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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
Otb « lk > just sufficiently jealous for his purpose * He itffflAy ^ rawa the attention oi Othello to the behaviour of Caa » O towards Desdemona . When , however , he finds that the ' * & •« and generous nature of Othello is not to be *© arousail ^ r that he argues his wife id not subject to blame for having the manners of a lady , for being well-looking , and for appearing
well in the eyes of the world—he then relates a lying story of the talk of Cassio in his sleep . To succeed in any de&ired point he does no more evil than is absolutely necessary ; for it may be noticed that though Iago , in his soliloquy at the cloee of act 1 , determined upon making Othello jealous through the
means of Cassio , yet he afterwards changes his plan to t « e mote harmless one of making Cassio drunk . When he tods that is not sufficient to get Cassio put quite aside , and himself installed in the lieutenancy , he goes on with his original intention . Even when the African blood of Othello becomes
aroused , and Iago too far committed to retreat—when he obtains the promise of the place on the death of Cassio , he prefers that Roderigo should be his murderer . * What a pleasure it would be to see the character of Iago properly represented . Tradition has not handed down to the players the directions of William Shakspeare himself on the
subject . I am wrong to say the present race of players do not fellow his directions—they do in one point . In the first edition of Shakspeare ' s plays , amongst the dramatis psrsotue of the tragedy of Othello , the Moor of Venice , you may read thia ** - " Iago , his ancient , a vfflaine , " Because a man is found to be
$ villain at the end of a regular five-act tragedy , it is no reason fee should be so at the beginning . f No one , up to almost the last moment , suspects " honest Iago" to be a villain . Tfee audience alone listen to his audible communings with his owji heart , and suspect he is after no good . With the characters of the tragedy he is an honest fellow , his tongue rather blunt
and rough ; a little sore at having his merits and services passed over ; averse tp petticoat government ; fond of a cup of gopd wine , that " good , fauiiliar creature , if it be well used j" able to sing a jovial song , and willing to serve his injured patrol * and friend with the point of his sword . One word of is The gentle lady married to the Moor . " Ii * this line , which has been quoted times out of number , we admire the beautiful and truthful epithet u gentle / ' and admiring it , mu < at recollect that it is not an expression of the modern p 9 * t , but of Shakspeare . Othello says , scene 3 , act 2 ; - — < 1 Look if my gentle love be not rais'd up . *'
• fc «» m * th * laftit plan . Come , come , W . L . T ., Iago <« a " damntd Tfll * i * .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 1, 1837, page 219, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1830/page/29/
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