Jealousy is a powerful emotion that can blind oneself from identifying the truth. Shakespeare heavily emphasizes this theme throughout the drama Othello, especially through the actions of characters. In the play the heinous antagonist, Iago, uses each character’s jealousy to deceive that person and manipulate the truth. His false promises and deceitfulness bring to the demise of many of the main characters in the play, including the protagonist, Othello. Othello could not have been deceived if it were not for his powerful jealousy. Therefore, Shakespeare is telling us that jealousy is an ugly trait that can hide the truth, which in turn causes many problems between characters in the play.
The play opens with Roderigo and Iago standing in a street in Venice, this is where Iago begins his mischievous plan. Roderigo has longed for Desdemona’s hand and has made the request for her hand to her father, Brabantio, but is repeatedly denied. News then comes in that Desdemona has run off with general Othello and was wed. Roderigo is outraged and Iago promises Roderigo that he will get Desdemona to be his wife soon enough, if all goes to plan (Meyers, 1187-1192).
Already, in Act I, the reader can see how Iago is playing to Rodrigo’s emotions in order to gain personal revenge on Othello. The reader can see that Iago will use Roderigo as a pawn in his plan; knowing Roderigo will do whatever he says. Iago’s reasons as to why he would offer to break up Othello and Desdemona’s marriage include that he is outraged that Othello promoted Casillo instead of him and that he has suspicions that Othello slept with his wife, Emilia (1203). This is the driving factor to Iago’s deceitful actions in the play.
In Act II of Othello the characters all travel ...
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...them even knowing. Iago doesn’t have to put forth much effort to manipulate Othello and act upon Othello being consumed by jealousy. Othello is now in this mindset that he thinks what Iago wants him to think, completely disregarding the truth and his own opinions. With very little evidence Othello is filled with jealousy.
From this point on, the characters each destroy themselves and each other over Iago’s lies. The reader can predict the disastrous unavoidable ending that is coming. It isn’t until the very end after jealousy is the weapon that kills Desdemona, Othello gives his last speech upon killing himself, and Emilia is murdered by her husband that everyone realizes what fools they all have been. The characters made each other victims of Iago’s plan. Jealousy is the emotion that overcame knowledge and truth leading to the demise of the characters in the play.
In the light of the various descriptions of an unstable person, Iago is a psychopath with his manipulative choice of words. He tells people things that they want to hear and he says it in a manner that makes him appear exceptional. “ I humbly do beseech you of your pardon, For too much loving you.” (3.3.106) In act three, Iago pretends to be Othello’s confidant, and he wants Othello to suspect his wife is having an affair. Iago has a pseudo relationship with Othello the entire duration of the play.
Throughout Othello the Moor of Venice we experience a rather uplifting story that seems to somehow come crashing down on not only the characters in the story but the reader also. Author William Shakespeare does a tremendous job at connecting us with the characters in the play. Othello, the protagonist in the play, falls slowly into the pit of destruction where jealousy takes control. He along with many other characters in the play are manipulated by Iago and slowly taken down from a peaceful, love filled, and triumphant place in their lives to one that is dark and revengeful. Many are led to their deaths because of the terrible deeds done by Iago, some of which include Othello himself who commits suicide only after murdering his new wife over nothing but the mindset of jealousy and hate. Shakespeare explores a vast amount of literary content here some of which delve into Jealousy. Jealousy alongside intense deceitful manipulation can introduce a person to another sinister side of themselves they never knew to existed. Iago 's ultimate goal in the play is not yet clearly laid out; there is much to
In Honest Iago, Abernathy states that “in the construction of the play two leading motives are employed- Iago’s mendacity and Othello’s credulity, and these motives are inseparably connected, forming a single stream of influence from which flow all the action and all the passion of the plot” which accurately describes how their relationship is the fuel to the story. The story immediately starts with word of Othello and Iago’s interest being sparked when hearing word of the Moor which further proves the point that Othello remains a focal point. Given the fact that Desdemona was the love of Roderigo, Iago immediately set out to find out what Othellos intentions really were. In the beginning, Othello stated his doubts about Iago in the means of military ability, being that he already had a certainty of Cassio’s, but once Iago compromises a
...race, beauty and status put her on a pedestal like a goddess allowing him to idolize her and therefore never truly deserve her. Beneath his noble persona on display for all to see, the idealistic view of his wife, leads him to believe that she will never be able to fully reciprocate the love he has for her. Iago’s exploitative tactics used for revenge trigger Othello’s fatal insecurities to surface for the ultimately climactic ending in which he smothers Desdemona with a pillow before discovering “honest” Iago had been deceiving him, as well as the majority of the other characters, the entire time. Outraged, Othello attempts to stab Iago as revenge for being manipulated into killing his beloved wife, however when his hasty murder attempt fails, the heartbroken and worn-out man stabs himself next to the already dead Desdemona, whom he never believed he was worthy of.
