Similarities in Othello and Volpone
Upon reading Shakespeare's l604 tragedy, Othello, the Moor of Venice and Jonson's l606 comedy, Volpone, or The Foxe, a reader will notice both similarities and differences. In both plays, we meet characters of "rare ingenious knavery." Indeed, Iago, Volpone, and Mosca are uncommonly similar in nature. An elaborate "con game" is practiced in each play through intriguing dramatic inventiveness. However, the focus of Shakespeare's tragedy is upon a noble and heroic figure; the focus of Jonson's comedy is upon a monster of depravity, a genius in crime.
Comparisons between these great plays continues to pale when Jonson's script is held up to scrutiny. Whereas Shakespeare's seventeenth century
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He only fails in his greedy aspirations because of the tendency of vice to overreach itself. In the play, the mainly passive, virtuous characters are practically defenseless against scoundrels cloaked in propriety and skilled in legal dodging. The good-natured guardians of the law are dull-witted, and the true innocents, Bonario and Celia, finally escape only because the knaves ensnare themselves. If the laws of the state are vindicated, it is a hollow …show more content…
Jonson relentlessly explores the idea of hypocrisy as the mask of lust and of lust as perversion of human nature. Avarice is everywhere: possessing possessions and being possessed! The perversity and deceptiveness of lust is constantly dramatized by use of tricks and transformations. The themes mix. Volpone's lust for gold leads him to deception and rhetoric well beyond the reach of the victims. Mosca, equally as lustful as Volpone, caters to Volpone's lust for Celia. Mosca thereupon impersonates a mountebank, the symbol of greed and lies. The deformed and mutilated servants of Volpone make sport of greed, hypocrisy, and perversion in order to please their master. Finally, Volpone attempts to transform Celia into a prize possession. This is a major crisis in the turn of Volpone's fortunes. Thereafter his vicious talents diminish and he becomes more and more exposed. By the final scene of the play, almost every character uses the word "possession" until it culminates in a definition: possessed by demons, whereupon final transformations reveal the truth. As a desperate, eleventh hour device, Volpone removes his last disguise in order to pull all the hypocrites down in his own ruin. Virtue is barely saved by the virtuosity of Jonson. Yet, the play is a comedy. While characters are morally convulsive and disturbing, the deceptions and self-deceptions are also theatrically entertaining. Happy are the actors who
Shakespeare, William. (1564-1616 C.E.). The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice. Folger Shakespeare Library Edition. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004. Print.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice.” The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces.
Ronald Reagan was an interesting man, and loved by many Americans. The Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity and hope. He contributed so much to America’s economic history. The Regan Revolution, as it is known, aimed to re-invigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon the government. Honestly, I believe this is his greatest contribution. It is exactly what the American people needed at the time. There was a demand and he created the supply. The tax cuts that he implemented were there to help stimulate the economy and that is exactly what they did for seven years.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice" The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stanley Wells & |Gary Taylor. New York/London, W.W. Norton Company,1997. 2100-2174
William Shakespeare’s dramatic and poetic techniques and his use of hyperbole are used to describe the characters emotions and weaknesses. The use of dramatic irony is used to create personal conflict. This is done throughout the play to describe the characters concerns and their situations.
... years in office. Even when President Reagan, didn’t make wise decisions, he took full blame for them, which made the American population trust him and gain more popularity. With his many major accomplishments in helping the American people, and putting them first, really helped in his favor. Reagan has built up the US military to what it is now because he believed that we needed to “restore America's ability to defend itself and fulfill its responsibilities as a trustee of freedom and peace in the world” (Wild Thing, January 21, 2006). President Reagan is man that has a heart and soul with America, and will fight for our freedoms and rights for as long as his lives. In 1994, President Reagan got Alzheimer’s disease, left public life, and died on June 5, 2004 from pneumonia. Reagan is still looked up to and is considered one of the greatest Presidents of all time.
All tragedies eventually end in chaos; however, Othello and The Great Gatsby both begin with innocent characters thinking little about the possibility of disarray. During the climax of both works it becomes evident that the idea of order is doomed, inevitably leading to a bounding spiral of problems. The Great Gatsby and Othello both end in chaos because the protagonists, Othello and Gatsby are outsiders entering an ordered society. The actions of many characters cause confusion in the storyline, and the chaos in both works gradually impact the downfall of every character.
Throughout history, women’s place and role in society has changed. Women are often seen as a lower status and have a need to be taken care of by men. There are conflicts with the idealization of women as they are often overlooked and viewed as secondary characters. This idealization is well established in the characters of Desdemona in Othello and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare‘s play Othello, Desdemona and Daisy are both responsible for their tragedies due to the manipulation and impact of the outsiders, their loss of innocence, and their vulnerability as women.
Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987.
Watkinson, A. "Othello: The Ironic Interdependence of Othello and Iago." Novels for Students. 5 November 2004. http://www.enotes.com/othello/743/print
Shakespeare, William, and Kim F. Hall. Othello, the Moor of Venice: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. Print.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice" The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stanley Wells & |Gary Taylor. New York/London, W.W. Norton Company,1997. 2100-2174
Many would perceive madness and corruption to play the most influential role in Hamlet. However, it could be argued that the central theme in the tragedy is Shakespeare's presentation of actors and acting and the way it acts as a framework on which madness and corruption are built. Shakespeare manifests the theme of actors and acting in the disassembly of his characters, the façades that the individuals assume and the presentation of the `play within a play'. This intertwined pretence allows certain characters to manipulate the actions and thoughts of others. For this reason, it could be perceived that Shakespeare views the `Elsinorean' tragedy as one great puppet show, "I could see the puppets dallying".
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
William Shakespeare gave us a most moving drama in Othello. In this play we witness the demise of a “paragon” of a wife and a “valiant Moor”, Othello. Let us consider the Moor in detail, with professional critical input, in this essay.