The Shakespearean tragedy, Othello(1603), is open to differing interpretations, since the multifaceted nature of the characters, varying explanations of motivation and an individual values can influence their understanding of the text. The play can be seen in such a way that the characters in Othello fall prey to Iago’s skillful manipulation, not realizing that they are puppets in his elaborate scheme. He preys on each character’s innate flaws in their personality and judgement and seduces them into his web of lies. Othello’s own profound sense of justice and jealousy, render him an easy target of his Iago’s influence, while Desdemona’s innocence, naivety and strong willed nature allow her also to be an active instigator of her own death and Othello’s deep-rooted passions cause him to oscillate between love …show more content…
The common thread evident in Shakespearean tragedies is the downfall of the hero caused by his hamartia, in Othello’s case being his jealousy and his overdeveloped sense of justice. At the beginning of the play Othello’s heroic qualities are foregrounded as he defends his honor in his decision to marry Desdemona, his strong emotive language highlighting the depth of his emotions in blindly placing his trust in her, “But let your sentence even fall upon my life,” Repeatedly Othello demonstrates the value he places in her fidelity, when he says, “My life upon her faith.” Dramatic irony is evoked here as the audience is aware of Iago’s plan and realise that Othello has unintentionally foretold the future. Iago plants the seeds of doubt that catalyse Othello’s demise, baiting his insecurities through jealousy. When Othello pronounces, “Her name, that was as
Human as the main body stream of the society, their spiritual world is extremely complex and rich, these varieties of human nature shape us unique and distinct from each other. Real human nature has both human creativity and limitations, the imperfections in a person’s characteristics sometimes will perform negatively but in some cases, it won’t harm the whole character’s image. The Shakespearean play Othello reflects the profound social contradictions of the Renaissance, and William Shakespeare develops the idea of one’s ruling passion would falsely leading to the tragic path and creating misunderstandings between loved ones which will act as a double-edged sword that not only harms other but later on will harm oneself. This idea is showing through three main characters of the play, Othello, Iago, and Desdemona; Othello’s ruling passion leading to his jealousy which blinds his logic and gentle nature, Iago’s cruelty in order accomplishes his intelligence which gives him a weapon of language to manipulate people with his ruling passion, Desdemona and her sweet kindness motivates her ruling passion for helping Cassio without noticing her husband's transformation which later caused her own death.
Continuing on, a major factor in the whole turn of events that occurs within the play is the power of human emotion to overcome reason. Throughout the play many characters fall victim to their own emotions one example would be the infamous Iago. Almost immediately Iago’s soliloquy demonstrates to the audience the effect that hate –in this case his hate for Othello- has had on him by simply stating “I hate the Moor”. This hate is what drives the whole play and Iagos’ plot to manipulate and eventually destroy Othello. Othello is the next to fall. With his jealously of Cassio and his doubt of Desdemona the overall result is one of devastation. He takes Desdemona’s life challenging her purity and her innocence which is seen as the ultimate act of betrayal. This is the pinnacle of the effects that human emotion can have to overcome reason and not only its effects on the individual but also its effects on people surrounding them.
In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the Iago is the most important character. It is his dreams, hopes and desires that turn him evil, bringing out the worst possible characteristics in order to achieve all the things he wants. Iago’s manipulative traits, deceitful actions and love for Othello eventually cause the death Emilia, Desdemona and Othello himself.
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.
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
Othello, the protagonist of the play, is haunted by jealousy as his life takes a turn for the worse. In the beginning of the play, he is married happily to his wife Desdemona. Their marriage took off as he would boast about his brave stories. Othello is a moor and the general of the Venetian army, he has earned great respect throughout Venice from his superiority in battle. Iago who is Othello’s standard bearer, is the antagonist of the play as he manipulates Othello into thinking his wife Desdemona is cheating on him. Cassio is one of Othello’s lieutenants, Othello thinks that Desdemona is having an affair with him. Othello becomes very jealous of the fact that Desdemona could be cheating on him. He is constantly infuriated with the drama and eventually leads to him killing his wife and himself. He ultimately realizes that he was being played and is grieved that Desdemona has always been a loyal wife. Iago is a heinous person that is responsible for creating lies to ruin Othello’s life. Othello let's jealousy rage his temper and causes him to strike Desdemona. The jealousy in Othello causes him to become a tragic hero because he is manipulated into thinking his beloved wife is cheating on him which leads to Othello performing irrational actions and eventually shattering everything in his life.
