Othello, the Moor of Venice, is one of the principal tragedies by Shakespeare. This tragedy contains many themes which are important in society today. Many aspects of people 's lives have changed, but the way people think is still the same . Shakespeare 's Othello wants to underline the psychological and social impact of racism; and the power of manipulation as well as jealousy. These are the most important themes throughout this drama. Othello takes place in Venice, Italy. He was a black general in the Venetian army. Iago is Othello 's ambitious friend; Iago feels betrayed and despised by Othello who gave him the rank of lieutenant when ascending to Casio and not to him. As a result of this, Iago will present different ways of getting …show more content…
The character of Iago shows us when a person can affect the decision of another person. Iago is a very calculating man who uses his intelligence to make Othelo vulnerable. Iago is a person who has talent to use people at his convenience; using Othelo as a perfect target. In the current society there is unfortunately a lot of racism still occurring for example modern society has put laws so that people treat each other with respect and allow each other their right to freedom. While the actions of men can be legislated, their hearts and fears fail. For this reason, part of society continues to discriminate and marginalize different groups of people. Desdemona fell in love with Othello because of his individuality, his being different. He appeared before her like an unknown world to know and to decipher. Othello and Desdemona are able to cross all the barriers imposed by culture and race. Although they fought all that so that they can be together, the evil of Iago reaches them. Iago creates a plan to make Othello believe that his wife cheats on him with another. Shakespeare shows us how Othello falls into the trap of Iago, and is impelled to perform acts that go against his own identity. False proofs and lies made Othello 's jealousy grow, this brought about the tragic of murder of Desdemona. This play illustrates many things that are wrong with society even
Othello weaves a tragic tale of love, jealousy and murder. Set in Venice and progressing to Cyprus, Shakespeare’s Othello follows the cursed path of its namesake, a black soldier whose love for his wife ultimately results in her death. Woven into the socially and emotionally delicate plot is a multitude of key themes, including race (Othello’s colour), love, and jealousy.
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.
Therefore, even before Othello is physically presented to the audience, the Elizabethan audience would already have an image of Othello being wild and “moorish” since they would have the similar notion as Iago and Rodrigo towards black men. Therefore, Shakespeare establishes the racist concepts from the very beginning of the play to set the base for the tragic downfall of Othello. Racist language is not only limited to the beginning of the play; it is constant throughut the play. Iago uses racist words when he wakes up Brabantio to inform him about Desdemona’s marriage. Iago says an “old black ram” is “tupping” Brabnatio’s “white ewe” which is highly racist and reveals the Elizabethan society’s prejudice against black men. The Elizabethan era believed that black men have animal-like and sexual nature and Iago uses this notion to make Brabantio fear about the mixed marriage and persuade him to stand against Othello. Also, Iago makes use of the racist Elizabethan notion that the colour black meant evilness by calling Othello as “the devil”. This is ironical because in the play, Iago is the one who is playing the role of “the devil” whereas Othello just the biggest victim who is manipulated by Iago. The irony adds on as Iago, white man, is the most evil one in the play where normally according to Elizabethan racist notion, black men are the one who should be the
In William Shakespeare’s classic Othello, it has remained relevant for the years since it was written. Not only because of the universal themes seen throughout, but due to its enduring value which has been seen in the exploration of issues that we as a society still face today. Othello as a character is portrayed as an outsider compared to the Venetian upper class society due to his different ethnicity, this classically reflects the views from Shakespeare’s time and still today reflects from issues seen recently. The recurring instances of social injustice and racial bias both in the text and in society today show that we as society still have not grown and continue to be bias to people due to things they cannot change. The nature of villainy shown through the antagonist, Iago, as he explores the need of power and how power or the want of
"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not” (Picoult, 384). This quote is the definition of true love, something the two protagonists of this play sadly never had. The tragedy Othello is about a general of the Venetian army, and his beautiful wife Desdemona, whose lives are completely ruined by the deceitful, cunning, and cowardly Iago. One of Iago’s biggest accomplishments was breaking up Othello and Desdemona's relationship by getting it into Othello’s head that Desdemona was cheating on him. This really made the reader question Othello’s feelings towards Desdemona as for someone who claimed to have love Desdemona with a passion, Othello sure was quick to believe Iago’s lies and turn on Desdemona. Based on his actions towards Desdemona, Othello proved that he does not truly love Desdemona because he is insecure, lacks trust, and is a very jealous person.
