Othello, By William Shakespeare Essay

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

“The Tragedy of Othello,” by William Shakespeare, is about the tragic downfall of a once great man named Othello by the manipulation of Iago, the antagonist of the story. However, a deeper meaning of Othello could be “[It] is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level on intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello come to understand himself or anyone else.” It is debated on whether or not this is truly the characters meet their demise. This quote is an excellent representation of both why and how the characters of Othello meet all of their downfalls and how they are tricked by Iago. Such evidence in the story to support this quote are Othello’s insecurity of his relationship, Roderigo’s inability to live without Desdemona, and how everyone relies on Iago for help. These are just instants where the characters did not understand each other are Cassio and Desdemona being unaware of the motivations for Othello’s hatred toward them, Iago cannot accept the fact that Cassio was chosen for lieutenant over himself, and no one realizes that Iago was using everyone to his advantage until the very end.

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.

In the play Othello, jealousy is shown to be very evident through the actions of the characters. Jealousy is an emotion that everyone shares, and it is ultimately responsible for the tragic ending of the play. Everyone feels jealous at certain times of their lives, and this feeling can cause people to do irrational things. This human emotion also shows people to be weak in the sense that they are never happy with what they have. Shakespeare shows through Othello, Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio that jealousy is the most corrupt and destructive emotion.

Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is (at least initially) everything that ought to be desired in a marriage: mutual respect, passion, empathy and loyalty. However, while sentiments of love and compassion circulate within the happy couple’s luxurious home, their surrounding neighborhood is filled with vitriol and paranoia: “Who is this animal that has bewitched sweet Desdemona?” they ask. The differences that separate Othello and Desdemona do not perturb them, but are starkly obvious and unnerving to the judgmental citizens of Venice. While it was certainly rare in the 16th century for couples to have such disparities in age, social position and race, none of these differences diminished how Othello and Desdemona felt for each other, yet each spurred external obstacles that threatened their relationship.

A lot of characters we covered over the year easily fit the category of a villain, victim, or venerable, but what if there was one character that stood out to many, that fits all three categories. Although othello’s heart was in the right place, all of his actions and motives displayed to me as a villain, victim, and a tragic venerable. Othello is a book filled with lies and deceit, which would make any great man stumble at some point in their life. Through his noble character, low self esteem, and eventual lack of trust and jealousy, Othello does in fact become the venerable, victim, and villain all without knowing it.

Critics have debated the significance of Othello’s race in terms of portraying his identity for a long time. The negative connotations of “blackness” have led to the creation of many racial constructs associated with the “Moor”; this denigration has infused the opinions of many critics, such as Albert Gerard, proposing that Othello’s “negroid physiognomy” reaches down to the “deepest levels of personality” and that he is a “barbarian”. However, many other critics like Edward Berry and Martin Orkin believe that colour is merely a “surface indicator” compared to the outward virtue of beneficence, defining identity. Beneficence could be defined by the will to practice good acts, in conjunction with the aversion of practicing evil, and the prevention and removal of evil.

Analyzing a play can be quite difficult, especially older texts that can be convoluted. In my high school year, it wasn’t until senior year until I fully understood what all was in Shakespeare’s plays. This also goes for many texts that had religious undertones, which was a pain because I grew up in a Christian home. I could never find those small details that others could. Now, in college, I am more capable to finding these symbolic words, objects, or actions. Throughout the assignments in my theatre class, I was able to find these undertones and pieces of symbolism in the plays of Everyman, by Peter van Diest, and Othello, by William Shakespeare, the easiest to explain. If you were like me in high school, this essay might be able to help hone your ability to see these symbolisms easier. This analysis will go over the strong religion behind the play of Everyman, and the idea of “the Other” in the play Othello.

Shakespeare is the second most quoted writer in the English language – after the various writers of the Bible. Many of Shakespeare’s ideas for the play Othello came from a collection of tales written by Giraldi Cinthio. In Othello the character of Iago acts as the prominent main character throughout the play, even though he plays the role of the antagonist to the other central characters in the comedy Iago is the tragic hero. Shakespeare’s Othello was not just a translation of Cinthio’s version from Italian to English, but a transformation of the drama, changing the dynamic of the play. Shakespeare’s use of metaphors, the tragic hero and the actuality of the story led to Othello becoming an infamous piece of writing during the Renaissance. William Shakespeare’s Othello is a classic piece of British Literature because of its use of literary devices, intriguing plot and historical.

