Othello : A Symbiotic Relationship

Othello is a loyal, honest, brave hero, and he won Desdemona’s love with his own performance and the legendary hero life; however, his low self-esteem causes his doubt for himself about his black skin, age, and manhood, his rudeness, reckless, paranoid personality seized him and

Iago plants ideas in Othello’s head, uses the innocent actions of others as his proof; and Othello, who is not practiced in worldly matters, believes his the misnomer of the “honest Iago”, and eventually is consumed by the lie.

Othello’s insecurity about his skin color and heritage is a tragic flaw. He is the highly-respected general of the armies of Venice. He is not a native of Venice,Which makes him more likely to harassment from the people of Venice. Othello is easy prey to insecurities because of his self-consciousness about being a racial and cultural outsider. This is a tragic flaw because it leads to death. He is insecure about himself already, and when he finds out that the one person he truly loves and trusts has had an affair he instantly believes it because he believes that he is not good enough for her. He knows that he does not meet Brabantio’s standards, and that Brabantio does not want his daughter married to a black man. His insecurities are so

Shakespeare’s Othello is a play consistently based on jealously and the way it can destroy lives. One is quick to think this jealously is based on Othello’s lack of belief in Desdemona’s faithfulness to him or his suspensions over Desdemona’s affair with Cassio, Othello’s honorable lieutenant. Upon closer inspection of the jealously that exists throughout the play it becomes clear that his jealously is not the sole start and reason for all of the destruction that occurs. Iago, a good friend of Othello, is not who he appears to be. Iago’s own jealously of those around him pushes him over the edge. He begins to deceive all those who believe he is a true, honorable, and faithful man. Throughout Othello, Iago incites his own jealously in

Once a seed of suspicion or doubt is planted in a person’s mind, the noxious effect of jealousy is soon to ensue. Jealousy and suspicion are Othello’s flaws hubris throughout the play and foreshadow to the audience his imminent downfall. He believes what Iago tells him so strongly that he compromises his close relationship with his best friend and his love for his wife. Iago manipulates Othello through the use of extortion, literary techniques, and his keen judge of character. His syntax and diction are so simple yet so powerful because he uses the correct rhetorical questions and addresses Othello with respectful terms such as “my lord.” He allows Othello do most of the talking

Unlike a pathetic character, a tragic hero is a noble character who displays some goodness but his misjudgements lead to his downfall. His death while tragic, allows viewers to sympathize him while experiencing catharsis. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare described Othello as a high rank character, and has been deceived by Iago, to make him suspect his loyal wife, Desdemona, of infidelity. Othello is a sympathetic character because he is someone of high rank who possesses some goodness, his hamartia of insecurity is exploited by Iago, but he is able to face his wrongdoing with dignity.

When such old time critics as H. N. Hudson, who wrote nearly a hundred years ago, saw that Iago was not acting from revenge, one is more than surprised to find modern critics, who have had the advantage of the progress that has been made in the study of abnormal psychology, accepting Iago for anything but what he is, and what Shakespeare intended him to be – a psychopathic personality. (79)

From this time on, Othello has become the slave of passion. As he cries farewell to the tranquil mind, to content, to war and his occupation, as he demands that Iago prove his love a whore, as he threatens Iago and begs for proof at the same time, he is finally led almost to the verge of madness [. . .] . (165)

Trust is fundamental to life, but knowing who to trust can be quite difficult. Having faith in the wrong person could lead to unfortunate outcomes. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, many characters are blinded by Iago’s false personality, causing them to put their trust in someone who eventually makes them feel cheated and betrayed. After reviewing the term sociopath, defined as, “a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour” (English Oxford), one could say that Iago has antisocial personality disorder. The traits Iago displays throughout the play, such as his use of manipulation, his abusive behavior toward others, his lack of remorse, and his deceitfulness make him a true sociopath.

    Tragedy is an intrinsically human concept; tragic heroes are damned by what they themselves do. Othello is not so much felled by the actions of Iago, but by a quality all people possess-- human frailty. Accordingly, Othello is not a victim of consequences, but an active participant in his downfall. He is not merely a vehicle for the machinations of Iago; he had free agency. Othello's deficiencies are: an insecure grasp of Venetian social values; lack of critical intelligence, self-knowledge, and faith in his wife; and finally, insecurity-- these are the qualities that lead to his own downfall.

