Essay on Othello: the Concept of Love

I feel that throughout the play the theme of love is the force behind the majority of the scenes which drives Othello to its climatic conclusion. Shakespeare shows us that love, in marriage, requires time to build trust, but ironically he denies Othello the opportunity to do this before Iago’s plan to destroy him comes to fruition and in spite of Othello and Desdemona’s deep love for one another in the beginning, in the end it is unable to overcome suspicion and

A key figure, if not the most important in the play, is that of the malcontent Iago, who sows the seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind, and presents him with ‘proof’ to back up his suspicions. Iago acts as a catalyst to Desdemona’s murder and it is his intricate

Love and Desire has been a subject that has come up countless times in William Shakespeare’s work, and “Othello” is no exception to that fact. “Othello” by Shakespeare is a story that is filled with love and desireful interest and people being driven by passion and misunderstanding. These many love interests can be argued to be what drives the plot, but it is definitely a playing factor in the grander scheme of this tragedy. The love interest of everyone towards others is used to the advantage of our main antagonist Iago. This is shown through his manipulation of Rodrigo, Emilia, Michael, Othello, and many other characters. After all Iago's greatest tool of manipulation is the love and desire that people feel for others.

Every man and woman holds myriad reputations in differentiating eyes; which of those they defend becomes their character. Hearing of his wife Desdemona’s “infidelity”, Othello’s reputation as a man, a Moor, a general, and a husband are shaken within him – as according to Iago’s villainous plan. In order to restore his once good name, Othello sacrifices the life of his dear wife in hopes that her death would remove the tarnish the she – really Iago – put on his name. But why choose a reputation and murder over the life and love of his wife while tarnish his name even further? Even Iago stated “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving (II, iii, 256-258).”

Othello was written directly after Hamlet and is one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies. Othello is unique in many regards. Most significantly, Othello explores issues of a singularly domestic nature. In this play we will see a tale of passion and extremes that, deals with the themes of fidelity, honor, justice, but especially and more extensively with the theme of honour. This thesis will attempt to briefly summarise this play and focus more on the elements of honour and both honest and dishonest characters. The main characters are Othello, who is a moor, but at the same time an esteemed general of the Venetian army, Desdemona who is a beautiful, young, white Venetian debutante. She is Brabantio`s daughter and his pride and joy. He wants Desdemona to marry one of the white men he chooses for her, but she falls in love with Othello and secretly marries him. This is our first encounter with honour, actually dishonor. Desdemona has betrayed her father and has been dishonest when she escapes with Othello. In the opening act, the Venetians are searching madly for “the valiant Othello.” Because war is so close, and the army requires the services of Othello to fight off the Turks army. The third important character is Iago. Iago is one of the most notorious villains of all Shakespeare`s characters. He spends all of his time plotting against Othello and Desdemona, ultimately convincing Othello that his wife has been

Shakespeare 's famous play of love turned bad by unfounded jealousy. His Othello also tells a sad story. The story begins in Venice with Iago, a soldier under Othello 's command arguing with a wealthy Venetian, Roderigo. Roderigo has paid Iago a considerable sum of money to spy on Othello for him, since he wishes to take Othello 's girlfriend, Desdemona as his own. The story to this as the main line, there have been many tragic things. In the story, there are several characters is impressive, their demeanor and psychological activities, I have some impression from those character, those characters all had

Othello, written by William Shakespeare, is a play about a multitude of topics, but stripped to the core it’s about subtle human prejudices and how we are motivated by them; how they turn the most superior war heroes to emotional and jealous wrecks that commit murder. In the play, relationships are one of the main factors and create a fuel for jealousy.

Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ is a play that ends tragically with death of the antagonist, Othello who commits suicide after smothering his wife to death. The other tragic death is Lago’s murder of Roderigo. Lago, who may be considered as the villain of the play, is in a way responsible for all the tragic deaths in the play. He is a schemer who is able to conceal his moves and is considered an honest person by almost every character in the play until the end of the play when it is discovered that he is treacherous and manipulative. Contrary to this perception by most of the characters in the play, Lago is a schemer who is manipulative and treacherous. He is envious of other characters especially Othello who appoints the inexperienced Cassio as a lieutenant and bypasses him. He is determined to revenge because of this and his desire to revenge spurs the tragedy in the play. This paper attempts to show how Iago 's need for revenge leads to his murder of Roderigo, Othello 's murder of Desdemona, and Othello 's suicide.

