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Love in Act One- Othello

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Theme of Love in Othello - Act 1

The theme of love is an important element to any Shakespearean tragedy, and Othello is no different. From the start it is made apparent that Roderigo is in love with ‘Desdemona’, but she is married to the “moor”, Othello.

When Brabantio is told that his daughter is with the moor, he says “It is too true an evil. Gone she is. And what’s to come of my despised timeIs naught but bitterness” he is saying that now she has gone, his life will be nothing but bitterness. This shows the love he has for his daughter. The mere thought of loosing his daughter makes him hysterical. He immediately questions the moors motives. “Is there not charms by which the property of youth and maidhood may be abused?”
He is saying that Othello used ‘magical spells’ to lead his daughter astray and stole her innocence. The fact that he hastily jumped to this conclusion proves that his love for his daughter has blinded him. He is refusing to acknowledge the fact that she may of actually been willing to marry this man and have any sort of consenting sexual relations with him.

Although we hear a lot about Othello and Desdemona’s relationship, it is not until scene 2 that we hear Othello’s account of their relationship, which is eminently different.
He tells the story of how him and Desdemona met; Brabantio “oft invited” him into their home and he would tel them the stories of his past. He states that she instigated the conversation as she was inquisitive about the adventures he had and that she “ wished that heaven had made her such a man. She thanked me and bade me, if I had a friend that loved her, I should but teach him how to tell my story and that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake. She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them. This only is the witchcraft I have used.” He is saying that she wished that

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