Othello is a play written by William Shakespeare that contains a tragic hero, love, deception, and death. Othello is a Moor that has married the woman he truly and deeply loves, Desdemona. By marrying Othello, Desdemona goes against her father who is a Venetian senator, Brabantio. Othello is a well-known, well-respected and powerful general of Venice that assigns a young and inexperienced Michael Cassio a position as lieutenant. Upset about not getting the position, Iago assembles a plan of revenge to take down Othello. Othello gets set apart from the rest of the people in the play because he is black and a Moor, which allows Iago to manipulate him and have a colossal affect on the plot. Shakespeare writes about how Othello is a “well-respected …show more content…
Othello sees the good in everyone and believes that people are true to their word, which ironically Iago is not. Othello thinks Iago is the most loyal, trustworthy ensign a person could ask for, but behind his back Othello never sees what’s coming at him. Iago fills Othello’s head with so many lies about Desdemona that he begins to have seizures. Othello begins to think that Desdemona doesn’t love him anymore because of his age and race, and that is why she is now going after Cassio. Othello fills with rage and creates his own diabolical plan to kill both Cassio and Desdemona for going against him. Othello kills Desdemona, making a terrible mistake because not only has he killed a woman that loved and stayed true to him, but also finding out about Iago’s vicious plan from Emilia. Othello feels so terribly guilty, that he decides to kill himself. Othello’s race has heavily affected the outcome of this Shakespearean play. His race becomes involved with his marriage soon becoming clouded with his jealousy and hatred. Othello is so livid with the idea of Desdemona wanting a young white man rather than him, which leads to him having made a terrible decision. Clouded over with emotions of rage and jealousy, Othello kills Desdemona out of love and hate. Shortly after finding out the truth, Othello feels terribly guilty that he grabs a knife and stabs himself in the
He was tricked into thinking there was proof of the affair and acted out of anger. Othello was upset that he had to kill her, but her betrayal was unforgivable. When Othello discovers that he wrongly killed Desdemona, he was shocked to become aware of Iago’s disloyalty. His guilt began to take over and he killed himself as a way to atone for what he did. Othello’s misplaced jealousy got the best of him because he loved Desdemona too much. He was so wrapped up in Iago’s lies that he couldn’t see the truth even when it came from Desdemona herself. His anger and newfound hatred of Iago are revealed when he stabs him. However, his one request before he died was that he wanted Iago to live and be tortured. Othello knew death was too good for Iago and wanted to make sure he’d suffer for everything.
Desdemona is murdered by Othello as it is thought that she cuckolded him, and because she disregards the will of Brabantio in Act 1 to marry Othello, Iago makes Othello believe that it is likely that she would also trick him: “She did deceive her father, marrying you” (3.3.11). This statement manifests into Othello’s self-justified desire to kill his wife: “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men. Put out the light and then put out the light” (5.2.6-7). “Yet” and “else” show how he is reasoning with himself, in an attempt to justify his subsequent actions. Othello becomes more vocal towards the end of the play due to the loss of his honour, and he needs to reclaim it, otherwise he will be even more of an outcast in a society in which he is already at a disadvantage, being a ‘Moor’.
Othello trusts Iago and now Iago is trying to take his wife from him for someone else. Furthermore, “He takes her by the palm...sir in.” (pg. 71). Iago watches Cassio and Emilia because he thinks they had an affair he watches them carefully so he can figure out how to convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Another example involves the plan to help Othello kill Desdemona. “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated” (pg. 185). Othello believes that Iago is most honest, thus he believed killing his wife Desdemona was the right thing to do. Iago brainwashed Othello into believing the wrong thing was the right thing. The characterization of Iago is created by the use of dramatic irony. The audience knew how devious Iago is, but the characters fell for his mischievous acts.
Othello had the option of having a rational discussion with Desdemona however he decides to blame her without evidence. While reflecting on the information Iago has given him, Othello begins plotting his revenge. Othellos temper made matters worst for Desdemona. Whenever he becomes angered he lashes out on Desdemona and would physically and mentally abuse her. Othello’s aggressive behavior has become suspicious to some, yet he is left alone. Othello commits the murder of Desdemona with no remorse and doesn't think twice about what will happen to him. Othello states, “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men. Put out the light, and then put out the light. If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,I can again thy former light restore”(5.2.235). He undoubtedly believes that Desdemona must be killed no questions asked. When Lodovico realizes what Othello has done he is stunned. Lodovico attempts to convince Othello of what he did is wrong, but he believes his actions were right, ”O thou Othello, thou wert once so good,Fall'n in the practice of a damnèd slave,What shall be said to thee?”, othello then states,” Why, anything. An honorable murderer, if you will,For naught I did in hate, but all in honor” (5.2.342-347). Instead of taking responsibility for killing Desdemona Othello is making excuses to protect
The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.
