Character Analysis Of Othello

Othello or The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare is a tragedy of race. Shakespeare creates a hero who does not fall under a racist stereotype, Othello is a nobleman, a decorated soldier, very well respected by his men (with the exception of Iago). One of the few characteristics that harms, rather than helps him, is that he is dark-skinned in a society utterly dominated by men prejudiced against those with dark skin. At the start of the play, he appears confident that, "My parts, my title, and my perfect soul / Shall manifest me rightly." (Shakespeare, 1, 2, 36-37) But Iago makes sure to use Othello's race against him as much as possible. As a brave soldier from Africa and recently instated supreme commander of the Venetian army, Shakespeare still allows Othello to succumb to the subtle racism that surrounds him. Most of it comes forward through the dialog, and is directed toward Othello. Shakespeare makes no effort to hide this colorful language, nearly every character uses a racial slur to insult Othello at some point in the play. Even Emilia, who doesn’t trust her own husband, sinks to the level of insulting Othello based on the color of his skin. Though the main character to make racist remarks in Othello is Iago, making him a representation of white supremacy. The effect of racism on Othello is quite evident and is one of the main causes of his insecurity about his marriage. These black stereotypes show up in the play and lead to the problem with trying to produce

Othello is presented initially as a dangerous beast by Iago, before he reveals himself to be of noble, human, status, only to degenerate later to the condition of a bloodthirsty and irrational animal. He is the hero of the play and this is achieved by his last speech(V. ii. 340-356) where he rights himself at the end of the play. "I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss" (V. ii. 359). By showing us these contrasting images of the moor, Shakespeare is revealing the two different attitudes to race. The one of acceptance, as shown through characters such as

Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes throughout his work, including love, death and betrayal. These themes are present in his work of Othello. However, the most fundamental issue is jealousy. The lives of the characthers in Othello are ruined by jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play. The telling of the story is carried out by passion, jealousy, and death. Shakespeare’s Othello reveals devastating tragic inevitability, stunning psychological depth, and compelling poetic depth; the fragility and mysterious power of love, as well as demons of doubt, and how suspicion can be triggered by manipulative villain (Barthelemy 12).

The tragedy Othello is filled with a complex web of separate conflicts that are connected with each other. The external conflicts are very obvious, such as Iago trying to replace Cassio as lieutenant and Othello's belief in Desdemona's affair. In addition to these conflicts, however, many characters in the play also face their own internal conflicts in which they have to make a choice between two opposing forces. An excellent example of this internal conflict can be found in analyzing Roderigo. Roderigo's love for Desdemona creates conflict because he faces the choice of going back to Venice since he has no money left, or staying in Cyprus because he wants to pursue Desdemona. In more general terms, Roderigo deals with the conflict of

Similarly to the Venetians, the Elizabethans would have the same unwelcoming outlooks towards Othello and Moors in general, however to a larger extent. During the 17th century, England was accustomed to people of African descent and often interacted with them during the slave trade. However, the Elizabethans did not accept others that had different cultural values than them. In the same light, they were afraid of the Africans and viewed them as uncivilized beasts that had no capacity for compassion and have no place within their society. Other stories included Queen Elizabeth made a proclamation to deport all the Africans from England due to them using up England’s resources and are not compatible with Christianity. This outlook would extend to the Moors and Othello would be praised for his rank in the Venetian military, but would be feared by the Elizabethans due to their belief that people of his color are cruel, savage

serve god if the devil bid you” and he also says “the moor is now

The juxtaposition is seen when Shakespeare depicts Othello as not only a “Noble Moor” (Act 4 Scene 1) but also a “Noble General” (Act 2 Scene 2). In Othello, Othello is being sent out to war in order to keep off invaders.(Act 1 , Scene 3) This comes to show how Othello is more than just the stereotypes that label him. He is a respected man that is admired by the people of Venice for his amazing background in wars and his high ranking as General. He is a man that is worth being loyal to (according to Desdemona Act 1 Scene 3 Lines 214-217) and someone who should be described as “Valiant” according to the Duke ( Act 1 Scene 3 Line 56).

In Othello, Othello is a character that is seen as an outsider from the very beginning, where he is referred to as the “moor” in the society by the citizens of Venice, where he is already set apart from the rest of the citizens. Othello’s identity is presented by different factors that balance each other out, with occasions where one dominates the other, causing him to lose sight of his own identity.

