William Shakespeare 's Othello, The Power Of This Passion

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 highly emotional scenes in Othello give the audience a means of catharsis for the audience. It is necessary for this to transpire within a tragedy. H.A. Kelly writes in his book “Ideas And forms Of Tragedy From Aristotle To The Middle Ages” that “the representation generates certain passions in souls that moderate themselves, to pitying or fearing.” The reader connects with the powerful emotions of sadness in the story. The overwhelming feelings allow the reader to let out the suppressed feelings in a way that is allegedly therapeutic. Furthermore, Professor W.A. Neilson of Harvard University says “This is in part due to the splendor of its poetry, the absorbing nature of the plot, and the vividness of the drawing of characters who marvelously combine individuality with a universal and typical quality that makes them appeal to people of all kinds and races.” In the tragic story of Othello and Desdemona, pain and heartache is a paramount emotion from the beginning through to the end of the play. For example, the story begins with Iago and Roderigo enacting their plan to tell Desdemona’s unknowing father, Brabantio, of her marriage to Othello. Brabantio then becomes irate with emotions of anger and betrayal. In scene III, he expresses these emotions while addressing the Duke and a handful of senators by saying “She is abused, stol’n from me and corrupted.” (Shakespeare) The reader can connect and

The ability of passion to bring destruction upon the lives of the unsuspecting is illustrated in Shakespeare’s Othello with the use of both manipulation and deceit. The curse of fierce passion fell namely on Othello as he transitioned from a respected general to an unstable murderer. His downfall is demonstrated through his increasing self-doubt, lack of ability to articulate, and violence. In the start of the play, he is an accomplished general and happy newlywed, and has yet to be significantly held back due to his being a Moor and outsider in Venetian society. As passion overtakes him, however, Othello truly ingrains the idea that he is less than, and those around him begin to blame his actions on the nature of his ethnicity. He has completely lost his identity to his desires and is unable to think rationally. Shakespeare juxtaposes this version of Othello with his initial composed self in Venice to demonstrate the damage of ignorance to logic and heighten the sense of tragedy. The effects of an overwhelming passion involving love, jealousy, and revenge are shown through Othello’s degradation and loss of stability.

   In Othello, Shakespeare explores the relationship between words and events. Spoken thought, in the play, has all the power of action; speaking about an event will make that event become reality for those who hear - it will affect reality as if that event had taken place. Shakespeare demonstrates the power of words poignantly through Othello's monologues. Othello struggles with the reality that Iago creates for him. When Othello speaks, he reveals that he is unable to stop himself from carrying out acts that Iago's and his own words have prophesied and initiated. Othello's monologues further demonstrate that even the knowledge of the power of words cannot protect the characters from the

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).

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is one of the highest commended love stories of all time. Many can take away life lessons and morals about how one should not allow their fatal flaws shine through to cause grief and destruction to those around them. One of the two main characters, Romeo, has the tragic flaw of impulsivity; and because of this, is predestined to cause woe in the hearts of those whom he loves the most. The author, William Shakespeare, uses syntax and diction to create a melancholic tone, which conveys that, while one may try, they cannot escape their tragic flaw that will ultimately cause their demise.

In Shakespeare’s play Othello, tragedy unfolds on the account of one man’s actions, Iago. He is a twenty eight year old military veteran from Venice. His personality consists of being obsessive, manipulative, relentless, and bold. From the beginning he expressed his hatred towards the Moor, or North African named Othello. Othello is a highly respected general and is also married to the pure Desdemona. The marriage between Othello and Desdemona is destroyed due to Iago’s actions and lies. His actions consist of getting Michael Cassio discharged as lieutenant and convincing the Moor that his wife is cheating on him. The motives Iago has for despising Othello are he passed him over for a promotion to be his lieutenant, instead he chose

Shakespeare employs obsession as a thematic device extensively in Othello with many characters exhibiting complexes which come into direct conflict with the fixations of others, highlighting the self-destructive and all-consuming nature of obsession. This is reinforced by the climax of the play, the deaths of Othello, Desdemona and Emilia and Iago’s subsequent arrest and torture. Similarly, Dorian Gray presents various forms of obsession such as lust, infatuation and narcissism which leads, in most cases, to the destruction of the characters who are swiftly overcome by their vices or refusal to recognise the truth.