Perfect people do not exist in this world of temptations, failures, and suffering. In fact, every person has weaknesses, and there is always a possibility that someone will use those feeble points against that man. Shakespeare's play Othello shows an example of how one can control others exploiting their weaknesses and the consequences of such actions. The character of Iago, the antagonist in the tragedy Othello, instigates chaos, deception, and gross manipulation. He is the center of all the evil events in the play. He manages to completely deceive everyone by displaying an honest facade. Thus he is able to instill trust in all those around him. Since no one sees him for the evil and deceiving man that he really is, he manages to
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. He is a character of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. His destruction is essentially precipitated by his own actions, as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not a fault of a single villain, but is rather a consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments and misjudgments, and attempts for personal justification exhibited by the characters. Othello is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. As the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Chronologically through the play, Othello’s character
Othello’s trust for Iago enables Iago to completely discredit Othello as the good guy of the play when Iago manipulates him into thinking Desdemona was unfaithful to him with Cassio. Even though Othello must know in his heart that Desdemona would not betray him, he is so caught up by Iago's efforts and has fallen for his manipulative lies, that all rational thoughts abandons Othello and he ultimately ends up murdering his wife since to Othello betrayal was immoral. At the end of play, even Othello can hardly believe what he has done because he thinks of himself as, "One not easily jealous, but, being wrought, perplexed in the extreme..." meaning that he has acted out of character and only in the interests of honor. Iago’s betrayal to those such as Othello and Desdemona, ultimately successfully destroyed everyone, himself included.
Without a doubt, Shakespeare's play Othello is a tragedy. The main character, Othello, is a typical Shakespearean tragic hero. Othello is good man who is deeply in love with his wife. He has one flaw, jealousy, which gets the best of him, and triggers the downfall of his wonderful life.
Othello is a soldier. A strong man. What he knows of life comes from his experiences on the battlefield. He is an honest man, who was trusting as well. He has his friends and confidants, that he holds all of his trust in; maybe too much trust. He is married to young, beautiful Dedemona. She disobeyed her father by marrying Othello, a man of another race, and another color. She has a deep and compassionate love for Othello. The story of Othello and Desdemona is not one of a story book romance. What started as a love for two people, turned out to be a marriage based on jealousy, deceit and in the end a tragic murder.
Othello’s love for Desdemona was so deep he could not bear the thought of another being with her; “If she be false, O! Then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe’t.” Iago uses the characters of Cassio and the obsessive Roderigo as his weapons in his cunning plan. Iago drives the idea into Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful, inciting him into a state of jealousy. “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again.” Othello growing insecurities about his wife’s faithfulness only adds to his psychological suffering which in turn acts as a catalyst towards the suffering of other characters involved in the play.Iago tells these lies with the intention of driving Othello insane as well as establish his dominance and influence the situations of those characters close to Othello. Evidence of this comes in one of Iago’s soliloquies from act two, scene one; “That Cassio loves her, I do well Believe’t: That she loves him, ‘tis apt and of great credit.” This section shows that he is trying to convince himself that his own manipulative lies are true and is trying to reassure his motives by justifying his own actions. By convincing Othello
Because of this inability to see what Iago was planning, Othello was effortlessly controlled and deceived into believing that Desdemona, his new spouse, is having an affair. He believes the expression of Iago more than he confides in his own woman. By confiding in the wrong individual, Othello murders the lady that he cherishes, and because of this terrible mistake, he kills himself as
Othello, the Moor of Venice is one of the major tragedies written by William Shakespeare that follows the main character, Othello through his trials and tribulations. Othello, the Moor of Venice is similar to William Shakespeare’s other tragedies and follows a set of specific rules of drama. The requirements include, following the definition of a tragedy, definition of tragic hero, containing a reversal of fortune, and a descent from happiness. William Shakespeare fulfills Aristotle’s requirements in this famous play.
Othello is a double-headed monster of destruction in this drama. On one end of the spectrum, Othello is a loving, noble, hardworking man who cares for Desdemona endlessly, however this side of Othello does a complete 180° spin. By the end of the play, Othello is driven to the point of insanity concerning Desdemona’s loyalty. Furthermore, the irony in the play can be seen in the fact that Desdemona remains loyal the entire time, and that it is Iago’s nasty revenge plot to get the couple to break up. Bell claims that Othello is “driven mad by his inward thoughts, and can only be satisfied by his outward thoughts, or what he actually “sees.””
"Othello is set in a world and focuses on the passions and personalities of its major figures." (Thomas). Othello is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, Othello's wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio and advisor Iago. The play appeared in seven editors between 1622 and 1705. The themes of the story are racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal. Othello is a black soldier who is accused of stealing his wife Desdemona. Although Desdemona's father dislikes his daughter's choice, Desdemona loves Othello very much and the two are married. Othello’s right hand man is angered at the fact that Othello picked a man named Cassio to be more important than him and he also feels that he is messing with his wife. Iago plans to manipulate Othello but his plan eventually causes more hurt to most of the characters. Iago tries to use the meeting between Cassio and Desdemona as a way to make Othello believe she was cheating on him. Iago goes on with his manipulative plan by planting a handkerchief in Cassio's room, and goes and tell Othello about what he has seen Cassio do. Othello becomes jealous throughout the story and begins to believe that Cassio is talking to his wife. Iago persuades Othello to come up with a master plan to kill Cassio and Desdemona. As Othello tries to kill Desdemona, Emilia, Iago's wife, comes in to tell Othello the truth about Iago. Unfortunately it is too late. Othello had already suffocated her. When Othello