William Shakespeare masterfully crafted Othello, the Moor of Venice as an Aristotelian tragedy play. The main protagonist of the play, Othello, is the perfect example of a tragic hero. Shakespeare was influenced by Aristotle’s concept of a tragic hero and used Aristotle’s principles to create Othello. William Shakespeare attempted to create an Aristotelian tragedy play with a tragic hero and succeeded in Othello, the Moor of Venice by weaving in pity and fear into each line and action. The power of pity and fear creates the upmost tragic situation and follows in accordance of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. Othello makes the ultimate act as a tragic hero by killing himself at the end of the play. “Othello, more than any play in the canon, has a fascinating and contentious performance and reception history,”
The handkerchief is a representation of different values to each character. Desdemona keeps it as a symbol of Othello’s love for her, as it was the first present she received from him. Because of Iago and his manipulation, Othello sees the it as Desdemona’s purity and devotion to him. Quickly, the symbol of a bond between husband and wife is taken by Iago and made into evidence of infidelity. Othello proclaims to Desdemona that a female prophet made the handkerchief using silk and “was dyed in mummy which the skillful conserved of maidens' hearts” (III.iv.65-66),
Iago had a planned conversation with Cassio in which Othello overhears. In reality, Iago was talking to Cassio about his relationship with Bianca. However, Iago says her name quietly so Othello thinks they are talking about Desdemona. He also has Othello’s handkerchief, which is enough for Othello to believe what Iago has told him to be true. Othello believes Iago, and quickly becomes extremely jealous. Iago then tells Othello, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (3.3. 165-67). This seems pretty ironic considering the jealousy that Iago holds. He’s warning Othello not be jealous, saying jealousy destroys whoever is taken over by it. Indeed Othello is taken over by jealousy. He becomes so enraged and hurt by Desdemona he throws reason out the window and will believe nothing but what he has heard from Iago. Othello orders Iago to kill Cassio, and Othello will kill Desdemona. After he kills Desdemona and seen that he has killed her unjustly, he comes back to his senses. He speaks calmly, and rationally, condemning himself for what he has done. Othello will execute himself and take his own life. This tragedy really shows how jealousy can take a toll on peoples lives and destroy the lives around
The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice was written by William Shakespeare, and it is only one of countless notable plays he wrote. A reoccurring theme in Othello is jealousy brought on usually by deception; throughout the play people often hide their true intentions and are not always what they appear to be like W.H Auden said “There 's always another story. There 's more than meets the eye.” The relationships Iago built on manipulation, lies, and false promises were a crucial part of the play; Iago was able to deceive other characters by twisting the situation so that characters like Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello misinterpreted what they saw. However, he was not the only one to put up a front in Othello; Emilia also put up a façade when
Dual Nature of Characters in Othello
Many of the characters in Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello are duplicitous to the extent that how
they are perceived in public is not how they behave in private. The perception of the public plays
a very important role in the play Othello. The character of Iago uses his public perception as an
honest man to deceive Othello and other characters in the play. The perception of the public
of Othello and Cassio played an important role in the play.
The Character of Othello
As the play progresses, Othello’s character goes through many changes
which happen as a result of him falling victim to Iago’s evil schemes.
At first he is introduced as an army general who is respected for what
he does but still discriminated against for being black.
Othello is a victim to racism throughout the play. He is often
referred to as “the Moor” even by his beloved Desdemona and is also
called by more offensive terms. Iago uses animal imagery in referring
to Othello as an “old black ram”.
I will talk about the he five main characters of this play and they are all encased with 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 them. Iago enunciates his jealousy in the beginning of the play. He decides to plot his revenge on those who he feels has done him wrong. The first two jealousies he expresses are of Cassio, because he keeps his job as a lieutenant and gets promoted. He feels this should be his job (e-notes 2011). The second is of Othello; he believes that Othello slept with Emilia (his wife). “It is thought aboard that ‘twixt my sheets” (I.iii.369-370). As he becomes fixed with revenge he speaks by saying, he will not be satisfied “’Til I am evened with him/wife for wife/ At least into jealousy so strong/ that judgment cannot cure (2.1.299-302). In the end Iago is forced to expose his actual nature.
The Character of Othello
Shakespeare's Othello is not simply a play which embodies the conflict between insider and outsider. The paradigm of otherness presented in this play is more complicated than the conclusion, "Othello is different; therefore, he is bad. " Othello's character is to be revered. He is a champion among warriors; an advisor among councilmen; a Moor among Venetians. Yes, Othello is a Moor, but within the initial configuration of the play, this fact is almost irrelevant.
My important theme that would relate to this book Othello is jealousy. I say that because a lot of people are jealous of each other but don’t tell them why. One example from the book is, Iago is jealous of Cassio’s position as lieutenant over him. Iago wanted that position so bad but Othello gave it to Cassio. To support this event here’s a quote from the book. “At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on the other grounds christian and heathen, must be-leed and calm’d by bediter and creditor, in good time Cassio must be lieutenant”. This quote supports the event because Iago hates Othello for giving Cassio his position. That’s jealousy. Another example is Iago starts to manipulate Othello and his wife, Desdemona. A quote is, “O, beware, my lord of jealousy;
One of the first instances of jealousy in the book is in Act 1 when Iago is passed up for an opportunity to be lieutenant and instead the job was given to Michael Cassio, Iago claims to hate Othello for this, saying how he has much more battle experience than Michael. (I.I. 21-34) Iago says “one Michael cassio, a florentine, A fellow almost damned in a fair wife, that never set a squadron in the field, nor