“Othello” by William Shakespeare is a classic tragedy in which Othello the protagonist is exploited using his flaws by the clever antagonist of the play ‘Iago’. Othello’s jealousy and credulousness had caused him to be exploited which caused him to change essentially impacting everyone around him, physically and emotionally.
Iago is telling Othello not to think about what he has said and is trying to warn him about jealousy.
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on; That cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; But, O, what damned minutes tells he o'er Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!
One of the major themes of Othello, which is jealousy, is referred to particularly by Iago. The phrase ‘green-eyed monster’ symbolises Othello’s dark thoughts, his jealousy and his feelings. The monster is constantly knowing away at Othello so that he cannot be at peace. Iago tempts Othello to jump from suspicion to anger without any actual proof. Iago is subtly instilling thoughts of Desdemona that she is unfaithful, due to Othello’s credulousness he believes every word of Iago, this will be the start of Othello’s downfall into anger and rage all due to those t...
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...nts to be remembered as someone who loved too much and was not wise about it, someone who was not easily jealous but was jealous when tricked and manipulated. He compares himself to an indian who wouldn’t have known what the jewel was worth and threw it away. His last speech is full of heroic language and it also shows Othello’s flawed perception of himself. He thinks of himself as not easily jealous but that was the reason he had killed his wife. The jealousy building up in Othello had been finally released and more or less impacted everyone around him.
In conclusion Shakespeare effectively creates a character with major flaws, jealousy and credulousness both contributing to the collapse of Othello, the jealousy had taken over him completely and the reason for the jealousy had come due to credulousness and this had grave consequences, many were killed due to it.
The truth comes out after Othello has murdered his wife and before he kills himself he says, “must you speak of one that loved not wisely, but too well.” (Shakespeare 360), meaning that he wants to be described as someone who loved too much, but who was not wise. His jealousy and fear of ruining his reputation after murdering Desdemona lies within his final speech. Although, he mentions in his speech, “Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, perplexed in the extreme” (Shakespeare 360), trying to convince the audience not to see him the way the events seem to make him look. He is trying to imply that he was not easily made jealous, but was tricked and manipulated by Iago. Othello wants to avoid having a bad reputation and would like the audience to remember him as an honorable
*At the beginning of Scene Two of Act One, Iago gives advice to Othello and lets
He loved too hard , he had trust issues too high and because of him being sympathetic it led to all of this. "Othello Act 4 Scenes 1 and 2." Spark Notes. 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Jan. 2016. Jealously is an emotion, and the word typically refers to the thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, concern, and anxiety over an anticipated loss or status of something of great personal value, particularly in reference to a human connection. which in my vocabulary means someone or something is distracted by the love of someone but they are not feeling the connection like the other one is , communication isn’t the key so that’s why. Being sympathetic means being caring , compassionate , concerned , solicitous , sensitive , tenderhearted. Those was some of the emotions othello experienced through the play . He slowly lost his mind and struggled because he didn’t know where to turn or who to trust he was distracted. Othello had a flaw , which was insecurities. Insecurities is when one lacks self confidence and uncertainty about their self worth. Othello lacked self confidence and the ability to love himself. Othello not speaking up on things concerning him shows that he is afraid to speak up for himself and worried about what others think. Othello’s actions show his insecurities throughout the play show his insecurities. At the beginning of the play, Othello remains at a distance from everyone but his wife. In conclusion Othello was sympathetic
As we can see, both texts are pluvial in envy and jealousy. Not just one occurrence, but a vicious cycle involving all the main characters and each having their own consequences as a result.
Picture this- William Harold Shakespeare, the most coveted playwriter in the history of the world, sitting at his desk, perspicaciously pondering over what shall become his most prominant and delicated tragedy of yet. Of course, given what little is known about Shakespeere displays, such deepseated imagery cannot simply be accomplished without first the propriety of haste and vinction.And yet, his very own rhetorical vibe displays allows such a vague pictoration to be concieved. Throughout the whole of Othello, the great Shakespeare remarks through an astounding displays show of pronouns, allitteration, and cacophonous diction his own resentment of both the King of Italy and the poor conditions of the said novelist.
