Othello's Jealousy

In William Shakespeare’s classic Othello, it has remained relevant for the years since it was written. Not only because of the universal themes seen throughout, but due to its enduring value which has been seen in the exploration of issues that we as a society still face today. Othello as a character is portrayed as an outsider compared to the Venetian upper class society due to his different ethnicity, this classically reflects the views from Shakespeare’s time and still today reflects from issues seen recently. The recurring instances of social injustice and racial bias both in the text and in society today show that we as society still have not grown and continue to be bias to people due to things they cannot change. The nature of villainy shown through the antagonist, Iago, as he explores the need of power and how power or the want of

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.

He says, “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock. The meat it feeds on.” (3.3. 170-172). Iago is warning Othello about jealousy claiming it will destroy him for falling prey. In reality, Iago wants Othello to become jealous of his wife being with another man and kill her. For one, this line is ironic because Iago’s motive for his plan against Othello is in fact because he is jealous. It is also ironic because Iago is pretending to warn Othello of jealousy to appear as a loyal and caring friend.

In William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello", jealousy is conveyed by the handkerchief, a symbol that adds to the importance of the work all in all.

In the play, Othello, jealousy and envy are prominent themes from the beginning to the end. As the play starts to unwind, you can see jealousy is the major cause of all the drama in the play. Jealousy or envy is a feeling of discontented or resentful longing by someone else’s possessions , qualities or luck. Iago becomes engulfed by jealousy and it causes him to corrupt Othello. They are two men that cause similar crimes but we sympathize for Othello and hate Iago because they have different attitudes towards their crime.

Jealousy is a powerful drug. When someone is jealous, one can only imagine how far someone would go because of it. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, there were several characters that went through different ways of processing their jealousy. Iago’s jealousy provokes his idea to get back at the people he felt was not deserving enough of the things they had or their happiness. His plans succeeds but by the end, no one wins. Iago’s jealousy forms at the beginning of the play which causes Othello’s jealousy towards the end and because of it, it results in people hurt mentally and physically.

Throughout the play, Iago is shown to be an effective manipulator and Shakespeare uses Iago as a villain in Othello to show the destructive nature of jealousy in human beings. Iago’s character flaw is his jealousy when he starts believing that Othello slept with his wife Emilia which leads to Iago ruining Othello. (proof quote – when he thinks Othello is cheating with his wife) From the beginning of

In Act “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! /It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss/Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger,/But, oh, what damnèd minutes tells he o'er/Who dotes, yet doubts— suspects, yet soundly loves!” (3.iii.170-175). Through Iago’s witty nature he is able to nonchalantly set his malignant plan into motion by planting a suspicion in the mind of Othello. Iago harnesses in on the envious agony he endures and uses it as a weapon on the man he is envious of, leading to the destruction of him. Iago knows the ability of jealousy, and with this he knows he can manipulate Othello and make him feel the same discomfort he himself feels. This reveals the enormous amount of preparation Iago has put into his plan and the true evil that is brewing beneath the surface. Iago's loss of self respect and his loss of respect for others have led him to be an evil scheming beast with no account for the lives of others.

Iago tells a series of untruths with the intention of hurting Othello, he has many reasons to do so, one interpretation definitely might be that he is jealous that Othello chose Cassio to be his (Othello’s) second in command rather than him, but some readers will interpret the play that it is not Cassio that he is jealous of but rather of the alleged affair of his wife with Othello (Act 2.1.224) – he wants to pay Othello back for what he did. He suspects that Othello slept with his wife, but fails to provide either evidence or any form of investigation. He gives Othello a taste of ‘his’ own medicine called jealousy, also known as “The Green-Eyed Monster” (Act 2.1 Part 2:273-4 and Act 3:3:169). Iago fails as a human to sympathise with another, his response in explaining his motive was so inadequate that it was tragic by itself (Act 5.2 Part 2.302-3). Iago is a sadistic, cruel and mean-spirited character whose intentions could also be viewed as pointless because he had no true motive, with which, modern psychologists would call him a psychopath rather than being a tragic

Othello, once known as an honorable man turns into a beast; furious with envy. Throughout the play, Othello’s tragic ending was predicted and was written within a metaphor, “On beware, my lord, of jealousy! It’s a green-eyed monster that laughs at the person who is devoured by it.” ( Act 3 scene 3 line 165 pg 151) Iago knows what will happen when he gets devoured by jealousy.

Out of revenge, Iago successfully planted the seeds of jealousy into Othello’s mind when in the garden he insinuated that Cassio and Desdemona were having an affair. Cassio went up to Desdemona to asked her if she could tell her husband Othello to forgive him for something that happened the night before. Iago then tries to make Othello believe that Cassio and Desdemona had an affair, when Cassio runs away when he saw Othello going towards him. Then Iago tells Othello to watch out with the Venice girls, because they tempt to cheat on their husbands. Iago then tries to make Othello believe that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair.

Jealousy is the sensation to envy someone and have the desire to avenge someone. The infamous play Othello portrays the consequences of jealousy. Throughout the play, Othello tragic flaw is his own jealousy. Othello jealousy causes a transition of character. Othello was once the charming noble gentleman and it is now turned into a vicious callous monster. Othello’s jealousy was his downfall that cost the deaths of multiple lives.

Yes, you, my dear friend, can hate me, but I want everyone to know that I do not regret about the words I have said, nor about the actions have I done. It may seem to you that every problem of which I was a creator comes out of jealousy to the fact that Cassio took my place, the position of lieutenant. On the one hand, you have a right to think like that and it is partially true. On the other hand, I bet, you cannot even imagine what my ulterior motives were.

The play Othello by William Shakespeare was published during the 16th century, it is one of Shakespeare’s popular and controversial plays. Shakespeare depicts Othello’s race as placing him apart in some respects from the predominantly white European society in which he lives. Jealousy is another of the main themes in Othello. Iago is the first character to start the sparks of jealousy in Othello, and in the end, causes the downfall of Othello and Desdemona. In the end, racism and jealousy are the causes of the tragedy in Othello.

Prejudices have always existed. Some have fallen into the past and some are just surfacing. There are also some that have stayed with us through time; race religion and gender. In Shakespeare’s Othello, one man’s manipulation of those around him brings all three of these topics to light and introduces another transcendent human struggle; jealousy. Both Iago and Othello manifest their jealousy in different ways, adding depth to the play’s concept. Othello’s brand of jealousy is like the rest of his character; proud, malleable and confrontational. It is these three qualities above all that we are searching for in our rendition of Othello.