Power In Othello Essay

determine as to which one will win, so that is why one cannot exist without the other. However, there are some whose emotions are unbalanced, which causes them to near towards one side more than the other one ­­ and many times the side a lot of people prefer to lean on is evil. Shakespeare’s play O​thello​is set in 16th­century Venice and Cyprus. Othello, a noble black general from the Venetian army has secretly married Desdemona, daughter of Venice senator Brabantio. Othello chooses inexperienced Cassio to be his lieutenant, while he decides to give the ensign position to Iago, a malicious but very experienced man who, with his stealth and knavery, will ultimately ruin almost everyone’s life since for a long time, he was desiring the position of lieutenant just like Cassio. At the end of the play, Othello, Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia, and his sidekick Roderigo die due to his revenge against Cassio, for obtaining the position he wanted and Othello, for being the man who he hates the most. The play ends with Iago being told that he will be punished and tortured for his actions. However, despite the fact that Iago is punished at the end of the play for doing all of the malicious things he did, he still manages to wear down Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, get Cassio demoted from his lieutenancy, and cause Othello to show his cowardness by

    In the Tragedy of Othello, by William Shakespeare, a great injustice is done to the main character, Othello the Moor. Othello is manipulated by the villain Iago to satiate Iago’s need for control and his desire for revenge. Othello the General has promoted another, Cassio, to hold the position that Iago feels he deserves. For the injustice that Iago feels has been committed against him, he brings about the destruction of Othello and his wife, Desdemona, using Cassio as his tool for doing so.

How much power do we have over our lives? This question has been debated for centuries through stories, poems, and plays. While we may never know if there is such a thing as fate, we do know that there are many things that can influence the path we chose in our life. In the fictional play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses characterization to show that if the darkness of man is left untamed, it will destroy all that is pure.

The theme of jealousy is portrayed through various characters within the play. Iago increases Roderigo’s jealousy of Othello. By reflecting on the jealousy he bears within himself, Iago brings out the jealousy in others. Roderigo sees Othello as an opponent, which he has to compete against in order to win Desdemona’s heart. He expresses his emotions towards Othello when he states, “What a full fortune does the thick-lips owe,/ If he can carry it thus!”(1.1.67-68). Roderigo says that Othello only got Desdemona out of luck and he will not be able to carry it off. It is because of this jealousy that Roderigo continues to seek Iago’s assistance. Iago tends

Throughout reading the play, Macbeth changes a lot from being a man of loyalty and honesty, to a man of whom is power hungry and greedy. This shows how the more power you receive the more power you want; which in many cases, such as this one leads to destruction. Many of the choices that Macbeth made were influenced by the power that he had, and this power began to take over him. This then lead to greed and destruction of not only others, but himself as well.

In addition, Othello abuses Desdemona both verbally and physically. To begin, Othello snaps at Desdemona: “Heaven doth truly know it./Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell./To whom, my lord? With whom? How am I false?/Ah, Desdemona, away, away, away!” (IV.II.41-47). Othello continues to antagonize Desdemona and wrongfully accuse her of the “affair” between her and Cassio. Even though they really love each other, lago’s constant lies portray Desdemona as lecherous causing Othello to snap at Desdemona. Secondly, Othello enhances the abuse by striking desdemona.“my lord/ i 'm glad to see you mad./

Evidence of jealousy in Iago is more prominent and very evident in the beginning of the play when he explains to Roderigo that Othello has moved Cassio to lieutenant (the position Iago desires) although three of Venice’s most noble nobleman have informed Othello and Iago has fought in front of Othello in Rhodes and Cyprus (Shakespeare 1.1. 10 - 30). Iago’s sly behavior and ability to use other character’s roles and trust such as Othello’s love for Desdemona, Cassio’s pride in serving as Othello’s trustful lieutenant, and Rodrigo's over commitment to win over Desdemona from Othello allows his plan to fall through. His motive throughout the play is to get Cassio demoted from the