In the play Othello, there are many jealous and selfish characters. Each of the characters at one point or another let their jealousy take over. It seems like they all have these plots and plans on how to hurt another character in the play either physically or emotionally, as an act of selfishness, so that they can feel better about themselves. One main character who seems extremely jealous in this play is Iago. Infact, probably the most jealous. Many bad things happen because of Iago. The first bad thing that Iago did, was tell Barbantio (Desdamona's father) that Desdemona has married Othello, the Moore. Iago was mad at Othello, because Cassio had made Othello a higher position and not Iago. Iago thought that he was the one who qualified for the position as general, not Othello. Iago was jealous because of this, so he decided to tell Barbantio about Desdemona and Othello. This was bad, because Barbantio did not know yet, and something like that should have been said by his own daughter, not someone who was not part of the family. The way Iago went about telling him was also bad. He called to his house in the middle of the night. He yelled it to Barbantio from downstairs into his window in a rude manner. " quote from Othello here." He wanted Barbantio to be upset about what had happened, and most of all, he wanted Barbantio to be mad at Othello and do something bad to him.
Iago does not only serve as the antagonist in this play, but he also is the vehicle by which the play progresses. They play in the beginning did not have much action in it because Iago was still deciding as to how he would kill Othello. Then, as his plan develops the play also progresses. He forces characters into taking actions they never would have normally considered and all the while he just sits back and maintains his innocent smile and trusting façade. And that "is how a villain is defined." A villain "can alter those actions around them without them knowing it." (Campbell 116). We saw Iago do that on several occasions. For example he was able to convince Roderigo to give him money and to try growing a beard. He also convinced Othello into thinking that Casio was an irresponsible drunk, and he convinced Desdemona into thinking he was going to do everything he could to patch things up with her and Othello. While all he was actually doing was just trying to keep Roderigo busy so he would stay out of the picture. And then with Othello he was turning friend against friend, and with Desdemona it was lover against lover. And all the while these people thought he had their best interest in mind.
“Othello”, by William Shakespeare, is a story of jealousy’s potential to manipulate thoughts and eventually lead to ultimate demise. The key to extremely detrimental jealousy lies within one’s ability to recognize it or deny it. It seems that the important theme of “Othello” is that if jealousy is not recognized and immediately dealt with, it receives a head start to commence the process of rotting away all normal human reason. Othello’s speech in Act III scene iii beginning with line 178 is the first and most important indicator of the trouble ominously looming on Othello’s horizon. His immediate response to Iago’s accusations is that of total denial. By depriving himself of that initial venting process, Othello gives his jealousy the perfect culture on which his jealousy can turn cancerous and grow out of control. Othello does not spit out the seed that Iago has planted within himself soon enough and thus lets Iago water it with smooth speech until its roots spread and cannot be uprooted. The only way to appropriately illustrate this point is through an in depth analysis of specific text from the play.