Nevertheless, Iago’s manipulation influences Othello and Desdemona’s relationship, and it affects the other characters in the play. One of Iago’s motive
A key figure, if not the most important in the play, is that of the malcontent Iago, who sows the seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind, and presents him with ‘proof’ to back up his suspicions. Iago acts as a catalyst to Desdemona’s murder and it is his intricate
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.
In his soliloquy, Iago extrapolates the defects of Othello’s character as the “weak function” he will reap to his benefit by metaphorically “pour[ing] this pestilence into his [Othello’s] ear” , that will incite Othello’s descent into calamitous jealousy. Iago’s cunning intentions unveil the jealousy he has contrived to instill in Othello’s conscience, engendering intense doubt, by defacing his pure impression of Desdemona. The jealousy that pervades Othello’s psyche becomes ever more apparent through the sibilance of “all seals and symbols of redeemed sin”, which manifest Othello’s underlying insecurities of differing race and an age discrepancy with Desdemona through his self-deprecating tone, ultimately fueling his tragic flaw – envy. Iago’s capability to precisely deduce the character flaws of others is conveyed through the exploitation of Desdemona who is “framed as fruitful as the free elements”, the simile embodying her naivety that causes her to remain undoubting of Othello’s jealousy that signifies his psychological degradation and instability. The soliloquy demonstrates the instigation of immense jealousy conjured by the acts of another individual, that resonates with our understanding of humanity’s intrinsic
"The Tragedy of Othello Written by William Shakespeare" highlights a variety of ways in which males and females reacted to intense situations." The emotions of the characters changed from the start of Act 1, the end of Act 1, and continued as the story of Othello progressed. In Act 1, the main protagonist named Othello started off conveying the emotion of happiness because he and his wife Desdemona were newlyweds. Othello was the general of the army of Venice. Iago, who was a soldier desired the rank of lieutenant, but Othello skipped over him and chose Cassio as the lieutenant even though Cassio had no experience in war but was exceptionally knowledgeable. Iago feels envious towards Cassio gaining the rank he wanted, Iago decided to work with Roderigo, a man who loves Desdemona, to pressure Brabantio, Desdemonas’ father, into thinking Othello used a “magic charm” to build up Desdemonas’ love for him. ("The Tragedy of Othello Written by Shakespeare” Book) In addition to Iago’s actions, Brabantio conveying anger approached Othello by accusing him instead of talking to him calmly. Brabantio told Desdemona of the rumor and asked: “who do you choose?” Meaning, she had to pick either her husband or her father. Desdemona projecting love towards her husband chose Othello. In conclusion to Desdemona's actions, it appeals to the reader that the female character represents
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
In the beginning of the play, Shakespeare illustrates Othello as a benevolent military noble who shares an intellectual love with his young wife, Desdemona, that is of utmost purity and innocence. At once the evil character of Iago is introduced and uncovers the hero's tragic flaw; ultimately that of naiveté. Although Othello is usually a very even-tempered man, as can be seen when he refuses to let Iago persuade him to get angry at Roderigo, (I, ii, 6), an exteriour opposing force characterized by Iago, perpetuates the tragedy of the play by provoking the interiour opposing force, or the hamartia of the protagonist. Near the beginning of the play, Shakespeare's clever demonstration of dramatic irony allows the reader to realize Othello's tragic flaw in the fact that he hands his full trust over to a man who is "Janus-faced" and dishonest. "...my ancient; a man he is of honesty and trust. To this conveyance I assign my wife". The irony from this line lies in Othello's misconception of his ensign, Iago, who is already plotting against him for his own means. After witnessing Iago's conspiracy with Roderigo at the ruination of Othello in the previous act, the reader immediately sees Iago's villainess, however in innocence, Othello is blinded to it and by it. From this we see, as in many tragedies, the tragic hero's flaw is not actually a defect in itself, but rather an excess of a virtue. In the case of Othello, this perilous virtue
Shakespeare 's famous play of love turned bad by unfounded jealousy. His Othello also tells a sad story. The story begins in Venice with Iago, a soldier under Othello 's command arguing with a wealthy Venetian, Roderigo. Roderigo has paid Iago a considerable sum of money to spy on Othello for him, since he wishes to take Othello 's girlfriend, Desdemona as his own. The story to this as the main line, there have been many tragic things. In the story, there are several characters is impressive, their demeanor and psychological activities, I have some impression from those character, those characters all had
Iago’s relationship with Othello becomes a power struggle where Iago attempts to degrade Desdemona in order to position himself so he can ‘poison’ Othello. Here Shakespeare is showing how powerful and manipulative Iago can be with his use of words, and how powerful they can be. This power struggles is exemplified