Vast numbers of Shakespeare’s works allude to a common theme of either love or lust. These themes, conveyed in the stories, are either ambiguous or blatant. Shakespeare presents such themes in countless works to generate a connection with his audience who have experienced what it means to love and to lust. Nevertheless, some plays epitomize these themes better than others do. Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice both provide comprehensive and flawless evidence of the themes of love and lust.
Love in Othello makes itself prominent in various ways. Desdemona honorably portrayed her love for Othello. When Desdemona was confronted about her marriage to Othello, she merely says that she will leave her father for Othello in the same way that her mother left her father for Brabantio (Rampone 71). Despite jeopardizing her kinship with her father, Desdemona courageously expressed her interminable love for Othello. Even when Othello beats and abuses Desdemona, she receives them willingly showing her unrequited love. Othello also conveys love to Desdemona, but his love becomes tainted by suspicion. The downfall of Othello’s love towards Desdemona results from Othello’s obsession to find ocular evidence that Desdemona and Cassio betrayed his trust by making him a cuckold (Rampone 73). When this insecurity arises, it terminates the pristine and unmarred love that Othello had with his wife and replaces it with resentment and fury toward Desdemona. Emilia shares similar traits as Desdemona when it comes to loving their spouse. She proved to be just as faithful as Desdemona since she did everything that Iago asked of her. Emilia stole Desdemona’s handkerchief, which Iago had begged her to steal on several occasions. Towards the end...
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...ney. Antonio’s generosity with his wealth inevitably causes Shylock to hold a long-standing grudge against him. From Shylock’s hatred, he plots the demise of Antonio through any means necessary. Since Antonio could not repay Shylock’s loan it, he ended up in front of the court of law. To make matters worse, Shylock nearly succeeded in taking a pound of flesh from Antonio.
Love and lust, the main themes of The Merchant and Venice and Othello, cannot be overlooked because they are the foundation that the plays are built upon. Both dramas consist of characters that genuinely express their passion and loyalty for one another. From this love and lust comes the resulting jealousy of the characters Roderigo and Iago in Othello and throughout The Merchant of Venice, characters depict their genuine love for each other, while certain characters only look out for themselves.
In one of Shakespeare’s most masterful pieces, he depicts a tragic love story in which love conquers all…but at what cost? The truth is in this play, love is the victor, but with horrible consequences. Love lives on, love survives, but only at the loss of life. Not only in this play, but in many other Shakespearean works, the constant theme stands that any kind of marriage or deep emotional bond which is solely based on love ends tragically. Othello’s passionate love for Desdemona is the same passion that causes him to end her life. Antony, under the suspicion that Cleopatra has died, tries to commit suicide to only find out soon after that she is alive and in hiding, but all in vain for the fatal wound has already pricked it’s victim. Shakespeare constantly relates love with tragedy, stating that love is in fact fleeting and impermanent. The only way for love to live forever is if it dies young.
Even before Iago exerts his influence over Othello, we can observe the inklings of Othello’s insecurity and the doubt he has regarding his relationship with Desdemona. During his audience with the Duke, Othello describes the circumstances by which he became acquainted with Desdemona. He says on the occasions that he told Brabantio of his life stories, he would also tell Desdemona the same stories. Then, Othello self-consciously proposes that the sole reason why Desdemona loves him is because she pitied his misfortunes: “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them” (I.iii.193-194). Othello feels way because as
In one of William Shakespeare’s most renowned and celebrated plays, the story of a General named Othello unravels in tragic form as he falls victim to the lies created by Iago. Once revered as a war hero and wed to the beautiful Desdemona, Othello’s life spirals downward with the untimely death of his beloved in his own hands, ultimately ending with his own demise. Love is the force behind this tragedy. Tragedy is the main driving force that brings happiness and tragedy to the characters within the play. But even as such a prominent force, it lacks clear definition. Love has a different meaning to the characters in the play. Characters like Othello, Desdemona, and Iago all have different perspectives on love, which informs their behavior in different ways.
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.
Othello is one of Shakespeare’s four pillars of great tragedies. Othello is unique in comparison to the others in that it focuses on the private lives of its primary characters. When researching the subject of Othello being an Aristotelian tragedy, there is debate among some critics and readers. Some claim that Shakespeare did not hold true to Aristotle’s model of tragedy, according to his definition in “Poetics,” which categorized Othello as a classic tragedy as opposed to traditional tragedy. Readers in the twenty-first century would regard Othello a psychological thriller; it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat creating the emotions of terror, heart break, and sympathy. This paper will focus on what Shakespeare actually intended regarding “Othello” and its Aristotelian influences.
