'Othello's virtue and valour ultimately make him admirable' discuss

Othello’s virtue is established by Shakespeare at the exposition of the play in Act One Scene Three when Othello nobly presents his loving relationship to the senate after being revered as a well respected general, ultimately succeeding in proving his affections despite Brabantio’s harsh dispersions. While it can be seen that Othello’s cruel presentations at the very exposition by Iago and Roderigo as a ‘barbary horse’ and ‘devil’ may suggest Othello is immediately as reproachable, this structural order arguably allows Shakespeare to enhance the righteousness of Othello more as it allows the audience to witness how Othello has been able to rise to the status of ‘brave Othello’ and ‘valiant moor’ who is ‘hotly called for’ despite the overt racial prejudices against him as a ‘lascivious moor’, thus making him admirable for his tenacity and principled position. Furthermore, Othello’s relationship with Desdemona is presented as loving and ultimately approved of by the ‘most potent, grave and reverend signoirs’ as Othello is seen as ‘a moth of peace’ while Desdemona ‘loved [him] for the dangers [he] had past’ which demonstrates Othello’s laudability as he has overcome the aggressive dispersions cast on him by Brabantio of ‘witchcraft’ and ‘foul charms’ to ‘abuse’ the ‘delicate youth’ of Desdemona which meant he ‘won’ his caring relationship. Furthermore, Othello can arguably be seen as a victim of Iago at this point as well as Shakespeare provides insight into the cunning machinations of Iago who keeps his ‘heart attending on [him]self’ to ‘put the moor in a jealousy so strong that reason cannot cure’, therefore presenting Othello’s later cruelty as more a result of the ‘poison’ of Iago than his own reproachable character. Furthermore, Iago’s control of the play and its events is further emphasised by Shakespeare in the structural decision to place Iago, and his scheming, at the very exposition, before Othello, the eponymous protagonist’s, entry and therefore symbolise Iago’s overwhelming control of the play and thus the audience is encouraged to condemn Iago, rather than Othello for the later devastation as Iago took advantage of Othello’s excess of virtue in his ‘free and open nature’ which was ‘enfettered to [Desdemona’s] love’. In this way, Shakespeare arguably presents Othello as a noble and valorous character who is ultimately admirable because he is only a victim of the overwhelming control of Iago who took advantage of Othello’s, although somewhat naïve, trusting nature. Thus, Shakespeare may be demonstrating how an excess of honour and affection can be potentially dangerous as they lead to a vulnerability which, if erroneously exploited, may ensure a tragic downfall.