Themes Of William Shakespeare 's Othello

Women in Shakespeare’s Elizabethan period lived in chains bound by the society with the leash handed first to their father and after marriage to their husbands. The higher the position in society tighter the restrictions. Women were escorted everywhere they went like Desdemona. “Good women followed the instructions of their husband and father’s.” Men did not have to explain themselves and their actions to their possessions.One of the examples of women 's role is given by Shakespeare In act 3 of Othello,when Iago’s wife Emilia says, “I know nothing but to please his fantasy”(3.3.299).

Iago is jealous of Cassio because Cassio received the position of Othello’s Lieutenant, a position which Iago thought he should have won. This is shown throughout the play but an example of this Iago’s soliloquy at the end of Act I Scene 3. “Cassio’s a proper man…To get his place and to plume up my will in double knavery.”

Iago is a very jealous, envious and selfish person who aggravates other people’s lives. Iago is jealous of Cassio because he is the one that was promoted to lieutenant. He believes he is a better soldier than Cassio who is, “Forsooth, a great arithmetician” (Act 1 sc.1, 20). From Iago’s point of view, Cassio shouldn’t even be in the army. He is just making excuses to give him more reasons to get back at Othello. Iago is envious of Othello because he is married to a beautiful woman, Desdemona. Also, Iago believes Othello slept with his wife, which makes him even more envious. “For that I do suspect the Moor hath leaped into my seat” (Act 2 sc.1, 317-318). Iago is very selfish because he doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. He just wants to get what he wants and he will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

Othello's Jealousy is mostly a figure of his imagination made from all of iago's lies and being mislead. The ironic part about that is that iago said to othello”beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock, The meat it feeds on”(III,iii,195-198). Iago is warning Othell that nothing good can come from jealousy.Then Iago starts to question desdemona's loyalty but othello gets mad and says”No, Iago; I'll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove; And on the proof, there is no more”(III,iii,220-223). Othello wants evidence of his claims before he finally decides if she was cheating on him with Cassio.

When pairs of texts are considered together, their universal themes and ideas lead to greater understanding, appreciation and insight of both the old and the new. The texts Othello, William Shakespeare (1600) and Othello, Geoffrey Sax (2001), ring true for this statement. Despite the differing contexts and ages, the universal themes of racism and betrayal bring new meaning to each of the texts. The primary meaning from the juxtaposition of the two is that of the human condition, and how the problems faced in the 17th century are faced in modern times.

Throughout the play jealousy is shown within almost every character, ago mostly causes everyone in the play to be jealous of someone by doing what he does best, manipulating everyone and getting them to do his dirty work. Jealousy plays a big role within the play, and influences almost every decision made by each character at some point in the play. Sadly, the decisions made due to the characters being jealous are mostly bad, the play mainly shows how jealousy affects Iago, Othello, and Roderigo. Iago at some point gets each character to believe everything he has to say and talks them into doing anything he wishes them to do all for the sole purpose of revenge and jealousy

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”.

The concept of jealousy in Othello is a clear indication of how one’s inherent fears and uncertainties can be exploited and manipulated by those who are envious of us. Such individuals can deceive, to turn not only against those whom are loved, but lead them into betraying humanities’ very nature and turn into monsters, overwhelmed by an emotion that feeds off itself. Iago, Othello’s ancient, becomes full of hatred and thoughts of murder and deception after hearing that Cassio is being promoted instead of him and of a rumor saying his wife was sleeping with Othello. Combined with the promotion of Cassio over himself, Iago seeks out revenge against Othello. His immense jealousy and anger toward Othello prevented him from learning

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.

Othello did not wake up one day and say that he was going to be jealous; he was corrupted and persuaded into it. Iago is the one main character of many characters that persuades Othello into the nasty trait of jealousy. Othello represents how jealousy is one of the most corrupting and destructive of emotions (“Theme”). This destructive emotion eventually leads Othello to do things he does not want to do. Iago is the main character that makes Othello do these things and one of the main characters that lies to Othello to make him jealous of everyone.

Iago is obsessed with plants. His speeches use a lot of vegetable metaphors and conceits. Iago thinks of himself as the gardener both of himself and of others and that the characters are

Many examples of symbolism and motifs are prominent in William Shakespeare’s Othello. The most significant are those that represent a large element of the play. Together they help create an interesting story and contribute to the understanding of the themes in Othello. Among these are the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona, the island of Cyprus, and the symbol of the willow tree. Many of the issues surrounding the characters of the play are symbolized in these examples and reflect the most important areas of Othello.

   The Shakespearean tragedy Othello contains a number of themes; their relative importance and priority is debated by literary critics. In this essay let us examine the various themes and determine which are dominant and which subordinate.

Othello speaks to Iago in Act Three of the play saying, “certain, men should be what they seem” (3.3.131). This excerpt provides a foundation for Othello to later question the actions and morality of Cassio and Desdemona established in lieu of Iago’s scheme. This is a very important concept to showcase because Othello devoutly loved Desdemona and trusted Cassio until conniving language from Iago caused him to think otherwise. In this essay, I will present textual evidence from multiple sources examining the central concerns of the play, which include identity, revenge, and color.