Comparing Macbeth and Othello
A masterful playwright and poet named William Shakespeare in the Seventeenth century wrote both the tragedies Macbeth and Othello. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the idea of one character becoming both victim and villain is introduced. Macbeth falls prey to others’ deception, and is supplanted with greed and hate when three witches trick him. When told that he is going to be King of Scotland, Macbeth does whatever he can to insure his property. In Macbeth’s quest for power, he gains a flaw that ends in a deteriorated relationship with Lady Macbeth, and his eventual defeat. Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, written in 1604, is based on a tale that circulated in books at that time. Othello is one of Shakespeare’s most romantic heroes. Othello is solemn, self-controlled, and steeled by the experience of countless perils and hardships. Iago is very angry with Othello for not making him second in command. Therefore, he is dedicated to revenge. He nearly accomplishes his plan because of his power and uncanny ability to fabricate the truth. This untruthfulness leads to the death of his one and only love, Desdemona, as well as, bringing about his own demise. The similarities between these two men go far beyond coincidence; however, there are many points in the two men that are undisputedly different.
Macbeth is a brave man and once he puts his mind to gaining control of the throne, no one can stand in his way. However, like many seemingly confident men, Macbeth has someone pulling his strings, controlling his every move and decision. He is responsible for putting power into Lady Macbeth’s hands and letting her influence him. Macbeth allows himself to be manipulated into killing Dunca...
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... Succeeds in unknown fate (II, I, 190-194).
As noble and strong as Othello is, he is inexperienced in the affairs of the heart. This one flaw allows Iago to stir up jealousy and rage inside of him, which leads to his own untimely demise.
Othello and Macbeth were great in their own respects, yet flawed as well. While no man is perfect, for a person to commit the same acts as these two men would leave him scarred for life and longing for death’s sweet release. While both men were in the wrong, they immediately felt the pain and anguish of remorse, wanting nothing more than to take back what they had done. It is said that time heals all wounds, and that one can be forgiven for all their transgressions. Macbeth and Othello realized this as well; however, they could not forgive themselves for their indiscretions and both men came to know death by their own hands.
his face whereas in the BBC's we can see the top half of his body.
A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all.
Although most of Shakespeare's play " Mac Beth " is not historically accurate, MacBeth's life is the subject of the tragedy. There are characters and events that are based on true events and real persons but, Shakespeare's "MacBeth " differs significantly from history's MacBeth. The first example of a difference between the Shakespeare "MacBeth" and historical Mac Beth is the death of Duncan I. In Shakespeare's " Mac Beth ", Duncan I was murdered by MacBeth.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centred around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a noble and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very nave, gullible, and vulnerable.
In the play, Othello, written by William Shakespeare Iago is one of the most unique and interesting characters. Not only is Iago a main character, but he is also one of the most controversial, causing more drama and quarrels than any other character in the play. Shakespeare does a good job with the character of Iago by creating an atmosphere where Iago can keep the reader's attention on each and every individual scene throughout the entire play, as one tries to figure out Iago's true intentions. When reading the play it is easy for an individual to view Iago as an evil person who gets pleasure from malicious acts he inflicts upon others around him.
Macbeth: Shakespeare's Comparisons and Contrasts. Throughout Macbeth Shakespeare uses comparison and contrast to bring out characteristics of his main character, Macbeth. Shakespeare uses comparisons with Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo to bring out aspects of Macbeth's character. After hearing of Macbeth's courageousness on the battlefield, Duncan, a good and honest king, bestows the title of Cawdor on Macbeth.
While Macbeth is losing his morals, Lady Macbeth is developing hers. After Macbeth reveals his plot to kill Banquo, she is reluctant to add another murder to those already committed: “You must leave this”(3.3.40). In act three, another prophecy foretold by the witches comes true. The paradox “fair is foul and foul is fair” characterizes the changes the protagonists undergo in acts one, two, and three. Throughout the play, Macbeth, the “fair” one, becomes overcome by guilt and becomes “foul”.