Othello is a play that can be described by many as a tragedy of love. However, this is not the case because Othello did not love Desdemona. Othello was just a conceded man who wanted the pity and admiration of someone else. Throughout the play, Othello acted like a loving husband that could not live without his wife, but this is not the case because Othello merely treated Desdemona like one of his soldiers and did not love her. Treating her like a soldier, his feelings towards her changed drastically at the mere implication of betrayal.

Before coming directly to the forming of the love-theme that differentiates Othello from other Shakespeare plays that utilize the same theme, I turn arbitrarily to Iago to inspect a distinguishing mark of his of which the relevance to thematic form in the play will appear a little later. When Iago with unperceived scoffing reminds Roderigo, who is drawn with merciless attraction to the unreachable Desdemona, that love effects an unwonted nobility in men, he states a doctrine which he “knows” is true but in which he may not “believe.” Ennoblement by love is a real possibility in men, but Iago has to view it with bitterness and to try to undermine it. (333-34)

Act 1 Scene 1 opens with an expression of jealousy: Roderigo is upbraiding Iago because of the elopement of the object of his affections –Desdemona -- with the Moor: “Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hate.” Iago responds with an expression of jealousy, saying that he does indeed hate the general because he “Nonsuits my mediators; for, ‘Certes,’ says he, / ‘I have already chose my officer.’” With both Roderigo and the ancient spurred on by jealousy, they storm the home of the senator, Brabantio, and father of Desdemona in a vain effort to have him recover the missing girl. Brabantio is very jealous of the man who has stolen his daughter because she has been his only companion and help in the home: “And what’s to come of my despised time / Is naught but bitterness.” At the head of his mob, the

Today is a tragic day for all people of Cyprus. On Saturday of May 16, 1604 It was declared four tragic deaths have taken place in the residence of the honorable Moor, Othello. It brings sadness to say one of the four bodies identified was the Moor himself, including his well respected wife Desdemona, her best friend Emilia, and Roderigo a man who would do anything to get Desdemona’s attention. This is a true crime of passion, full of jealousy and it lays all in the hands of one man, a Venetian named Iago. Rumor has it that it all started when Iago thought the Moor slept with his wife Emilia. He desperately wanted to seek revenge on the Moor due to the fact he had done his office. Iago put vulnerable people into his wicked self-indulgent plan. He fed them false stories about one another to ensnare his clever plan. But

In 2006 Whitney Houston filed for a divorce against her husband Bobby Brown not only due to the facts that he’d picked up a drug addiction, but that he physically abused her. He hit her and claimed that he wasn’t a violent man even though repeatedly hitting the women you love is an abuse offense. He has reports against him saying that he’s a women beater and just lies about everything in the face of conflict. Bobby Brown’s and Whitney Houston's situation connects back to Othello’s situation with Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello. Although, in the beginning Othello wasn’t the ‘big bad wolf’ quite yet, he soon turned into an evil replica of Iago with all his scheming and horrific thoughts. In the play, It is shown time and time again that the

Having been a general in the army for many years, Othello worked and scratched his way to the top. Being a black man in an all-white society, it’s not an easy thing to do—to be respected. But he came out on top, and now he’s married this beautiful, young, intelligent, white wife named Desdemona. Othello also appointed as his lieutenant a personal friend named Cassio instead of Iago. In his mind, Iago believes he deserved the position and therefore vows revenge against the Moor. With Othello’s unapproved marriage to Desdemona, his opportunity plants itself. Using Othello’s pretty wife, Cassio’s flirtatious nature, and Othello’s own jealous nature and trust of Iago, Iago is able to manipulate Othello into believing his word above anybody else’s. As the plot progresses, and Othello’s trust in Iago—and mistrust in the people who truly care about him—deepens, the consequences prove to be dire.

OTHELLO is a domestic tragedy of the English Renaissance-Renaissance in its source' as well as in the dramatist's conception, and therefore a reflection of Renaissance concepts of marriage, infidelity, and personal honor; and, from this background.