Othello and Different Senses of Abnormal As inconsequential as they may seem initially, the various types of anomalies in William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello, have an impact on the audience. We explore the theme of the deviant in this play. In the essay "Wit and Witchcraft: an Approach to Othello" Robert B. Heilman discusses the abnormal attitude and plans of the ancients as manifested in his verbal images: If we take all the lines of a character out of context and regard them as a unit, we have always a useful body of information; but if, when we study Iago's verse, we find that he constantly describes himself in images of hunting and trapping, we learn not only his plans of action, but something of his attitude to occasion, to his victims, and to himself. same; and beyond this we are given an image of evil, one of those with which the drama interprets the human situation. (331)And what about epilepsy? In Act 4 the evil Iago drives Othello mad about the missing handkerchief. The general's resulting illogical and senseless delirium is the prelude to an epileptic attack or a state of ecstasy: Lie with her? lie about her? – We tell lies when they deny them. – Lie with her! Zounds, that's disgusting. – Handkerchief – confessions – handkerchief! – Confess and be hanged for your trouble – first be hanged and then confess! I tremble. [. . .] (4.1)Cassius enters immediately after the general has fallen into an epileptic trance. Iago explains to him: IAGO. My lord has fallen prey to epilepsy. This is his second attack; he had one yesterday.CASSIO. Rub it on your temples.IAGO. No, leave it alone. Lethargy must have its peaceful course. Otherwise, he foams at the mouth, and gradually breaks out into wild madness. Look, it's moving. You retreat a little. He will recover immediately. (4.1) The protagonist's epilepsy is unusual and physically abnormal. But the most serious anomalies in the play are psychological. Iago is generally recognized as the only character who possesses and operates according to an abnormal psychology. But Lily B. Campbell in Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes tells of the moment when the hero himself approached “madness”.”: