The world is a scandalous place filled with egocentric people to who will often make choices based on personal pleasure and beneficial needs. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, when not chosen for the higher titled position, the villain seeks revenge and manipulates others in scandalous acts to take over. Through characterization of the three main characters, Othello, Desdemona, and Iago, we realize that, lacking trust leads to a self-disrupting nature filled with betrayal, death, and suicide. Iago’s characterization was best described as one who is able to brainwash the ignorant and manipulate people to his advantage. He has the capability of picking up the grain of the truth and then twisting it. Mark Rose best describes Iago …show more content…
No other woman’s virtues could compare to Desdemona’s. She is the wife that that “even though…may not always understand, [will] always feel you, and feel with you (Parker 232). This devotion is so wholesome, that Iago the vilest of them all, cannot help to love. Her loyalty is so worthy that she even risks her relationship with her father for loyalty to her husband. Her father’s disapproval of the Moor causes her to remind her father that “Othello is her husband; and just like her mother showed to him, she will put her husband over her father’s beliefs” (1.3.183-186). Her pure judgment of others seeks to see the good in others so much that she becomes oblivious to Othello’s jealousy disputes. Her blindness of truth causes her to lose her life due to false accusations that Iago embedded in Othello’s head. Even while on her death bed, she refuses to admit to her friend Emilia that Othello is her murder. Desdemona is, “at once the property and an angel of selflessness… that looks forward to the bourgeois age and to its conception of women” (Rose.284). Her intentions are so pure that she blames herself for her own death, saying “a guiltless death I die” (5.2.125). Her love for Othello is so strong that she will not even point her finger at who actually killed her. She would rather blame herself for his doing’s, than being the wife who deceived her husband. Her devotion …show more content…
With blissful ignorance, he wishes he could go back in time. Othello’s “tragedy depends on culturally embedded notions of adulteration and pollution that are closely related to the ideas of disproportion and monstrosity by Iago” (Neill. 322). Iago’s poison’s ways trick Othello into believing that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. We soon begin to realize this is just another one of Iago’s selfish acts to get what he wants. His responses seem as if he doesn’t care as if she is cheating, but more wishes he never knew about it. He says that it would be better off if “pioneers and all, had tasted her sweet body”, then him knowing that his wife was cheating (3.3.345). He describes his wife’s “infidelity” as if, “had it placed in heaven to try him with affliction, had they rained all kinds of sores and shames on his bare head”; Death is more reassuring in life than dealing with his wife’s infidelity (4.2.47-49). It’s not the thing itself, but knowing about it is what’s horrible. Othello’s jealousy overpowers his love for Desdemona as he looks over her on her death bed and contemplates “why did I marry”. Desdemona is oblivious to Othello’s jealousy and believes her husband is the perfect guy. Just when you think Othello would come to his senses and realize this is one of Iago’s conniving behaviors, he kills his wife. He believes “she must die, or else she will betray
Othello has many positive traits, including being a great leader and loyal. He also has one negative trait that ultimately leads to his death; jealousy. Iago provokes deep, strong emotions in Othello, jealousy being the strongest. Jealousy is a nasty little emotion. It causes people to do terrible things because once it is on a person’s conscience, it stays for quite some time. Because of these effects, jealousy can impact some of the strongest people such as Othello. The love between Desdemona and Othello was portrayed so elevated and pure and was filled with religious words and phrases that just added to the strength and sanctity of their love. Othello has such a strong mind, but jealousy caused by the manipulation of Iago, negatively impacts him. Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his friend Cassio. When Othello asks Iago for proof of Desdemona’s deceit, Iago describes scenes and events in which Othello has a reason to be jealous. In Act III, Scene I Iago is describing to Othello, Desdemona and Cassio’s imagined relationship, “It is impossible you should see this/ were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross as ignorance made drunk.” These images planted themselves inside Othello’s mind and haunted him until he did something about it. These images led to Othello believing Desdemona really did love
Iago wanted Othello’s position and used others to shame Othello and gain stature. Iago dressed himself up a trustworthy man and worked his way into Othello’s trust with tricks and lies. He wore a very convincing mask; often temporarily defending the person he was trying to ruin to further his honest visage. He says to Othello, “Men should be what they seem…” (3.3.127) through these methods, Iago convinces Othello that Cassio, an officer, was having an affair with Othello’s beautiful wife Desdemona. As a vicious result, Othello is driven mad with anger and sadness and throttles Desdemona in their bed. The death and want left by Iago’s deception is vast hurting everyone involved most frequently on a mortal level. When the truth finally comes out, Othello, in his grief and remorse, ends up stabbing himself with a dagger. In the end, many die due to Iago’s deception, through villainy or despair, and none gain what they truly want because of it. This just goes to show that the mask of deception that a man wears can cause an unbelievable amount of harm, bodily and worse,
While Othello murdered his wife Desdemona, he did it purely from misunderstanding and jealousy. Iago made Othello believe Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio even though she never did such actions. Iago’s persistence and villainous intentions made Othello become jealous of Cassio and break down his emotions towards Desdemona and want to kill her with fierce rage. Othello would not do such a crime if he have known it is was a
In The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the “noble Moor” whose honor and innocence bring about his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this play Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othello’s embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding without any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal. He makes Othello believe that his new wife, the innocent Desdemona, is committing adultery with his newly promoted officer Michael Cassio. After this seed of jealousy has been planted, Othello’s mind takes its course in determining the true outcome, with a little more nudging from Iago. The course of action he proceeds to follow is one that not only ends his own life, but also the life of his wife and others. In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, Othello is a man who is still truly honorable, despite the course of action he takes to resolve his perceived problem.
Within the drama, “The Tragedy of Othello”, Othello maintains a vital role in the plot within Shakespeare’s writing. Othello held a prominent role in society as a general for Venice and was both physically and psychologically respected in his community. However, during the drama Othello makes an important decision by choosing to murder Desdemona even with no clear proof; this action would affect Othello greatly as the drama transpired. Throughout Shakespeare’s script, Othello is continuously manipulated by Iago which ultimately results in not only the death of Desdemona but also the death of Othello himself. All of his actions would play a part in the overall analyzation of Othello; a tragic hero.
Iago is often referred to as "honest" Iago. This is because he is hiding behind an "exterior of the plain soldier and blunt, practical man of the world . . . " ( Tragedies 19). "Iago is the exact opposite of whatever he appears to be . . . " ( Eagleton 69). Iago's mask has grown to his face and is irremovable" (Evans 117). When a person appears to be so honest yet is so deceitful it seems hard that the person would not be exposed for whom they really are. "Iago does not put his mask on after the action commences, he has presumably worn it from birth onwards- or at least from the start of his military career" (117). It also seems hard to believe that Iago does not eventually believe what he says. "Step by step, Iago falls into his own gap of being, changing as he hears himself plot, improvising a drama that must destroy the dramatist as well ...
Even on her death bed, Desdemona’s character of an inanimate object belonging to Othello is carried on. It is lead on by Emilia’s question of “who hath done this deed” (5.2.137) referring to Desdemona’s death and her reply, “Nobody. I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. Oh, farewell!”(5.2.138-139), overall putting the responsibility of her death upon herself. Leaving the readers impression of Desdemona as one filled with sympathy and rage against her unwillingness to fight her independence as well as against the men of this time period for not realizing the importance of such a woman.
Proof is something that all human beings seek. Without proving something in order for it to be valid we would have nothing to tell us when something is false. Everyday people use proof as a part of reason; it has been used to turn a hypothesis into a theory, a rumor into fact, without proof we would have nothing. There are many different ways to prove something, some more affective than others; having a person simply tell you something is true or false does not always do the job, but in simplistic matters it may be all they have to work with. More complex matters involve a type of proof that is the most concrete type of proof; ocular proof. Ocular proof exemplifies the saying “seeing is believing” by stating that something cannot be proven unless it is seen by the person wanting proof. If a person is relayed ocular proof, it is not ocular proof to them but becomes word of mouth either to confirm or falsify what one has thought. When one seeks ocular proof, it requires a sort of maneuvering depending on what they are trying to validate. In Othello's case, he wants ocular proof that his wife is having an affair with Cassio; which means he would have to catch them in bed together. Othello is convinced by Iago that Desdemona must being having an affair as he saw Cassio with her handkerchief. In order to make what Iago is saying true, Othello demands ocular proof. Othello gives Iago another option, telling him that he needs to see Desdemona and Cassio in the act, or it needs to be proven so there are no other possible explanations for the actions of his wife. This is a loop hole Iago has been given in order to further control how Othello sees things. Iago's sly and deceitful behavior and language lead Othell...
