Essay about Shakespeare's Othello - Desdemona the Wonderful

Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’, set in early Venice, focuses on the key relationship between titular character Othello and his wife Desdemona, to comment on the human condition through the text. The relationship between the married couple allows us to understand Shakespeare’s commentary on human nature, particularly how humans are inherently selfish, prone to falling victim to jealousy, and are made both stronger and weaker by their emotions.

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.

In the given passage, Desdemona illustrates her view of her relationship and stance against doing any wrong by Othello;

Desdemona is considered a sincere, kind, -and above all-, an honest wife and woman in general. She is like a model of the perfect woman of that time. We can find proof in her honesty when she and Emilia are talking about infidelity, and Desdemona's words are "Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong

Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes throughout his work, including love, death and betrayal. These themes are present in his work of Othello. However, the most fundamental issue is jealousy. The lives of the characthers in Othello are ruined by jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play. The telling of the story is carried out by passion, jealousy, and death. Shakespeare’s Othello reveals devastating tragic inevitability, stunning psychological depth, and compelling poetic depth; the fragility and mysterious power of love, as well as demons of doubt, and how suspicion can be triggered by manipulative villain (Barthelemy 12).

Desdemona is portrayed as a very inquisitive women, whom loves to explore the things and people outside of her class. She fell in love with Othello because of her curious nature and being attracted to his acts of bravado. Her intentions are sincere; however her curiosity in this act is seen as folly. She asks her cousin Lodovico about his arrival and informs him of Cassio’s dismissal. This angers Othello as she is praising another man, taking a persona of being proactive about him. For Othello this concludes that she is disobedient and has dishonored him - to put her in place, he resorts to violence:

    In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, the wife of the protagonist, Desdemona, is the main female character. Secondly, there is the ancient’s wife, Emilia, who is morally ambivalent. Thirdly, there is the girlfriend of Michael Cassio, Bianca, who makes her appearance later in the drama. This essay will analyze the roles of these three women.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello and Desdemona’s marriage was doomed from the start. They did not start well; their marriage was controversial because of their race and Othello’s failure to follow proper etiquette while he was courting her. However these issues could have been overcome with time. The biggest problem is Othello’s attitude to Desdemona. Othello’s model of Desdemona prevents him from considering her a person. He thinks of her instead as superior to himself in every way, to the point that she is a god. Her race, beauty, and status make her godly in his mind. She becomes untouchable in Othello’s mind, and he begins to distance himself from her. Because Othello thinks of Desdemona as “Alabaster”(5.2.5) he will never consider

She begins the play as a independent and thoughtful person, but she must struggle against all odds to make Othello believe that she is not too independent. Desdemona is a symbol of innocence and helplessness. However in the beginning of the play, she seems to be mature and quite insightful of events around her. Iago often tells Othello that she is unfaithful. It seems that she refuses to accept what Iago is doing. She has a tendency to be sympathetic towards other people's situations, like Cassio. This also further inspired Othello's jealousy when Iago pointed out that Cassio and Desdemona were speaking in private. She often pays attention to other people’s thoughts, yet remains distrustful if they differ from her own. She has a loyalty to her husband in all aspects of life,

Vanita, Ruth. “‘Proper’ Men and ‘Fallen’ Women: The Unprotectedness of Wives in Othello.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 34, no. 2, 1994, p. 341. MLA International Bibliography EBSCOhost, doi:10.2307/450905. Accessed 12 Mar. 2017.

David Bevington in William Shakespeare: Four Tragedies describes how “love” is attacked from the outset of Othello:

In Shakespeare’s play “Othello” the main characters Othello and Desdemona suffer a tragic fate due to their actions and unforeseen circumstances. A majority of Desdemona’s suffering is down to Iago’s manipulation. However, it could also be argued that Iago is not completely to blame for the misfortune of Desdemona. We as the readers can see evidence of this at certain points in the play where Iago has planted the seeds of despair and Desdemona and Othello have fallen for his plans. In this essay, I will look at key moments in the play where Desdemona is presented as a tragic victim by the writer and justify why she is a tragic victim using quotes from the play.

Othello is a military hero, widely respected and admired by most. Even his enemies have a grudging respect for him. He has taken the loveliest lady as his bride, and has a seemingly great life. He is seen as a very good man, as proven by the words of the Duke of Venice: “..If virtue no delighted beauty lack, your son in law is far more fair than black.”(Page 47, Line 285-286). Despite all this, Othello does have a fatal

Othello, the Shakespearean tragedy of great éclat, the work that has captured the recognition of many spectators, readers, and observers. Fascinated by the popular analysis, and multiplex of themes, ranging from jealousy and love, or perhaps honor and betrayal, Othello has become intrinsic to the way one lucubrates the literary and theatrical arts, and has become indispensible in understanding Shakespearean literature. However, taking the analysis further than the ostentatious front put on by Shakespeare, one can distinguish a more malignant warrant to Othello 's attractiveness to the reader, and the actions and courses he takes throughout the piece, as well as multiple developments and symbolic moments, that are deeply entrenched ideological stances of patriarchal oppressiveness, and misogyny. It is with this excogitation of the text, and the performance that one can access the truth-value of Shakespeare’s thoughts on the nature of human relationships that are revealed in Othello. The understanding of Shakespeare’s ideology and take on the nature of human relationships is found in multiple instances within developments of each act within Othello: First, the use of what Freud calls the Madonna-Whore complex within the developments of each act; Next, The use of the female characters and the way they are developed in each act to meet the ideological expectations of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan norms and to the patriarchal Venetian society that Shakespeare develops, and finally;

Othello and Desdemona have a peculiar relationship to say the least. While the story of Othello does not give us many insights on their relationship, throughout the story, we begin to question the concept of their relationship as a whole. The audience blames Othello ending in a tragedy on Iago, but as critical thinkers, they should consider the flaws of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Along with flaws, Othello and Desdemona had relationship issues already in areas of behavior and backgrounds. It seems probable that their relationship was going to fail regardless of the actions of Iago. The lack of sympathy both characters have until it is too late causes their death.