Othello - Theme - Lack of Self-Awareness Essay

The ability of passion to bring destruction upon the lives of the unsuspecting is illustrated in Shakespeare’s Othello with the use of both manipulation and deceit. The curse of fierce passion fell namely on Othello as he transitioned from a respected general to an unstable murderer. His downfall is demonstrated through his increasing self-doubt, lack of ability to articulate, and violence. In the start of the play, he is an accomplished general and happy newlywed, and has yet to be significantly held back due to his being a Moor and outsider in Venetian society. As passion overtakes him, however, Othello truly ingrains the idea that he is less than, and those around him begin to blame his actions on the nature of his ethnicity. He has completely lost his identity to his desires and is unable to think rationally. Shakespeare juxtaposes this version of Othello with his initial composed self in Venice to demonstrate the damage of ignorance to logic and heighten the sense of tragedy. The effects of an overwhelming passion involving love, jealousy, and revenge are shown through Othello’s degradation and loss of stability.

Another suggestion that Othello is not a normal being comes when Brabantio accuses him of bewitching his daughter: (to Othello) ‘That thou hast practised on her with foul charms/ Abused her delicate youth with drugs and minerals.” Indicating that Othello dabbles in supernatural forces, the implication appears again that he belongs to a very different race to which he lives among.

Altho a tragic ending it may be, Othello couldn't stand being a such a fool to have believed such lies about his one and only love. Human emotions have a lot of power over how we react to situations in life, the trick is learning how to not let them take over. A tragic hero is a hero nonetheless, but it all comes down to how they hold themselves together in the face of

    In the Tragedy of Othello, by William Shakespeare, a great injustice is done to the main character, Othello the Moor. Othello is manipulated by the villain Iago to satiate Iago’s need for control and his desire for revenge. Othello the General has promoted another, Cassio, to hold the position that Iago feels he deserves. For the injustice that Iago feels has been committed against him, he brings about the destruction of Othello and his wife, Desdemona, using Cassio as his tool for doing so.

These instances heighten his nobility as a character. He is in great demand by the duke and senate due to his honorable qualities. This is evidenced by Cassio's comment that the senate "sent about three several quests" to look for Othello (I.ii.46). Othello is a noble man who is well known and respected for his position as a general. He is experienced in battle and shows great courage and demonstrates high levels of dignity. Othello shows immense respect for his fellow man, we see this in his initial relationships with Casio an Iago. Othello's valiant personality is a major part of his success in the military as well as with his marriage, to Desdemona. Because of his exotic qualities, he is able to woo his wife in an art of story telling, reflecting his nobility and honor. Such a storey seduces Desdemona, causing a strong bind to Othello made from a mixture of love and lust. The Venetian government trusts Othello enough to put him in full martial and political command of Cyprus; indeed, in his dying speech, Othello reminds the Venetians of the "service" he has done their state (V.ii.348). However noble or revered by his peers Othello may be, it is his honor, aided by his naivety and insecurity that lead to his destruction.

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

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

In the play, evil intentions destroy what we know of a pure heart as well as trust and genuine honesty by this falsehearted deception. The agony of the tragic play is captured in a nutshell when Othello admits to Desdemona “when I love thee not/chaos is come again.” There is some misunderstanding of tragedy of love between the two characters. Trust is misplaced, honesty smeared out and finally, lives are ruined by denigrating fabrications and outright lies (Lupu, Jeffrey and Westmaas-Jones 12). The tragic cautionary of Shakespeare offers a supreme warning over jealousy which is referred as “the green eyed monster with doth mock the meat it feeds on.”

Likewise another weakness of Othello’s would be that he is a man who gets confused easily and cannot judge right from wrong. This can be seen when

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

Othello, not knowing that Cassio was in fact speaking with Desdemona in hopes of being reinstated as Lieutenant, mistakenly believes that the two are having an affair and that Desdemona has lost her chastity. Iago skillfully capitalizes on the situation by developing his attack further: "She did deceive her father, marrying you" (3.3.220). Othello begins to see Iago's reasoning: if she could deceive her father, she could just as easily deceive her new husband. Once Othello's bliss has been decimated, Iago concentrates on weakening Othello's perception of himself; Iago very carefully and very tactfully chooses words and metaphors that subconsciously pit Othello against the Venetians. Othello begins to perceive himself as an outsider in his own country, "a malignant and turbaned Turk" (5.2.365). A fruitful marriage with a Venetian woman becomes out of the question in Othello's mind. Iago's successful manipulation takes a self-confidant man and reduces him to one at ends with himself and with the woman he loved.

In Shakespeare’s play “Othello” the main characters Othello and Desdemona suffer a tragic fate due to their actions and unforeseen circumstances. A majority of Desdemona’s suffering is down to Iago’s manipulation. However, it could also be argued that Iago is not completely to blame for the misfortune of Desdemona. We as the readers can see evidence of this at certain points in the play where Iago has planted the seeds of despair and Desdemona and Othello have fallen for his plans. In this essay, I will look at key moments in the play where Desdemona is presented as a tragic victim by the writer and justify why she is a tragic victim using quotes from the play.

Othello commits his first act of violence against Desdemona by hitting her. This shows Othello's tragic flaw. He made himself susceptible to Iago and the jealousy within him begins to lead to the end of others. Through his actions, Othello has isolated himself from everyone except Iago. This gives Iago the perfect opportunity to complete his course of action.

As in almost all tragedies, especially those of William Shakespeare, the tragic hero always runs into misfortune. The play Othello is no exception. In this play, every character acquainted with the tragic hero appears to be unfortunate. While these misfortunes are oddly related to Othello, are they his fault or did each character attract them out of their own actions? To answer this daunting question, one must consider the three most unfortunate characters: Othello, Desdamona and Roderigo and analyse their downfall which eventually lead to their deaths. It is known from reading the play that Iago is the one who manipulates all three of them. Examinations of their connection with him before their deaths are necessary to answer this

important scene where the play’s main themes of jealousy and doubt surface. Through Iago's way of displaying subtle but effective implications in speech patterns and mannerisms, it draws Othello's inner conflict to start and eventually take a hold of him as the play continues. The subconscious worries of Othello become known, not only through Iago's words and unsupported claims, but by filling his mind with the image of doubt envisioned as Cassio. Taking form of his worries, Iago plays the mirror reflecting Othello's inner fear and Cassio as the physical form of all his apprehensions. This scene reflects the most hidden parts of Othello in a way where his future actions become a direct result of this scenes affect and conclusion. Those that believe Iago to be the one to set up Othello's future endeavors and downfall are mistaken in the realization that Iago mirrors Othello's own self in worries and fears. The role Iago has in this scene is not one to manipulate Othello into believing what's not there but to believe what's there by Othello's own mind.