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Othello handkerchief symbolism
The language, style and the use of symbolism in Othello
Characterisation in othello
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The film Othello is written by William Shakespeare and uses a variety of different examples of symbolism and techniques thorough the film. These examples are demonstrated through the imagery of the handkerchief to animals, light and dark, and demonic imagery. It is these techniques that are used to emphasise the idea of tragedy explored throughout the play.
One of the most dominant examples of symbolism in the play is through the use of the handkerchief. As Othello gave it to Desdemona as a first gift, the handkerchief is a clear demonstration and used as the token of his love. The handkerchief has been passed through both Othello’s mum and his own wife therefore showing significance of all their loved combined. Showing how treasured love
Shakespeare’s plays show the complexity of human beings. Everyone is different in reactions, actions, and thought. Shakespeare explores various themes throughout his writing career. Each play is unique, and their themes are handled in a very distinct way as Shakespeare writes each work with great care. Two major themes are appearance versus reality and relationship between motive and will; Othello, Hamlet, and Henry IV, Part 1 all portray these two themes in similar and different ways.
...demona’s handkerchief was the main object and symbol that was known for betrayal. In result, Iago had been the primary reason why we experience betrayal in the play. Due to Othello giving away the handkerchief was a sign for his affection to his beloved wife. In addition, it then moves from person onto the next person which was caused by Iago. Once Othello becomes jealous it makes it act on as an illusion since Desdemona. She had been faithful the entire time during their marriage and thinks that she has been cheating on him. The people Iago had betrayed with this handkerchief were: Othello, Emila, Cassio, and Desdemona. Furthermore, it was intended to have significance as a symbol of sacred trust. It was known as the “pledge of love” to Desdemona.
This item represented Desdemona’s love for Othello, but also all of the scandal that happened in the play. It was traditional in this time for women to give their handkerchiefs to the one they loved. In this play, however, while Desdemona did give Othello her handkerchief to represent her love, Iago used this item to manipulate Othello so that he could take Cassio’s place. In a way, the handkerchief is the second most important part of the conflict. Iago had a copy of the handkerchief made identical to Desdemona’s, and placed in on Cassio. This ended up causing the main uproar of the
Othello has been described as one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays because the play focuses on its themes of good and evil, military, politics, love and marriage, religion, racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality; but the controversy and debate surrounding Othello is “Why is Othello a qualification for a tragedy?”
Continuing Act three, Scene three, Othello feels the beginning of a headache. Desdemona offers Othello a handkerchief to ease the pain upon Othello’s forehead. The handkerchief is a gift from Othello to Desdemona as a symbol of the love shared by Othello and Desdemona. In Othello’s pain the handkerchief falls from Othello’s hand and Emilia steals the handkerchief. Iago uses the characters of the play as pawns, including wife Emilia. Jealousy is the fuel and the handkerchief is the spark. With the handkerchief in Iago’s possession, Iago can continue to spin the web of lies and deceit. Iago plans to leave the handkerchief in Cassio’s lodgings to further support the suspicion of Desdemona’s infidelity.
The common aim of playwrights of any time or location is to capture and hold the attention of their audience. It is an irrefutable fact that in order for a play to be successful, the playwright must maintain the interest of the audience. The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is one of Shakespeare's most renowned plays, and has been capturing the interest of its audiences for many hundreds of years. The success of Othello is largely due to Shakespeare's phenomenal ability to secure the unwavering attention of an audience. Various techniques were employed by Shakespeare in order to achieve this crucial feat. Through construction of intriguing characters, exploration of universal themes, use of comic relief and a well-written script featuring a compelling plot, Shakespeare ensured the tragedy of Othello would hold the interest of the audience.