Nick Potter states: “Othello is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level of intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello comes to understand himself or anyone else.” Within Shakespeare’s Othello, no character fully understands themselves of one another. This is especially true in human dealings, where the intentions of characters and how others interpret them are often misaligned. Conflict, and eventually, tragedy arises in Othello due to the incomprehension between characters, as well as within the characters themselves. From the reader’s perspective, it is tragic to understand the reality behind all the incomprehension, since the characters are oblivious to what the readers are aware of.
The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play we see his dramatic flaw sink him deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his love of his life but also himself.
Tragedy is an intrinsically human concept; tragic heroes are damned by what they themselves do. Othello is not so much felled by the actions of Iago, but by a quality all people possess-- human frailty. Accordingly, Othello is not a victim of consequences, but an active participant in his downfall. He is not merely a vehicle for the machinations of Iago; he had free agency. Othello's deficiencies are: an insecure grasp of Venetian social values; lack of critical intelligence, self-knowledge, and faith in his wife; and finally, insecurity-- these are the qualities that lead to his own downfall.
Language and imagination are among the most dangerous weapons Iago has at his disposal in Othello. Jealous and angered by Othello’s - his commanding officer - passing over him for a promotion, Iago develops a fierce, antagonistic perspective the aforementioned character; this sentiment quickly corrupts his volition, and he subsequently concocts a plot bent on destroying Othello. He renders this revenge scheme credible by concealing his true feelings behind a facade of loyalty and trustworthiness, and fabricating a fictitious story concerning the infidelity of Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Until the play concludes, Iago utilizes purposeful rhetoric to drive his agenda, and also a mastery of deception to mislead the minds of his targets.
Othello is one who believes in justice and fairness and will make no exception, even for the love of his life. Ultimately, he murders her because he is, “One that loved not wisely but too well.” (V, ii, 398) This, above all, gives the play its powerful end. Othello’s true flaw is not vile, destructive jealousy, but rather pure and prevailing love.
The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.
Shakespeare’s Othello consists of the themes betrayal, love and dishonesty. At the centre of this play is the tragic downfall of Othello at the hands of his so called friend Iago. In this essay I will be discussing the reasons for and against Othello being responsible for his downfall through looking at critical interpretations of his character and actions.
So, he invents and elaborate scheme to destroy Othello through his woman. When Othello demands proof of her infidelity, Iago says: “I do not like the
Othello doesn’t realize Iago doesn’t care towards him and never did after Iago wasn’t promoted to lieutenant. Iago plays the as the main director of what happens in Othello’s life. Othello doesn’t realize it thought. Iago is able to hide his emotions towards others. Which allows Othello not to notice he is faking every emotion of helping Othello. Iago is always at ease when in the eyes of his peers. “He moves jovially and at ease among the gentlemen of Cyprus, even as he sets up Cassio for a drunken fall” (Barnes 15). This shows how committed Iago was to strike revenge against his foes. Only a psychopath could hide their feelings in front of the people you want to hurt. “Iago refuses to show the "outward action" which would "demonstrate / The native act and figure of [his] heart / In complement extern" (“Where Iago Lies” 19). Because of Iago, Othello creates his own anxiety. He has anxiety because he now worries that Desdemona may be cheating on him with Cassio. Iago creates Othello’s fear by twisting his words to have different meanings. “Iago: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy/ It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on” (Shakespeare 1816-1818). Iago is manipulating Othello into believing that Othello shouldn’t be jealous, which tricks Othello into being jealous. The green-eyed monster is another term for jealousy. It is Othello though that allows him to get trapped in anxiety. Iago exploits him to bring Othello to a tragic
There are many events and circumstances that contribute to the downfall of Othello in the play, some of which Othello is responsible for and others which are due to circumstances that are beyond his control. These include Othello’s’ ethnicity and Othello’s’ relationship with certain characters in the play.