Love is a force that can overtake large adversities and can stumble over small challenges. Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. Love is eternal, but can be deflected. Different forms of love are expressed by Othello, Desdemona, and Iago in Shakespeare’s play Othello. As a result of romantic love, Desdemona splits from her family, and Othello slays his wife. Next, familial love, not as dominant as romantic love, is evidenced in Desdemona's choice to marry Othello against her family's requests. Lastly, Self-love is the basis for characters such as Iago and Othello to abandon moral reason. Love comes in different forms.
In stark contrast to the dark and tragic "Othello," is one of Shakespeare’s lightest and funniest comedies, "Twelfth Night." The theme of love is presented in a highly comical manner. Shakespeare, however, once again proves himself a master by interweaving serious elements into humorous situations. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them.
Although many arguments could take place over the blame of Othello’s fate, the one murderer no one doubts is jealousy. Although Othello’s insecurities and “blindness” along with one of the most duplicitous villains in all of literature definitely catalyze the deaths at the conclusion of the play, in the end Othello must suffer the consequences manipulated or not. Despite the number of uninteresting characters in the play, Othello, the Moor of Venice contains one of the most intricate characters in any of Shakespeare’s plays, and will be discussed and intensely argued forever.
The Tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, is a play about a Moor of Venice and his downfall by deception and love. The themes of two-facedness, narcissism, and honor are all prominent in this play; the theme overarching these, however, is loyalty. Similar to a satirist, Shakespeare shows that the true nature of a person’s loyalty is not always as it appears. Othello’s loyalty to his own honor exposes his false loyalty to his wife. Iago, the antagonist, is deceptive in portraying himself as honest and committed to those he supposedly loves, but at the same time he plans their downfall. Honor, narcissism, and deception are each concepts Shakespeare uses to convey the ambiguity of loyalty in people.
The first love one may want to peer into in both Othello and King Lear is the Love one may hold for a significant other. This type of love is prevalent in Othello between Othello and Desdemona, and can be compared to King Lear through Goneril and Regan with their husbands and having Edmund thrown in the mix. Desdemona's love for Othello is made very clear right from the start when she goes to bat for him against her father. This is seen when her father was so upset that he brought charges upon Othello to try and revoke their vows. She gives reasons why her explanation of the reasons she loves Othello defines her essential character as a woman of loyalty and fidelity to him, and not simply to a picture of him gleaned from a story told by him (B. Long). Later on in the play Desdemona's loves continues to shine through until the very end when Othello has became so enraged he is over her about to take her life she pleas to keep through her reinstating her love for him. According to the critic B. Long this is not just a scapegoat to save her life but that she truly loves him in a very genuine way; one may have a hard time finding text to prove otherwise. If Desdemona's love for Othello was a subservient love, generated by seeing his facade in his mind and fueled by her delight in his honors and heroic parts, Othello's love towards Desdemona is rather different.
The main plotline of The Merchant of Venice sets up this underlying theme of homosexuality. Bassanio, a friend of Antonio’s, presents Antonio with a proposition. Bassanio asks that he enter into a contract with a rich man, Shylock, so that Bassanio may pursue his one true love. Antonio agrees to enter into a contract with Shylock. The terms of the contract are that Shylock will lend Antonio and Bassanio twenty thousand ducats as long as Antonio pays him back within three months. If Antonio fails to repay Shylock, Shylock is allowed to take a pound of flesh from Antonio. A...
From this point on, Othello insecurity manifests into a seemingly irrational fear of being cuckolded, and his self-perceived worth diminishes exponentially. Othello comments on the likelihood of Desdemona cheating, by explaining how it may be “for [he is] black / And have not those soft parts of conversation / That chamberers have…” (3.3.280-282) Othello’s frustration with the threat of being cuckolded puts strain on his relationship with Desdemona, and she quickly becomes a victim of domestic abuse. For example, Othello acts as an interrogator, demanding to see the handkerchief which he gave her that symbolizes faithfulness and commitment towards Othello. (Quotation) When she is unable to produce their symbol of trust, Othello’s anger manifests inside him. The audience is shown a stark contrast to Othello’s typically cool, collected and composted nature. This abrupt and irrational change in behaviour is emphasized when Othello strikes Desdemona in front of Lordovico, (4.1.245) Othello’s
The Impact of the Relationship between Othello, Iago and Cassio Upon the Themes of Othello
While they have arduous intentions, none of them ever defend themselves. Desdemona is a passive victim who lets Othello abuse her, Emilia allows herself to be abused by Iago, and Bianca lets Cassio take advantage of her. Desdemona demonstrates weakness in her love for Othello and by taking his abuse. At the beginning of the play, Desdemona feels she must accompany Othello to Cyprus in war.
This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment for flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing everything. While Shylock speaks with Salerio and Solanio, he demonstrates his frustration with the Christian people.