Complexity Of Powerplay In Othello And Prize Giving Essay

Question: Relationships at all levels involve complex powerplay. How is this complexity represented in Othello and Prize Giving?

Othello, by Shakespeare, and Prize Giving by Gwen Harwood, both have relationships that involve complex powerplay. Powerplay is the subtle shifts of power between people for some ulterior motive. Powerplay is complex because of its varying representations and its ability to shift suddenly. In Othello, the complex powerplay is represented by the racial tension of society compared to individual characteristics and inter-relationships between the characters and emotional power compared to social status. In Prize Giving, the complex powerplay is represented through intellectual power compared to sexuality and the differing attitudes and the differing ages between the characters.

The racial tension that exists within the society of Othellos world compared to their necessity for him is one element of the complex powerplay that exists within relationships. Othello is a moor, of North African ancestry, in a society of white men, but holds considerable power as the best general. As a result of this, his relationship with the rest of Venice is a careful balance between racism and usefulness. In times of peace, the inbred racism in their society emerges strongly and Othello sinks to the bottom of the social hierarchy. This is conveyed by the words they choose to describe Othello, such as old black ram and sooty bosom / of such a thing as thou. This animal imagery conforms to the stereotypical image of a bestial and violent black man that existed in that era. However, when he is needed, such as in Act 1 Scene 1, the rest of society are able to overlook his black skin and even flatter him so that Othello defends the city to the best of his ability. An example of this is when the Duke calls him Valiant Othello. He uses this because he needs Othello to travel to Cyprus to defend the city from the Ottomans. This is an example of a dynamic shift in power between their relationships, now that Othello is useful to their society, he has the power to request whatever he want, which is shown through his confident and even slightly arrogant speech, If you do find me foul in her reportlet your sentence / Even fall upon my life. This shows how Othellos complex relationship with the rest of Venetian society is dependent on the balance between usefulness and the inbred racism.

Although Othello is the embodiment of physical power, Desdemona holds a sexual power over Othello while Iago holds an intellectual and emotional power of several characters, and ultimately Othello. This creates a complex inter-relationship between the characters. Othellos infatuation with her beauty, which can be compared to the professors infatuation with the girl in Prize Giving, allows Desdemona to control Othellos emotions, passion and eventually his rational judgment. However at the same time, Iago is able to manipulate both of them into his sadistic plan by using specific phrases designed to extract specific responses. This relationship between the three of them is incredibly complex because each of them believes themselves to be in control when in reality, Desdemona is able to control Othello through his obsession with her while Iago is able to manipulate them both by playing with Othellos possessiveness with Desdemona.

The social status and emotions are another element that affects complex relationships. The most noticeable relationship is between Iago and Roderigo. Iago, although he has less money, contacts and influence, he is nevertheless able to manipulate Roderigo into his sadistic plan, using his superior intelligence. Iagos intelligence puts him in a high position in the social hierarchy, which can be compared to the superior status of the professor compared to the rest of the student in Prize Giving. He uses Roderigos obsession with Desdemona to manipulate him and manipulates his emotional connections with Desdemona. Iago uses such persuasive language that Roderigo believes that such fantasies is possible. However, the powerplay in this relationship is not so one-sided. Iago is dependent on Roderigos wealth, connections and social status to achieve his goals while Roderigo is dependent on Iagos promises and emotional support. This shows how the relationships between characters of different social status and different intelligence levels involve complex powerplay.

In Prize Giving, one of the major elements of complex powerplay is intellectual power compared to sexuality. This is most clearly represented by the radical change of professor Eisenbart. At the beginning, the professor is described as superb in silk and fur and one hand placed like Rodins thinker. These give the impression that he is like an aristocrat and feels intellectually superior, since the silk and fur are symbols of his intelligence. As well as this, the allusion to Rodins Thinker, creates the impression that he is composed, calm and highly intelligent. This intellectual superiority can be compared to Iagos intelligence from Othello. However, a simple handshake with the girl with titian hair is able to fling his hold from calm age and power. The titian hair is an allusion to the luscious and vivacious beauty of the red heads in Renaissance paintings. This description emphasizes her beauty and also separates her from the mosaic of young heads, blonde, black and mouse-brown. He beauty and sexual appeal can be compared to Desdemonas beauty from Othello. At this point, this shows how the power is subtly shifting in the relationship between the professors composed intelligence and the titians sexuality. By the end, he is described as a sage fool trapped by music in a copper net of hair, an oxymoron that represents the feeling that he has lost his dignity and pomposity. This shows how the powerplay in the relationship between professor and girl have reversed

The attitudes with which each of these characters view speech day and the people around them that the characters display are also a component of powerplay. The professor is disdainful of the speech day, which is conveyed by the sarcastic tone of the persona when he says to lend a distinction (of a kind not specified) and scowled with violent distaste. The professor is also vain and egotistical when he says Academic dress became him. This is the complete opposite of the girl with titian hair. hitched a stocking, winked at near-by friends and hand bend under her chin in mockery of his own. This implies that she is friendly, open, confident and even cheeky. Perhaps a major influence of their attitudes is the age difference. The professor is old, cynical and pompous while the girl is young, vibrant and open. The section that reflects this reversal is during the confrontation between reason and passion when she change[s] her casual schoolgirls for a masters air and he forged his rose-hot dream as Mozart told the fullness of all passion or despair. This is symbolic of the girl becoming the master, while the professor becomes the inferior one, thus showing how their attitudes and age differences affect the powerplay in this complex relationship.

Relationships at all levels involve complex powerplay. Although every relationship has powerplay, the relationships in these two texts are even more complex because each character has a unique characteristic or trait that allows the subtle shift in power in certain circumstances.