Othello and Macbeth as warriors

Table of contents

I. Introduction

II. Being a warrior in the two Shakespearean tragedies
a. Othello as a warrior
b. Macbeth as a warrior
c. Comparative analysis of Othello’s and Macbeth’s warrior personalities

III. Conclusion

IV. Bibliography

I. Introduction

The two tragedies Othello and Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, can be seen as two of the best-known plays published by the English playwriter. At the beginning of the two Shakespearean dramas, both protagonists are introduced as noble and fearless warriors. Both generals seem to lead a really good life because they are happily married and highly respected by the people around them (Fielitz 48). Nevertheless, their lives change due to several momentous decisions they make. At the end of both tragedies, the brave and powerful warrior fails and dies because of the decisions he took before.

This paper aims at analysing the warrior personalities of Othello and Macbeth. Why do they act the way they do? Does their warrior identity affect their behaviour or their relationships and does it have an effect on the decision they make? Are there conflicts or problems they have to handle because of their way of thinking and acting? The following paper will try to go further into these questions in order to give possible reasons for the tragic downfall of the two protagonists.

In a first step, this paper will elaborate on Othello’s and Macbeth’s warrior traits by discussing the key scenes of both plays. The different scenes will illustrate their way of thinking and acting while also shedding light on their warrior identities and traits. After that, there will be a comparative analysis of the two warrior heroes which will be followed by a summarising conclusion. This paper will mainly focus on primary literature (on the two plays themselves), which is why secondary literature will mostly be used in order to explain or answer certain hypothetical assumptions.

II. Being a warrior in the two Shakespearean tragedies

The following chapter focuses on different character traits of Othello and Macbeth and how these features influence and reveal their warrior identity. At first, both generals will be characterised separately before their personalities and motivations for actions will be compared and discussed.

a. Othello as a warrior

Othello has been fighting in battles since he was a seven-year-old (1.3.84-86), which is why he strongly considers himself to be a warrior. Frequently, his profession as a soldier affects his understanding of love and honour but also his behaviour in conversations. His manner often appears to be provocative and challenging, in some situations he even seems to be contemptuous. For example, after Brabantio charges him with jinxing and abducting Desdemona (1.2.62-81) he responds “Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it, Without a prompter” (1.2.82-83). Comparing Brabantio and his servants with prompters who want to tell him what to do, he expresses his perceived superiority and pride.

According to Leavis, “a habit of self-approving self-dramatization is an essential element in Othello’s make-up” (126), which is why he acts the way he does. At the beginning of the play, his self-confidence seems to be distinctive of Othello’s personality because he says about himself “My parts, my title, and my perfect soul Shall manifest me rightly” (1.2.31-32). Besides, it can also be observed that he is proud of his origins when Othello speaks about him being “of royal siege” (1.2.22). He is talking about his achievements and underlines that he is proud of all the things he accomplished in life.

His heroic actions on the battlefield and his pride may also be considered as an essential aspect regarding his relationship with Desdemona. Othello states that his wife fell in love with him because of his battles won and all the dangers he survived (1.3.168). Additionally, he reveals that he “loved her that she did pity” (1.3.169) his war stories, which is why Othello being a fearless and valiant warrior can be regarded as a significant factor for their relationship. Due to the general’s stories and him using images of war when talking to Desdemona (e.g. “May the winds blow till they have wakened the death, And let the labouring bark climb hills of seas” (2.1.184-85)), it frequently seems like Othello is unable to cope with anybody who is different from him.

Nevertheless, Othello is not only held in great esteem by Desdemona but also by many Venetians due to his deeds and his battles won. The duke, for instance, calls him “Valiant Othello” (1.3.49) when he is instructing him about the imminent battle against the Ottoman army. Furthermore, it is the duke himself who tells Othello to protect Cyprus from the Turkish attacks (1.3.49-50). Furthermore, the duke also clarifies that he definitely wants the general to do the job although the Cyprian army already has “a substitute of almost allowed sufficiency” (1.3.224-25). His utterances exhibit his tremendous respect for Othello and that he holds the warrior’s abilities in high esteem.

What is more, words like “valiant” (1.3.48) and “brave” (1.3.292) also imply that Othello is highly respected by the duke and the senator and that he deserves his status as a warrior due to many encounters of danger on the battlefield. The duke also says to Othello and Brabantio “I think this tale would win my daughter too” (1.3.172), which underlines his great appreciation for Othello’s achievements and his war stories. However, despite great appreciation, Othello is still devoted to the duke because he says “With all my heart” (1.3.279) after the duke stresses that the Moor needs to act with urgency to solve the conflict. Othello’s reaction shows his warrior identity and illustrates his strong determination to win the battle against the Turks.

