Rick Springfield parallels with Roderigo

I was trying to think of a good comparison for Othello, and I almost did another song about Jesus and how he was betrayed by Judas. However, I just did a blog about that. I wanted to do something different. I also have only really hit on Desdemona, Emilia, Othello, and Iago. It was time to talk about someone different. Then, it hit me. The song "Jesse's Girl" by Rick Springfield ties into this story perfectly. Roderigo wants Desdemona. At the beginning of the story, the audience is informed that Roderigo previously asked Brabantio if he (Roderigo) could marry Desdemona. Roderigo is simply confused as to why Desdemona would marry a Moor when she could have him! These lyrics completely correspond with this:
Jessie is a friend,
yeah, I know he's been
a good friend of mine
But lately something's changed
that ain't hard to define
Jessie's got himself a girl
and I want to make her mine
This would basically be Roderigo speaking of Othello. "Jesse's girl" in this instance would be Desdemona. However, as the song went on, I started thinking that it was Othello speaking of Cassio and Desdemona. For example, the song goes:
And she's watching him with those eyes
And she's lovin' him with that body,
I just know it
Yeah 'n' he's holding her
in his arms late,
late at night.

This is basically Othello speaking of Desdemona and Cassio. He assumes that the two of them are having sexual relations, and it is driving him nuts. This song is all about jealousy about how one man wants someone else's girl. This, essentially, is one of the root causes of the tragedy of Othello. Iago knows what he wants, and the only way to get inside of Othello's head is convince him that something is going on between Cassio and Desdemona. Jealousy drives the world nuts, but we always want what we do not have.

Here are the links to this song / lyrics. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed this story because of how relatable and applicable it is to life in general.

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/boogienightsvol2/jessiesgirl.htm

Act V Blog for Othello

"Nobody, I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. Oh, farewell!" (V.ii.122-123)

What an intriguing story! Wow. Shakespeare truly amazed me with this work. Like previous blogs I have created, I want to relate the similarities of this story to my faith. I found it very ironic that Othello kissed his wife before he killed her. Othello was corrupted by Iago, and then Othello killed his innocent wife. Similarly, Judas was corrupted by the devil, and then he killed the most innocent of all, Jesus. Othello proved to us he truly was a good man in the first half of the play. He was good and pure. As the story went on, Iago started to get inside of his head. Similarly, Judas was a good disciple of Jesus. As his story went on, he became more and more corrupted by the devil. The rest is history. Also, I was incredibly surprised that Emilia was a dynamic character in this story. At first, I thought that she would be the devil's advocate. I thought that she supported her husband's work and stood behind him because she was his wife. However, not only was Iago, Roderigo, and Cassio deceived by Iago, but Emilia was as well. She helped Iago with the master plan and did not even know it! Finally, I found it ironic that Roderigo's pockets got him into this mess. He had the handkerchief in his pocket. Later, the letter is in his pocket and he reveals the doom. I am thoroughly surprised with the ending of this story, but it all makes sense with the symbolism of jealousy and honesty. Iago is alive because he stood his ground and could be clever enough to work over people. However, he is imprisoned and rightfully so. His imprisonment represents how he did people wrong. Othello lost his sense of self, so this is symbolic of his tragic death. Othello's suicide is symbolic because he did himself wrong. Cassio remains alive because he is the only one who remained honest and never did wrong or harm to anyone. Overall, a wonderful story, and I feel more in touch with the inner mindworks of William Shakespeare. Bravo!

Act IV Othello (second blog)

"Get me some poison, Iago, this night. I'll not expostulate with her, lest her body and beauty unprovide my mind again. This night, Iago" (IV. i. 188-190).

Okay, this is becoming too much. Othello is becoming obsessed with the thought that Desdemona is having an affair and this is not even true! Gahhhhhhhhhh! I find it incredibly ironic that Desdemona is casted as an innocent beauty whenever she talks to Othello. However, Othello uses this as proof that she is being a whore. Um, excuse me! Innocence and purity do not equal prostitute! Desdemona even says, "I am a Christian. If to preserve this vessel for my lord from any other foul unlawful touch be not to be a strumpet, I am none" (IV.ii. 81-85). This just epitomizes her innocence and purity, but alas, Othello will have nothing of it. He repeatedly keeps calling her a "devil." He started out this play treating her like an angel and worshipping the ground that she walked on. Now, he says the most disrespectful things toward her. For instance, "I cry you mercy, then. I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello. You mistress, that have the office opposite to Saint Peter, and keep the gate of Hell!" (IV.ii. 88-92). Iago is not helping the situation because he keeps instilling the thoughts into Othello's head. However, this just shows how insecure Othello truly is. He does not trust his wife at all. Obviously the love between Othello and Desdemona is not as strong as they let off in the beginning. The trust is not strong enough to have a lasting relationship of love. I'm just preparing myself for the death of one of them. I don't want to get too attached to the characters because someone is not gonna make it. Who will it be????????

