Othello, By William Shakespeare

Shakespeare 's complex play Othello holds numerous pressing issues within its intricate layers that seem to leap out to modern society. One such issue seen by many is the representation of women. Women within the play can be characterized as submissive possessions and temptresses. This ideology, though commonplace in this time period, appears controversial to the modern eye as we deconstruct the characters of this play. This dominate patriarchal society present within the setting merely conditions this belief further as it is prevalent within the characters dialogue.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, the nominal character, an honorable Venetian general, is driven to madness through the deceptions of his honest right hand Iago. Iago plots to ruin Othello and through his deception, he drives Othello’s insecurities by implanting the idea of infidelity of his beloved wife Desdemona. Othello goes on to murder his wife, and after he discovers Iago’s plot, he kills himself. In a time when women were looked down upon, Shakespeare crafted a drama in which women took part in major roles. Modeled by Elizabethan England the women in Othello were portrayed in a light justified by society as in Othello, these women were nothing more to than objectified possessions, forced to submit to the ever dying will of their husbands. This is displayed by Desdemona and Emilia’s and relationships with their husbands.

A society consists of diverse cultures, looks, values, and beliefs. In a world with one predominant culture, those perceived as different from the norm are associated with negative images and treated inferior to the superior culture. The negative images associated with color, specifically blackness, has a detrimental effect on the victims who are racially stereotyped. The character Othello is a unique character in English literature, because unlike the other members of society, Othello is an outsider in Venice. He is a black man living in a white world, married to a white woman, and a leader of white men in battle. Othello is persuaded that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him, leading him to murder her. Some argue that because Othello was the typical black stereotype he killed Desdemona, but evidence suggests that Othello viewed his own racial identity as undesirable for Desdemona and killed her out of honor and self-hatred. Henceforth, the long-term psychological effects of racism affects an individual’s self-identity and his or her relationship with others.

In Shakespeare’s Othello the theme of jealousy is meticulously developed and analyzed through the playwrights use of structural techniques and the nature of the tale being a “Shakespearean tragedy”. The play highlights the dangers of jealousy, and how

Love is complicated due to the fact that there is a difference of opinion and perception and it is complicated because people see stuff in different ways and interpret things differently as well. In the 3 texts dissatisfaction or complication is shown. Firstly in Othello love is presented as ephemeral and transient while atonement love is presented as unrequited and finally in cat on a hot tin roof love is presented as painful and troublesome due to unreciprocated feelings.

William Shakespeare’s Othello would not be a dramatic tragedy if the smiling villain, Iago, were a deaf mute. There is no doubt that the destruction of each character can be blamed on jealous Iago. The theme of jealousy helps propel the plot naturally and demonstrates the consequences of being morbidly jealous. The circumstantial evidence Iago provides acts like a lethal poison, which surrounds Othello in suspicion and envy but also turns him into an inhuman murderer. Jealousy is the ‘monster’ that unresonably conducts the great suffering in the story.

William Shakespeare, a prosperous Renaissance man, is known as the greatest playwright in English literature. He was born on April 23, 1564 in a small town called Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England to John and Mary Arden Shakespeare (Waller). William started his writing during the time period where individuality and freedom of choice were put emphasis on. This lifestyle greatly influenced a vast majority of his works and his contributions to the English language. Shakespeare has written over thirty-seven plays, his most famous being Romeo and Juliet. He was a master of dramatic language and played with words and their meanings in a way that could rarely be forgotten, once heard or read.

Iago is widely credited, in the words of Agatha Christie, as “the greatest villain of all time”. He is a manipulative character who “weaves a web of deceit” by exploiting even the tiniest faults in others. By maintaining a facade of comedy and boyishness he uses his honesty and twisted truth to play others “like a virtuoso” and “drive... them to madness”. In the play Othello, Act 2 Scene 1 is perhaps the most enlightening scene with regards to the truly manipulative character of Iago. Containing several soliloquies and interactions between all of the main characters, his manipulation is well encapsulated both in this scene in the play and in the 1965 Stuart Burge film adaptation.

