A Play of Love Turned Bad: Shakespeare's Othello

1534 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Othello as a tragic hero summary

Shakespeare’s famous play Othello is a play of love that has turned bad by the unfounded jealousy of the protagonist character Othello. Arguably the contribution of Othello’s susceptibility to manipulation, his weaknesses and the manipulation of other characters tactics such as Iago each contribute to the downfall of Othello. However, to the extent of which each is more significant varies and this is what will be analysed in this essay.

Like many of Shakespeare’s tragic plays each has to have a tragic hero. Each of these tragic heroes would have a tragic flaw, they were all from a noble class and would each face their tragedy with dignity. The ultimate flaw of each of these characters would vary in each of Shakespeare’s plays; Macbeths’ tragic flaw was ambition while King Lear’s was that of arrogance. However, Othello is one of the unique tragic heroes as he harboured many flaws such as gullibility, naivety and jealousy.

There are many events and circumstances that contribute to the downfall of Othello in the play, some of which Othello is responsible for and others which are due to circumstances that are beyond his control. These include Othello’s’ ethnicity and Othello’s’ relationship with certain characters in the play.

Shakespeare has created the character of Othello to be a ‘hero of the ancient world‘ (Helen Gardner,1995), in spite of this there are certain circumstances beyond his control that contribute to the downfall of Othello. Othello proves to himself and everyone around him that he is a noble warrior that deserves a certain level of respect. Society doesn’t have a problem with Othello leading the Venetian army but does oppose to the marriage of Othello and Desdemona.

Readers immediately notice that Othello doesn’...

... middle of paper ...

...reaths she says ‘a guiltless death I die.’.

When news travels that Desdemona is dead Othello discovers that Iago had set everything up and that Desdemona was innocent all along. He then does the most honourable thing that he thinks he can do and that is to kill himself. In his final words he believes that ’there is no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.’

In conclusion Othello’s jealousy is the one flaw that brings him down the most as he had succumbed to the pernicious influence of revenge which was embodied by the character Iago. If Iago hadn’t been so manipulating and Othello so naïve, the event which resulted in the downfall of Othello could have been avoided; so I believe the reason for his downfall ultimately lies with weaknesses of his character.

Works Cited
Critics quotes from (Othello: Cambridge School Shakespeare pg237)

Show More
Related

  • Manipulation and Love: An Analysis of Othello

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    be easily manipulated and influenced by love can take a toll on the weakest and the strongest people living on earth. Manipulation fueled by love is something that is invariably unrecoverable from. Like the rest of society, Othello, a fictional and heart-struck character in the play Othello, let his heart and the people around him manipulate his mind and take advantage of his authority. Dependent on the thoughts of others, Othello is a gullible person with an emotionally unstable nature that would shatter his love for the innocent and graceful Desdemona.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Othello

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nick Potter states: “Othello is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level of intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello comes to understand himself or anyone else.” Within Shakespeare’s Othello, no character fully understands themselves of one another. This is especially true in human dealings, where the intentions of characters and how others interpret them are often misaligned. Conflict, and eventually, tragedy arises in Othello due to the incomprehension between characters, as well as within the characters themselves. From the reader’s perspective, it is tragic to understand the reality behind all the incomprehension, since the characters are oblivious to what the readers are aware of.

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare's Othello

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    Iago’s persistence and villainous intentions made Othello become jealous of Cassio and break down his emotions towards Desdemona and want to kill her with fierce rage. Othello would not do such a crime if he knew it was a lie because Othello loves Desdemona and would die for her. Othello was madly in love with Desdemona and they were compassionate for each other, but he was misguided and confused with jealousy and hatred which steered him off course to his sinister fate. Othello cannot be justified as a bad person because of one incident, especially after all the great things he’s done and achieved for the city. Iago is the real antagonist and has become the bad man of the play as his roles are to protect the crown in which was Othello and stay loyal to fellow soldiers but throughout the play he was the complete opposite with characteristics such as being a liar, un loyal to every character in the play.

    Read More

  • Othello: Characters Bring About Their Own Demise.

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    As in almost all tragedies, especially those of William Shakespeare, the tragic hero always runs into misfortune. The play Othello is no exception. Othello, Desdamona and Roderigo place trust in Iago which eventually lead to their deaths. It is known from reading the play that Iago is the one who manipulates all three of them. After scrutinizing those three things it is apparent that all of the characters who experience misfortune in Othello bring it on themselves with a great deal of help from Iago. Each character had a controllable tragic flaw which was manipulated by Iago. Their inability to judge Iago's character and trust the other characters in the play eventually lead to their downfall.

