Metaphor And Contradiction In Othello's Jealousy

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In Act V of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare utilizes metaphor and contradiction within Othello’s soliloquy to emphasize and illustrate the immense pain Othello feels because of the real antagonist of the work- jealousy. Othello is a naive character who is very protective of his wife. He becomes suspicious when Iago hints that Cassio and Desdemona have been sneaking around behind Othello’s back; subsequently, Othello is made a fool by Iago’s plot because he is overwhelmed by his jealous nature and cannot contain the contempt he feels after thinking he is betrayed. Once he is tricked, Othello feels the only way to accomplish justice is through murdering his wife and prevent “[Desdemona from betraying] more men” (V.ii.6). By murdering his wife, Othello feels he will end the injustice; however, while debating whether or not to commit the act, he quickly contradicts himself through the use of metaphor by referring to Desdemona’s life to a rose. …show more content…

His soliloquy of internal conflict highlights the role jealousy plays in the work because if Othello would speak to Desdemona instead of blindly accuse her, he would be spared from his pain. He would be able to avoid all of this turmoil if he did not focus on rumors and, in turn, acted out of reason instead of

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