"What Is the Matter?" in Othello Author(S): John Shaw Source: Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol
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George Washington University "What is the Matter?" in Othello Author(s): John Shaw Source: Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Spring, 1966), pp. 157-161 Published by: Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2868241 . Accessed: 22/03/2013 07:55 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Folger Shakespeare Library and George Washington University are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Shakespeare Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 140.233.2.215 on Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:55:20 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions "Whatis thematter?" in Othello JOHN SHAW HE actorplaying the role of Gratianoor Montanoin Othello has the unenviabletask (as minorcharacters must have) of asking the necessarybut wholly inadequate question when confrontedby theghastly spectacle in theMoor's bedchamber at the close of the tragedy:"What is the matter?"It is a feeble expressionof astonishment,for does not the divine Desdemona lie murderedon her bed, and is not Emilia in the processof vio- lentlydisabusing Othello of his fatalmisjudgment of the characterof "honest, honest Iago"? Indeed, what is the matter,and how could it ever be fully explained?Obviously, Othello and Emilia are not going to pause long enough to explain,even if theyfully understood what the matterwas. The point is, however,this plain questionhas takenon a cruel ironyas it cuttinglyexposes the bewilderingdiscrepancy between the naive request,on the one hand, and the appallingjumble of intrigueand error,on the other.It is my contention that Shakespearehas used the question in a patternof repetition-itoccurs no fewerthan twenty times-in orderto generatejust such irony. Let us begin by tracingquickly the appearanceof the phrasethrough the play,measuring with it thesituation to be explained. At first,logical explanationsto the questioncan quite easily be returned, thoughthey are not alwaysforthcoming. Brabantio asks "What is thematter?" (I. i. 83) afterIago and Roderigohave so brazenly"called him up". The an- swer is simple,a fact:Desdemona has eloped withOthello. Next, Othello puts the question to Cassio when the latterhas requestedOthello's "post-haste appearance"at the Senate: "What is thematter, think you?" (I. ii. 38). The an- swer is again factual: "Somethingfrom Cyprus." It is the Turkish prepara- tions,we findlater. Then comesthe Duke, speakingto the fumingBrabantio: "Why, what's the matter?"(I. iii.58). But now the matterhas become some- what complicated,for the explanationfor Desdemona's deception of her fatheris both simple and mysterious,her love having so strangelydefied therules of socialdecorum and logic: She is abused,stol'n from me and corrupted By spellsand medicinesbought of mountebanks. For natureso preposterouslytoerr, Beingnot deficient, blind, or lame of sense, Sanswitchcraft could not. (I. iii.60-64) Othello and Desdemona are able to convincethe Senate,and us, of the reality of theirlove, unlikely though it is; but thesituation, for Brabantio at least,must neverthelessremain "a mangledmatter". This content downloaded from 140.233.2.215 on Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:55:20 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions I58 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY In the secondact the situationgrows complex and entangledas the question requestingan explanationis repeatedlyput. Montanocries "What's the matter, Lieutenant?" (II. iii. I50) to Cassio when the latterhas been pommelingRo- derigo.We, the audience,know what "the matter"is: lago, fromspite, has been tryingto have Cassio "on the hip", to "abuse him to the Moor"; he also lustsafter Desdemona whom he hopes somehowto win to his bed in orderto repayOthello for having (as Iago thinks) seduced Emilia; he also hopes to put Othello into a jealousy"so strongThat judgmentcannot cure"; and he is exploiting"this poor trashof Venice",Roderigo, for these purposes in addition to the fun of gulling him of his money.That is what "the matter"is. Thus, Cassio's drunkenoutburst in answer to Montano'squestion, "A knave teach me my duty?I'll beat theknave into a wickerbottle", is some distancefrom the truthof the situation. Then, the brawl concluded,Othello demands an explanationthree times: "What is thematter here? . What is thematter, masters? ... What's themat- ter?"all withinthirty lines (II. iii. 63; I76; I93). An explanationis indeed offeredby Iago, but it is not the whole truth,as he himselfcunningly implies: "More of this matter cannot I report" (I. iii.240). Othello, however, re- luctantlyaccepts Iago's statement,but he misconstruesthe doubtlago raisedas bias in favorof Cassio: I know,Tago, Thyhonesty and lovedoth mince this matter (246-247) At thismoment Desdemona appears,and with the situationabundantly com- plicatedby half-truthsand innuendoes,cross-purposes and evil intentions,she too asks the simplequestion: "What's the matter?"