Essay about The Moor in Othello

Brabantio is often considered to be a minor role in Othello, frequently overlooked in intellectual writings about the play. However, he displays a character arc in the first three scenes that would take a majority of characters an entire production to portray. The audience is first introduced to Brabantio during the first scene when he is awakened by the story’s antagonist, Iago, and his friend, Roderigo. Brabantio immediately puts off an air of discontent and anger when he sees that his slumber was disturbed by Roderigo, who ironically has attempted to woo his daughter on numerous occasions:

 Shakespeare portrays the character of Othello as a man who is calm and steadfast, as shown by reactions of Othello in Act I, scenes ii-iii, when Senator Brabantio accuses Othello of using witchcraft to woo his daughter. Othello replies calmly and eloquently in contrast to Brabantio’s hysteria, explaining that he did not use any sorcery except that of his presence. He tells Iago, when Iago urges him to hide,

Othello’s superiority does not give him the upper hand either. He is continuously looked down upon in society due to his skin colour. Othello is considered to be the “moor of Venice” (Shakespeare 115) and due to that he is thought to be undeserving of the post he has, by the people under him like Iago. His outsider status continuously leads to his mistreatment. At the beginning when Desdemona and Othello are together, Iago calls Othello “an old black ram” and tells Brabantio that he is “tupping your white ewe!” (Shakespeare 121-122). Brabantio takes Othello to the Duke where Othello continuously tells them that Desdemona chose him but Brabantio objectifies Othello telling him that no one would even “t’incur a general mock, [...] of such a thing” (Shakespeare 133). Along with this Othello is also falsely accused by others. Brabantio accuses him for tricking Desdemona into loving him and calls him a “foul thief” who has “enchanted [his]” (Shakespeare 132-133) daughter. Though his love for Desdemona is shown to be true and genuine and having proven himself as a war general time and time again, the colour of his skin is the reason that his intentions are misunderstood and he has a hard time convincing people of his honourable

‘Without setting, characters are simply there, in a vacuum, with no reason to act and most importantly, no reason to care.’ The setting gives place for a narrative to begin and evolve from, without a strong setting some texts may be difficult to interpret without extra contextual and historical knowledge of the time period of which it was written. Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice written 1603 was set in Italy, in the Venetian Republic . This setting was gaining popularity with Elizabethan writers, maybe as a form of escapism, to have a crypto - catholic approach, as this country was the largest and still is the largest Catholic country. Or a more general form of escapism from the society at that time. Writing for a predominantly working class audience, Shakespeare’s work is an escapism from the audiences hardship of life.

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.

William Shakespeare’s Othello would not be a dramatic tragedy if the smiling villain, Iago, were a deaf mute. There is no doubt that the destruction of each character can be blamed on jealous Iago. The theme of jealousy helps propel the plot naturally and demonstrates the consequences of being morbidly jealous. The circumstantial evidence Iago provides acts like a lethal poison, which surrounds Othello in suspicion and envy but also turns him into an inhuman murderer. Jealousy is the ‘monster’ that unresonably conducts the great suffering in the story.

The reason Cassio is discharged as Othello’s lieutenant is because he fought Montano, who was the governor of Cyprus before Othello. Now that Cassio has been discharged as lieutenant, Iago has achieved one of goals because Othello tell Iago “Now art thou my lieutenant” (III, ii. 485). Although his hate for Othello still remains as he has suspicion that he has slept with his wife, Emilia.

From this time on, Othello has become the slave of passion. As he cries farewell to the tranquil mind, to content, to war and his occupation, as he demands that Iago prove his love a whore, as he threatens Iago and begs for proof at the same time, he is finally led almost to the verge of madness [. . .] . (165)

“The Duke does greet you, general, And he requires your haste-post-haste appearance, Even on the instant.” (1.2.37). Michael Cassio first enters Othello when delivering a message to the general, Othello. He is a young, highly educated lieutenant. Though he is inexperienced in battle, he is truly devoted to his governor. Unfortunately, his gullible and blind ways unintentionally lead to Othello’s death. Since he arrives to Cyprus before Othello and his wife Desdemona, he is there to greet Desdemona who arrives a bit before Othello. She has a conversation with Iago, Othello’s ensign. It consists of him speaking poorly of women and Cassio speaking up by saying Iago is more of a soldier than a scholar. Othello’s ship makes land and they celebrate that night. Iago knows that if Cassio has too much to drink, he will be intolerable. This is true, and Cassio picks a fight with Roderigo and Montano, a former governor of Cyprus. This leads to Othello’s firing of Cassio, “. . . Cassio I love thee but never more be officer of mine” (2.3.211-212).

In the opening scene, while Iago is expressing his hatred for the general Othello for his having chosen Michael Cassio for the lieutenancy, he contrives a plan to partially avenge himself (“I follow him to serve my turn upon him”), with Roderigo’s assistance, by alerting Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, to the fact of his daughter’s elopement with Othello: “Call up her father, / Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight [. . .] .” Implied in

    Tragedy is an intrinsically human concept; tragic heroes are damned by what they themselves do. Othello is not so much felled by the actions of Iago, but by a quality all people possess-- human frailty. Accordingly, Othello is not a victim of consequences, but an active participant in his downfall. He is not merely a vehicle for the machinations of Iago; he had free agency. Othello's deficiencies are: an insecure grasp of Venetian social values; lack of critical intelligence, self-knowledge, and faith in his wife; and finally, insecurity-- these are the qualities that lead to his own downfall.

In Othello, Othello is a character that is seen as an outsider from the very beginning, where he is referred to as the “moor” in the society by the citizens of Venice, where he is already set apart from the rest of the citizens. Othello’s identity is presented by different factors that balance each other out, with occasions where one dominates the other, causing him to lose sight of his own identity.

The settings establish the mood and tone of the act. The play's opening setting of Venice symbolizes the sophisticated, wealthy, and civilized world. This is later juxtaposed by Cyprus, an isolated military outpost composed of uncivilized, uncultured people. In Venice, Othello's diction is calm, intellectual, and respectful as displayed when he addresses the Senate in Act I, scene 2: "'Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors, / My very noble, and approved good masters.'" He displays his faith in Desdemona: "'If you do find me foul in her report, / The trust, the office, I do hold of you / Not only take away, but let your sentence / Even fall upon my life.'" However, once in Cyprus he becomes angered and short tempered and strikes Desdemona. Lodovico, a relative of Brabantio, then remarks "'My lord, this would not be believed in Venice,'" signifying the contrast between Othello of Cyprus and Othello of Venice.

     Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, is a round character of great depth and many dimensions. Iago works towards an aim that is constantly changing and becomes progressively more tragic. Yet, at times, "honest" Iago does actually seem honest. This essay will explore the complex character of "honest Iago.

As in almost all tragedies, especially those of William Shakespeare, the tragic hero always runs into misfortune. The play Othello is no exception. In this play, every character acquainted with the tragic hero appears to be unfortunate. While these misfortunes are oddly related to Othello, are they his fault or did each character attract them out of their own actions? To answer this daunting question, one must consider the three most unfortunate characters: Othello, Desdamona and Roderigo and analyse their downfall which eventually lead to their deaths. It is known from reading the play that Iago is the one who manipulates all three of them. Examinations of their connection with him before their deaths are necessary to answer this