Iago is envious of Othello’s position of power, and the rumors that Emilia had an affair with Othello. Ultimately, Iago plans to destroy Othello by inciting him with envy, and to get Othello to turn on his wife.Iago’s paramount display of envy for Othello is in his soliloquy and also his conversations with Othello. Othello soon becomes overwhelmed with envy, and it is this envy that drives the play, and Iago’s plans. 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.
The former is the direct cause but the latter is the fuel behind his attack on Cassio. As in almost all tragedies, especially those of William Shakespeare, the tragic hero always runs into misfortune. The play Othello is no exception. Othello, Desdamona and Roderigo place trust in Iago which eventually lead to their deaths. It is known from reading the play that Iago is the one who manipulates all three of them.
In both Macbeth and Othello, Shakespeare uses his characters to exploit their counterparts to gain what they desire. They both disturb the natural order of things in the play and cause the downfall for all involved. They are both master manipulators who seek power they believe they deserve and will stop at nothing until their will is done. Shakespeare reveals how jealousy and ambition can be blinding and cause only destruction to all involved. Works Cited Shakespeare, William, and E. A. J. Honigmann.
[. . .] The issue of gender is especially noticeable in the final scenes of the play – with the attacks on Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona – which are vivid reminders of how terrible the power traditionally exerted by men over women can be. (xiii-xiv) Even the noble general yielded to the sexist remarks and insinuations of his ancient, thus developing a reprehensible attitude toward h... ... middle of paper ... ... Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine, ed.
Early histories are an interesting place to start a study of Shakespeare. With tragic and comic elements, Henry VI (all parts) and Richard III bend the arc of history. Richard III is particularly fascinating, due to how the title character attacks his enemies. Edward Berry, in Patterns of Decay, says that the play “explores the ‘self alone’ through movement from conquest to destruction.” (75) The characters of Richard III are complicated, and have tragic ends. By examining the title character in Shakespeare’s Richard III, it’s seen that Richard’s motivations, murders, and other actions lead to his ultimate demise as he descends into insanity at the hands of himself.
Macbeth Essay In Macbeth, Shakespeare confronts audiences with universal and powerful themes of ambition and evil along with its consequences. Shakespeare explores the powerful theme of the human mind’s decent into madness, audiences find this theme most confronting because of its universal relevance. His use of dramatic devices includes soliloquies, animal imagery, clear characterisation and dramatic language. Themes of ambition and mental instability are evident in Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s letter detailing the prophecies, Macbeth’s hallucinations of Banquo’s ghost and finally in the scene where Lady Macbeth is found sleep walking, tortured by her involvement. Ambition is an underlying theme throughout Macbeth, it is the tragic flaw in human kind, bound to lead to disaster.
There comes a passage in the play where he has to undergo intense passion, to make a choice. Such passages and incidents form the vital point in the play as through their tragic flaws the protagonists make the wrong decision and have t... ... middle of paper ... ...und in the plays. Because they have the license to openly criticize anyone, the fool makes ample use of the opportunity to lash out bitter truths at everybody and anybody he pleases. Touchstone of `As You Like It' is the wisest of all fools in Shakespearean comedy. Another example is of Sir John Falstaff.
Shakespeare does this to escalate Othello’s isolation from the rest of Venetian society and to display Othello’s vulnerability due to his color. In the tragedy not only is Othello susceptible to weaknesses but so is every major character . The tragedy reminds humans that even one’s good nature can be taken advantage of for the worse. The drama Othello expresses, through relationships and emotional attitudes, a theme that all humans are vulnerable to destruction even if they are in positions of power and glory. All the relationships in the play are used to demonstrate the vulnerability of people when involved personally with other people.
Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his friend Cassio. When Othello asks Iago for proof of Desdemona’s deceit, Iago describes scenes and events in which Othello has a reason to be jealous. In Act III, Scene I Iago is describing to Othello, Desdemona and Cassio’s imagined relationship, “It is impossible you should see this/ were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross as ignorance made drunk.” These images planted themselves inside Othello’s mind and haunted him until he did something about it. These images led to Othello believing Desdemona really did love
Compare the presentation of the themes obsession and control found in The Collector, Othello and The Picture of Dorian Gray Shakespeare employs obsession as a thematic device extensively in Othello with many characters exhibiting complexes which come into direct conflict with the fixations of others, highlighting the self-destructive and all-consuming nature of obsession. This is reinforced by the climax of the play, the deaths of Othello, Desdemona and Emilia and Iago’s subsequent arrest and torture. Similarly, Dorian Gray presents various forms of obsession such as lust, infatuation and narcissism which leads, in most cases, to the destruction of the characters who are swiftly overcome by their vices or refusal to recognise the truth. This is seen most obviously with Dorian himself, his conceit and desperation to conceal his true nature causes him to eventually kill his friend and painter of the titular picture, Basil, and ultimately himself. The Collector initially utilises a much more focused portrayal of obsession, Clegg’s infatuation with Miranda and subsequent winning of the Pools subverts the traditional trope that ‘power corrupts’, Clegg was fantasizing about Miranda before he gained power, the money merely provides the resources necessary to carry out his scheme.