After publicly sharing their love and deep devotion for each other, Othello goes to prove his fixed mindset as he succumbs to the lies told by his trusted friend Iago that his wife Desdemona was cheating on him, which causes him to fall into the realm of self doubt. Throughout Act 3 scene 2 of the play, it is here where Desdemona vows to do what she can to convince Othello to appoint Cassio back to his position as lieutenant. Though Iago takes this opportunity to introduce the idea that Desdemona is cheating on Othello with Cassio which is the reason that she is so fixed on convincing him to have Cassio as his lieutenant once more. When left alone in his chambers to think of the astonishing news Othello remarks to himself, “ This fellow exceeding honesty,/And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit/Of human dealings. If I do prove her haggard,/Though that her jesses were my dear heartstrings,/I’d whistle her off and let her down the wind to prey at fortune. Haply for I am black/And have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have, or for I am declined…” ( Act

Bulldozers destroy. Ice cream soothes. Hurricanes terrorize. Worship music uplifts. The American flag represents freedom. Presidents represent power. The cross represents faith. All of these objects and people have certain tasks assigned to them, requirements that are expected of them. But the symbols and experiences these objects and people represent would be nothing without words. Words make the destruction of a hurricane devastating to those living hours away. Words coalesce with music notes, bringing encouragement and praise. Words make the ideas of freedom, power, and faith attainable and life-changing. That is because words are more than empty sounds or distant thought. Words embody power, reveal beliefs, alter the perspectives of self and others, and induce freedom.

Othello, the principle character, at the beginning seems to have power- whether it is physical, psychological, political or military. He is portrayed to the audience as a symbol of power and strength. As an experienced soldier, a General to be precise, Othello has had little experience with women. Even though he is a high ranking military official, he is less respected because of his dark skin and being a foreigner. His stature and tone of voice, along with his self-confidence and belief, lead the audience to think of Othello as the main representation of power in the play. However, further into the play, Othello's power seems to diminish, revealing his insecurity and susceptibility. He is very naive and

There is more to Shakespeare’s Othello than just the characters in the play. There is a message of power, and who has it, as well as the ones that want it. Two of the central characters in the play are both married. Their "love" for each other is questionable. The message that Shakespeare is sending is not really about "love", but about the power that one holds in the marriage.

corrupted by power, which corrupts Macbeth, as is unavoidable, was fate for it to happen. Macbeth had his and many others lives destroyed after gaining more power, and it was mostly his fear of losing power that corrupted him. He ultimately could have changed the outcome of his story, but his demise was fate set in place by three witches.

Othello, not knowing that Cassio was in fact speaking with Desdemona in hopes of being reinstated as Lieutenant, mistakenly believes that the two are having an affair and that Desdemona has lost her chastity. Iago skillfully capitalizes on the situation by developing his attack further: "She did deceive her father, marrying you" (3.3.220). Othello begins to see Iago's reasoning: if she could deceive her father, she could just as easily deceive her new husband. Once Othello's bliss has been decimated, Iago concentrates on weakening Othello's perception of himself; Iago very carefully and very tactfully chooses words and metaphors that subconsciously pit Othello against the Venetians. Othello begins to perceive himself as an outsider in his own country, "a malignant and turbaned Turk" (5.2.365). A fruitful marriage with a Venetian woman becomes out of the question in Othello's mind. Iago's successful manipulation takes a self-confidant man and reduces him to one at ends with himself and with the woman he loved.

In the play of “Othello, the Moor of Venice” by: William Shakespeare seems to be about a tragedy. “Othello, the Moor Venice” is based on the revenge of two of the character’s which is Othello and Lago. When reading this play it did make me think of Murphy’s Law “If something can go wrong, it will”. In this case Othello is the killer of his friend and wife. Then for Lago it was for being tortured and for the actions he did. So, when reading this play you may disagree that Lago and Othello are complexed people. When you take a closer look you will see that their iniquities’ are due to their revenge motives.

At all points of one’s life, one has desires; what separates and defines a person is determined by how that person goes about dealing with those desires. Some believe in working honestly towards his or her aspirations and others in seizing it at any cost. Iago, the antagonist of the play Othello is one of those people who would do anything in order to get what he wishes. Because Othello names Cassio lieutenant instead of him, he begins to device a plan in vengeance to bring Othello and Cassio down, which ends up tragic for all of the major characters. Iago’s obsessive need for revenge stems from jealousy and ambition, and because he is a master manipulator, the plan goes extremely smooth for the majority of the play.