Othello’s Copious Imagery Let’s look into Shakespeare’s drama Othello and admire the proliferation of imagery with which the playwright has decorated the play. In the Introduction to Shakespeare’s Othello: The Harbrace Theatre Edition, John Russell Brown describes some “splendid images” in the play: The elaborate soliloquy spoken by Othello as he approaches his sleeping wife (V.ii.1-22) contains some splendid images, such as “chaste stars,” “monumental alabaster,” “flaming minister
The Complex Character of Iago of Othello Iago can be clearly characterized as the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello. The notion of the "honest" Iago does at times appear not to be a misnomer. In this essay I shall attempt to explore the complexities contained within the character of Iago. One of the most interesting questions that crops up is the one concerning Iago’s motives. What are his reasons to kill every major Venetian in Cyprus? Shakespeare seemingly sets the stage for Iago’s
The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy which should have been a love story speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source
Desdemona, the Heroine in Othello In William Shakespeare’s Othello Michael Cassio’s praises of the richly blessed Desdemona, as he awaits her arrival on Cyprus, are well deserved. This essay will amply support this statement. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants interprets the protagonist’s very meaningful four-word greeting to Desdemona which he utters upon disembarking in Cyprus: Othello’s four words, “O, my soul’s joy,” tell us that this beautiful Venetian girl has brought
Emilia’s Perspective on Betrayal in Relationships in Shakespeare’s Othello In Othello, Act IV, scene ii and iii, Emilia, Iago’s wife, reveals her opinion about relationships to the reader as she attempts to comfort Desdemona. She indefinitely believes that many men, as well as women, are frequently guilty of deception and betrayal of their partner. By this part of the play, Othello’s suspicions of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness have greatly increased, and he begins to accuse her of cheating on him
Marriage and Power in Othello There is more to Shakespeare’s Othello than just the characters in the play. There is a message of power, and who has it, as well as the ones that want it. Two of the central characters in the play are both married. Their "love" for each other is questionable. The message that Shakespeare is sending is not really about "love", but about the power that one holds in the marriage. Two of the main characters in the play are Othello and Iago. Othello who is married to Desdemona
as Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello One question that has often been debated amongst literary scholars is what could have motivated Iago to set off such a chain of events which accumulated in the horrific amount of death and tragic consequences that occur in William Shakespeare’s play Othello. On the surface, one could artificially assume that Iago was spurred by two reasons to carry out such a malicious and inhumane plan. His anger of being passed over for lieutenantship by Othello in favor of
Point of No Return In Act IV, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello faints when confronted with the possibility that his wife has been unfaithful. Through the past few scenes, Iago, exploiting Othello’s concerns about his race, has performed a delicate act, slowly but surely leading him towards the inevitable conclusion that his wife and Cassio have ‘cuckolded’ him. When Iago finally refers explicitly to Desdemona’s sexual betrayal, Othello can bear it no longer and faints to escape the
Othello as Victim of Hamartia By definition, a tragedy is a story that details the downfall of a protagonist. Most often, the protagonist (tragic hero) is a member of high society who is faced with an oppositional force, be it internal or external. In his Poetics, Aristotle states that "tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselves
Othello - Animality and Beauty At the most superficial level, the view of Shakespeare’s Othello as ‘animality and darkness’ in opposition to ‘beauty and light’ seems justified if the audience considers the 'motiveless malignity' of Iago against the pure, seemingly perfect union of Othello and Desdemona. This assumes that the 'animality and darkness' is to be found in the villain and the beauty and light in the love of the tragic hero and heroine as well as in the latter's physical beauty. There
Role of Women in Shakespeare’s Othello In Shakespeare’s Othello, the role of women is greatly emphasized. The important characters of the play, Othello, Iago, and Cassio, each have a women that stands behind him. These women each have an obligation to remain loyal and respect their husband's wishes, especially Desdemona and Emilia. We see Desdemona as a young beautiful white female, madly in love with a powerful black man. She is strong inside but doesn't tend to show that side of her as
Iago’s Use of Language and Villainous Behavior in Shakespeare’s Othello In Othello, Shakespeare forms the villainous character, Iago through his complex language. Iago shows his evil nature towards Roderigo through his use of demeaning animal imagery. Iago also uses an extended metaphor to try and trick the ignorant Roderigo and (unknowingly to Roderigo), insults him. Lastly, Iago uses repetition to beguile Roderigo to keep paying him. Iago’s slyness is clearly seen through his deceiving language
Two tragedies from two different time period, Medea and Othello show similarities and differences in their characters, story plots and settings. Euripedes’ Medea written in the classical period and Shakespeare’s Othello written in the romantic era, the two tragedies shows different feel of what tragedies are. First of all, the most obvious difference between these two play is how Medea shows unities (time, place and action) whilst Othello has none. It’s clearly shown in the first scene, as soon
Shakespeare’s Othello is a Tragedy A tragedy has many definitions, but the Merriam-Webster version defines it as: “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.” The latter part, about disastrous conclusion is true for Shakespeare’s tragedies, and Othello is no exception. Roderigo blindly follows Iago’s lead and while his contribution to the disaster is
Iago as Puppet Master of Othello In act 3, scene 3 of Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago works in stages to convince Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, Othello’s right-hand lieutenant. The strategy Iago implements to attain his goal can be compared with a person who is about to undergo a lethal injection. In this instance Iago is the doctor who administers the poison and Othello is the convicted prisoner. However, there is a distinct difference. In the case of death by lethal injection
In any story with a recurring dark theme there always must be an outsider from humanity who somehow stands out from the seemingly equal community. In the case of Shakespeare’s Othello the outsider from humanity would be Iago for he truly stands out from the rest of society. Although Othello may be physically put out of the community, it seems that on an emotional and egotistical level Iago puts himself out of society further then Othello’s blackness does. He is not merely manipulative, as other villains
writing Othello, he had already been educated in the classics and in literature. Although his contemporary Ben Jonson said that Shakespeare knew "little Latin and less Greek," scholars know that Shakespeare knew, at least, about Greek ideas about comedy and tragedy. He was not incredibly educated, but he was aware that his play would comment on ideas about comedy. By looking at a few crucial scenes in the play, this paper will demonstrate that, although most people consider Shakespeare’s Othello a tragedy
The Character of Iago in Othello In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, there is a display of the different human facets. This essay will primarily focus on the qualities of Iago. The way Shakespeare went about the description of Iago's character; anyone would assume that he was nothing but a despicable person. I would like to add a couple of perspectives to the list of theories. It may be that some of the things this character committed are somewhat justifiable. Now what exactly
Iago as the Hero of Othello Make an argument that Iago is the hero, not the villain of this play. Why could we look at him that way? If he is the hero, who does this cast as the villain and why? What values are important if Iago is the hero? In the play "Othello", many can and would label Iago as a villain or even an/the enemy of the play. I'm not going to disagree or agree with anyone's opinion on whether Iago is the/an villain or not, because everybody has their own point of view. The purpose
to determine a healthy, loving relationship. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the main character Othello is unable to trust his new bride Desdemona. In act one, scene three, Desdemona professes her love for Othello in front of her father, as well as the court. Regardless of Desdemona’s professed love for Othello, Othello fails to see her honest love and becomes blind of her devotion for her husband, when he should have had trust. Since Othello failed to have confidence in himself, when it pertained