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Character Analysis of Othello Essay

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Character Analysis of Othello

“Othello” is a tragedy and Othello is a tragic hero. Othello is a general in the service of Venice. He is good, courageous, brave and trustworthy. However he has some weaknesses such as insecurity; he is too open, naïve, and gullible, Iago plays on his weaknesses which brings about his downfall and he kills himself. This causes the suffering of innocent people like Desdemona, Emilia, Cassio and Roderigo. The audience also feel pity for Othello and this creates a sense of wastage at the end. Iago’s main aim is to bring about Othello’s downfall. He has many reasons for this, such as his anger as Othello rejected him for the post of lieutenant and he hates the fact …show more content…

Roderigo says to Iago “What a full fortune does the thick lips owe”. Shakespeare wanted the audience to mainly focus on the racist comments made about Othello by other characters. Brabantio also accuses Othello of using black magic to steal his daughter. Iago refers to Othello as “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe”. Iago also says to Brabantio that “you are one of those that will not serve god if the devil bid you” and he also says “the moor is now making the beast with two backs”. This proves that Iago’s hatred of Othello is motivated by racism. In the 17th century the audience would sympathise with Brabantio and not for Othello because Othello is an outsider. Shakespeare intends to shock the audience with the language Iago uses. Therefore Shakespeare encourages the audience to criticise and dislike Iago and so sympathise for Othello. Shakespeare wants to change as well as challenge Society’s view on race.

When Othello first appears on the scene, he appears as a character disliked by others. He secretly married Desdemona and is criticised by others before he appears on the scene. As the play moves on, the audience are shaken in seeing his good qualities. He is good, calm and when Iago tells him that Roderigo has been spreading foul reports about him he says “Let him do his

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