Examples Of Envy In Othello

Jealousy Anger. Envy. Resentment. These are all emotions that are caused by jealousy. Othello and Iago, the main characters of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, is overwhelmed by the strong emotions that ensues through jealousy.

In the play Othello, Iago describes jealousy as a “green-eyed monster. The “Green” representing the color of envy, and “monster” shows how destructive and vicious it can be. Iago has a manipulative mind causing people to believe him and listen what he has to say about a certain situation. When Iago is telling Othello to be aware of jealousy it causes Othello to become weary of his wife Desdemona. Although, Othello believes his wife is loyal to him. He starts to listen to Iago and becomes jealous of Roderigo who he believes is all for Desdemona.

Jealousy is a powerful drug. When someone is jealous, one can only imagine how far someone would go because of it. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, there were several characters that went through different ways of processing their jealousy. Iago’s jealousy provokes his idea to get back at the people he felt was not deserving enough of the things they had or their happiness. His plans succeeds but by the end, no one wins. Iago’s jealousy forms at the beginning of the play which causes Othello’s jealousy towards the end and because of it, it results in people hurt mentally and physically.

In Act 3, Iago even mentions that jealousy is a “green-eyed monster”(3.3.196), yet Othello is still overcome with anger that he has never shown before in earlier acts. An example of this angered behavior occurs when Othello exclaims, “She’s gone, I am abused,

This comment is important by Iago, “Should you do so, my lord, My speech should fall into such vile success, Which my thoughts aimed not. Cassio’s my worthy friend - My lord I see y’are moved ”(Othello III.iii 221-225). Iago trick-minded Othello by putting all the things in Othello’s head such as Cassio and Desdemona are sleeping together and saying he shouldn’t do things to Cassio. This is a physical and mental part of jealousy because Iago is trick-minding all of them, Othello kills Desdemona and himself which makes it physical and mental because he fooled around all of them and put things in each other heads that lead up to the physical point of

“Othello” by William Shakespeare portrays the dangers associated with jealousy among people. At the center of the play, it explores the development of jealousy based on presumption rather than facts. In the play, both Othello and Iago succumb to jealousy, and they proceed to act on this emotion. Jealousy first develops in the play after Iago discovers that Cassio received the appointment as lieutenant instead of himself. In the end, jealousy consumes Othello and causes him to murder both himself and his wife.

Jealousy can be such burdin that won’t stay away and is consumed within us. Othello was one of the victims of jealousy and for being one of many to consume jealousy it started to hurt him mentally and physically causing him to have these episodes which led him to make the biggest mistake he could ever make. Jealousy is found in everyone and some of them handle it in many different ways. Iago the Conniving liar was jealous because both Othello and Cassio got promoted before him and was mad saying he had more experience and was a better leader than them. “One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, A fellow almost damned in a fair wife, That never set a squadron in the field, Nor the division of a battle knows More than a spinster—unless the bookish theoric, Wherein the togèd consuls can propose As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practice Is all his soldiership.

In Shakespeare’s classic seventeenth-century play, Othello, readers see how jealousy affects the human mind. The antagonist, Iago, is jealous he did not receive a promotion from his boss Othello. Iago then concocts a plan of revenge to make Othello think his wife cheated on him. Throughout Othello, readers see how jealousy drives Othello and Iago to harm others without the fear of consequences. Shakespeare’s Othello explores how our fears and uncertainties can be used to exploit and manipulate others by using the literary elements of character, setting, and plot.

Jealousy is a powerful and potentially dangerous emotion that has the ability to control people, their mind, and their actions. Throughout the play Othello by William Shakespeare, the majority of the plot is driven by the antagonistic character, Iago’s, cruel actions brought upon him by his jealousy. The play opens with Othello, the general of the Venetian army, marrying Desdemona, a woman going against her father’s wishes by marrying Othello. He has appointed the lieutenancy position of the army to Michael Cassio over Iago, who desperately wants said position. This provokes a jealousy deep within him, and he acts upon it, becoming the perfect puppet master of every character in the play.

Othello emerges as uneasy whenever he considers the situation of Desdemona making love to someone other than him. Pursuing this farther, Othello becomes sincerely concerned when “Cassio parted from [his] wife” (III.iii.40). After becoming jealous he notices the interactions she has with other people, which lead him to believe his wife is cheating. Therefore his instinct guides him to kill his wife for her shameful actions. On the same note, Hara Estroff Marano is entirely correct when she writes, that jealousy “throws the mind into turmoil and is difficult to dislodge”.

Throughout Shakespeare's play, Othello, the theme of jealousy is portrayed throughout the love affairs of each character which lead them into betraying each other. From Roderigo wanting to be loved by Desdemona to Othello being filled with anger because he thinks Cassio and Desdemona are sleeping together. In the play, Iago manipulating many charters into thinking the Moor is evil coupled with Iago trying to kill Cassio reveals that the Jealousy is a major theme of the play. Iago was once the right hand man of Othello until he was denied a promotion leading him to manipulate many characters into thinking Othello the Moor was a evil person. Iago states, “ I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets” (1.3.374-395).

Iago angrily comments to himself “I hate the moor, and it is thought abroud that twixt my sheet/ has done my office.” (Othello I,iii 329-331). Iago claims in this quote that not only does he have hate for the moor, but he hates him because he think that the

Jealousy is a disease that preys on people’s emotions and manipulates the mind. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, jealousy is a very prominent theme, it causes the downfall of characters and leads them into a path of fury and vengeance. Iago, one of the most deceitful and sly characters in Othello uses his wit to try and make Othello jealous. However, Iago is not just born hateful and cruel he has motives, he is mainly motivated by jealousy of Othello. In Iago’s eyes, Othello is far superior to him, he is a noble warrior, has lots of power, and is loved by many in Venice. Iago’s lust for Othello’s wealth drives him mad in jealousy since he believes his life is nothing compared to Othello’s. Another, jealous character in Othello is Othello himself. Othello’s jealousy is caused by him believing that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio, who is white and loved by many girls. He is jealous of Cassio who Othello believes took Desdemona’s chastity, and his handkerchief he gave to Desdemona. Othello’s outrage causes him to act completely out of character and ultimately leads to his downfall. Finally, the last character that represents jealousy is Roderigo. Roderigo is jealous of Othello because he is madly in love with Desdemona and Othello is Desdemona’s husband. Roderigo is also jealous of Othello’s reputation with the people of Venice since Roderigo is considered a fool and people highly respect Othello. Roderigo is so in love Desdemona that he follows her

Othello semmes to suggest that jealousy is a dangerous emotion that will destroy everything around you. This is shown through various characters throughout the play. One of these character who showed this was Emilia. She had stated “They are not ever jealous for the cause, but are jealous for they are jealous”. This supports my claim as people rarely ever have a reason to be jealous .

Othello’s jealousy is responsible for the death of his wife and of Othello himself. His jealousy consumes him so much that he even falls into epileptic shock at one point. Jealousy’s effect on Othello is most obviously seen when he rambles on saying,”Handkerchief! Confessions! Handkerchief! To confess, and be hanged for his labor. First to be hanged, and then to confess—I tremble at it. Nature would not invest herself in such shadowing passion without some instruction. It is not words that shake me thus. Pish! Noses, ears, and lips. Is ’t possible? Confess! Handkerchief! Oh, devil!”(78). Right after saying this Othello collapses and falls into a trance. The amount of jealousy is so prominent in Othello that he can no longer think straight as he contemplates all of the suspicions at once. At this point, Othello was not able to think straight whatsoever and the idea of murdering both his best friend and his wife was