Analyzing a play can be quite difficult, especially older texts that can be convoluted. In my high school year, it wasn’t until senior year until I fully understood what all was in Shakespeare’s plays. This also goes for many texts that had religious undertones, which was a pain because I grew up in a Christian home. I could never find those small details that others could. Now, in college, I am more capable to finding these symbolic words, objects, or actions. Throughout the assignments in my theatre class, I was able to find these undertones and pieces of symbolism in the plays of Everyman, by Peter van Diest, and Othello, by William Shakespeare, the easiest to explain. If you were like me in high school, this essay might be able to help hone your ability to see these symbolisms easier. This analysis will go over the strong religion behind the play of Everyman, and the idea of “the Other” in the play Othello.
The play of Everyman starts out with a messenger, and he demands everyone to settle down so they can focus on the story that is about to told. He outlines the play and everything that will happen in it, explaining that this will be a moral tale and that everyone should heed the ending. This speech transitions to God whom criticizes that the people in the world live for there own pleasures and think nothing of him. Saying that they live without dread, they do not fear the afterlife and the judgment that will await them. All of man are distracted by their own wealth
Fear of cuckoldry is widely known theme in medieval and Renaissance English literature. Fear of cuckoldry was also a widespread fear in English society during those eras. Men often treated their wives as possessions. Once men and women married, divorce was almost impossible, especially since it was almost impossible to prove that one had been cuckolded. If one were cuckolded and one’s wife had another man’s child, one might spend decades taking care of that child and passing on one’s money and belongings to that child without ever knowing that one had been deceived. Unmarried women are seen as their fathers ' property and the play 's two marriages are marked by jealousy and cruelty. Most
In Othello every character has their own personalities that makes them the person they are. In Othello there are characters that show true grit, a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset. Each characters are different which makes the book even more interesting. True grit means to endure and push through to do something better no matter what it takes. An example of grit is studying for a long period of time for a test and enduring the amount of work that must be completed. The definition of mindset is the established set of attitude held by someone. There are two other types of mindset as well. There is growth mindset and fixed mindset. Growth mindset is when the person isn 't
The English morality play “Everyman” uses allegorical characters to represent what Everyman holds onto and values during his life. Everyman has neglected his spiritual life, but as the play develops Everyman repents of his sins on time. Summoned by Death, Everyman realizes that he is not ready and does not want to die alone. Thereafter, Everyman seeks to find a companion to go with him on the journey to give account of his life to God but to no avail, Everyman soon realizes that all of those who accompanied him on earth soon abandon him.
Othello, a play that was written in 1604 by William Shakespeare, is an example of a type of story called a “tragedy.” Throughout the course of the work, Othello proves himself to be very easily misled, despite his heroic status. This causes him to lose his ability to make good judgments and decisions. Even though Othello had a reputation as a hero, he ends up being one of the most gullible characters in the play when he completely falls into the evil trap that Iago set for him. As the story unfolds Othello’s character evolves in an extremely tragic way as Iago manipulates him and leaves him to rot in his misery. Eventually, this leads to Othello’s suicide.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. He is a character of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. His destruction is essentially precipitated by his own actions, as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not a fault of a single villain, but is rather a consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments and misjudgments, and attempts for personal justification exhibited by the characters. Othello is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. As the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Chronologically through the play, Othello’s character
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.
Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes throughout his work, including love, death and betrayal. These themes are present in his work of Othello. However, the most fundamental issue is jealousy. The lives of the characthers in Othello are ruined by jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play. The telling of the story is carried out by passion, jealousy, and death. Shakespeare’s Othello reveals devastating tragic inevitability, stunning psychological depth, and compelling poetic depth; the fragility and mysterious power of love, as well as demons of doubt, and how suspicion can be triggered by manipulative villain (Barthelemy 12).
In the play Othello, jealousy is shown to be very evident through the actions of the characters. Jealousy is an emotion that everyone shares, and it is ultimately responsible for the tragic ending of the play. Everyone feels jealous at certain times of their lives, and this feeling can cause people to do irrational things. This human emotion also shows people to be weak in the sense that they are never happy with what they have. Shakespeare shows through Othello, Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio that jealousy is the most corrupt and destructive emotion.
The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which
Only by considering a range of perspectives can we truly appreciate the world of Shakespeare’s Othello. It is through my exploration of these perspectives and their relationship with changing morals and values that has enriched my understanding of the play. One such reading of the play challenges the marginalisation and objectification of woman in a patriarchal Venetian society, while taking into account the changing role of women in modern society. Another interpretation of Othello examines its post colonial elements through the protagonist Othello, and his insecurities of being a black man in a white society. My interpretation of the play as a portrayal of the values existing in Shakespeare’s time is filtered through these
In Shakespeare?s play Othello, Othello himself is the tragic hero. He is an individual of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. His destruction is essentially precipitated by his own actions, as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not a fault of a single person, but is rather the consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments, misjudgments, and attempts for personal justification revealed by the characters.
Like many other morality- allegorical plays, Everyman, fits in as the finest representative of this category. This morality play reflects on the reaction of mankind when faced with the dilemma of eternity. In the play, God sends Death to summon Everyman- a representation all mankind. It is
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.
Jealousy is a major component of both the text and the appropriation, as jealousy is what drives Iago to plot against Othello. Jealousy is largely present in the appropriation too, the breaking point for Hugo comes at the moment when his dad, who is the coach, presents Odin with the award for ‘Most Valuable Player’, and announces to the team that “I love him (Odin), like my own son”. It is at this point that Hugo starts conspiring against Odin. Odin receiving the M.V.P award, is a representation of when Othello is promoted to a higher rank in the text. In Othello, Iago’s jealousy is born from his disbelief that a black person, Othello, has a higher rank in society than him and the fact that Othello would promote Cassio over himself, which ignites the fight that takes place. Throughout the play, Iago is constantly causing characters to become jealous, so he can have them help with his devious plan. He tempts Rodrigo with the idea that Desdemona could be his, if he helps out with Iago’s plan.
Playwrights generally write plays that are inspired by and based on real life events and/or issues that allow them to communicate their points of view as well as the opinions of involved parties. Plays written in the Elizabethan era are categorized as comedies, histories, or tragedies to make it easier for their audience to understand difficult and emotional themes. Although modern plays may follow classic Elizabethan structures, dramatists may adapt it to appeal to a broader audience and to reflect similar issues that may have evolved. For instance, audiences can easily identify with tragedies since they exhibit a downfall as a direct result of a fatal flaw that leads up, often times, to the death of a beloved character. Tragic heroes serve as a mirror for the audience in that as a tragedy progresses, the audience may see their personal experiences and views within it. William Shakespeare’s representation of a moor in his play, Othello, is a personification of a classical tragic hero, whereas Troy Maxson, the protagonist in Fences by August Wilson, serves as an example of a modern tragic hero. Shakespeare and Wilson utilize characteristics of tragic heroes— hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, nemesis, and catharsis—as a literary device to convey an archetypal theme of the hazards of passing judgments to their audience.