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Othello Themes Essay

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Constant Themes in Shakespeare’s play Othello In the period Othello was written the age of knights and castles were on their final days in English society but for society the ideals of honor were still quite strong as were stories of love and jealously. Also historically the time Shakespeare was writing was the same time the King James Version of the Bible was published so the opposite as a bit of tyranny in writing should have been expected. Othello has three common themes that arise and interrelate throughout the play; these are jealousy, racism, and honor. Jealousy is the most common theme and the “green-eyed monster” show’s itself throughout the play in many forms. Racism is quite evident with many clear slurs and Othello feels as though he does not fit in which leads to his constant mistrust. Honor …show more content…

The handkerchief began as the symbol for the Love between Desdemona and Othello and he spoke of it as though with magical qualities but it became the main tool for destroying their marriage and ultimately their lives. The handkerchief helps us understand characters, as well as giving us a clearer and defining view of certain characters and their roles. For Othello it is a pure object and is meant to represent the love for his wife and when she did not have it and he believed she gave it to Cassio, to him she had given away her love. Therefore for Othello the handkerchief became the lost pride and jealously he could hold. For Desdemona loosing it meant she had lost the symbol of her husband’s love that she held so dear and without being able to produce it for him she could see she was losing him. For Emilia it was a means to gain affection from her husband. Ultimately for Iago the handkerchief became simply the means to an end that he could use to manipulate the jealousy and insecure feelings of Othello to accomplish his vengeful

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