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Critically comment on the theme of jealousy and love in Shakespeare's Othello
Theme and role of jealousy in othello
Theme and role of jealousy in othello
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Jealousy is a destructive emotion or feeling. Through the use of jealousy Shakespeare shows how it leads to death. Many real life incidents of death have been rooted in jealousy. whether it was sexual, wealth, relationships, or even just being who you are. Jealousy is something that has been dated back to as far as biblical times, but was first introduced to us in theatrical acts by Shakespeare. In Shakespeare’s play “Othello”, jealousy was the main cause that led to the character’s death. Othello was of great status in life. He was a general and held many defeats and great victories; but he was different from the others around because of his race and background. With that being said, he was looked at all the time and many feared he was a jealous person.The main character had a very strong jealous strike that ran very deep. It …show more content…
Sometimes people can become jealous through believing rumors and lies even if they have no first hand evidence of the issue. Jealousy blinds people to the truth and plays mind games with them. For example, if a female has heard rumors of her spouse cheating or having relations with another female, the only image she can see is him with her. Although people are often jealous of others’ status and wealth, they do not understand what it took to get there. Jealousy begins to consume the mind.
Jealousy can take over who we are and our character. At some point in life, we have been jealous. It can start out so small and become into something so big and dangerous. But has jealousy taken over, where it actually kills us and we become the jealousy or “the Green-Eyed Monster”? Jealousy can turn us inside out to the point of driving us crazy. Some people allow jealousy to consume them. We become something we are not and lose ourselves mentally. With this happening, it cause us to do reckless and deadly things. The mind becomes corrupt through the jealousy and it takes
“Oh beware my lord of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on - William Shakespeare. Shakespeare proposes that jealousy is the one thing that destroys the person’s life on which it feeds. In Morley Callaghan’s “Watching and Waiting” the protagonist, Mr.Hillard, is a skeptical young man who is jealous of the men his wife spends time with, and so tends to spy on her. Eventually, his jealousy reaches such an extent that he sneakingly enters his own house, and his wife mistaking him for a stranger kills him. Thus showing how “jealousy mock[s] the meat on which it feeds” as in this case jealousy symbolically mocked Mr.Hillard’s life. Morley Callaghan’s “Watching and Waiting”
But some people want others to be jealous on purpose; Baxter and Wilmot describe this as a “secret test.” One of this Secret tests is the Triangle Test, “This strategy is indented to test the partner’s commitment to the relationship by creating three-person triangles” (p. 91) as explained by Guerrero, Andersen and Afifi (2014) in Close Encounters. The jealousy test, which is an example of a Triangle Test, is the act of flirting with someone else to see how the partner responds. In a relationship, each individual want to feel appreciated and to assess this appreciation both men and women might want to set up an image in their partner’s mind that they have a rival. Even though there is no real threat to the relationship the individual’s partner might feel threatened and decides to act on the situation. As Schützwohl (2007) says it in his article, “romantic jealousy is (a) aroused by a perceived threat to a valued romantic relationship generated by a real or imagined attraction between the partner and a (perhaps imaginary) rival and (b) motivates behavior aimed at countering the threat.” The behavior that emerges to counter the threat is what the partner causing the jealousy wants to see. This reaction not only shows affection but a sense of concern over a possible
The common thread of jealousy ties together the main plots in Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and The Winter's Tale. In each of these plays, the main conflict is centered around some form of jealousy. While jealousy is the mutual, most prominent cause for turmoil in these plays, its effects on the characters, and ultimately the plots, is different in each case. This difference has much to do with the way in which the concept of jealousy is woven into each play, and what it is intended to accomplish.
Shakespeare said it best in regards to the emotion of jealousy, it mocks the person it feeds on. Which means to me, you never win from being jealous. I have had the emotion of jealousy plenty of times just like every other person on this planet. You can be jealous of the nerdy girl because she knows everything, the loud person because
explains to us that from now on you have to take on jealousy as well.
