I look down towards his feet; but that's a fable.
If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee]
To see if, according to the common opinion, his feet be cloven.
V.ii.292 (513,4) Fall'n in the practice of a cursed slave] In the
_snare_, by the _stratagem_.
V.ii.317 (514,5) in the interim] The first copy has, _in the_ nick. It
was, I suppose, thought upon revisal, that _nick_ was too familiar.
V.ii.342 (515,6) Speak of me as I am] The early copies read, _Speak of
them as they are_. The present reading has more force. (rev. 1778, X,
622, 6)
(520,2) General Observation. The beauties of this play impress
themselves so strongly upon the attention of the reader, that they can
draw no aid from critical illustration. The fiery openness of Othello,
magnanimous, artless, and credulous, boundless in his confidence, ardent
in his affection, inflexible in his resolution, and obdurate in his
revenge; the cool malignity of Iago, silent in his resentment, subtle in
his designs, and studious at once of his interest and his vengeance; the
soft simplicity of Desdemona, confident of merit, and conscious of
innocence, her artless perseverance in her suit, and her slowness to
suspect that she can be suspected, are such proofs of Shakespeare's
skill in human nature, as, I suppose, it is vain to seek in any modern
writer. The gradual progress which Iago makes in the Moor's conviction,
and the circumstances which he employs to inflame him, are so artfully
natural, that, though it will perhaps not be said of him as he says of
himself, that he is _a man not easily jealous_, yet we cannot but pity
him, when at last we find him _perplexed in the extreme_.
There is always danger, lest wickedness, conjoined with abilities,
should steal upon esteem, though it misses of approbation; but the
character of Iago is so conducted, that he is from the first scene to
the last hated and despised.
Even the inferior characters of this play would be very conspicuous in
any other piece, not only for their justness, but their strength. Cassio
is brave, benevolent, and honest, ruined only by his want of
stubbornness to resist an insidious invitation. Roderigo's suspicious
credulity, and impatient submission to the cheats which he sees
practised upon him, and which by persuasion he suffers to be repeated,
exhibit a strong picture of a weak mind betrayed by unlawful desires to
a false friend; and the virtue of Aemilia is such as we often find, worn
loosely, but not cast off, easy to commit small crimes, but quickened
and alarmed at atrocious villainies.
The scenes from the beginning to the end are busy, varied by happy
interchanges, and regularly promoting the progression of the story; and
the narrative in the end, though it tells but what is known already, yet
is necessary to produce the death of Othello.
Had the scene opened in Cyprus, and the preceding incidents been
occasionally related, there had been little wanting to a drama of the
most exact and scrupulous regularity.
(LI 2) Appendix. Some apology perhaps is necessary for the inconvenience
of an Appendix, which, however, we can justify by the strongest of all
pleas, the plea of necessity. The Notes which it contains, whether
communicated by correspondents, or collected from published volumes,
were not within our reach when the plays were printed, to which they
relate. Of that which chance has supplied, we could have no previous
knowledge; and he that waited till the river should run dry, did not act
with less reason than the Editor would do, who should suspend his
publication for possibilities of intelligence, or promises of
improvement. Had we foreseen the _Oxford_ edition, the assistance we
expected from it might have persuaded us to pause; but our volumes were
completely finished before its publication. [There are no notes by
Johnson in this Appendix; several are by Steevens.]