Dramatic and Linguistic Devices in William Shakespeare's Othello

Fear of cuckoldry is widely known theme in medieval and Renaissance English literature. Fear of cuckoldry was also a widespread fear in English society during those eras. Men often treated their wives as possessions. Once men and women married, divorce was almost impossible, especially since it was almost impossible to prove that one had been cuckolded. If one were cuckolded and one’s wife had another man’s child, one might spend decades taking care of that child and passing on one’s money and belongings to that child without ever knowing that one had been deceived. Unmarried women are seen as their fathers ' property and the play 's two marriages are marked by jealousy and cruelty. Most

In Othello every character has their own personalities that makes them the person they are. In Othello there are characters that show true grit, a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset. Each characters are different which makes the book even more interesting. True grit means to endure and push through to do something better no matter what it takes. An example of grit is studying for a long period of time for a test and enduring the amount of work that must be completed. The definition of mindset is the established set of attitude held by someone. There are two other types of mindset as well. There is growth mindset and fixed mindset. Growth mindset is when the person isn 't

Othello, a play that was written in 1604 by William Shakespeare, is an example of a type of story called a “tragedy.” Throughout the course of the work, Othello proves himself to be very easily misled, despite his heroic status. This causes him to lose his ability to make good judgments and decisions. Even though Othello had a reputation as a hero, he ends up being one of the most gullible characters in the play when he completely falls into the evil trap that Iago set for him. As the story unfolds Othello’s character evolves in an extremely tragic way as Iago manipulates him and leaves him to rot in his misery. Eventually, this leads to Othello’s suicide.

On November first, 1604, The Moor of Venice was performed for the first time in the Banqueting House at Whitehall by William Shakespeare and his group of performers, The King’s Men. Centuries later, Othello by William Shakespeare remains one of Bard’s most prominent literary masterpieces. The use of literary devices such as motifs in the play has led Othello to become one of the most popular pieces of literature to this day. While some may think of these motifs simply as recurring ideas Shakespeare placed throughout the plot to help develop the themes of the play, the motifs in Othello help the reader gain a deeper understanding of the characters in the play.

In Othello, one of the most interesting enigmas is the relationship between the spoken language and knowledge (or lack their of) which eventually leads to the downfall of Othello. One might contend that Othello’s lack of understanding throughout the play derives itself from the powerful, toxic language of Iago, which poisons the otherwise sound, knowledgeable mind of Othello. One might be comfortable with the idea that language has such a powerful, direct effect on human beings and can be used to both obscure and enhance understanding. However, this belief which holds language as a powerful agent directly affecting human understanding, runs into a serious complication when one considers that the loving language of Desmona fail to enhance Othello’s knowledge although Iago successfully obscures it. Thus, the enigma rises, what is the role of language in affecting human understanding in Othello? In Othello, language is an opaque, ambigous, and powerless blank space that human beings fill with their deeply-rooted and incorrect skepticisms which are subsequently realized and inflamed, causing a rejection of their world, and an obscuring of their knowledge. In this manner, Shakespeare’s Othello can be interpreted as an assertion that skepticism (within Othello) is created within one by one’s own mind and that language can very easily worsen doubt and obscure knowledge but rarely enhances knowledge or instills certainty

   In Othello, Shakespeare explores the relationship between words and events. Spoken thought, in the play, has all the power of action; speaking about an event will make that event become reality for those who hear - it will affect reality as if that event had taken place. Shakespeare demonstrates the power of words poignantly through Othello's monologues. Othello struggles with the reality that Iago creates for him. When Othello speaks, he reveals that he is unable to stop himself from carrying out acts that Iago's and his own words have prophesied and initiated. Othello's monologues further demonstrate that even the knowledge of the power of words cannot protect the characters from the

Through using powerful words in, “Othello”, the human behaviour of the characters is either positively or negatively influenced, and their characteristics and destinies are created. In the following essay “the power of words” in “Othello” will be discussed. Firstly, an introduction paragraph will be given about the power of language devices. Secondly, the language device, “words as power”, will be discussed. Thirdly, the language device, “words as character”, will be elaborated upon. Lastly, the

When pairs of texts are considered together, their universal themes and ideas lead to greater understanding, appreciation and insight of both the old and the new. The texts Othello, William Shakespeare (1600) and Othello, Geoffrey Sax (2001), ring true for this statement. Despite the differing contexts and ages, the universal themes of racism and betrayal bring new meaning to each of the texts. The primary meaning from the juxtaposition of the two is that of the human condition, and how the problems faced in the 17th century are faced in modern times.

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).

However, different ideas can be inferred by his more personal asides, “I hate the Moor,/And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets/'Has done my office. I know not if 't be true,/But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,/ Will do as if for surety” (Shakespeare.I.III.429-433). One of the reasons for Iago’s evil doings is that he perceives that Othello has slept with his wife. With no real indication of this, Iago is left to stew in his hatred and jealousy. Saying that Othello has “’twixt [his] sheets/’Has done [his] office,” reveals that Iago believes Othello’s relationship with Emilia, exceeded a physical one (Shakespeare.I.III.430-431). Another plausible reason for Iago’s malicious activities is racism. Described as “the Moor,” Othello is segregated from the rest of the nobility throughout the story due to his race. The first indication of Iago’s racist thoughts is when he beckons Roderigo to call upon Barbantio and tell him about Desdemona and Othello. Interjecting, Iago yells to Barbantio, “Zounds, sir, you’re robbed. For shame, put on your/gown!/Your heart is burst. You have lost half your soul./Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!/Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,/Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you./Arise, I say!” (Shakespeare.I.I.94-101). Declaring that Barbantio has been “robbed…for shame,” indicates that

An example of this is that when Othello and Emilia are talking, Emilia’s responses are quick and straightforward. This makes her appear direct in that instance while Othello uses long and drawn out sentences. This can be interpreted to be caused by his jealousy and presents him as very uncertain since he repeats himself many times. Shakespeare uses other literary strategies such as inverted syntax. For example, Iago tells Othello “Myself the crying fellow did pursue” (Act 2, Scene 3, Line 229). As Shakespeare incorporate inverted syntax into his writing, he is projecting more excitement and drama to the characters and ultimately the story as a whole. If Shakespeare would have merely written “I pursued the crying fellow”, there would not be as much meaning as when the meaning the inverted syntax helps to produce.

Tragedy is a common genre in many plays especially in Shakespeare works. A tragedy is a play that has a catastrophic event that ends with an unhappy ending or the main

The language and literary techniques used in William Shakespeare's Othello enrich the settings, plot, characters, and themes. Othello is a complex tragedy about good versus evil, loyalty, love, sexual jealousy, appearance versus reality, and intrigue, told in a first person point of view. The play takes place during the Renaissance in Venice, Italy and in Cyprus over three days. It is written in blank verse, usually unrhymed iambic pentameter. The protagonist, Othello, is a Moor well respected by senators for his valiant service in war and married to Desdemona, a Venetian woman. The play is entitled Othello and the plot and action encompass him, thus supporting his position of

The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which

Shakespeare uses a multitude of literary devices to layer together a story that has depth within both the plot and his characters. The identity of characters come from their patterns of language, and their choice of words in both public and private speech, and their interactions. In the play, Othello, the Moor of Venice, there are two major characters, Iago and Othello. Through his use of language Shakespeare is able to tell a story that reveals how the contrasting characters change based on their situation. Shakespeare uses an antagonist that has both a private and public presentation of personality.