The play “The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice” by William Shakespeare is often listed among the greatest stories of tragedies which explores numerous controversial topics including Inter-racial marriage, racism, jealousy and revenge. While the titular character Othello is the protagonist of the story and definitely does occupy a large part of the play, the real focus of the play is on the ‘ingenuous’ Iago who makes everyone dance on his fingers and successfully manipulates them. The “Honest” Iago is someone who genuinely hates the moor. There have been numerous people who have disliked Othello, but none like Iago. Iago swears he will break Othello. He swears he will bring about the fall of Othello. During moments where Iago reflects on his actions he convinces himself he has a cause of action based on 3 ideas. Namely, the rumor of his wife sleeping with Othello, the selection of Cassio based solely on favoritism and just plain jealousy. While an average person just might confront Othello about a rumor of this kind, Iago slyly manages to destroy Othello’s life through lies and manipulation. Iago sees his actions as legitimate and necessary and believes what he is doing is reasonable. But even though, throughout the play, everyone adores Iago for his loyalty and honesty, it is only in the end where his true nature is revealed and he is disclosed to be responsible not only for killing his own wife, but also for almost murdering Cassio and successfully manipulating

Iago’s character is of a compelling and sophisticated villain, who seeks delight in tormenting and exploiting the weaknesses of his victims. The more he disassembles their lives through his manipulative mastermind, the more content he becomes with himself. Thus, I have come to the inference that Iago is a complex villain who shows no evident motives for causing Othello’s downfall. This is further supported by my critique- Samuel T. Coleridge (1818/19), who supports my hypothesis and suggests that Iago’s revengeful undertakings in the play are vague and nebulous in their nature. His character is identified as nothing more than the “motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity,” which suggests that Iago’s actions are motivated by malignity and evil-mindedness.

saying he will “tear her all to pieces” and he tells Iago to let him

Literature and art are very powerful tools through which societies create and negotiate meaning and what they consider to be important parts of their culture and heritage. Literature can be seen as a vehicle in which certain powerful voices can to their best of their ability question whatever preconceived notions, power structures and relationships which they think have value or pertinence. That is to say, literary works, only serve a critical role inasmuch as they are used to hold some sort of lens or mirror to the societies which they are investigating. This might seem like a thoroughly modern mode of inquiry and something which is confined to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The case is that throughout history many different writers have used their voice as a platform to deal with things they saw as issues in their respective cultures and societies. William Shakespeare in one of his most famous plays Othello lies out a problem which he thought was pertinent enough for him to deal with directly, that is the problem of race. Othello was a Moor, a man of African descent who was put in a hostile situation by being put in Venice a primarily white society. The role of race in Othello and the kind of language used by Shakespeare throughout the play point towards Othello’s race and how others in the play as well as the reader react to these ideas.

Relationship to meaning: The reader sees things the way that Iago sees them. This gives the reader an inside look on Iago’s evil plans, which also leads to a better understanding of all of the other characters, but Iago especially. The reader sees how Iago manipulates so many of the characters, like Roderigo and Montano, for his own gain. From the point of view the play is written in, the reader sees the source of all of the conflict and confusion.

As a writer, William Shakespeare possessed an uncanny ability to address topics that were, for the most part, unnoticed in society. Every one of his characters feels realistic because they are so complex and based on psychological motivations. When Shakespeare’s Othello was first written, there was undoubtedly a complicated relationship between white English citizens and so called “foreigners”. However, society’s inability to understand or accept different cultures created even more strain among the English people. Othello addresses the systematic issue of racism, and also shows how that prejudiced ideology led Othello- as well as other characters- to their downfall. Even though some characters admire and respect Othello as a military leader and a person, he still wrestles with his inner demons of being an outcast. Othello does everything in his power to avoid negative stereotypes, yet he still falls victim to Iago’s manipulation and his own tragic flaws. However, it is this element of believability within Shakespeare’s writing that makes his work significant to literature and human psychology.