In understanding the art form of expression in various ways like music and play writes, it brings together this sense of self identity that the artist wants to fulfill. Having this understanding about the life behind the scene, screen, and/or stage. My paper will present two art forms music by 50 cent “Many Men” and William Shakespeare play “Macbeth” in which I will describe similarities among the characters. My four categories for 50 cent and Macbeth are as follow Greed, Savage, Survivor and Success.
Both Othello and Iago have many different qualities but the ones that are the same are what proves the point of them not just simply being two sides of one coin. Othello had many weaknesses and Iago plays off every single one of them, the “hellish villain”(V, ii, 354) that Iago is killed every living ounce that was left in Othello, and once the truth came to the surface, Othello only wished he could awaken and “arise, black vengeance, from the hollow hell” (III, iii, 507). The fact that Iago had “ensnared [Othello’s] soul and body” (V, ii, 354) made Othello believe that “honesty’s a fool” (III, iii, 436) and his life was over.
Iago doesn’t show any remorse or regret for his actions. There is no way of knowing for sure what Iago was thinking or feeling at the end. That’s Othello’s weakness that Iago deems useful. Othello’s love turns into jealousy.
There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the antagonist and villain who causes all the trouble and disorder. Othello is the protagonist, and is the main person Iago’s destruction and revenge is aimed towards. Othello is naïve and gives everybody his trust even though he may not know them or they haven’t earned his trust yet. He often refers to Iago has “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289). Iago is so angry that Othello didn’t give him the promotion that was given to Cassio that he plans to seek revenge against Othello. He seeks his revenge against Othello by manipulating and lying to all of the people around him including his closest friend Roderigo, Cassio, Othello’s wife Desdemona and even his own wife Emilia. In the end, Iago’s lies and manipulation led to the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, Othello and Desdemona. This isn’t the first time many of these individual characteristics have shown up in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
His obsession with his wife was so strong that he could not help thinking about what she did with Cassio and the only way out was to kill her. In conclusion, the downfall of Othello was because of his own weaknesses. His traits were the reason why Othello was responsible for the play's tragic outcome. Iago was able to control Othello like a puppet because of his easily manipulated conscience. He chose to make the wrong decisions, trusting the wrong people.
In the play Othello and the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the main characters in both plays as warriors. Both characters in each of their plays, had constant outside voices seeping into their minds which ultimately contributed to the fate of both Othello and Macbeth. The witches in the play Macbeth had more of an effect of Macbeth’s actions then Iago had on Othello’s actions in the play Othello. Each character had a lot of pressure on them throughout the play however the witches influence on Macbeth resulted in more destruction than Iago’s influence on Othello.
Othello doesn’t realize Iago doesn’t care towards him and never did after Iago wasn’t promoted to lieutenant. Iago plays the as the main director of what happens in Othello’s life. Othello doesn’t realize it thought. Iago is able to hide his emotions towards others. Which allows Othello not to notice he is faking every emotion of helping Othello. Iago is always at ease when in the eyes of his peers. “He moves jovially and at ease among the gentlemen of Cyprus, even as he sets up Cassio for a drunken fall” (Barnes 15). This shows how committed Iago was to strike revenge against his foes. Only a psychopath could hide their feelings in front of the people you want to hurt. “Iago refuses to show the "outward action" which would "demonstrate / The native act and figure of [his] heart / In complement extern" (“Where Iago Lies” 19). Because of Iago, Othello creates his own anxiety. He has anxiety because he now worries that Desdemona may be cheating on him with Cassio. Iago creates Othello’s fear by twisting his words to have different meanings. “Iago: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy/ It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on” (Shakespeare 1816-1818). Iago is manipulating Othello into believing that Othello shouldn’t be jealous, which tricks Othello into being jealous. The green-eyed monster is another term for jealousy. It is Othello though that allows him to get trapped in anxiety. Iago exploits him to bring Othello to a tragic