William Shakespeare's Othello
analytical Essay
1297 words
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, tragedy unfolds on the account of one man’s actions, Iago. He is a twenty eight year old military veteran from Venice. His personality consists of being obsessive, manipulative, relentless, and bold. From the beginning he expressed his hatred towards the Moor, or North African named Othello. Othello is a highly respected general and is also married to the pure Desdemona. The marriage between Othello and Desdemona is destroyed due to Iago’s actions and lies. His actions consist of getting Michael Cassio discharged as lieutenant and convincing the Moor that his wife is cheating on him. The motives Iago has for despising Othello are he passed him over for a promotion to be his lieutenant, instead he chose Michael Cassio, and then he has suspicion that Othello slept with his wife, Emilia. Iago is miserable with his life, so he is going to make everyone else around him feel his misery. Just like the saying goes “Misery loves company”, meaning unhappy people want other people to be unhappy as well. “Iago is (this is true) the Demon who moves everything, but Othello is the one who acts: He loves, is jealous, kills and kills himself (Rosenthal).”
Iago’s scornful attitude towards Othello is fueled by the fact that he was overlooked for a promotion to be Othello’s lieutenant. The promotion was given to a highly educated man by the name of Michael Cassio. “As Iago, the man of resentment par excellence, who represents the levelling jealousy of all superior attainment, says of Cassio: "he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly" ( Othello, 5.2) (Bonetto I).” Since he was elected to be Othello’s lieutenant, Iago has a motive to be bitter and jealous towards Cassio. Iago never understood why Othello ch...
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... suspicion that he had slept with his wife, Emilia. Therefore Iago convinced Othello with the perfect evidence that his wife, Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio. As the tragedy began to unfold everyone was able to see Iago true colors and see the conniving, lying, and backstabbing person that he is. Everyone’s fate was in the hands of Iago, the villain.
Works Cited
Bonetto, Sandra. "Coward Conscience and Bad Conscience in Shakespeare and Nietzsche." Philosophy and Literature. Oct. 2006: 512-527.SIRS Renaissance. Web. 19 May. 2014.
Rosenthal, Tom. "All the Moor." Opera Now (London, England). May/June 2001: 36-38. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 19 May. 2014.
Ardolino, Frank. "Pinter's BETRAYAL And Shakespeare's OTHELLO." Explicator 65.1 (2006): 50-53. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 May 2014.
Crowther, John. No Fear Shakespeare Othello. New York. 2003. Print
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how shakespeare's play othello unfolds on the account of iago, a twenty-eight-year-old military veteran from venice.
- Analyzes how iago's scornful attitude towards othello is fueled by the fact that he was overlooked for a promotion to be
- Analyzes how iago's next achievement is to convince othello that his wife, emilia, is cheating on him.
- Analyzes how iago has his way with words when it comes to convincing othello that desdemona is having an affair with cassio.
- Analyzes how iago wants othello to hide in order to hear the conversation he is going to have with michael cassio about bianca without being seen.
- Analyzes how iago, the villain in shakespeare's play othello, turns everyone against everyone and causes complete chaos. he is obsessive, manipulative, relentless, and bold.
- Explains that bonetto, sandra, "coward conscience and bad consciousness in shakespeare and nietzsche." philosophy and literature.
- Analyzes rosenthal, tom. "all the moor." opera now (london, england). may/june 2001: 36-38.
- Explains ardolino, frank, "pinter's betrayal and shakespeare's othello." explicator 65.1 (2006): 50-53.
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- Iago is one of the most complex characters in William Shakespeare’s Othello. To most of the characters, he is “Honest Iago” (Shakespeare, 5.2.73). however, the audience knows that Iago is the furthest thing from honest. Iago is a devil bent on destroying the lives of everyone around him. At the beginning of the play, the audience learns that Iago is determined to ruin Othello’s marriage to Desdemona. He has appointed a new lieutenant, Michael Cassio. This angers Iago because he feels that he has much more military experience and should be the lieutenant. Iago has also heard rumours that both Othello and Cassio have slept with his wife Emilia. He concocts a malicious plan to ruin the lives of all who have wronged him, and consequently establishing
In this essay, the author
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- Analyzes how iago is a master manipulator and plays on the weaknesses of other characters and uses them to his advantage, regardless of the collateral damage.
- Analyzes iago's prejudice against women and sexist ways when desdemona and cassio first arrive on cyprus.
- Analyzes how iago is a liar that excels at telling other characters only the information that he needs them to know.
- Analyzes how iago is a manipulating, sneering, lying man driven by jealousy to get what he wants. his manipulative nature, lack of respect for others, and lying ways make him the opposite of honest.
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- Analyzes how iago in shakespeare's play othello is a master of deception, bloody brilliant, unstoppable in achieving their goals even when it means grinding others into the dust. his driving motivation throughout the play is his own jealousy.
