THE POLITICAL OTHELLO.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR.

London, 25th November 153G.

3111—They have been acting Othello both at Drury Lane and Covent Garilen : but, besides myself, I do' not know anybody else in London who un- .1trstands our great poet's intentions. SHAKSPEA RE intended his Othello for a political satire on the Quadruple Alliance; as is apparent from the two very arst verses of the play-

ROPERIGO. " Tnsh, never tell me; I take it much unkindly, That thou, Ingo, who bast had my purse, As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this." know of what ? Not a line preceding, but "the persons represented," and

enter Roderigo and lago." But whoever is a constant reader of the Morn- :rig Chronicle can easily supply the deficiency. The munitions of war, the money, &c. which Iago allowed to find their way over the Pyrenees into the camp of Don CARLOS are meant. It is equally clear whence the money was taken to which Roderigo alludes. It was all taken from the purse of John Bell, and went to defray the Spanish Loan, the late expedition to Lisbon, and The ink and paper used for writing the Belgium protocols. Iago, therefore, is intended for Lours Pinner; and Roderigo is our noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Lord PALMERSTON. But who is Othello? who is Desdemona Oesdemona is Freedom, and Othello is General LA FAYETTE.

Now mark how easy it will be for me to explain things which have to this time puzzled the cleverest commentators of SHA KSPEA RE. Why has SHA K- 3 Pl. A R E made a Moor of Othello, whom- nothing prevented him front repre- acating as fair and as lovely-featured as I am myself, or any of my readers ? We have here one of the finest strokes of SHAKSPEA RE'S inimitable irony and satire. Who is Brahantio? The father of Desdemona: and does not Bra- Santio in full council declare, that his child's behaviour has vexed him so much as to teach him tyranny, and to bang clogs on all his children ?" These clop are the ORDINANCES of Jrt.v, in consequence of which Othello eloped -sa xh Desdemona. Signor Brabantio is CHARLES the Tenth.

" The match was mortal to him, and pure grief Shore his old thread in twain."

JW Brabantio always disliked the Republic, and therefore he begrimed and blackened poor Othello until he looked as dusky as a Moor. But the Moor Siound means to speak to Desdemona of the wars of the Revolution, of the Em- pire, of his captivity at Olinutz, &c. Let anybody who is not in possession of any key read Othello's talc in the play, and he must think both Othello and titiA KSPEA RE two great simpletons, for speaking of such natural impossibili- ties as

" Men whose heads Do grow beneath their shoulders."

iItit there is nothing ridiculous in the words. On the contrary, they convey a wry clever tropus for the men who were guillotined : and the preceding " cannibals " and " antliropophagi " are evidently intended for CA ARIL R, RosaseitaRE, ST. JEST, esC. tee.

"Those things to hear Would Desdemona seriously incline : lint still the house aft ars would draw her thenc.• :" jot as sow the house affairs draw the shopkeepers of Paris away from

listening to the lore of the National. At last, however, the tale worts out its

way, and Detdemons says- " I saw Othello's visage in his mind, And to his honour and his saliaut parts Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate," " Honour " triumphs over the "house affairs"— and Louis PHILIP appears a monster "whose head does grow beneath his shoulders"---No, l am mistaken; that is not in the play : Desdemona marries Othello, that is enough. And now a word about the way in which Iago becomes "Lieutenant du Roi," as he styled himself the first days after the Revolution of July. His own "price," and the battles "at Rhodes and Cyprus "—that is to say, the battles of Jemappes and Vainly," not availing to make lago his " Moorship's Lieu- tenant," he said- " The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by the nose As asses are."

And thus he betook himself to a system which he well describes by saying- " Di,. inity of hell I When devils will their blackest sins put on, They do suggest at firstWith heavenly shows, As I do now."

"Like the base Judean. threw a pearl away Richer than all his Who."

The event was certainly woful, but there is one consolation in it: the samo play has been played over a thousand and a thousand times, and Othello is again and again killing Desdemona—that is a proof that nothing is yet lost, for Desdemona always revives after being smothered. Who knows but in twenty years hence, an intelligent copyist, in writing out the parts of the actors, may not make Othello a little sooner look down towards the feet of lago, before Desdemona is killed; and then all will be right.

