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Critical analysis of Othello
Critical analysis of Othello
Critical analysis of Othello
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Is it adequate to say that Othello's tragedy is caused by jealousy?
In the course of your answer you should:
* discuss the part played by jealousy in Othello's downfall
* comment on other factors that you think contribute to his ruin
In this particular question the assessment objectives which are being addressed are AO1, AO4 and AO5. The question does not demand the close reading of a passage or its connection to the test of the play required by AO2 and AO3. What is important is a good overall understanding of the play in relation to the question, an ability to engage in critical debate and to recognise that texts can be interpreted in different ways, and a sense of how an understanding of context could illuminate the issue.
Gary's answer
In my opinion the main factor in Othello's downfall is not his own jealousy but that of lago, because that is what drives him to bring Othello down, and thus cause the tragedy.
Gary makes a very brisk start. His introduction gets straight to the point, giving an answer to the question which the rest of his essay develops,
Although there are ...
The play, Othello is one of the most famous tragedies composed by William Shakespeare during the Renaissance period. It powerfully portrays a world where the acts of evil ultimately vanquishes fidelity, nobility and integrity. The central themes jealousy and manipulation embodies the foretold tragedies and the downfall tragedies of the characters due to one’s insecurities. Through the use of literary techniques and figurative language, Shakespeare has effectively explored the themes of jealousy and manipulation.
It's not love that is blind, but jealousy. In this beautiful small town of Venice, there is moor and his beautiful wife Desdemona, and the evil Iago, Roderigo, and Cassio. Othello is married to the beautiful Desdemona. He is an honorable man he was loyal to Venice, he was the general of an army. All of a sudden he started to act different, he started to change because Iago had told him that his wife Desdemona was fooling around with Cassio. Othello believes Iago because he trusted Iago, the same way he trusted everyone. Rodrigo had found out about Iago's plan to try to ruin Othello's life, so the two started to work together because Rodrigo was jealous that Othello had Desdemona and he wants her, Iago was jealous of the fact that Othello was trusted too much with many things, he was jealous that everyone loved Othello. So Iago planned everything out He planted things and messed with people's minds to have everything go down. Jealous is everywhere because you might want something that someone else has, you might wanna be just like someone, you might just want something just for yourself that you believe anything
Othello is a play about jealousy’s causes and effects. Each character in the play had different reasons to be jealous and each of them chose to deal with it a certain way. All three characters Iago, Othello, and Roderigo had such cases and in the end dealt with different conflicts and outcomes. It’s important to understand that their actions in dealing with their jealousies were a reflection of their characters, and persona.
When many people decided to sit down and read a book or a play it is because the title or summary entices them. As the story comes to an end it is decided whether or not the person related to or understood the point of the literature. Great authors and playwrights know this and set in place concepts. Many different concepts, to catch different audiences attention and to deepen the understanding of the literature. In order to understand Shakespeare’s play Othello, it is necessary to examine the emotions of jealousy, manipulation, being consumed by something, and gender.
The Key to Tragedy: Jealousy and Manipulation William Shakespeare, also known as the English national poet, remains considered as “the greatest dramatist of all time.” He has written many plays that provide readers an outlook towards human conflict and emotion. Othello, one of Shakespeare’s famous plays, has various movie versions. Tim Blake Nelson’s 2001 updated modern version of Othello, “O”, integrates the important symbolism of the handkerchief as well as themes of jealousy and manipulation; yet, it devalues the important features of women discrimination and early modern English language. The handkerchief engages a very important part of both the play and the movie.
When we first begin Othello, we see the start of what we believe to be a beautiful marriage between Othello and Desdemoda. However, at the end, we are faced with the tragic murder of Desdemoda by her dear Othello, bringing this marriage to a gruesome end. We’re left with a sense of horror, sorrow, and bewilderment. How could this have happened? Why did Othello, how did Othello, go from a doting husband to a furious killer? The obvious answer is that Iago deceived him into thinking that Desdemoda had been unfaithful to him. But what caused Othello’s quickness to believe? How was this not cleared up? Multiple factors contributed to this tragedy. One of these is the huge amount of jealousy throughout the play, which motivate the characters to complete their actions.
In Othello, jealousy takes many forms, from warfare competition to sexual and emotional distrust, but each case ended in destruction. Iago used jealousy as a weapon against each character for his own narcissistic means; however, his efforts were futile. All of the intricate planning and deception that Iago enacted backfired. Although each character’s blind love made him oblivious to Iago’s deceit and allowed him to succumb to jealousy, Iago’s plans were flawed. By the end of the play all of Iago’s lies begin to unravel and his strategy to obtain power is clearly visible. Not only did Iago’s scheme miscarry and lead to the annihilation of Roderigo, Desdemona, Emilia, and Othello, it led to his own torture until death as well as ironically to Cassio’s promotion to the governor of Venice.