Emotions have some control over our actions. However, there are other factors that influence what we do. In the play Othello though, emotions have way more power over the characters' actions. For example, the actions committed by characters consumed by love are greatly amplified. Another example of this is that the characters in the play that are consumed by jealousy go to far greater lengths than one normally would to quench their thirst for vengeance. The last instance that proves this is that the actions of characters overcome by despair are based solely on their hopelessness. These three points all help to show that in the play Othello, Shakespeare exaggerates how much our actions are affected by the major emotions of love, jealousy,

    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.

The human mind is full of intricacies, nuances, and ambiguity; the true intentions and desires of one's mind are many times hidden from the surface of one’s consciousness, much like an iceberg, showing only what is on the surface. William Shakespeare, in his tragedy, Othello, demonstrates these nuances through the deeply rooted hate for Desdemona present in the unconscious of Othello’s psyche. Othello, as a result of his repressed thoughts and emotions, is made by his unconscious to ultimately turn his facade of love towards Desdemona into an intense hate driven by his own insecurities and jealousy. This downfall of Othello extends far beyond the Shakespearean play; all humans have the potential of succumbing to their unconscious but not all

Critics have debated the significance of Othello’s race in terms of portraying his identity for a long time. The negative connotations of “blackness” have led to the creation of many racial constructs associated with the “Moor”; this denigration has infused the opinions of many critics, such as Albert Gerard, proposing that Othello’s “negroid physiognomy” reaches down to the “deepest levels of personality” and that he is a “barbarian”. However, many other critics like Edward Berry and Martin Orkin believe that colour is merely a “surface indicator” compared to the outward virtue of beneficence, defining identity. Beneficence could be defined by the will to practice good acts, in conjunction with the aversion of practicing evil, and the prevention and removal of evil.

"Othello is set in a world and focuses on the passions and personalities of its major figures." (Thomas). Othello is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, Othello's wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio and advisor Iago. The play appeared in seven editors between 1622 and 1705. The themes of the story are racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal. Othello is a black soldier who is accused of stealing his wife Desdemona. Although Desdemona's father dislikes his daughter's choice, Desdemona loves Othello very much and the two are married. Othello’s right hand man is angered at the fact that Othello picked a man named Cassio to be more important than him and he also feels that he is messing with his wife. Iago plans to manipulate Othello but his plan eventually causes more hurt to most of the characters. Iago tries to use the meeting between Cassio and Desdemona as a way to make Othello believe she was cheating on him. Iago goes on with his manipulative plan by planting a handkerchief in Cassio's room, and goes and tell Othello about what he has seen Cassio do. Othello becomes jealous throughout the story and begins to believe that Cassio is talking to his wife. Iago persuades Othello to come up with a master plan to kill Cassio and Desdemona. As Othello tries to kill Desdemona, Emilia, Iago's wife, comes in to tell Othello the truth about Iago. Unfortunately it is too late. Othello had already suffocated her. When Othello

Love and hate are both very powerful emotions. The abundance one can feel inside when feeling them can be overwhelming at times. I think everyone can relate to the feeling when you love someone so much you would do anything and everything for them. We can also understand that feeling when you can’t even stand the thought of someone being in the same room of you. When we look at what emotion is more powerful, I think hate is stronger than love. The reason being is that love can quickly turn to hate, but hate doesn’t change to love very fast, if at all. I think Othello is a great example of this. His love for his wife, turned to hate so fast because he thought she was cheating on him. He murdered his wife in pure cold blood which shows how hate can be such a powerful emotion that it can actually cause someone to want to commit murder. The feeling of love and hate can change someone, and they both can be very powerful. However, I think that hate is an emotion unlike no other in which the feeling is very stable, in the since that it is very hard to change someone’s mind about you when they hate you.