(II. iii. 251). We are now well aware of the discrepancybetween the plain, directquestion and the per- niciousweb of malice so skilfullyspun by Iago. Even by the conclusionof the thirdact Desdemona persistsin believinglogical explanationscan be found somewhereto accountfor Othello's "clear spirit"having been "puddled",per- haps something"sure of State".And Emilia can only reply,"Pray heaven,it be State matters. and no conceptionnor no jealous toy" (III. iv. I59). From the fourthact on the questionassumes a heighteneddramatic irony. First, Cassio, upon discoveringOthello in his trance,asks earnestlyof Lago, "What's thematter?" (IV. i. 50) to whichIago replies,"My lordis falleninto an epilepsy",an answerwhich, whether it be the propermedical diagnosis or not, is hardlythe full truthof the situation.Soon after,Iago himself,feigning in- nocence,and with great dramaticirony, asks the question of Desdemona: "What's the matter,lady?" (IV. ii. II4). She cannotreply, but Emilia does: Alas,Tago, my lord hath so bewhoredher, Thrownsuch despite and heavyterms upon her, As truehearts cannot bear. (IV. ii. 115-II7) Again, the answertouches only the surfaceand consequentialmanifestation of "thematter", a factIago well knows. But we are not done withthe question.In the firstscene of thelast act,dur- ing the scufflein the dark, and again with pretendedinnocence, Iago asks "What's the matter?" (V. i. 50), this time with increasedirony. Though he This content downloaded from 140.233.2.215 on Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:55:20 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions "WHAT IS THE MATTER?" IN OTHELLO I59 knowsthe general circumstances of the brawl, he doesnot realize as yetthat itsoutcome has not been entirely successful: Cassio and Roderigoboth still live. He is able to killRoderigo, but, before he can stabCassio, Lodovico and Gra- tianoapproach. Then Bianca enters upon this scene in which,for the first time, evenIago is beginningto losehis strong grip on thewhirling events: "What is thematter, ho?" (V. i. 75) she cries.But she is ignoreduntil lago beginsto improvisehis scheme to implicateher, at whichpoint Emilia also appears: "'las, what'sthe matter? what's the matter, husband?" (V. i. iii). By thistime, with Roderigomortally wounded and withOthello on his wayto killDesdemona, havingheard (as he thought,mistakenly) Cassio lament "O villainthat I am"; withCassio bleeding; with Lodovico and Gratianofrightened and bewildered; and withIago castingsuspicions upon Bianca-and the wholescene having takenplace in thedark-the situation could hardly be moreconfused. What is thematter, indeed! And so we arriveat thefinal scene. Here Desdemonain all innocencefirst asksOthello desperately: "What's the matter?" (V. ii.47), a hopelessquestion now,for Othello is alreadygnawing his netherlip and passionis shakinghis veryframe. Nor doesOthello respond to her question; it is toolate for explana- tions.So theirrevocable deed is done.Then comes Emilia with the news of the brawljust witnessed, and Othelloputs the question to her:"What's the matter withthee now?" (V. ii. I05). Desdemona'sdeath is discovered,and soonothers arrive.Montano asks, "What is thematter?" (V. ii.i68); Gratianoasks, "What is thematter?" (V. ii. I70); and finallyGratiano, as he returnsto thebedcham- berin whichDesdemona and Emiliaare now dead and whereOthello is pre- paringfor his "journey'send", asks the question for the last (and twentieth) time:"What is thematter?" (V. ii. 259). Whileit is truethat this question is a naturalone to ariseoften out of a playin whichso manystrange events tumble one uponanother, and therefore itsunusually frequent repetition might not appear to be a calculateddramatic effect,the fact is thatin no otherShakespearean play is it usedanywhere nearly so persistently.In Hamlet, to takeonly one example,though the phrase does occur,it doesnot strike one as usedfor any dramatic effect. We note,in fact, alternatephrases substituted where we mightexpect the question.When Gertrudeenters with the sad newsof Ophelia'sdeath, Claudius says "How now,sweet Queen" in placeof "What'sthe matter?" Or, Fortinbras,entering uponthe disorder of the final scene-a parallelwith Gratiano entering