However strong the emotional attitude of prejudices may be in Othello, Love is the most powerful emotion and ironically the emotion that leads to the most vulnerability. Loves of all kinds are tested in the tragedy and ultimately all fail to rectify the horrible situation. Marital love for Othello and Desdemona serve as both a heaven and a hell on earth. As Othello portrays by saying,
A.C. Bradley describes Othello as "by far the most romantic figure among Shakespeare's heroes"(Shakespearean Tragedy, 1). This is an unusual description of a man who murders his own wife. However, Othello's feelings of hate for Desdemona started as an overwhelming love for her when their relationship began. This transformation from love to hate also inflicted the characters Iago and Roderigo and like Othello their hatred resulted in the murder of innocent people. Roderigo's love for Desdemona was transformed into hate towards any man that he thought was loved by her. Iago's love for his job and his wife, Emilia changed into a destructive hatred of Cassio and Othello. As a result of
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.
When Othello and Desdemona were not yet married, Othello would tell stories of the wars that he had fought in. That is what led Desdemona to fall in love with Othello. The two had rushed into their marriage. They married each other because they were in "love" with in each other. They did not even really know each other. I do not think that either of them really knew of the notion of "love" to begin with. Othello was much older than Desdemona, which made them two really different people. She was young and had a full life ahead. He was set in his ways and was a bit more reserved. When Desdemona eloped, she deceived her father. This fact made Othello
"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not” (Picoult, 384). This quote is the definition of true love, something the two protagonists of this play sadly never had. The tragedy Othello is about a general of the Venetian army, and his beautiful wife Desdemona, whose lives are completely ruined by the deceitful, cunning, and cowardly Iago. One of Iago’s biggest accomplishments was breaking up Othello and Desdemona's relationship by getting it into Othello’s head that Desdemona was cheating on him. This really made the reader question Othello’s feelings towards Desdemona as for someone who claimed to have love Desdemona with a passion, Othello sure was quick to believe Iago’s lies and turn on Desdemona. Based on his actions towards Desdemona, Othello proved that he does not truly love Desdemona because he is insecure, lacks trust, and is a very jealous person.
In the play, The Tragedy of Othello, judging from the relationship between Desdemona and Othello, seems to say that marriage based on an innocent romantic love is bound to fail. There is a common thread of betrayal and deceit among many characters. Othello and Desdemona being the most vividly portrayed. The two appear to love one another romantically at first, but it soon after transforms into a secular love. This comes to pass because there is no foundation for a relationship. There is no trust, no communication, and no understanding.
The meaningful term “love” can be applied to differing relationships in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello. In this essay let us examine under a microscope the “love” that we find throughout the play.
In Shakespeare's Othello, Othello's pride prevents him from finding the truth, eventually leading to his demise. Initially, Othello and Desdemona are deeply in love, despite her father's disapproval of their marriage. However, when Othello promotes Cassio instead of Iago to Lieutenant, Iago has his revenge by convincing Othello that Desdemona cheats on him with Cassio, destroying the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. Othello grows to meet his downfall when his trusted friend Iago causes him to think that his wife Desdemona is unfaithful.
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
The relationship between Desdemona and Othello in the play ‘Othello’ is used to express and observe the way that humans are selfish by nature. Although both Desdemona and Othello do sincerely love each other, both of them find great personal gain in their marriage, which clearly contributes to their feelings for one another. Othello, who is a black leader in an overwhelmingly white, Christian society, has come from a troubled and difficult background, being “sold to slavery” and working in the military all his life. In finding a good Christian wife in Desdemona, he finds someone to always support him in hard times, as evidenced in his summary of their romance, “she loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them”. This quote suggests that their love is more self-serving than he lets on; Desdemona loves Othello for the adventures he has been on and the stories he tells, and Othello loves Desdemona because she listens and devotes herself to what he has to say. When Desdemona gets a chance to explain their relationship herself, she is particularly proud of the fact that she “did love the Moor to live with him; my downright violence and storms of fortunes may trumpet to the world”. We note that she mentions her ‘violence’, the way she deliberately disobeyed her father and fled his company to secretly marry a man who is not one of her father’s approved suitors. This furthers the idea that Desdemona seems to be in love with Othello because of the adventures he has been on, and the excitement and liberty of her being with such a man; she is seeking her own freedom in a misogynistic society by defying her father to marry Othello. Their relationship is
The marriage of Othello and Desdemona is a real ’marriage’ a true love based on reciprocal knowledge and respect of each other, a love that has no element of lust. The love between Othello and Desdemona surpasses the corporal obstacles of race, nationality, and age. But this love is demolished as soon as jealousy enters Othello’s mind thanks to Iago. Iago suggests to Othello that his wife has been cheating on him with Cassio. Othello disregards his love for Desdemona and evokes for revenge. Certitude has allowed his mind from skepticism and suspicion. Now he vows action, Othello wants Cassio and Desdemona dead, "for she shall not live; no, my heart is turned to stone" (Shakespeare,
Othello speaks of their love in Act I, Scene 3: "She loved me for the dangers I had passed, And I loved her that she did pity them" (1.3.166-67). Othello believes in his wife's loyalty. All in all, Othello is in complete control at the beginning of the play, but this will change dramatically.
Othello’s anger prevents him from having a healthy marriage, i.e. one with open communication. When Iago implies that Desdemona had sex with Cassio, Othello gets filled with rage. He says, “First to be hanged, and then to confess—I tremble at it. Nature would not invest herself in such shadowing passion without some instruction. It is not words that shake me thus” (IV. i. 40-43). Othello
He searches for answers, clues, or anything else to prove her unfaithfulness. Feminist criticism focuses on the behaviors and power shown between male and female. Othello represents this because he changes the way he acts around Desdemona once he has heard of her wrongdoing. He is harsh, he doesn’t look at her, and he barely gives her conversation. In this day in age any man or boy would have acted this way because they are rarely the ones to get cheated on. The relationship between him and Desdemona changed his entire character of a man who trusted his wife with everything to a man who know doubted everything he knew about
At this time, Othello has killed Desdemona and has forever ruined his own life. By her trying to stop the madness, her husband, who is still filled with hatred and jealousy, kills her.