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
Interestingly, Othello provides two sides of the story of how he got the handkerchief. In his second account he says that his father gave the handkerchief to his mother as a sign of love when beforehand he states that it was actually an Egyptian woman who provided it to his mother. This interpretation reveals
Racism is a theme that is prominently evident throughout Shakespeare's Othello. Through this theme, there are several perceptions of an individual's race which are exhibited to establish the
The handkerchief also represents Othello’s love and trust in Desdemona. Othello has an obsession with the handkerchief because of its history. It carries a significant amount of meaning and is extremely important to him. He tells Desdemona about the history of the handkerchief and how his mother used it to keep his father faithful to her:
together, and even consummated the marriage through sex, but their views of love differ. Let me explain the opposition of how the audience may view the handkerchief as Symbols and also how the symbols have different meaning between the characters in the play. What did the handkerchief mean to both Othello and Desdemona. Was the handkerchief a symbol of Christianity or paganism of magic. How did the handkerchief effect the moral nature of others as it passes between characters.
Racial conflict is an evident theme in Shakespeare’s Othello. Throughout the play, Othello faces adversity from his community, his superiors and his friend, Iago. The entirety of the play is based around the suffering of Othello. Simplifying the hate directed at Othello as racism, Shakespeare conveys Othello’s adversity in a relatable way. By using the universal theme of racism, Shakespeare creates unlikeable characters and makes Othello’s fall from grace all the more tragic.
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
The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.
Othello’s race does not prominently impact his demise, although Shakespeare touches upon the issue of race, the reason for Othello’s demise lies somewhere else. However, the allegations of race directly lead to its tragic ending. Feelings of inadequacy and distrust without question aid in the tragedy. The fact that Othello’s skin color is important alters the interpretation of the tragedy within the play. The racism represented in Othello is not just about an instance of prejudices and prejudgments made by a crowd of people against another, but in fact has much more subtle and devastating consequences, specifically, that it is proliferated not only by the discriminatory section of society, but also by the target of this discrimination.
The Shakespearean tragedy Othello contains a number of themes; their relative importance and priority is debated by literary critics. In this essay let us examine the various themes and determine which are dominant and which subordinate.
serve god if the devil bid you” and he also says “the moor is now
disloyalty to the other lover, it means the holder is cursed. The handkerchief means everything to
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.
Only by considering a range of perspectives can we truly appreciate the world of Shakespeare’s Othello. It is through my exploration of these perspectives and their relationship with changing morals and values that has enriched my understanding of the play. One such reading of the play challenges the marginalisation and objectification of woman in a patriarchal Venetian society, while taking into account the changing role of women in modern society. Another interpretation of Othello examines its post colonial elements through the protagonist Othello, and his insecurities of being a black man in a white society. My interpretation of the play as a portrayal of the values existing in Shakespeare’s time is filtered through these
“Othello” is a tragic play of jealousy, racism and struggle for power. Right from the beginning, Shakespeare has created vigorous dialogue and conflicting situations. There is a direct contrast between black and white in this play, with black meaning something negative and evil and white meaning pure and fairness. The clash between these two colours leads to severe hatred and enmity between a few people.
saying he will “tear her all to pieces” and he tells Iago to let him