Even if Othello was not as trusting or corrupt, he still would not realize Iago was lying. Othello commits his first act of violence against Desdemona by hitting her. This shows now Othello's tragic flaw. He made himself susceptible to Iago and the jealousy within him begins to lead to the end of others. By his actions, Othello has isolated himself from everyone except Iago. This gives Iago the perfect opportunity to complete his course of action. Finally, Othello's breakdown
It then hit me that through Iago’s judgments Othello is “the Moor” and should therefore exemplify the common idea of a moor, which is not admiration, self-worth, and fortune; it is one of disconnectedness and dependency. When he says that “nothing can or shall content his soul/ Till he is evened with the Moor, wife for wife” (Act 2: Scene), he means that he is satisfied until Othello’s life is made equal with his involving feelings of inadequacy and jealousy, which are all qualities fitting to a “moor”. Throughout the play Iago repetitively uses derogatory remarks when speaking of Othello so to encourage certain people in the play to endure racism and confirm that it was the norm. Even so, some of Iago’s semantics reveal his own prejudices. For example, Iago only refers to Othello as a “Moor” with the exception of when he refers to Othello as the “black Othello” (Act 2: Scene 3). Iago hates Othello because he is “the Moor” yet does not symbolize the expected role of what is thought of to be a black man in these times. There is neither reason nor logic behind his hatred, but discrimination against one seldom has reason, for it is characteristically irrational thinking. Iago is a clear illustration of what racism is and will justify his irrational thoughts with anything, just as Iago contributes to Brabantio and Rodrigo’s reasoning behind their actions and Othello’s reasons for acting out on
In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the Iago is the most important character. It is his dreams, hopes and desires that turn him evil, bringing out the worst possible characteristics in order to achieve all the things he wants. Iago’s manipulative traits, deceitful actions and love for Othello eventually cause the death Emilia, Desdemona and Othello himself.
Othello by William Shakespeare raises the issue of how rampant beliefs and attitudes in a society can cause a person to question their sense of self. In a society where racial equality is near non-existent, Othello, a black skinned foreigner in the Venetian society, is constantly reminded of his status as an outsider. Othello, however, is not depicted in a stereotypical manner and despite occupying a highly respected position he is often confronted with blatant racism throughout the play. The prevailing attitudes and beliefs of Venetian society towards Othello are exploited by Iago in order to manipulate Othello’s self confidence and emotional state.
The relationship between Desdemona and Othello in the play ‘Othello’ is used to express and observe the way that humans are selfish by nature. Although both Desdemona and Othello do sincerely love each other, both of them find great personal gain in their marriage, which clearly contributes to their feelings for one another. Othello, who is a black leader in an overwhelmingly white, Christian society, has come from a troubled and difficult background, being “sold to slavery” and working in the military all his life. In finding a good Christian wife in Desdemona, he finds someone to always support him in hard times, as evidenced in his summary of their romance, “she loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them”. This quote suggests that their love is more self-serving than he lets on; Desdemona loves Othello for the adventures he has been on and the stories he tells, and Othello loves Desdemona because she listens and devotes herself to what he has to say. When Desdemona gets a chance to explain their relationship herself, she is particularly proud of the fact that she “did love the Moor to live with him; my downright violence and storms of fortunes may trumpet to the world”. We note that she mentions her ‘violence’, the way she deliberately disobeyed her father and fled his company to secretly marry a man who is not one of her father’s approved suitors. This furthers the idea that Desdemona seems to be in love with Othello because of the adventures he has been on, and the excitement and liberty of her being with such a man; she is seeking her own freedom in a misogynistic society by defying her father to marry Othello. Their relationship is
Iago is one of the most interesting characters in the tragedy "Othello" by William Shakespeare. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits him and gets him closer to his goals. He is the driving force in this play, pushing Othello and everyone else towards the tragic ending.
In Shakespeare's Othello, Othello's pride prevents him from finding the truth, eventually leading to his demise. Initially, Othello and Desdemona are deeply in love, despite her father's disapproval of their marriage. However, when Othello promotes Cassio instead of Iago to Lieutenant, Iago has his revenge by convincing Othello that Desdemona cheats on him with Cassio, destroying the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. Othello grows to meet his downfall when his trusted friend Iago causes him to think that his wife Desdemona is unfaithful.
When Othello and Desdemona were not yet married, Othello would tell stories of the wars that he had fought in. That is what led Desdemona to fall in love with Othello. The two had rushed into their marriage. They married each other because they were in "love" with in each other. They did not even really know each other. I do not think that either of them really knew of the notion of "love" to begin with. Othello was much older than Desdemona, which made them two really different people. She was young and had a full life ahead. He was set in his ways and was a bit more reserved. When Desdemona eloped, she deceived her father. This fact made Othello
The tragic play Othello by William Shakespeare, discusses the relationship between Othello and Desdemona that begins as loving, but abruptly alters to a hateful relationship due to a lack of truth. Dishonesty and misunderstandings between Desdemona and Othello drive the collapse of their marriage as well as Iago’s deceitful words which force Othello to discredit Desdemona’s love. William Shakespeare portrays the fall of the relationship of Desdemona and Othello due to his ability of believing false delusions he hears about his wife and the reason for this is from his distrust for women, his jealousy and the fact that he truly lacks confidence in himself, leads him to doubt the love Desdemona has for him.
Othello gets most of all his orders from the duke and the senate of the lands. Iago job is less complex to where he is called to do small jobs in the military. While the commander (Othello) sets the rules, the strategies, and the vision. Iago by natural humanism is forced to be the servant of the “moor” hating him and feeling the sense of humiliation.