William Shakespeare's Othello as a Mirror of Man

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Othello as a Mirror of Man

In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, the characters are symbolic of qualities found in every human. The main characters, Othello, Desdemona and Iago, are key examples of this. Othello is symbolic of jealousy and pride; Desdemona is symbolic of kindness and honesty and Iago is symbolic of deceit and selfishness. Shakespeare uses all of these traits to depict his characters in Othello and exaggerates their personalities throughout the play. In this essay, it will be proven that the characters Othello, Desdemona and Iago, are all metaphorical representations of human emotions and characteristics.

The character Othello, whose story is the focus of the play, starts out as a highly regarded general in the Venetian army who is greatly respected by the Duke of Venice. He is married to the lovely Desdemona, daughter of a senator, and is very much in love with her. The way he is treated by those who resent him for being a Moor evokes the audience's sympathy for him and makes him seem to be the victim in the story. It is only after he is in Cyprus, after his victory over the Turkish fleet, that he shows his true colors. It only takes a mere suggestion from his "honest" ancient, Iago, to make Othello suspicious of his wife's infidelity. He worries that she is cheating on him with his lieutenant, Cassio, even though he has no evidence to prove that his suspicion has any basis in fact. His fear is based solely on the fact that he doesn't want to be a cuckold and he is worried what others might think of him if they find out that his wife is having an affair. His reputation is so very important to him that after he is told that Desdemona may be cheating on him, he tells...

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...speare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 1-19)

Bloom, Harold. "Introduction" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. (1-6)

Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55)

Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.

Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90)

Shakespeare, William. Othello. Toronto: Pocket Books, 1993.

Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. (page 23-37)

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