Iago plans to revenge Othello for not choosing him to become lieutenant, and knowing that Othello is easily deceived makes it easier for Iago to manipulate him. Iago’s revenge did not only start because he was not chosen to be lieutenant, but also because Iago had suspicions that Othello was with Emilia, his wife. “I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets’ Has done my office. I know not if’t be true, But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, Will do as if for surety” (Shakespeare 55). Iago, earlier mentions his hate for Othello for not choosing him to be lieutenant, but now he suspects Othello is sleeping with his wife. Iago does not care if his suspicions are true, he will act as if it is true. With or without evidence Iago will find a way to control Othello because he knows he is too naïve. “After some time, to abuse Othello’s ear That he is too familiar with his wife. He hath a person and a smooth dispose To be suspected, framed to make women false. The Moor is of a free and open nature That thinks men honest that but...
The beginning of the play starts when Iago and Roderigo were discussing about their plan of Iago wants to be second-in-command and Roderigo wants to make love with Desdemona. Next, they went into a dispute with Desdemona’s father about Othello marrying Desdemona. When, Othello marry Desdemona, Iago first plan was to get Cassio lose his job by getting drunk and into a fight. Afterwards, Desdemona tries to convince to Othello about giving Cassio’s job back. Then, Iago gets Desdemona, Othello, Cassio, and Bianca stuck in a situation about who are cheating on what, the handkerchief and Cassio’s job. Later on, Iago got in trouble of the evidence that reveal everything that actually happen in the play. Lastly, Othello killed himself, Iago receives imprisonment with torture, Emilia dies later and Cassio became the governor of Cyprus.
Towards the tail-end of the play, Roderigo, fed up with Iago’s counsel and frustrated by his lack of personal progress, approaches him with the intention of severing all ties. Iago, though, manages to maintain a leash over of him by playing on his jealous desire for Desdemona, promising him that he will have her in love in the coming days. This proves to be enough for him to convince Roderigo stay, and he resumes his manipulation. Despite his strong affinity for Othello’s wife, any romantic progress is halted due to Iago’s persistent interventions; he knows that merely mentioning the potential for a relationship between the two is enough to persuade him to do his bidding. While this seems desirable to Roderigo, in actuality, Iago is using his imaginative fantasies against him, and preventing any real advances in his journey for Desdemona, effectively destroying any possibility of this
Iago begins the play with a deep envy for Othello, and only deepens as the play continues. Iago’s jealousy for Othello begins with Emilia, and the rumor that they were romantically involved. Iago exclaimed in his soliloquy"I hate the Moor/ And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets he has done my office/ I know not if't be true;/ But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety”(1.3.12). In this soliloquy Iago explains what budded his jealousy of Othello. Iago’s mere suspicion was enough to engross such powerful feelings of envy. Iago also displayed how easily envy can take a hold of person, and drive them to do to extreme things. Just the slightest doubt created immense envy in Iago, and he wants to make Othello suffer by experiencing the same emotion. Iago knows that in order for his plan to work he must plant...
In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Othello, the power of jealousy rips relationships apart and destroys the peace amongst a once pleasant society. The principle character for the aggravation of the other characters is Iago. Iago is angry at Othello for not appointing him as his lieutenant and refuses to let it go. For selfish reasons, Iago plots an evil schemes of revenge towards Othello by making him, and everyone necessary to bring Othello down.
Jealousy can come from someone else having what you do not have. In the case this play provides, Roderigo is jealous of Othello for the wife he has (Desdemona). Roderigo notices that he cannot change Desdemona’s feelings towards Othello; he finds them being together as torture and would rather drown himself than be alive to watch someone he cannot have (I.i.350-353). Roderigo’s jealousy
I will talk about the five main characters of this play and they are all encased in jealousy in their own way. They are: Iago (the antagonist), Emilia, Bianca, Roderigo and Othello (the protagonist), who all display their sense of jealousy throughout the play. They all find different ways to sustain themselves. Iago enunciates his jealousy at the beginning of the play. He decides to plot his revenge on those who he feels have done him wrong.
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello jealousy is paramount theme. The protagonist Othello’s powerful feelings of jealousy about an alleged relationship between his wife, Desdemona and, lieutenant Cassio drives much of the play’s action. Through an analysis of significant quotes that portrays jealousy, this essay seeks to show how overwhelming jealousy exhibited by characters such as Iago and Emilia reflects their motivations and values.