Othello : William Shakespeare 's Othello

Shakespeare 's Othello comprises of the subjects betrayal, affection and dishonesty. At the focal point of this play is the lamentable ruin of Othello because of his so-called friend Iago. In this paper I will be examining the explanations behind and against Othello being in charge of his defeat through taking a gander at critical interpretations of his character and activities.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, the nominal character, an honorable Venetian general, is driven to madness through the deceptions of his honest right hand Iago. Iago plots to ruin Othello and through his deception, he drives Othello’s insecurities by implanting the idea of infidelity of his beloved wife Desdemona. Othello goes on to murder his wife, and after he discovers Iago’s plot, he kills himself. In a time when women were looked down upon, Shakespeare crafted a drama in which women took part in major roles. Modeled by Elizabethan England the women in Othello were portrayed in a light justified by society as in Othello, these women were nothing more to than objectified possessions, forced to submit to the ever dying will of their husbands. This is displayed by Desdemona and Emilia’s and relationships with their husbands.

A society consists of diverse cultures, looks, values, and beliefs. In a world with one predominant culture, those perceived as different from the norm are associated with negative images and treated inferior to the superior culture. The negative images associated with color, specifically blackness, has a detrimental effect on the victims who are racially stereotyped. The character Othello is a unique character in English literature, because unlike the other members of society, Othello is an outsider in Venice. He is a black man living in a white world, married to a white woman, and a leader of white men in battle. Othello is persuaded that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him, leading him to murder her. Some argue that because Othello was the typical black stereotype he killed Desdemona, but evidence suggests that Othello viewed his own racial identity as undesirable for Desdemona and killed her out of honor and self-hatred. Henceforth, the long-term psychological effects of racism affects an individual’s self-identity and his or her relationship with others.

The relationships in Shakespeare’s plays are never simple and even less so when one narrows the field to his tragedies. In the case of Iago and Othello this complicated relationship is made more so by the interwoven theme of appearance verses reality. The idea of Iago, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, fighting both for and against his master that permeates the play. Othello, however, a seasoned warrior being unable to see through the guise is a flaw his companion takes advantage of. Iago’s hatred is the biggest mystery of this play, making the reader wish Shakespeare had written a prequel.

William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice presents a man who is undone by his own insecurities, as well as strong female characters who lead to the downfall of the men. The character of Othello allows others to control how he feels and this leads to a tragedy that could have been prevented. The source of this tragedy comes from within himself. His character is completely wrapped up in his wife Desdemona’s character and interestingly enough, as soon as her character starts to decline from the words of Iago, so does Othello’s. Unable to stand on his own, Othello is more concerned with outwardly appearances than Desdemona. He puts more pressure on her, than he does himself in regards to his character and how he

William Shakespeare, born in the mid sixteenth century, is a well-known poet and playwright from England. The topics of his plays range from history and comedy, all the way to tragedy, and focus on universal themes and relationships between characters to express these themes to the general public. Betrayal, incest, jealousy, and love are all common themes in his works. Although one of Shakespeare’s more popular tragic dramas, Othello, at first glance seems to mainly center around the characters Othello and Desdemona and their relationship, the play in reality focuses more so on the evil villain, Iago, and his insecurity which instills in him a hatred of Othello. Iago provides some dark humor to the audience, as he is self-possessed and intelligent, making it obvious when he is lying to another character and making himself seem honest and truthful. The play is one of jealousy, manipulation, and the cunning work of Iago, all combined to bring ruin to Othello. Although Shakespeare’s Othello is considered by some to be a commentary on race, Shakespeare is truly addressing the dangers of blind trust as well as the overwhelming power jealousy can have over even the most respectable mind; he addresses these themes by evolving the characters’ personalities and using dramatic irony to intensify and contrast the characters’ relationships with each other from the beginning to the end of this tragic drama.

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.

In Poetics, Aristotle explains tragedy as “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude […] through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.” Aristotle notes that a perfect tragedy must include the downfall of the prominent protagonist as a result of his own tragic flaw, a complex plot, and the use of catharsis. William Shakespeare’s Othello, concerns the downfall of a noble, but greatly flawed, black general in the Venetian army. Through the various elements present in the play, and in accordance with the criteria discussed in Poetics, it is evident that Othello is an excellent example of a tragedy.

