William Shakespeare gave us a most moving drama in Othello. In this play we witness the demise of a “paragon” of a wife and a “valiant Moor”, Othello. Let us consider the Moor in detail, with professional critical input, in this essay. From the text of the play a number of clues can be gleaned which round out the description of the general. In William Shakespeare: The Tragedies, Paul A. Jorgensen describes the general in Othello: Though scarcely the “barbarian” (1.3.353) he is called, the Moor
'Othello is a study into the potency of evil' Discuss this view of the play, paying careful attention to Iago's motives and destructive achievements (you should concerntrate on Act III Scene III though you will have to relate it to other parts of the play). Potent in its literal sense means powerful. This essay therefore is based on a statement saying that the play is a study into the power of evil. Evil is conveyed in many different ways in Othello, but they all seem to radiate from Iago. Therefore
Othello Othello is a distinct and extremely debated tragic play of Shakespeare’s. Beginning even with his selection of characters, his decision to make a black man a tragic hero, at this time this was bold and original, by accent tradition blackness was associated with sin and death. Any play that preceded Othello at this time, the black character’s were generally villainous. The main characters of this tragic story are a Moor of Venice (Othello), his Venetian wife (Desdemona. Shakespeare also
The role of women in Othello is a strong role. They are treated as though they are property, but yet are a man’s weakness. They are expected to follow, and worship their husband as if he is her master. “Women must think of themselves as ‘other’ and man as primary or ‘subject’” (Iyasere 70). Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca are all treated with this role in Othello, but in the end Desdemona is ultimately Othello’s weakness. The women in Othello were not treated as a man’s equal, but instead his property;
In the story of Othello we see how the actions of one man go on to ruin the lives of multiple people. The villain Iago single-handedly creates the tragedy of Othello through his puppeteer like control of the other characters in the play. Iago captivates the audience as his plan progresses. Readers are anxious to know what will happen next in the play. What makes Iago so fascinating is his mysteriousness as a character, his fully devious ways, and how magnificently clever he is in organizing the demise
In 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
Othello, Moorish commander of the armed forces of Venice, had secretly married Desdemona, the much younger daughter of the respected Senator Brabantio. Capitalizing on this news, Othello's ensign, Iago, who had earlier professed his desires to Desdemona without receiving her love in return, sought revenge. Also passed over for promotion as Othello's new lieutenant chief of staff, the Moor having chosen instead a loyal Florentine, Michael Cassio, Iago now devised a scheme to rid himself of these sorry
Othello is one of Shakespeare’s four pillars of great tragedies. Othello is unique in comparison to the others in that it focuses on the private lives of its primary characters. When researching the subject of Othello being an Aristotelian tragedy, there is debate among some critics and readers. Some claim that Shakespeare did not hold true to Aristotle’s model of tragedy, according to his definition in “Poetics,” which categorized Othello as a classic tragedy as opposed to traditional tragedy.
characters Desdemona and Emilia from the play Othello. Shakespeare's, “Othello” has been thoroughly studied and read. The majority of character analyses done over the play focus mainly on the two male figures, Othello and Iago. During the time of Shakespeare, females were often treated and viewed in society as second-rate to men. Desdemona, the bride of Othello, and Emilia, the wife of the villain Iago, are the two main female characters in Shakespeare’s Othello. Desdemona and Emilia, are over and over
The play, Othello was written by William Shakespeare in the later years of his career. Giraldi Cinthios, Tale of a Moor, based Othello on a story that was a mellow Drama, about a moor and his doubts about his wife’s fidelity. In Shakespeare’s play the Moor (Othello) convinced by his jealous aid (Iago) that his wife (Desdemona) is not Being faithful. Iago’s jealousy is motivated by his anger when he learns that Cassio of Florentine has been appointed Governor of Cyprus. He felt that he deserved this
Othello As Iago's role in the play begins to define itself, the plays main theme, which is jealousy, also begins to develop. Iago's role is unclear to the reader in the first scene. He appears to be an honest, trustworthy soldier who was angry because he was overlooked for a promotion. However, the reader later finds out that he is a "malignant and destructive plotter" and would do anything to destroy Othello and anyone close to him (Epstein 381). The fact that he is an evil character remains
Othello In this speech, Othello lets his mind take over all his self control. A usual cool tempered person Othello is inflicted with rage about the possibility of his wife sleeping with his lieutenant, Cassio. Iago has the ability to cloud the head of Othello with lies about the Desdemona and Cassio causing suffering and tragedy. A tragedy is a serious action or event that always turns out the worst way possible. Iago has setup Othello just enough for Othello to create his own disaster. The literary
their point in in any matter, even ones that included them. William Shakespeare, as said by Scott Guffey, manages to bring “fourth [the] highly believable and realistic” (Guffey 2) judgment and belittlement of women during the Renaissance period in Othello. Shakespeare does this by establishing societies need for women to portray the image of the perfect wife and signifying the repercussion that occur when those needs are not meet. He illustrates what happens to Desdemona and Emilia’s credibility and
sense is scrupulously careful to adhere to all known truth and right even in thought,” In order to be honest someone has to be not only verbally honest but true in their actions as... ... middle of paper ... ...was open about his sheer hatred for Othello taking his position he would surely be frowned upon for being so petty. For exampled discouraging an individual from trying something just because in their option that person isn't capably of accomplishing their goals. If everyone was honest Iago
Desdemona is one of the protagonists of the play contributes to the play and also fleshes out certain aspects of characterisation mainly where Othello and Iago are concerned. Thus her relevance is highlighted consistently throughout Othello, since without her ppresence, Iago would not have succeeded in manipulating Othello, and Othello's drastic transformation would not have been made evident. In Act 1. Desdemona admits that she fell in love with Othello's eloquence and harrowing adventures; 'I saw
them, and they can encounter even more troubles or even their own downfall. A comparable situation as the aforementioned is found in the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello, where the character flaws of the protagonist, Othello, cause weakness in his character, which ultimately leads to his downfall and death. One of the flaws that lead Othello to his downfall is the fact that he has very poor judgement, which is indisputably seen through the consistent trust that he finds in Iago. His downfall also occurs
"Othello" is a good example of Aristotelian drama. It is simple play and the focus is on a very small cast of characters. It has few distractions from the main plot and concentrates on just a few themes, such a jealousy, prejudice, pride and honesty. Jealousy is the emotion that drives the action of Othello. It has the classical unities of time, place (setting is in Venice in the first act and Cyprus thereafter) and action. Othello's cast is made up of "ordinary" people of moderate rank, and
Othello and Iago The tragedy "Othello" by William Shakespeare is a story based upon the revenge of two characters, Othello and Iago. These two characters help to prove Murphey's Law which states that if something wrong can happen it will: for Othello it is the wrongful killing of his wife and friend, for Iago it is getting caught for his actions and finally being tortured. Many historians, actors, and readers would like to argue that Othello and Iago are very complex but at a closer look
In the Shakespear’s play “Othello” it is clear to see that the relationship between him and Desdemona is a complicated one wrought with passion and confusion which leads to emotional trauma and physical abuse. At point and times in the story of “Othello” love was transmuted different. Othello was not as gentle and kind as Desdemona when it came to his lover he a times exhibited symptoms of insanity. He also at times exhibited lack of confidence that is found in the perceived unity of marriage. This
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The story is about Othello, who is a general in the Venetian army and is convinced by his trusted ensign, Iago that his wife is cheating on him. Eventually Othello kills his wife and when he finds out the truth he then kills himself. Most of the conflict in the play stems from Othello’s value assumption that women are not equal to men, which leads to dramatic and value irony. Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, his