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- Analyzes how iago's true intentions and attitude are uncovered in act one scene one, line sixty-seven when he says to roderigo, "i am not what i am."
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- Narrates how othello relieves cassio as a lieutenant and iago tells him to talk to desdemona about it. when he sees that they are talking about something, they get jealous.
- Analyzes how berry's portrayal of othello as an outsider shows that he was different in terms of ethnicity, culture, and religion. this alienation towards him can be seen throughout the play from various characters.
- Describes how they apprehend and attach thee for an abuser of the world, a practice of arts inhibited, and out of warrant.
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2005 wordsRead More - Tricks Of Deception In Othelloanalytical essayIago, a man with a cold heart and no care for any other. Within William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, Iago uses tricks of deceit to ruin the lives of Cassio, Othello and his dear beloved, Desdemona. By using lies of adultery, Iago pushes loved ones and dear trustworthy friends apart. The choices he makes throughout Othello, reflect his dark personality that will eventually come back to him. Iago’s moment of choice, that is quick to ruin the lives of those around him, is when he used his betrayal by Othello to conceive a plan that frames Cassio and Desdemona of having a love affair.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how iago uses tricks of deceit to ruin the lives of cassio, othello and his dear beloved, desdemona. his choices reflect his dark personality that will eventually come back to him.
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- Analyzes how iago serves under othello, but is taken back when he discovers that another officer has been chosen for him. cassio is an arithmetician, with no knowledge of being an officer.
- Analyzes how iago's plan involves getting cassio drunk in order to have a fight break lose, and then firing him because he is too drunk to give the truth.
- Analyzes how iago avenged othello for his betrayals by formulating an evil plan that resulted in the murder of his wife and then taking his own life.
1185 wordsRead More - Iago as a Satan Figure in Shakespeare's Othelloanalytical essayThe play "Othello" by William Shakespeare is based on an Italian story in Giraldi Cinthio's Hecatommithi (Groliers). In "Othello" we encounter Iago, one of Shakespeare's most evil characters. Iago is an ensign in Othello's army and is jealous of Cassio's promotion to Lieutenant. Through deception and appearance, we see unfolded a plethora of lies and clever schemes. The astonishing thing about Iago is that he seems to make up his malicious schemes as he goes along without any forethought. Noted writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes Iago's plan as "motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity" (Scott 413). Iago seizes every opportunity to further advance his plan to his advantage. Greed plays a major role as a motive for his various schemes. Throughout the story, Iago portrays himself as a Satan figure. In many ways, Iago can compare with Satan.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how shakespeare's play "othello" portrays iago as a satan figure. he is an ensign in the army and is jealous of cassio.
- Analyzes how iago, like satan, is a master at deception. he lies to everyone taking great care to disguise his thoughts.
- Analyzes how iago creates the appearance of good which ultimately fools people into thinking that he is loyal and honest.
- Analyzes how iago uses appearances to create deception. when cassio asked desdimona if she would talk to othello for him, he left her presence.
- Analyzes how iago describes how satan uses the appearance of something good to disguise the various temptations that we know are evil.
- Analyzes how othello demands to see it with his own eyes in order for it to be convincing. iago then lies to him outright by telling him that he heard cassio talking in his sleep.
- Explains that iago's craftiness shows no bounds. he made cassio appear dishonest by lying to othello. satan uses appearances to create deception.
- Cites scott, mark, shakespeare, william, mcmahon, day, and funk's critical interperatation of othello.
1433 wordsRead More - othelloanalytical essayIn the dying minutes of William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the main character Othello requests of Lodovico, a Venetian messenger, “When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, Speak of me as I am.” But what is he, exactly? One of the most celebrated roles in history of the theater, Othello is a complicated and mysterious character. At various times in the course of the play we despise him, we pity him and we praise him. As a young slave he doggedly worked his way through the ranks and eventually arrives with the grand title of general of the Venetian army having used only his own skill. The full title of the play, Othello, the Moor of Venice, suggests that Othello is an outsider, which is a very important theme of Shakespeare’s. The culture of Venice is learned, and therefore not instinctual to him.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how othello, the moor of venice, is a complicated and mysterious character in shakespeare's play.
- Analyzes how othello's mystique and masculinity captivates his young venetian wife desdemona and sets him apart from her other uninteresting suitors.
- Analyzes how othello is cursed with the fact that when angered or jealous, he cannot think clearly, and makes irrational decisions.
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- Analyzes how othello uses his foreign and exotic nature to his advantage. his mystique and masculinity captivates his young venetian wife desdemona and sets him apart from her other uninteresting suitors.
- Analyzes how othello, the moor of venice contains one of the most intricate characters in any of shakespeare's plays.
773 wordsRead More