In Greek, Desdemona means ‘the unfortunate’, perhaps reflecting an ideology that she is not meant to be liked, merely pitied for her misfortune as a tragic victim (commonly defined as someone who dies due to the faults of others). Throughout Othello, Desdemona is presented as pure and innocent – in regards to this, Auden’s comment is unusual as Desdemona is seldom criticised; indeed many critics are complementary, giving her titles such as ‘gentle Desdemona’.
That’s Othello’s weakness that Iago deems as useful. Othello’s love turns to jealousy. The question is how sympatric is Othello to the reader. Othello feels betrayed. But Othello loses his look of a gullible, good guy when he decides he wants Cassio and Desdemona dead. The rage of his jealousy turns the character of Othello the readers know on its head and creates a different look. Only during and after the death of Desdemona can the reader see the good that was once in him. Othello shows regret and kind of a sense of torment. Clearly parts of him doesn’t want this to happen. And after the death of Desdemona he sees the misplaced change and rage he had. When Othello hears of Iago’s disseat he changes back to the good Othello that was present in the start of the play. He might be filled with regret and a new rage for Iago, but is morals seem solid
Moreover, Othello experiences betrayal through his friend ‘honest’ Iago. Iago manipulates his trusting and rash nature by leading him to believe that his wife is cheating on him. Othello clearly puts much faith in Iago, even making him lieutenant as a reward for this ‘loyalty’: “For the fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant” (3.3.170). However, this faith is misplaced, as Iago continuously conspires against him. Iago’s manipulation causes Othello’s emotional grief, believing Desdemona has betrayed the holiness of their marriage, causing him fits of rage and seizures. Moreover, due to Iago’s deceit, Othello betrays his wife, murdering Desdemona as ‘punishment’ for her apparent betrayal. “Sweet soul, take heed, / Take heed of perjury; thou art on thy deathbed” (5.2.61-62). In reality,
In Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the reader is shown an illustration of how someone manages the ability to corrupt others vulnerability and the aftereffect resulting from this type of behavior. The personality of Iago, the merciless adversary within the mishap of the play, influenced disorder, dishonesty, and trickery. Iago alone is the root of every evil issue that happens within the play. By doing what he does best, he utilizes his ability to mislead people by demonstrating a doubtless authentic outer appearance. By doing this, it gives him the power to implant trustworthy thoughts inside of the surrounding people.
Othello being very easily manipulated led him to make choices that would later on kill his wife and even kill himself. Othello having poor judgment lead him to trust the wrong people and this tied to him making the wrong decisions. His jealousy and obsession with Desdemona was what lead him to kill her. If Othello did not possess these traits the drama would have ended completely different. Othello let himself believe everything Iago told him, if he chose to trust his wife the whole conflict would have been averted. His obsession with his wife was so strong that he could not help think about what she did with Cassio and the only way out was to kill her.
When evil conceives the good, most schemes are successful but each differently and its own way. Some could represent evil at an advanced diabolical scheme, but some may be as simple as a neighbor, classmate, someone in the community, or even worse; a friend. In the play Othello, the simple ancient, Iago is very successful at his influencing schemes. Iago provokes his evilness by retrieving trust and appear as an honest, loving person. Without the knowledge of the nature of good, Iago will not be successful in mastering schemes of nature of evil. Each point is explored further into Iago’s manipulation schemes and will analyze the nature of evil portrayed throughout the play.
"I follow him to serve my turn upon him," said Iago (9:45). From the beginning of the story Iago has a cruel intent bent on destroying Othello merely because the job that he sought after was given to young Cassio. Exactly why his hatred burns so bright is unclear because it was not uncommon to lose a position to another soldier. With or without reasonable justification for revenge, Iago immediately starts to tear Othello apart by informing Brabantio (Desdemon's father, Othello;s wife) that she is out with a black ram and committing unjust acts. As time progresses Iago becomes more wrapped up in his lies that he even begins to believe that Othello has slept with his own wife, Emelia, and now he has even more reason to hate "the Moor", "I hate the Moor and it is thought abroad that `twixt my sheets `has done my office"( 55:429-431). Iago is so obsessed with his revenge on Othello that he does not care what happens to anyone else so long as he is happy. In the process of hurting Othello he manages to have Roderigo killed, Cassio severely injured, his own wife Emelia is slain by his own hands, Desdemona dies at the hands of her husband Othello, and after everything Othello kills himself. Sadly Iago accomplishes his revenge but with so many casualties and then he himself is tortured and killed for his part in the great conspiracy, but before he is punished he has to see that Cassio will be the one to take Othello's place (a strange irony since it was Cassio that Iago was jealous of).