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Gender role in othello
Theater history paper othello shakespear and racism
Exploring othello's character
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Othello, like any great Greek tragedy shows the rise and fall of a noble hero due to deception and deceit. Othello’s physical health along with his mental health starts to weaken as he becomes more tangled within Iago’s lies. At the start of the play he has everything, the status, the power and the woman, but due to to his ignorance and Iago’s manipulation he starts to lose it all. Othello suffers from seizures, he cannot sleep; he is constantly in a state of agitation and he becomes paranoid, which helps Iago get into his mind and control him; as a result this leads to his breakdown which leads to Cassio's demotion, Desdemona's murder which in turn, leads to Emilia's murder and Othello's own suicide.
Though Othello is looked at in high regards and respected by all those around him. In spite of his high status Othello lets his insecurities of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race control him, which Iago uses to twist his love for his wife into a powerful and destructive jealousy. He is in a combination of greatness and weakness, in his own words "an honourable murderer" (V.2).
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Othello sees Cassio as the man most Venetian women in Desdemona's position would like to marry and, therefore, as the man she would turn to if she was no longer in love with Othello. Due to his insecurities it leads his mind to think that in a way, he is waiting for the dream to come to an end and for Desdemona to decide that she no longer loves Othello and has made a mistake in marrying
In the beginning Othello is seen as a calm collected man when put into an awkward situation, such as being ridiculed by his wife’s father in thinking that Othello has used some sort of magic to gain Desdemona 's infection. Othello’s calm collected ways start to deteriorate after he is convinced by Iago, a deceiving evil man that Desdemona has slept with Cassio. Othello’s self control no longer exist once he is fully convinced that it is in fact true that Desdemona has been unfaithful. His sense of what is real and what is not real is thrown out the window. Othello starts to become extremely jealous of his used to be beloved Cassio, and after considering giving back his spot as liternuanat he denies him that. He starts to become cold and distant towards his wife, and starts to call her out of her name. As Othello continues to lose control the people around him start to doubt his abilities of being able to protect Cyprus, and even his wife starts to doubt him, and agree with her father. No one knows who this man is anymore, he has started to act in an insanely matter. He can longer be his true self and take on the responsibilities of being general as he starts to crack. With Othello being faced with evil, him being calm is no longer an option for him because he can’t face the fact that the person he loves so dearly is cheating on him. Going back the they handkerchief, the symbol of his love for her. Othello seeing Cassio with Desdemona’s handkerchief sets him over the edge becoming truly convinced that his wife has betrayed him. Even when Desdemona and her maid Emila, Iago’s wife, has told him countless times that she has not been unfaithful, he is so far gone from reality that he does not believe either one of them. With the state of mind he’s in he cannot bear the thought of another man touching his wife. Othello and Iago plan to kill Cassio and Desdemona. After he
Othello is a good man but took the wrong path. He is well known in Venice even though he is a moor because of his irreplaceable honour. He is kind hearted towards most of the people he encounters because he believes in friendship.. This lead him to meet Desdemona and end up marrying her whom he showed passionate interest towards. Othello put his trust in people easily which shows that he is a very friendly character but he gave it to the wrong person, whom is Iago. He put his trust in Iago even though Iago’s intentions were purely to get him killed or arrested. Othello had honour and took account for all his foolish mistakes in which only some loyal soldiers may abide to. In the story he have shown these characteristics by killing himself after realizing the deathful mistakes he's done.
Iago manipulates Othello by telling him false lies about his wife and Cassio having an affair which ruins the relationship between Othello and his spouse. To Othello, Iago is a loyal, trustworthy, and honest friend. Othello is always asking Iago for advice because he is closer to him and puts his full trust on his faithful friend. However, Iago abhors Othello through jealousy because Othello appointed Cassio as his lieutenant. “I’ a...
William Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy about revenge through jealousy and deception. Throughout the play, Iago is constantly pitting characters against each other in order to satiate his anger from being denied the promotion to lieutenant that Cassio was granted. As a catalyst for all the conflicts that arise during the play, Iago merely uncovers the underlying insecurities characters such as Othello, a notable war general in Venice, are struggling with. Animal imagery as well as the use of light and dark to differentiate between race is very prominent and is used to drive a wedge between the newlyweds, Othello and Desdemona. Although Othello is a highly accomplished and well respected war hero, the notion that Venetians, including Desdemona, are a superior race, prevents him from ever feeling truly secure in his marriage, ultimately leading to the demise of several people close to him, and finally himself.
“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” (3.3.163-168). In Shakespeare’s Othello, jealousy is the common theme that becomes Othello’s undoing. Through text in the play, the audience can notice Othello slowly begin to become crazed through his speech.
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.
Othello, a play by William Shakespeare, tells the tragic tale of the black Venetian general, Othello, and how he is manipulated by his ambitious friend, Iago. Iago becomes angry at Othello when he promotes Michael Cassio rather than Iago to the lieutenancy. Iago then schemes a plot to take down Othello. Iago uses Desdemona, Othello’s new wife, to take down the great general. He leads Othello to considering that his wife is cheating on him with Michael Cassio. This causes Othello to become suspicious and eventually drives Othello into killing Desdemona. In the end, Othello learns that his wife was faithful, and Iago had lied to him. This upsets Othello and causes him to also kill himself. Iago’s many motives are never revealed to the audience or the characters as in the last scene he states, “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word.” (Othello. Act 5 Scene 2: 355-356). In the play Othello, Iago is the master manipulator that formulates devious plots against the characters of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello by using their desires to his advantage to reveal their underlying weaknesses.
