Explore the significance of the setting of Cyprus to the tragedy of Othello.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, the transition of the setting from the civilised Venice, where
all the characters in the play are under the control of the rigid, hierarchical authority of
the Venetian state, to the comparatively isolated, disorderly and militarised setting of
Cyprus in Act 2, serves to enable Iago’s machinations, thereby precipitating the downfall
of the once ‘noble’ tragic hero Othello, and ‘[ensnaring]’ the tragic victims in the ‘net’ of
the tragic villain’s calculated manipulations.
Shakespeare immediately establishes Cyprus’ militarised instability upon the arrival of
the characters to Cyprus in Act 2, Scene 1, and the chaos emphasised by the storm
imagery used within this scene arguably foreshadows the continuous collapse of order
throughout the rest of the play. During this scene, Shakespeare’s use of pathetic fallacy
to present the ‘desperate tempest’ of ‘high seas and howling winds’ - that has not only
‘banged the Turks’ but also separated Othello and Desdemona - as violent and
disorienting, symbolic of the obliteration of Venetian order and the ‘wind-shaked surge’
mirroring Othello’s increasingly disturbed psyche as a result of the ‘eternal villain’ Iago’s
Machiavellian deceit. This is reinforced by the destruction of the Turkish fleet, the
pressing ‘business of the state’ that Othello had been summoned to attend to by the
Duke of Venice earlier on in Act 1, Scene 3 of the play; while this instance allowed
Othello to evade Brabantio’s attempts to arrest him, the transition of the setting to
Cyprus undoubtedly accelerates Othello’s tragic fall, adding to the pathos the audience
feels for the tragic hero. The sudden and unexpected dissipation of military conflict
against the ‘general enemy Ottoman’ so early on in the play arguably creates the
perfect vacuum for an emboldened and unrestricted Iago to fill with his malevolence and
psychological warfare, and his terrifying cruelty is able to reach its peak as his
insinuations cause the denigration of the ‘valiant’ Othello into a murderer consumed by
‘jealousy’ near the end of the play. Through the setting of Cyprus, Shakespeare is able
to heighten the audience’s sense of dramatic irony in this scene, as although the
characters mistakenly believe that their ‘wars are done’ and all conflict is resolved, we
are aware that this is merely the beginning of Iago’s orchestration of Othello’s downfall
in order to fulfill his self-confessed desire to ‘serve his turn’ upon ‘the Moor.’ Further to
this, by removing the external threat of the Turkish fleet and situating the bulk of the play
away from the established bureaucratic elements of the Venetian Senate, Shakespeare
shifts the tragic focus inward; from demands of the state to private, internal conflict,
marking out Othello as primarily a domestic tragedy - the tragedy of marriage.
Significantly, Iago’s arrival in Cyprus before Othello, who is ‘not yet arrived’ due to the
storm, further contributes to the tragedy of the play, as although Iago initially does not
speak, he is still able to silently observe Cassio’s womanising nature and his evident
affection for Desdemona due to him taking Desdemona’s hand, thereby providing the
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, the transition of the setting from the civilised Venice, where
all the characters in the play are under the control of the rigid, hierarchical authority of
the Venetian state, to the comparatively isolated, disorderly and militarised setting of
Cyprus in Act 2, serves to enable Iago’s machinations, thereby precipitating the downfall
of the once ‘noble’ tragic hero Othello, and ‘[ensnaring]’ the tragic victims in the ‘net’ of
the tragic villain’s calculated manipulations.
Shakespeare immediately establishes Cyprus’ militarised instability upon the arrival of
the characters to Cyprus in Act 2, Scene 1, and the chaos emphasised by the storm
imagery used within this scene arguably foreshadows the continuous collapse of order
throughout the rest of the play. During this scene, Shakespeare’s use of pathetic fallacy
to present the ‘desperate tempest’ of ‘high seas and howling winds’ - that has not only
‘banged the Turks’ but also separated Othello and Desdemona - as violent and
disorienting, symbolic of the obliteration of Venetian order and the ‘wind-shaked surge’
mirroring Othello’s increasingly disturbed psyche as a result of the ‘eternal villain’ Iago’s
Machiavellian deceit. This is reinforced by the destruction of the Turkish fleet, the
pressing ‘business of the state’ that Othello had been summoned to attend to by the
Duke of Venice earlier on in Act 1, Scene 3 of the play; while this instance allowed
Othello to evade Brabantio’s attempts to arrest him, the transition of the setting to
Cyprus undoubtedly accelerates Othello’s tragic fall, adding to the pathos the audience
feels for the tragic hero. The sudden and unexpected dissipation of military conflict
against the ‘general enemy Ottoman’ so early on in the play arguably creates the
perfect vacuum for an emboldened and unrestricted Iago to fill with his malevolence and
psychological warfare, and his terrifying cruelty is able to reach its peak as his
insinuations cause the denigration of the ‘valiant’ Othello into a murderer consumed by
‘jealousy’ near the end of the play. Through the setting of Cyprus, Shakespeare is able
to heighten the audience’s sense of dramatic irony in this scene, as although the
characters mistakenly believe that their ‘wars are done’ and all conflict is resolved, we
are aware that this is merely the beginning of Iago’s orchestration of Othello’s downfall
in order to fulfill his self-confessed desire to ‘serve his turn’ upon ‘the Moor.’ Further to
this, by removing the external threat of the Turkish fleet and situating the bulk of the play
away from the established bureaucratic elements of the Venetian Senate, Shakespeare
shifts the tragic focus inward; from demands of the state to private, internal conflict,
marking out Othello as primarily a domestic tragedy - the tragedy of marriage.
Significantly, Iago’s arrival in Cyprus before Othello, who is ‘not yet arrived’ due to the
storm, further contributes to the tragedy of the play, as although Iago initially does not
speak, he is still able to silently observe Cassio’s womanising nature and his evident
affection for Desdemona due to him taking Desdemona’s hand, thereby providing the
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