Emilia found it and took it to Iago, who left it for Cassio to find; Cassio in turn, gave it to his mistress.

Othello, in the simplest of terms, can be reduced to a play of jealously. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, when scholars focused on Shakespeare’s tale of the Moor, they centered all of their thoughts on the characters controlled by their own jealousy (James). In modern day, we’ve come to a time of civil rights where seeing the insane racism in this play is inevitable. To not see, this is an act of ignorance. Audiences during Shakespeare’s time would have been privy to this aspect as well, though they would not have been horrified as we are today. They would notice the subject of race in the play, but it was something they were used to. As a foreigner in Venice, Othello already has an uphill battle to climb to claim the role of the protagonist. For the majority of the time, an audience wants to see their own lives portrayed, or at the very least, they want to see something they can resonate with.

Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello deals with various issues in the tragic vein of tragedies such as Hamlet and King Lear. Marriage and associated issues stands out as a key theme and preoccupation in Othello. In Othello, various issues such as race, patriarchal attitudes and other general human frailties complicate marriages. Shakespeare portrays marriage in a very bleak light. In the beginning of the play, we see that marriage is not only a union of man and his wife but also involves various familial considerations that add to the complexity of the marriage relationship. Shakespeare opens the play with an argument between Othello and Desdemona’s father. Desdemona’s father is unhappy about her daughter’s elopement because he views her daughter as one of his properties. Later, Shakespeare reveals a similar possessive attitude in Othello and other male characters, which shows the role that patriarchal attitudes and associated male chauvinism play in creating the tragedy of the marriage institution as shown in the tragedy Othello. Therefore, the essay proposes that patriarchal attitudes create the fertile ground for the eventual destruction of the marriages and loving relationships in Othello.

Shakespeare is known for many of his romantic works. But in his time, he also wrote romantic tragedies. One of the tragedies was the play Othello. The two characters that stuck out the most were Othello, the moor, and his beautiful wife Desdemona. The couple had certain mishaps but most readers did not expect a melodramatic plot twist. Othello had many downfalls, including insecurity. In the play Othello, the lack of communication between Desdemona and Othello was the cause for their deaths.

Shakespeare’s Othello peels back the layers of society’s underlying feelings regarding people who lie outside of the perceived standard norm. It digs into the heart of society and reveals the damage that is placed upon individuals who are considered outsiders, even if they manage to achieve success. In this particular play, the audience is able to see how the subtleties of racial bias slowly destroy a person’s psyche. Throughout the play, the audience examines Othello cast in both negative and positive positions. Othello is both a great general of the Venetian army as well as, just “the moor” who used “magic” to trick his wife, Desdemona, into a marriage. Through harmful racial language Othello is constantly reminded of his outsider status. The destruction of his character through blatant and subtle criticisms cause Othello to doubt his self-worth and ultimately leads to his self-destruction.

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.

"Othello is set in a world and focuses on the passions and personalities of its major figures." (Thomas). Othello is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, Othello's wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio and advisor Iago. The play appeared in seven editors between 1622 and 1705. The themes of the story are racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal. Othello is a black soldier who is accused of stealing his wife Desdemona. Although Desdemona's father dislikes his daughter's choice, Desdemona loves Othello very much and the two are married. Othello’s right hand man is angered at the fact that Othello picked a man named Cassio to be more important than him and he also feels that he is messing with his wife. Iago plans to manipulate Othello but his plan eventually causes more hurt to most of the characters. Iago tries to use the meeting between Cassio and Desdemona as a way to make Othello believe she was cheating on him. Iago goes on with his manipulative plan by planting a handkerchief in Cassio's room, and goes and tell Othello about what he has seen Cassio do. Othello becomes jealous throughout the story and begins to believe that Cassio is talking to his wife. Iago persuades Othello to come up with a master plan to kill Cassio and Desdemona. As Othello tries to kill Desdemona, Emilia, Iago's wife, comes in to tell Othello the truth about Iago. Unfortunately it is too late. Othello had already suffocated her. When Othello