The Manipulation Of Jealousy In Shakespeare's Othello

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 emotion that can blind oneself from identifying the truth. Shakespeare heavily emphasizes this theme throughout the drama Othello, especially through the actions of characters. In the play the heinous antagonist, Iago, uses each character’s jealousy to deceive that person and manipulate the truth. His false promises and deceitfulness bring to the demise of many of the main characters in the play, including the protagonist, Othello. Othello could not have been deceived if it were not for his powerful jealousy. Therefore, Shakespeare is telling us that jealousy is an ugly trait that can hide the truth, which in turn causes many problems between characters in the play.

William Shakespeare’s play Othello is based on the theme of jealousy. Jealousy is an emotion that consists of feelings of anger, resentment, and insecurities due to the fear of losing something or someone that is considered of great value (). In Othello he introduces three couples which all play a major role in the theme of jealousy and how it develops throughout the play. The three couples are Othello and Desdemona, Iago and Emilia, and Cassio and Bianca. Each couple allows jealousy to ruin their relationship but some only to a certain extent.

Shakespeare’s Othello is a play consistently based on jealously and the way it can destroy lives. One is quick to think this jealously is based on Othello’s lack of belief in Desdemona’s faithfulness to him or his suspensions over Desdemona’s affair with Cassio, Othello’s honorable lieutenant. Upon closer inspection of the jealously that exists throughout the play it becomes clear that his jealously is not the sole start and reason for all of the destruction that occurs. Iago, a good friend of Othello, is not who he appears to be. Iago’s own jealously of those around him pushes him over the edge. He begins to deceive all those who believe he is a true, honorable, and faithful man. Throughout Othello, Iago incites his own jealously in

Once a seed of suspicion or doubt is planted in a person’s mind, the noxious effect of jealousy is soon to ensue. Jealousy and suspicion are Othello’s flaws hubris throughout the play and foreshadow to the audience his imminent downfall. He believes what Iago tells him so strongly that he compromises his close relationship with his best friend and his love for his wife. Iago manipulates Othello through the use of extortion, literary techniques, and his keen judge of character. His syntax and diction are so simple yet so powerful because he uses the correct rhetorical questions and addresses Othello with respectful terms such as “my lord.” He allows Othello do most of the talking

Love and jealousy are ideas that have gone hand in hand for many years. From the beginning of time, jealousy has caused strife and division among families and friends. Adam, the first man, had Cain and Abel as his sons. The first family on earth had jealousy that tore the family apart, when Cain killed Abel, because of Cain’s jealousness towards God’s favor on Abel (English Standard Version, Genesis 4:4-5). Jealousy abounds in all avenues of life, sometimes to the point of destroying everything in the path, including the jealous party. In Shakespeare’s masterpiece Othello, the character Iago reveals himself to be extremely wicked in the following ways: his extreme jealousy towards Cassio’s promotion, his

Jealousy plays a major role in Othello as it is the driving force which leads to the plays events being carried out. The theme of jealousy is prevalent through characterization and the dishonoring of the values of trust and loyalty. The character if Iago is the main who endures jealousy and dishonours trust and loyalty which in the end he uses as a method to lead Othello to his downfall. Iago dishonours Othello’s trust by stating “My lord, you know I love you” but this contrasts with Iago line “I follow him to serve my turn upon him”.

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.

Jealousy is described as someone who is feeling or showing envy of someone because of their achievements and advantages. Jealousy plays a major role in Shakespeare’s play Othello. There are many instances throughout the play that show jealousy between the characters. Throughout the play, jealousy is used for destructive purposes only. I believe that Iago longed to get revenge on Othello for previous issues. This only results in a long line of accusations and disputes between the characters in Othello.

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.

In the text Othello written by William Shakespeare, I found that jealousy is powerful enough to twist a person into someone they are not. The emotion of jealousy is proven to be a fatal factor in bringing out the worst in certain characters in the play. Set in Venice, Othello is the current leading general who hides

Jealousy is the one thing that runs the characters lives in Othello from the beginning of the play, when Rodrigo is envious of Othello because he desires to be with Desdemona, and at the end of the play when Othello himself believes Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. Sometimes, jealousy is brought up on purpose by other characters. Iago is selfish in that he wants everyone to feel as he does so he manipulates the jealousy of other characters.

Throughout the play Othello , the author, William Shakespeare portrays Iago as a character full of unhappiness and self-hatred. The theme of jealousy and betrayal is apparent as it motivates the actions of Iago and expresses the effect of jealousy. Iago has the ability to convince people of his honesty and loyalty; as it is only a part of his plan of revenge. In the act three scene three the audience starts to realize that all Iago’s work couldn't possibly be all for revenge. There was something deeper than just jealousy and hatred.

In the story of Othello, all of the conflict, violence, and harm that occured was a result of jealousy. Iago, one of the victims of jealousy, made a hypocritical statement to Othello where he called jealousy a green-eyed monster. This monster known as jealousy not only consumes the people that it hates, but also consumes the person itself. Jealousy is the culprit for any character that had died in the story. Jealousy fueled each scene to the next in Othello and the more that is added, the more damage it does as seen with its effects on Roderigo, Iago, and Othello.

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.