A literal definition of psychopath is, “a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, ect.” (dictionary). The character Iago in the Shakespearean play Othello meets this definition in nearly every aspect, which can be seen through his actions, his words, and most importantly the sly, secret persona that is known only by the audience. His true intentions that are filled with deceit and hate are masked by an overwhelming charisma that clouds the eyes of the other characters. While at first glance some would not see him as a person with a mental disorder, rather someone who is

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the newlywed couple was truly and madly in love at the time they’re married the couple were unable to consummate the marriage. Perhaps it is because there were a few moments for the pair to be alone together. However when a chance did arrive for the couple to finally have a “honeymoon”, some unfortunate event would happen and the immediate moment was lost. It is for this reason of this unconsummated marriage that Desdemona’s virginity is a key factor in the fall of their marriage. M. D. Faber states that “Then too, there is nonstrousness in the fact that Desdemona is placed in the posture of the sinful mortal when she is in reality not only innocent but the one character in the play who is from an

Most other Shakespearean characters commit malicious actions in order to achieve a particular goal. Oftentimes the reason is ambition, as in Macbeth, or revenge, as in Hamlet. What is interesting about Iago is that the audience never knows for certain why it is that Iago wants to destroy Othello. His evil comes without a motive. The characterization of Iago as a motiveless malignity was first proposed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as he was preparing a series of lectures delivered in 1818. Coleridge calls him a motiveless malignity at the end of Act 1, Scene 3 when Iago leaves Roderigo, saying, "Go to, farewell. Put money enough in your purse," and then gives the soliloquy beginning "Thus do I ever make my fool my purse" (1.3.423-426).

Both Desdemona and Daisy are repetitively referred to as objects by the male characters in the texts. From the offset Desdemona is continually objectified by the male characters. Both Rodrigo and Iago refer to her as belonging to Brabantio (her father) where she is aligned with his ‘bags’, Brabantio states that; ‘she is abused, stolen from me and corrupted’ (1.3.61). This highlights his patriarchal dominance, it seems that he is more concerned about his reputation, rather than his daughter. This would have been accurate and expected of a woman, as they were seen as the property of their fathers and husbands. Shakespeare structurally objectifies Desdemona through the symbolism of the handkerchief. The handkerchief in Othello and

Othello is a play about love, hate, jealousy, betrayal, and much more. In Othello, Othello gives a handkerchief to Desdemona, his wife, that he received from his mother as a gift. This sacred cloth was more than a gift for Desdemona; it was their forever. The handkerchief was white with red strawberries. The white portraying purity, and the red strawberries symbolizing beauty (Hasnain, Ahsh p.1). Unfortunately, Othello was so attached to this handkerchief and its “spell”, that it brought him to kill himself and his lover. This piece of cloth is extremely important to the play, and its significance varies between Othello, Desdemona, and Iago.

Tragedy is best felt when an innocent person kills himself while not knowing the truth. The best example of that would be the play Othello by the great William Shakespeare. As little as a handkerchief could make a difference if it is a symbol for something. In the play Othello by Shakespeare, handkerchief is first introduced by Othello to his beautiful mistress, Desdemona, as a sign of their love. At the end of the play what gets Othello to take extreme measures by the location of the handkerchief. As the symbol of the handkerchief transforms from a strong symbol of love to a gift then to factor of suspicious and evidence.

Women, especially Desdemona but Emilia as well, are obviously targets of male violence in Othello. For some reason Shakespeare’s play often put the emphasis on the role of the female characters and their influence on the main male characters. For instance, the result of the passionate love of Romeo for Juliet, the effect of Ophelia’s insanity had on hamlet, and so on. In Othello, Shakespeare made Desdemona and the other women in the play no different; Othello’s jalousie and love made the play a tragedy. Shakespeare made Desdemona the faithful wife of Othello. She was such a kindhearted and wished to make everything work even when the situation where she lost her handkerchief she tried to fix the situation and calming Othello. However, her innocent sympathy towards Cassio made lago’s lies more credible. Overall, one can say that her naïve nature causes her to become a target for the men in the play.