William Shakespeare is famous all over the world for his use of recurrent themes, especially those of love, death and deception. A minute study of the play shows that all these themes are the part and parcel of his tragedy ‘Othello’. Most prominent, however, is jealousy. The story of the drama ‘Othello’ revolves around the doom of Othello and the other major characters as a result of jealousy. In this play, jealousy is mainly portrayed through the two major characters: Iago and Othello. It annihilates their lives absolutely because it causes Iago to show his true self, which in turn triggers Othello to undergo an absolute change that destroys the lives of their friends. The concept of jealousy as explored by Shakespeare in this play clearly indicates how one’s hidden fears and ambiguities can be exploited by those who are envious and how those envious people

The concept of jealousy in Othello is a clear indication of how one’s inherent fears and uncertainties can be exploited and manipulated by those who are envious of us. Such individuals can deceive, to turn not only against those whom are loved, but lead them into betraying humanities’ very nature and turn into monsters, overwhelmed by an emotion that feeds off itself. Iago, Othello’s ancient, becomes full of hatred and thoughts of murder and deception after hearing that Cassio is being promoted instead of him and of a rumor saying his wife was sleeping with Othello. Combined with the promotion of Cassio over himself, Iago seeks out revenge against Othello. His immense jealousy and anger toward Othello prevented him from learning

Othello is described by Iago as being pompous and immodest, Iago is only serving Othello to “serve [his] turn upon him”, this immediately shows the self-serving nature of Iago. We are quickly shown that Iago is bitter and twisted that he has not gained the rank of Othello’s lieutenant, thus his estimation of Othello is not fully believed or accredited by the audience. Furthermore Iago goes on to admit to his own deceptive nature by explaining he is not what he seems to be, he explains “I am not what I am”. In the first scene Iago launches into a speech of how he despises “knee-crooking knave” who serves his master for nothing but “provender” (bed and board). He then explains how he admires the servant who wears a “visage of duty” while serving no one but himself. These servants “have lined their coats” and then when they have used their master for money they “Do themselves homage”. Iago, once more, confesses to being one of these self serving and deceptive men. By showing Iago’s true colours, Shakespeare is casting Iago’s view of Othello in a very low estimation.

different point of view. To effectively manipulate one must know the weakness of the targeted person. Therefore, using their emotions to enable the manipulation easily. Othello is a tragedy, written by William Shakespeare in the seventeenth century. The play by William Shakespeare includes the character of Iago. Iago is the antagonist in Othello, who cleverly plans out his tactics. Viewing the character of Iago from an analytical point of view shows Iago exposing himself to be a psychopath. Iago can use the weakness of the characters to set up scenes, and earns himself the title “The Honest Iago.” Consequently, psychopaths act as pleasurable people, but in reality, they are different in private. A psychopath sees themselves as preferable and worthy of the respect of others. The complex character of Iago sees himself as being superior to Cassio and is inclined to seek vengeance on Cassio and Othello. The character of Cassio is similar to Othello since they both appear to be impeccable. In Othello, the complex character of “Honest Iago” creates a psychotropic weapon by using the vulnerability of the character’s emotional state to create the perfect tactics.

Deep desire to be at the center of things is served by extreme self-confidence, a combination that makes narcissists attractive and even charming (Woods 256). Other symptoms can be expressed as two-faced, manipulative, seductive, and hypocritical (Kanter 121). The cause of these thoughts in humans has to do with an improperly working ego. There was a common theme on a general cause of this disorder which was, early transition into the 'real world' fails in some way, leading the person to remain, at least in part, in the early self-focused. The Narcissist fails to learn regard for other people, situations, or entities (Kanter 123). Iago expressed the qualities of a diagnosed Narcissist throughout the entire play. With a need for approval, he went unfulfilled when Othello promoted Cassio instead of himself. In order to get back at Othello he plotted against him. Always appearing as trustworthy, Iago tricked Othello into believing his lies. Also throughout the play there was always a lack of empathy towards the destruction of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. These symptoms clearly identify Iago as a certified narcissist.