Morris, Blair. “Demonic Ventriloquism and Venetian Skepticism in Othello.”, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 53, no. 2, 2013, pp. 311–335., www.jstor.org/stable/24510001. Accessed 10 July 2021.
Blair Morris analyzes how Shakespeare projects the pitfalls of religious skepticism andhumanism in the Venetian setting as enabling evil, such as Iago’s successful use of demonic ventriloquism, in order to criticize the English government and religions’ lack of caution. Venice and other city-states “...followed the ideals of humanism more than other European countries… [and] many observers condemned the city-state as a place of irreligious permissiveness” (314). In Othello, the Venetian characters are oblivious to Iago’s devilish plans and projections in light of their religious skepticism, allowing for Iago to be successful in his destruction; this presented a stark warning for the adapting views of demonic ventriloquism in England at the time, as the government and the Church of England were becoming skeptical of its existence and power. Morris gives the example of Iago’s language being mimicked by Roderigo and later Brabantio in the Venetian senate, where Iago is physically silent, but his words about the supernatural resonate with Brabantio’s arguments. The Duke, representing a skeptical humanist, rejects such accusations and refuses to investigate their cause, freeing Iago to wreak his havoc for the rest of the play. Tracking Iago’s demonic possession of voice and action through Othello, Cassio, and Desdemona, Morris investigates the weaknesses of the skeptical, humanist thought explored by Shakespeare’s Othello and the harm caused in its wake.
--Hannah Nagy