    Read More

  • Othello’s Dramatic Flaw in Shakespeare's Othello

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play we see his dramatic flaw sink him deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his love of his life but also himself.

    Read More

  • Heroism in Othello

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gardner, Helen. “Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from “The Noble Moor.” British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.

    Read More

  • Othello Analysis

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Love And Hate In Othello

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 their hatred Cassio, Emilia, and at the end themselves were killed. The connection between love and hate in William Shakespeare's "Othello" is the ugly feeling of jealousy that caused such transformations. Jealousy can be described as a fear of losing something or someone that is valuable (Godfrey 2). As minor as this feeling appears to be by that definition, it can take on varying degrees of damaging behavior. Othello, Roderigo, and Iago became paralyzed by jealousy. Their thoughts, actions, and behaviors were ruled by it. Jealousy caused their inability to the act rationally. They became paranoid and unable to love. This paper will examine the jealousy that caused love to turn into hate for Roderigo, Othello, and Iago.

    Read More

  • Othello: an Extraordinary Person

    2099 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gardner, Helen. “Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from “The Noble Moor.” British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.

    Read More

  • Othello's Tragic Flaw

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    Othello’s true flaw is not vile, destructive jealousy, but rather pure and prevailing love. He has a very strong character of virtue and nobility that is intact up to the horrid end. Iago’s deceit and trickery are more the cause of Othello’s tragic fall than any fault of Othello himself. This innocence and greatness of the tragic hero unequaled in any other Shakespearean tragedy is what gives the play its terrible irony and passion. Othello plays on the most powerful of all human emotions: faith and love, both embodied to the fullest in the great and honest Othello.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Presentation of Othello as Responsible for his Own Downfall

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    In some ways you could say that Othello was highly responsible for his own downfall as he was easily manipulated by Iago showing him to be gullible and naïve. Iago manipulates Othello by making him suspicious through inference,

    Read More

  • Tragic Hero's Downfall In Othello '

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion the downfall of Othello was because of his own weaknesses. His traits were the reason why Othello was responsible for the plays tragic outcome. Iago was able to control Othello like a puppet because of his easily manipulated conscience. He chose to make the poor decisions, trusting the wrong people. His mind got clouded by the obsession and jealousy of Desdemona. Othello’s own weaknesses were what led the tragic hero to his tragic

    Read More

  • Flaws In Othello

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history, it is a known fact that nobody is perfect and in most cases, everybody has one major flaw that causes issues in their lives. Just like people in the real world tend to be flawed, the characters in Shakespeare’s Othello have flaws as well. Iago has the flaw of being jealous of Othello. Roderigo shares the flaw of being jealous toward Othello. Emilia has the flaw of being dishonest to Desdemona. Although Shakespeare’s Othello focuses on the flaw of the title character: Othello, characters: Iago, Roderigo, and Emilia also share tragic flaws that not only lead to the play’s tragic outcome but lead to the deaths of those they love and in most cases the death of themselves.

    Read More

  • Cause Of Love In Othello

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    After finally knowing the truth about Desdemona, Othello realized that he made a big mistake, but it was already too late because his wife laid dead on her bed. “Othello: I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this, /Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.” Othello’s love for Desdemona was strange because even though he loved her, instead of forgiving her, he decided to end her life to get rid of all the problems surrounding him. Not only did love made him kill his wife, but also taking his only life for the mistakes he made. In real life there have been many cases where love drives someone to their death, so it is something that can be well understood in the

    Read More

  • The Destruction Of Jealousy In William Shakespeare's Othello

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this scene, Desdemona is pledging her friendship, and nothing more, to Cassio. Knowing this, Iago, still manipulates the situation and whispers thoughts about this alleged affair that Desdemona is supposedly having to Othello. Desperately, she struggles to negate this rumor, but is ultimately fruitless in her efforts. In Act 5 Scene 2 the audience sees Desdemona’s final pleas for her life as Othello accuses her of these sins and tells her to repent. She hopelessly clings onto her last breaths as her own husband takes her life for a crime she did not

    Read More

More about A Play of Love Turned Bad: Shakespeare's Othello

Open Document