There are many people, too, who blame SHAKSPEA RE for causing Desde- mona to be killed for the loss of a mere handkerchief. But before such people allow themselves to blame the greatest poet that ever lived, I must beg their leave to refer them, if they understand as much of German as myself, to GoET II E'S Fair at Plundersweiler. In this farce, we have a mountebank who is always crying, " Schnupftuch 'rauf ! Schnupftuch 'raid!" That is to say, " Throw up the handkerchief! throw up the handkerchief! " In these handkerchiefs, is the money wrapped which the mountebank wants to get from his customers. The handkerchief in Othello is, therefore, only an allegory on a large scale, of the public money, the treasury from which Louis PHILIP pays his police, his army, and corrupts the Deputies. And I appeal in full confidence to any one who has the least knowledge of France, if Desdemona was not lost as soon as Lego had got hold of the handkerchief.

But there is another feature in the occurrence which proves still better the wonderful insight and foresight which SHAKSPEARE had concerning the affairs of France. The handkerchief was not stolen, as Iago had a hundred times desired his wife to do. Desdemona, as Emily says expressly, " I.et it drop by negligence." That is to say, only caring for the grief which Othello showed for those who had fallen in the Revolution of July, she forgot to hook her handkerchief to a new law of election, not larger than general suffrage: that was the only way to save it, and she certainly "let it drop by negligence." But wonderful as the genius of SHAKSPEARE appears in the painting of Othello and Desdemona, he has surpassed himself in delineating Imo and Ro- derigo. Who does not acknowledge the true Iago immediately in these lines, where he is speaking of himself? " Others there are Who, trimmed in forms and visages of duty, Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves And throwing lint shows of service on their lords, (the French nation) Do well thrive by them, and when they have Hued their coats, Do themselves homage;" and become absolute kings, like Louts Plural.. And again, when he declares the true feelings which he had for the husband of Desdemona- " Though I do hate him as I do bell pains, Yet, for necessity of present life, (foa-fear of being guillotined) I must show out a flag and sign of love, Which is indeed but sign." The definition which Togo gives of Roderigo is contained in the following

lines-

In short, "Othello, that was once so good, Fall'n in the practice of a cursed slave," made Tap "Lieutenant du Roi," smothered Desdemona with his own hands, and thus, " Thus do I ever make my fool my purse; For I mine own gaited knowledge should profane, If I would time expend with such a snipe, But for my sport and profit."

The reason which makes Roderigo follow Iago, as the blind man his dog, is that Roderigo wishes to gratify an unlawful passion which he has for Desdemona, and to breed bastards out of freedom, in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and every- where. This reason binds hint to Iago: but fag°, profiting of the extraordi- nary fancy which our Minister of Foreign Affairs has for getting bastards of Freedom, makes him a catspaw for his own ends, until at last he sets him on against Cassio at Lisbon,—for SILSKseEARE evidently intended Cassia as an impersonation of the Constitution of 1820. Happily, however,

" Cassio's coat was better than Roderigo thought so the latter is killed, and duly buried, and no longer heard of. Nevertheless, as Roderigo was rather a good fellow before Iago enticed him to go to sea, I hope next Parliament will have a fine marble tombstone raised for ever over his green turf grave.

For thought his action against Cassio cannot be excused, it. has at least the good consequence of procuring for Cyprus a better governor than LAFAYETTE was; and well may he prosper and speed. Excepting this action, on the other side, I think the public is much indebted to Roderigo for the great amusement which he procured for them in his squabbling.scenes with lago. How amusing it was for us to read regularly twice a fortnight, Roderigo exclaiming, in the Morning Chronicle,

Every day thou doff st me with some device, !ago; and rather, as it seems to me, keep'st from me all convenimicy, than suppliest me with the least advantage. I will, indeed, no longer endure it ; nor am I yet persuaded to put up in peace what already I have foolishly suffered."

Or, " Faith, I have heard too much; for your words and performances are no kin to- gether."

In the latter, however, SHAKSPEARE permitted himself a poetical licence ; for the Chronicle, though the sense is the same, used the expressions " facto non verba." On the other hand, SHAKSPEARE gives likewise, what the Chro- nick did never give, the mode in which Roderigo and lago made their peace again- llonsatoo. " Wilt thon be fast to my hopes, if I depend on the issue.' ',too. Thou art sure of me—go make money—

Pitt money in thy purse ; follow these wars. I say, put money in thy purse."

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, A. B. C.