Jealously, Often this trait takes people over, controls their thoughts and persuades them
to do stupid things. William Shakespeare portrayed this flaw extremly well in the play Othello. IN
the play, Othello, is a character who seems almost perfect, but his flaw jealousy is brought out
but his trusted companion Iago. This trait makes Othello the tragic hero due to the fact that he
sacrifices his life in good name.
When being accused of “witchcraft” by Barbantio ( Desdemonas father) and senators he
remains in control and courageous.
“ Most potent, grave, and reverend signors....
Rude I am in speech
And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace”
(1.3.91-97)
This is an example of how he loves Desdemona truly . He explains this with style, control,
courage, and grace. Also in (1.3.47) it is showed that he is respected “Here comes Barbantio and
the valiant Moor.”
Iago’s plot to ruin Othello starts to show up in the very beginning of the book when he
angers Barbantio with the news of the Moors marriage to Desdemona ( Barbantios daughter).
“ I am one,sir, who comes to tell you, your daughter and the Moor are making the beast with two
backs.”(1.1.128-131) This news angers Barbantio very much because he was not infromed of his
daughters courtship to Othello and feels betrayed by Desdemona. Also he does not like the fact
that Othello is of different race than he is. Another quote that shows Iago wants to ruin Othello is
in Act 1 scene 1 line(s)4-42 “[S’blood,]but you’ll not hear me ....To love the Moor”.This quote
shows Iagos hatred for Othello because he appointed Michael Cassio as his ancient and no...
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...at he had killed his love. Iago winds up killing Emelia because she told
Othello the truth about the handkerchief. Since Othello tires to kill Iago, but fails, he kills
himself. Iago winds up going to jail to be tortured. Othello paid the ultimate price. His life.
In conclusion Othello is the tragic hero because he was essentially perfect, except for his
major flaw. Jealousy. This flaw eventually leads to his downfall, the killing of his faithful wife(
contradictory to what he thought) and himself. This play should open everyones eyes about
trusting people and having facts before you jump to conclusions. Remember jealousy is the
green eyed monster that causes everyone you love pain and suffering.
“O, Beware, my lord, of jealousy
It is the green eyed monster wich doth mock
The meat it feeds on”
(Iago.3.3.194-196)
of choosing him to be his lieutenant, Othello chose Cassio. In the end of scene,
When the concept of murder is brought, it is thought of weapons being used for reasons such as crime and for justice. Nevertheless, what if a particular attribute exhibited by someone ends up being the root cause of somebody’s death? No doubt, Iago is a devious character who would get away with about anything to fulfill his obligation into acquiring a higher position of authority. The overall concept of the play can be perplexing to the reader when it comes to who is to blame for the death of several major characters – Othello’s inability to control his emotions or take other people’s feelings into account leads to death of his beloved with and himself; none of this wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for Iago who made this plan in the first place.
Shakespearian tales always leave us with a plethora to ponder about the Elizabethan age and Shakespeare himself. “Othello” is no break in this mold, leaving us to ponder the roll of Iago within the harsh tale of love and murder. Iago is the one to tell Othello of his wife’s betrayal with Cassio, hence making up a story that will work to his favor yet betray those around him. Iago betrays his wife, Emilia, but not only her as he drags Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio into the mix of lies and the hatred he is spreading to improve his rank with Othello. But were Iago’s acts unjust and done for the sake of it? Is he a heartless man who’s only happiness is to bring sorrow upon others? No, Iago has a just reason for what he does, even though he causes the deaths of Cassio, Emilia, and Desdemona in his search for revenge; Iago is not a heartless fiend, just a man wronged.
Iago plants the handkerchief on Cassio. Convinced of Desdemona’s infidelity, Othello smothers his beloved wife in their marriage bed. Emilia then proves Iago’s guilt and Desdemona’s innocence to Othello. Othello stabs Iago, who is under arrest, but fails to kill him and commits suicide.
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.
We see Iago beginning his plans at the very start of the play. “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at, I am not what I am.”(Oth 1:1:64-65) He immediately tries to start trouble with Brabantio and Othello over the marriage to Desdemona. Iago want to get in Othello’s way because he was passed over for general and Cassio was chosen instead. We see from the start how he plots against Othello and he involves several characters in his plans.