Othello, a Moor, is a soldier, a military leader, who, after much battlefield experience, is currently employed by Venice as the Governor-General of Cyprus. He is both a captain and a general. He holds a high position and is greatly respected. In Act I, he is sent by the Venetian government to defend Cyprus against and impending attack by the Turks. The play is vague about Othello's exact origin. He displays heroic qualities of courage and strength. He is physically impressive and passionate. What set him apart is that he is dark-skinned, a foreigner, a stranger and outsider. He doesn't belong in the society in which he lives. He stands apart from everyone else as a man of another race, from another country and much of the conflict that he faces is because he doesn't belong and fit in with Venetian society.

In Othello by William Shakespeare, the villainous Iago devises a plot with the hopes that Othello and his wife, Desdemona, will be separated so that he can take Othello’s position as head of the Venetian Military. Iago’s scheme consists of him convincing Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his lieutenant, Cassio. Iago has told no one else about his ploy so while everyone else’s actions remain true, he manipulates their every move for his benefit. While their actions may not lead to results that they expected, exploring the reasoning behind everyone’s actions, can give insight to their values since the actions were based on what they believed was the best thing to do. To the characters of Othello, honor is more important than

Racism and tragedy are major themes in the play Othello, and they underscore the entire play, from the very instant that we are even introduced to our protagonist as a Moor, which is a term that notes the color of Othello’s skin and refers to people from North Africa, who are typically Muslim. “Signior, it is the Moor” (Shakespeare, 8). William Shakespeare is one of the greatest playwrights that the world has ever seen, and tragedy is one of his primary thematic choices for his plays. Shakespeare wrote Othello in 1604, which was an era in which existed systematic racism in England. White people did not see people of color as people like themselves but as less than, as subservient, and inferior. The question many

Shakespeare used the comments of Iago, Brabantio and Roderigo at the beginning of Act One, so that we had preconceived ideas of Othello and were prepared to observe him as “different”, however as we learn about his true personality we feel terrible about forming such prejudiced opinions and therefore we place Othello high up on a pedestal. This is Shakespeare’s intention for his Tragedy, as this provides the central character, Othello, with a further distance to fall, adding significance to his disintegration later on in the play. We learn that the Duke, the highest authority in Venice, holds the utmost respect for Othello proving that the words of Iago, Brabantio and Roderigo do not reflect the opinion of all Venetians: “Valiant Othello”. We now begin to unravel that these particular characters are all biased against Othello, due to personal problems. Brabantio’s discovery of Othello’s marriage to his daughter sparks a hatred within him and his references to piracy and witchcraft exposes a racist element in his character: “O thou foul thief! Where hast thou stowed my daughter? Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her”.

It then hit me that through Iago’s judgments Othello is “the Moor” and should therefore exemplify the common idea of a moor, which is not admiration, self-worth, and fortune; it is one of disconnectedness and dependency. When he says that “nothing can or shall content his soul/ Till he is evened with the Moor, wife for wife” (Act 2: Scene), he means that he is satisfied until Othello’s life is made equal with his involving feelings of inadequacy and jealousy, which are all qualities fitting to a “moor”. Throughout the play Iago repetitively uses derogatory remarks when speaking of Othello so to encourage certain people in the play to endure racism and confirm that it was the norm. Even so, some of Iago’s semantics reveal his own prejudices. For example, Iago only refers to Othello as a “Moor” with the exception of when he refers to Othello as the “black Othello” (Act 2: Scene 3). Iago hates Othello because he is “the Moor” yet does not symbolize the expected role of what is thought of to be a black man in these times. There is neither reason nor logic behind his hatred, but discrimination against one seldom has reason, for it is characteristically irrational thinking. Iago is a clear illustration of what racism is and will justify his irrational thoughts with anything, just as Iago contributes to Brabantio and Rodrigo’s reasoning behind their actions and Othello’s reasons for acting out on

Othello is one of the greatest plays due to its variety of character and themes. The immorality seen in Iago, the gullibility in Othello, and the desperation of Desdemona make the story. The theme of social status plays a huge role in the story. In addition, the theme of appearance versus reality also plays a huge role in how each tragedy happens. In the critical essay “Othello” it discusses the idea that the characters are cast as outsiders due to false interpretation of what is happening or what is being said. On the other hand, the piece “Othello Character Analysis” emphasizes how characterization reflects the greatness of the piece.

saying he will “tear her all to pieces” and he tells Iago to let him