On his arrival in Cyprus he calls his wife “my fair warrior” (2.1.179) which also illustrates that his character is shaped by terms of violence and war. Frequently, his behaviour shows that he is used to think of her as a soldier, a strong and brave person just like him. Additionally, his warrior personality significantly affects his way of speaking because in many regards, Othello can be seen as a “Außenseiter in der Gesellschaft Venedigs” (Kullmann 174). He does not belong to the courtly Venetian society which leads to misunderstandings and miscommunication with his wife and other people. After Iago tells him about his thoughts on Cassio and Desdemona, Othello believes that the reason for losing her is that he does not have “those soft parts of conversation That chamberers have” (3.3.268-69). In Othello’s opinion, his way of communicating can be seen as “Rude” (1.3.82) because of his warrior personality. However, his major problem seems to be that he does not have any courtly character traits and that he is not able to restrain himself (Kullmann 175). Therefore, it is hard to explain how Othello “‘is getting […] from the magnanimous and dignified warrior of the first half to the obsessive, homicidal, gibbering wreck of the second half’” (Fielitz 49).

One of the major reasons for this dramatic change can be seen in his way of thinking and acting because it is tremendously affected by his warrior personality. When Iago tells him about Desdemona’s ostensible infidelity his pride is injured badly (3.3.282) and he immediately responds furious and revengeful (3.3.479-81). His plans of revenge aim at killing his wife and Cassio because he thinks that they both cheated on him and betrayed his confidence. In this regard, his brutal sense of honour is demonstrated because after Othello decides to murder his wife he says “the justice of it pleases” (4.1.206). His words seem to express that strangling Desdemona is the morally and honourably right thing for him to do.

When he says “Ay, let her rot and perish and be damned tonight, for she shall not live” (4.1.178-79) he illustrates that only the death of his wife can satisfy the cruel morality of his warrior identity. It also shows that he is not able to differentiate his actions in everyday life from his actions on the battlefield. His behaviour was learned and developed on the battlefield, where every decision can be seen as a matter of life and death, which is why he feels threatened and rather kills Desdemona than talking to her about the rumours Iago told him about (5.2.123).

After Othello understands that he was tricked by Iago he is haunted by guilt. He is not able to live with his actions and the mistakes he made when not trusting his wife but his ensign. He lost his honour and his love which are the inspiration and the pivotal element of his life. In Othello’s opinion, Desdemona makes life worth living (e.g. 2.1.181-91), which is why his sense of honour is diminished after murdering her. Figuring out that his actions brought dishonour instead of honour to his life due to him being a murderer after his deed, he sacrifices himself and dies by his own hand (5.2.353-57). Talking about his life and his actions before killing himself (5.2.336-53), he wants to explain his motives to Cassio, Lodovico and Gratiano. The final scene of the tragedy can again be seen as another illustration of his warrior identity because Othello refers to himself as “honourable murderer” (5.2.291) who did not kill Desdemona because of hate “but all in honour” (5.2.292).

After that he chooses to die by the use of his own sword instead of poisoning or hanging himself which again underlines his warlike mentality (Fielitz 51). His way of sacrificing himself for his tragic errors can be seen as a heroic death corresponding to his previous way of life. Due to Othello committing suicide and Iago being sentenced to death, peace in Venice seems to be re-established at the end of the play.

b. Macbeth as a warrior

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is introduced to the reader as a dauntless, brave warrior who does all that is necessary to serve his king and his country (e.g. 1.2.16-23). His success on the battlefield brings him great honour from King Duncan. By calling Macbeth a “valiant cousin” (1.2.24) or by appointing him as Thane of Cawdor (1.2.64-66), the monarch illustrates that he thinks highly of his general. Additionally, Macbeth is tremendously respected by Duncan’s servants who refer to him as “Bellona’s bridegroom” (1.2.55) or tell Duncan about Macbeth’s and Banquo’s intrepidity (1.2.35-40). Initially, Macbeth seems to be a conscientious and faithful warrior, but his mind and his behaviour changes after the first prophecy of the witches is fulfilled by King Duncan.

After appointing Macbeth to be Thane of Cawdor, the warrior and his wife, Lady Macbeth, start to make plans to overthrow King Duncan to make Macbeth King of Scotland. Despite all the battles won, Macbeth appears to be a person who lacks strength of character because he can be easily manipulated by the witches. He is a man of strong character on the battlefield, but he does not have these traits in everyday life. In fact, he behaves the other way around because he seems to be plagued by self-doubts when he is thinking about putting his plans into action. The following quote shows that he has compunction about committing the crime and the reasons why murdering Duncan is an even more serious crime than killing another person.

“But in these cases, We still have judgement here, that we but teach Bloody instructions, which being taught, return To plague th’ inventor. […] He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman, and his subject, Strong both against the deed. Then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself. (1.7.7-16)

Furthermore, it does not feel right for him to murder his king because “Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, [and] hath been So clear in his great office” (1.7.16-18). Macbeth’s thoughts and his behaviour express uncertainty and anxiety what does not go along with his threatening appearance in a fight. According to Foakes, “Macbeth is represented as a warrior who is accustomed to making ‘images of death’ on the battlefield, but now he is driven to face the challenge of a different kind of killing” (151) because he has to murder “a kinsman and a guest in his own house” (151). From the beginning to the end of the play, Macbeth’s moral scruples, his mentality and his conscience are not able to cope with the cruelty he has to show to murder his relative. By murdering King Duncan, Macbeth “becomes a slave to fear” (Foakes 154) because planning murders is against a warrior’s personality. Usually, a warrior kills his enemies in brutal fights at war, not being aware of who they are or what they are doing in their lives.

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