...the other, and emotional scarring. My advice for coping with jealousy is that if you’re feeling jealous more than once a week, then the person you are with is probably not good for you. He or she may be intentionally making you jealous. If they are unaware that they are making you jealous, then calmly explain your feelings to your significant other and cite specific examples of times they made you feel jealous. Most importantly, though, don’t use a fighting tone when you talk to him or her. The talk will go much smoother if you remain calm throughout.
Jealousy is an emotion that many would experience in their lifetime. The trigger for the emotion jealousy differs for everyone but no doubt that people would experience this emotion a handful of times in their life. Many if not most people would develop jealousy during their time in a relationship regardless of the length of the relationship. Some researchers like Attridge (2013) consider jealousy a positive behavior because of the fear of losing one’s partner could mean the transition of one love style to another with an increase in one of the components. There are different types of jealousy (Miller,
When somebody abuses a great amount of power, that individual can lose all of their power. The struggle against someone who abuses power is perfectly depicted in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. When someone abuses their power, they can impose certain feelings and actions on others. If someone tries to conceal their personality. Finally, if someone abuses power and is constantly challenged by another individual who is trying to take the power abuser’s power away from them, the power abuser will always be frightened of his or her challenger.
A.C. Bradley describes Othello as "by far the most romantic figure among Shakespeare's heroes"(Shakespearean Tragedy, 1). This is an unusual description of a man who murders his own wife. However, Othello's feelings of hate for Desdemona started as an overwhelming love for her when their relationship began. This transformation from love to hate also inflicted the characters Iago and Roderigo and like Othello their hatred resulted in the murder of innocent people. Roderigo's love for Desdemona was transformed into hate towards any man that he thought was loved by her. Iago's love for his job and his wife, Emilia changed into a destructive hatred of Cassio and Othello. As a result of their hatred Cassio, Emilia, and at the end themselves were killed. The connection between love and hate in William Shakespeare's "Othello" is the ugly feeling of jealousy that caused such transformations. Jealousy can be described as a fear of losing something or someone that is valuable (Godfrey 2). As minor as this feeling appears to be by that definition, it can take on varying degrees of damaging behavior. Othello, Roderigo, and Iago became paralyzed by jealousy. Their thoughts, actions, and behaviors were ruled by it. Jealousy caused their inability to the act rationally. They became paranoid and unable to love. This paper will examine the jealousy that caused love to turn into hate for Roderigo, Othello, and Iago.
This unfortunate supply of power lands in the wrong hands as a result of the witch trials. And when power and jealousy mix, unfortunately those who hold the power use it in a myriad of hurtful ways.
Jealousy can sometimes be an inevitable feeling to have towards other people in relationships or even in friendships, and that feeling can negatively affect the bonds with these certain people. One of the main themes in Shakespeare’s Othello, was how friendships and marriages can be ruined all because of one person’s jealousy, which can ring true in real life.
In his sonnet, Shakespeare laments that even when we know that lust is dangerously irrational, most people cannot resist falling under its spell. Othello finds the same to be true about jealousy.... ... middle of paper ... ...
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...
This conclusively demonstrates that lust for power can drive people to do the cruelest things in order to capture it. Works Cited The Tragedy of Macbeth William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare’s Othello is a play about the downfall of the Moor of Venice induced by evil villain Iago. The characters are put into focus by their moral virtue, all except Iago because he is a Vice. The English Oxford Dictionary defines Vice as immoral or wicked behavior (OED). The motive of being passed over for a promotion is not enough to pin the cause of Iago’s wickedness. It is Othello who needs to be scrutinized, in terms of passion. Leo Africanus describes the Moor as honest, trusting, but jealous and given to passionate vengeful rage when wronged. (Vitkus, 161) This is extremely evident in Shakespeare’s play. Othello causes his own downfall being blinded by jealously. William Shakespeare’s use of jealousy and deception are partnered with the themes of appearance versus reality. Othello’s greatest conquest in this play is not Iago but his own vice, Jealousy.