Othello Act IV

"I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest, lay down my soul at stake. If you think other, remove your thought, it doth abuse your bosom." (IV.ii.12-14)

Wow! What an interesting act! How do I even put this into words? Maybe I should start with the grammatical side of things. William Shakespeare still has a few characters talking in prose, but this is mainly just to have characters prove a higher intelligence than others. Irony simply engulfs this act. It is making me aggravated. Honestly, Othello is gonna kill someone. He smacked Desdomona, for Pete's sake! I can just sense the foreshadowing. Complete chaos is going on, and again, it's unneeded. I thought that it would calm down in this act, but no. Things just got even more heated. And Iago is just soaking it all in? What is this?! Symbolism is also getting even more integrated into this act. For instance, the handkerchief (in my mind) symbolizes Othello's feelings for Desdomona. When the handkerchief was put in the possession of others, Othello's mind is all discombobulated. This leads to Othello questioning his relationship with Desdemona. Gah. Chaos, chaos, chaos. I can't handle it.

Act III; Othello, the Moor of Venice

"Why, why is this? Think'st thou I'd make a life of jealousy, To follow still the changes of the moon With fresh suspicions? No, to be once in doubt Is once to be resolved. Exchange me for a goat When I shall turn the business of my soul To such exsufflicate and blown surmises, Matching thy inference" (III.iii.176-183).

The jealousy becomes even more evident in this act. In scene one, Cassio and a clown kind of play off of each other, but Cassio reveals information about himself. It makes me think that Cassio is the only true "honest" character of the play. Everyone else, especially Iago, kind of puts on a facade as to who they really are. Like we talked about in class, this just confirms for me that Iago and Cassio are foil characters. Iago just continues to make matters worse by making up lies about Cassio. This just bothered me. Cassio doesn't talk in his sleep! Cassio didn't take the handkerchief: Iago did. I hate that Iago keeps setting people up. What makes me even more upset is the fact that Iago made Othello believe that there is something going on between Cassio and Desdemona. This is ridiculous because this is a drama over essentially nothing. Everyone just needs to calm down! However, I really should not be surprised. This is a Shakespeare play by the way. Many of the tragedies are simply misunderstandings. For instance, Julius Caesar had Brutus kill Caesar when Caesar had not even had the chance to anything wrong yet. He was killed for really no reason. People thought that he might become a tyrant, but he wasn't a tyrant at the point that they killed him. That's just ridiculous. What about Romeo and Juliet? Both of the lovers kill themselves because they thought that the other had died. If they had just woken up and smelled the coffee, they would have realized the misunderstanding. This is why this story is making me frustrated because Othello really should not be freaking out about Desdemona and Cassio because NOTHING is going on. All this drama is unnecessary. It makes the stories so good, yes. However, from a reader's perspective, it just makes me want to throw my hands up into the air and scream, "Ah! Why? No! Just talk to the people and figure out the truth!" However, I am not a character in these stories, so I just have to sit back, read it, and cry at the ending.

Act II of Othello, the Moor of Venice

"As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some bodily wound. There is more sense in that than in reputation. Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving" (II.iii.244-247).

I find this quote incredibly ironic. First off, it starts off with "...I am an honest man." Iago definitely is not an honest man. He twists around things just to get his way. I also find it ironic that he is telling Cassio that he should not care about his reputation. Iago was the one who ruined Cassio's reputation, so Cassio has every right to care about how others perceive him. And if anyone cares about how others perceive him, it is Iago. He wants others to love him. He wants others to sympathize with him. For example, he says "I cannot speak any beginning to this peevish odds, and would in action glorious I had lost those legs that brought me to a part of it!" (II.iii.161-165). When Othello wants to know what is going on, Iago basically says, "I want to show my loyalty to Cassio for not speaking, but I will tell you the matter if you wish." Iago manipulates the whole story to have both Cassio and Othello on his side. This is just disturbing because Iago is the person who secretly evoked the fighting and anger. None of this would have happened if Iago had not strategically placed everything. It is very disturbing that Iago is very two-faced. He is very kind to Othello, and Iago taked advantage of him. Othello thinks that Iago is innocent, and Iago enjoys adding fuel to the fire that he is a good guy in Othello's eyes. I can just sense some foreshadowing because I feel that Iago is buttering up Othello. Then, when Iago has Othello right where he wants him, Iago will probably kill Othello and take his position as a military officer.

Act I of Othello, the Moor of Venice

"Damned 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, / If she in chains of magic were not bound, / So opposite to marriage that she shunned / The wealthy curled darlings of our nation, / Would ever have, to incur a general mock, / Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom / Of such a thing as thou, to fear, not to delight." (I.ii.62-71).

Like any other Shakespeare play, Othello, the Moor of Venice is filled with metaphors, symbolism, irony, and so much more. The story is mainly told from Iago's perspective, but there is no set narrator in this piece. I just find it ironic that Iago has everything thinking that he is a good and honest man. In reality, Iago is very deceiving and knows how to maneuver people's minds. I also found symbolism when he was telling Roderigo "We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly followed." In this instance, Iago is the secretly the master. He needs others to obey him. He does not even command other people to do things: he finds a way to have others' sympathy in order to get what he wants. For example, he casts Othello in a horrible light to Brabantio to get the support of Desdemona's father. He says, "you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you'll have your nephews neigh to you, you'll have coursers for cousins, and jennets for germans" (I.i.110-112). It's almost to the point where I feel that Iago is so insecure that he has to make others look bad just to get what he wants. Iago obviously wants Othello's position in the army, and he is willing to go to extremes (or in this case, subtleties) to get what he wants.