Of Shakespeare’s five greatest tragedies, Othello is by far the most passionate and gripping. It is a tale of love, deception, evil, honesty, and virtue. Othello himself is set apart from other Shakespearean tragic heroes by the absolute feeling of affection the audience feels for him even unto the very end of the play. Any discerning reader painfully recognizes the virtue and goodness of Othello throughout the entire play, in contrast to the general degeneration of character so typical of a tragic hero. It is this complete pity that makes the death of Othello so tragic as the audience lends their full hopeful support until the inevitable and unavoidable fall. The evil side of Othello’s tragic flaw came from without, in the form of Iago. The internal flaw exists only in his heartrendingly unshakable goodness and honor.
The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.
In society there are always people who are easily manipulated and possess poor judgment. This leads them to make wrong decisions and negatively affect their lives and the lives of the people around them. The reason for Othello’s tragic downfall was because of his poor judgement, his easily manipulated conscience and his jealousy and obsession with. These traits displayed why Othello was responsible for the play’s tragic outcome.
Conclusively, it is evident that in this Shakespearean tragedy, Othello’s downfall comes to be due weakness in his character, which comes into existence due to his major character flaws. Through his poor judgement, Othello can not figure out who is trustworthy and who he should find as not being loyal. Furthermore, jealousy overpowers Othello and his mindset, which fills him with thoughts of anger and hate. Likewise, Othello’s insecurity is a major flaw that bewilders him and causes him to be very distraught. Thus, with these points, it is unmistakeable that Othello faces a set of character flaws, that when found alongside each other, are almost impossible to overcome, which in the end lead to the tragic downfall and death of Othello in the end of this play.
The presence of certain literary elements creates a more dramatic and realistic image for the readers throughout the piece. William Shakespeare included literary elements in The Tragedy of Othello to bring the story line to life. Throughout the tragedy, Shakespeare used the elements of theme, dramatic irony, and symbolism along with many others. These three literary elements are significant because they help readers fully understand the complexity of the plot. The theme of jealousy, the dramatic irony, and the symbolism throughout the tragedy create the thrilling atmosphere readers experience.
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...
Shakespeare uses Iago and Othello as the main characters of the play, showing how Iago manipulates Othello into believing his wife is cheating on him. Iago, or “honest Iago”, the villain of the play, a perfectionist at manipulation, that manages to influence people into thinking his deceitfulness is an act of honesty. He spends all of his time plotting against Othello and Desdemona, eventually convincing Othello that his wife has been cheating, despite the fact that Desdemona has been completely faithful. Othello, Venice’s most competent general, and the protagonist of the play. He was a noble and respected war hero, and a loving husband, however he was the target of Iago’s atrocities, which lead him to become an irrational, violent, and insanely jealous husband who murders his own wife at the end of the play.
Othello had the right idea in a lot of things in his life, but if you have tragic flaws like he did, he was doomed from the beginning. Iago may have had the last laugh, and orchestrated the madness, but in all honestly Othello was truly to blame because he was weak, controlled by jealousy, was an easy target, and eventually let Iago have complete control of him. Common sense should have saved the day, but Othello seemed to be lacking this critically. All in all, Othello was truly to blame for his own demise , his own destruction. He caused his own death, and well now, he isn’t coming back. This is a prime example of, “Think before you act.” Use your brain or your brain will use you.
Of the 38 plays Shakespeare has produced over his lifetime, his tragedies are the most heart-wrenching, horrifying productions the theater has ever seen. In these tragedies, there are gruesome ideas such as lethal love, megalomania, and the absolute corruption of heroes that were originally considered to be wholesome. The latter theme can especially be seen in the play Othello. In this tragedy, there is an ongoing theme of corruption in a considerable amount of characters in the play, the most significant change being in Othello. Othello undergoes a shocking transformation, as he starts off as the storybook hero, a reputable soldier who illustrates great passion towards his wife, but transforms to become a twisted