Some traits of a jealous person are insecure, overly attached, spying, and low-self esteem. Othello’s jealousy started when he believed Iago’s lies about his wife infidelity. Iago’s claim became stronger when Othello found out his wife doesn’t have the handkerchief that symbolized their love. Iago exhibits jealousy in the play. Iago was jealous of Cassio’s rank as lieutenant. Roderigo was jealous of Othello’s union with Desdemona. Othello’s jealousy was based on false information. Iago’s jealousy was based on the desired job position and Roderigo’s jealousy was based upon his love for Desdemona. As human beings, I think it is almost impossible to avoid jealousy, but a person can overcome it. It is part of the human nature feel jealous, but
Jealousy is such an emotion that every human faces once in their life. It often arises when someone wishes to have something someone else does or want to be like someone else because of which many peoples’ personality changes. Jealousy is a corrosive emotion that deteriorates not only one’s character, health, and relationship but it also causes extreme irrationality which can lead to death. This shows that envy/jealousy is more volatile than most people presume and therefore should be prevented whenever possible.
Othello's Jealousy in William Shakespeare's Othello In Shakespeare's Othello we are introduced into a web of a world entangled with lies, jealousy, and ultimately tragedy. We observe as Iago single handedly destroys the matrimony shared between Othello and the beautiful Desdemona. He does so with a flurry of deceit and trickery, playing upon one of the strongest human emotions, that of jealousy. Iago offers a story of betrayal to his master Othello, which ensnares his soul in a jealous rage of infidelity and honesty. Iago convinces his master that his beloved wife, Desdemona, is false in her virtue and with his right hand man Cassio nonetheless.
Jealousy was what ultimately destroyed Othello. Othello said “Why, why is this? If Othello did not possess these traits, the drama would have ended completely differently. Othello let himself believe everything Iago told him, if he chose to trust his wife the whole conflict would have been averted.
The critic Roland Barthes once said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” William Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, can be used to exemplify this quote. One of the themes that Shakespeare discusses in Othello is: the effect jealousy has on people. Several of the characters become jealous over the course of the tragedy. Brabantio became jealous because Desdemona fell in love and married Othello. Roderigo became jealous because Desdemona didn’t fall in love with him. Bianca became jealous because she thought that Cassio was cheating on her with another woman. Othello became jealous because he thought Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio. Iago became jealous because Othello gave Cassio the position of lieutenant. These characters’
Othello is one of the main characters of this tragedy by Shakespeare. At the start of the play, Othello is thought of as an outsider. He is black and is from Africa, and is inevitably singled out in an all-white community. But his ability to fight and be a leader makes him an ascent to the government. At the start of the play Othello is well known and well-liked and respected by his soldiers and the citizens of Venice. The jealousy of Othello from Iargo is very intense. iargo uses his abilities to manipulate people to get up on Othello. He is jealous of othello being married to Desdemona.
The role of jealousy, love and betrayal play a major role in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The entire play is based on the human interactions of the characters as related to Othello and Desdemona. The characters’ personalities, their social status, and their relationships to each other control the story line and their fate in the play. Othello is portrayed early in the play as an outsider with animalistic characteristics by Iago and Roderigo because of jealousy. “Your heart is burst; and have lost half of your soul/Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe”.(531) Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, accuses Othello of using witch craft on his daughter. “If she in chains of magic were not bound/ Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy/ So opposite to marriage that she shunned…” (535) This point is important because Othello must defend himself not only to Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, but to the entire Venetian Senate. “And till she come, as truly as to heaven,/ I do confess the vices of my blood./ So justly to your grave ears I’ll present/ How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love, / And she in mine.” (539) Othello proves himself to be an intellectual hero early in the play. He has worked hard to gain respectability and power, but because he has a different background, is from another country, is dark-skinned and is older than Desdemona, he becomes jealous very quickly of Cassio. Cassio is from the same social class, is compatible with Desdemona and is a young handsome man. Iago has also convinced Cassio to seek favor with Desdemo...
The tragedy of Othello is the story of jealousy. It is Othello's public insecurity that makes him jealous of Cassio and allows him to believe that Cassio has slept with Desdemona. Also, it is Iago's jealousy of Othello that drives him to destroy both Othello and Desdemona. What is fascinating about Shakespeare's Othello is the way in which jealousy between the major characters is sexualized. Perhaps what makes Othello so disturbing is how quickly this sexualized jealousy turns into hate. For Othello and Iago love becomes hate, and hate becomes love and the distinction between these two feelings is constantly being blurred.