Othello #8

In the final scene of Othello, the way Desdemona responds to Othello's accusations of her infidelity heightens the tragedy of her death. At the beginning of their dialogue, Desdemona speaks of herself with humble confidence; while she takes care not to anger Othello further, she says that she is confident that any witnesses will deny the claim that she has been unfaithful. This strategy mirrors the way Othello reacted to the accusations of Brabantio, Desdemona's father. Just as he encourages a trial so that the evidence in his favor will speak for itself, Desdemona asks Othello to fetch Cassio so that he can explain away the misunderstanding. Othello, however, refuses to ask Cassio about the matter, and his ignorant refusal is frustrating to the audience, who knows that Cassio could easily solve the problem and stop Othello from killing Desdemona. This dramatic irony enhances the sense of tragedy because it exposes a way in which this massive tragedy could be a life's swiftly and easily.

Furthermore, the tragedy increases as a result of Desdemona's virtue. When Othello makes up his mind to murder her, she stops arguing but instead apologizes for offending him. Her apologies create even more tragedy because the audience knows that she has nothing to apologize for, and that all she wants in the world is to please the man who is about to kill her. She is endlessly forgiving, even to the man who murders her without any good reason. Othello is not only committing a murder; he is murdering someone who is essentially without fault, which makes the action even more tragic.