In some ways, Shakespeare’s play, Othello can be considered didactic as in the case in classical tragedy, the hero’s falls arises as fault of a hamartia on his part, a fault which plagues humanity. In fact, throughout the work, Othello is revealed to have many more faults and weaknesses than a man of his stature should posses, providing a reason for his downfall. The work’s main protagonist, the scheming Iago, ultimately has his own reasons for his actions; actions that, at first, might appear to be inherently evil and motiveless. A third variable here, the role of the setting, and its part in the tragedy also helps to explain the reasons for it. Through Iago’s motives, and Othello’s inherit weaknesses, the tragedy of the play is meaningful for the audience.
In William Shakespeare’s play “Othello” the use of animal imagery was evident throughout the telling of the story of the.. Shakespeare explained several characters actions by comparing them to similarities in animals. The characters in “Othello” were often depicted as having animal-like characteristics. Some characters were even compared to animals by other characters in the play. By defining characters in terms of these characteristics one can get a clear description of what the character is doing or saying as compared to certain animals.
Othello is one of Shakespeare's classics, this play has many oddities and puzzles. It roots into love, deception and jealousy. Also it clearly questions the debate of; can different cultures inter-wind without colliding? in addition, Othello has vivid racism, sexism, manipulation and savagery within civilisation. This play is set in Venice, Italy but due to circumstances all of the characters move to Cyprus.
In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello the presence of ominous evil is present in the play from opening scene to closing scene. Let us discuss this concept of evil as manifested in the drama.
"Othello." Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 649-87. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. .
Shakespeare 's dramatic yet manipulative use of language is clearly evident throughout William Shakespeare 's tragedy, Othello. Shakespeare 's character, Iago has woven a web of lies which greatly affects the personalities and emotions of certain individuals. Language is the essence of this tragedy; it creates conflict and clashes between characters, whether they be lovers or friends. In particular, Othello, the hero and protagonist of this play is targeted by a cunning villain, Iago who creates turmoil and anger in Othello 's career and relationship with his beloved, Desdemona.
The tragedy “Othello” is written by William Shakespeare in 1604. The story is based on revenge of two characters, Othello and Iago. Othello, the play’s protagonist and hero, who has great reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. However, his jealousy causes the major tragedy in his life. This tragedy is brought by a simple manipulation of Iago, the villain of the play. The jealousy led Othello to a path of constant questioning to his wife, and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play, he sinks deeper and deeper into his doubt and eventually that causes him to kill not only the love of his life, but also himself.
Othello gives this to his wife Desdemona. This symbolizes their relationship. When Othello is unwell Desdemona goes to wipe his face and Othello lets it drop to the floor. He then states, “your napkin is to little”(III.iii.289). When they leave Emilia enters and picks up the handkerchief to keep. She continues to state how her husband has been trying to get ahold of this item. When Emilia retrieves it to him, Iago immediately starts to come up with a plan to ruin Othello’s marriage. Iago is so manipulative the he makes Othello believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio without any actual proof. Iago willingly destroys the relationship between Othello and Desdemona without feeling any guilt. He goes to Cassio and gives him the item as evidence to break up Othello and Desdemona. To Othello the handkerchief was valuable because it was the first gift he gave Desdemona. When Iago spreads the word out about her cheating, Othello demands for the handkerchief back. She does not have the item and attempts to change the subject. Othello demands “Fetch me the handkerchief: my mind misgives”, (III.iv.84) then she states “Come, come: you’ll never meet a more sufficient man” (III.iv.86). Othello is overwhelmed and walks
The plot of William Shakespeare's Othello is a tale of love, jealousy, and betrayal; however, the characters, themes, and attitudes of the works are different, with Shakespeare's play being a more involved study of human nature and psychology. Othello is considered to be a prime example of Aristotelian drama. It focuses upon a very small cast of characters, one of the smallest used in Shakespeare. Also, it has few distractions from the main plot, and concentrates on just a few themes, like jealousy. In Shakespeare's Othello, Othello is an excellent example of an Aristotelian tragic hero. His gullibility and jealousy are the main reason of his downfall. Othello deals with love lost because of gullibility and jealousy.