Cassio is considered to be a ladies man, who is very polite and trustworthy. Because of his reputation, he is well liked by everyone and even given a position as lieutenant, even without any battle experience. But, when Cassio is drunk, he lets his anger overcome his reason and says, “A knave teach me my duty! I’ll beat the knave into a twiggen bottle.” At this time, Cassio does not realize that he is out in the public, causing a loud ruckus and hurting a fellow officer, actions which are not expected from a lieutenant. Because of this, Othello takes away what is most important to Cassio, reputation, and tells him, “ But never more be officer of mine.” Therefore, Cassio loses the “immortal part” of himself, which leads him to make even worse decisions later on. Later, Cassio dodges one of his previous, closest friends-- Othello because Cassio fears Othello. Once Cassio sees Othello, he immediately tells Desdemona that he wants to leave. This arouses suspicion within Othello who says, “Was not that Cassio parted from my wife?” Cassio once again is too naive, and he does not realize that if Othello sees Cassio darting away, Othello will be suspicious. Cassio should have not acted upon his fear to talk with Othello. Because of this action, Othello begins his plotting against Cassio; thus, if Cassio had communicated with Othello, Cassio would have not lost the “ the trust Othello puts
The evil side of Othello’s tragic flaw came from without, in the form of Iago. The internal flaw exists only in his heartrendingly unshakable goodness and honor. One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers.
Othello made the poor decision to believe the wrong people and mistrust the people that were close to him from the beginning. In the drama not once did someone other than Iago tell Othello that Cassio and Desdemona were having an affair. Othello came to a quick decision when only Iago told him about this situation and this was a poor decision. Othello said “Get me some poison, Iago, this night. I’ll not expostulate with her…”(IV.i.206-208) It shows that he came to a quick and poor conclusion to kill Desdemona.. Othello having poor judgment lead him to trust the wrong people and when he finally realized this, it lead to his
The Monster in Othello This essay is about William Shakespeare's Othello. It focuses on Iago's words to Othello, "O, beware, my lord, of Jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster." in act 3, scene 3 and just how important this warning was not only for Othello, but also for Roderigo and for Iago.
The critic Roland Barthes once said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” William Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, can be used to exemplify this quote. One of the themes that Shakespeare discusses in Othello is: the effect jealousy has on people. Several of the characters become jealous over the course of the tragedy. Brabantio became jealous because Desdemona fell in love and married Othello. Roderigo became jealous because Desdemona didn’t fall in love with him. Bianca became jealous because she thought that Cassio was cheating on her with another woman. Othello became jealous because he thought Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio. Iago became jealous because Othello gave Cassio the position of lieutenant. These characters’
He also allows himself to be manipulated by other people, for instance, Iago. Instead of trusting his own heart, Othello easily believes other people or his friends. Othello is a tragic hero because he is noble, he suffers from a fatal tragic event and he goes through a tragic downfall. Iago is an envious and resentful man whose ambition is to have everything that belongs to Othello. Iago’s ambition is to obtain Othello’s position, love, and fortune.
The protagonist's fall from grace due to his character flaw is the main idea of a tragedy. Othello's fatal flaw was not a defect in his character, but an excess of one of his many virtues. He was too trusting and naïve and this one flaw combined with Iago's (the antagonist) treacherous lies paved the way for Othello's demise. In the beginning of the play Othello is characterized as a noble general who shares a deep, pure love with his wife, Desdemona. He is an even-tempered man and this can be seen when in Act I, scene ii Iago attempts to turn him against Roderigo, but Othello refuses to be baited. He states to Iago, "Let him [Roderigo] do his spite./ My services which I have done the Signiory / Shall out-tongue his complaints" (I. ii. 17-19). It is hard to imagine Othello as a man who could be led to murder his innocent wife at this point in the play. Being the crafty villain that Iago is though, he consistently and cleverly manipulates the trusting Othello un...
The role of jealousy, love and betrayal play a major role in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The entire play is based on the human interactions of the characters as related to Othello and Desdemona. The characters’ personalities, their social status, and their relationships to each other control the story line and their fate in the play. Othello is portrayed early in the play as an outsider with animalistic characteristics by Iago and Roderigo because of jealousy. “Your heart is burst; and have lost half of your soul/Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe”.(531) Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, accuses Othello of using witch craft on his daughter. “If she in chains of magic were not bound/ Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy/ So opposite to marriage that she shunned…” (535) This point is important because Othello must defend himself not only to Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, but to the entire Venetian Senate. “And till she come, as truly as to heaven,/ I do confess the vices of my blood./ So justly to your grave ears I’ll present/ How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love, / And she in mine.” (539) Othello proves himself to be an intellectual hero early in the play. He has worked hard to gain respectability and power, but because he has a different background, is from another country, is dark-skinned and is older than Desdemona, he becomes jealous very quickly of Cassio. Cassio is from the same social class, is compatible with Desdemona and is a young handsome man. Iago has also convinced Cassio to seek favor with Desdemo...