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Racial prejudice in othello
Brief analysis of OTHELLO
Comment on the character of Iago. Othello by William Shakespeare
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Recommended: Racial prejudice in othello
Act One Scene 3 of William Shakespeare's Othello
Referring to the passage in page 155, I have analysed several points
in conjunction to background knowledge, in attempt to answer the task
set above. Initially, I feel that it is very important to relate to
the character of Iago. As a character, Iago has the potential to be a
man of extreme power but he does not have the tool that we refer to as
money. All that he has is ambition; and he remains malcontent until he
attains his aspirations. He pretends to be doing tasks but refrains
from them, showing us a strong sense of corruption. The most important
role that he plays is that of an extreme racist, words like "black
ram", "moor", "thick-lipped", "devil", "animal". These are cheap
weapons. He has to use race as an excuse as he knows that Othello is
greater than him in all aspects. The passage that I am studying in Act
1 Scene 3, refers to his characteristics. Iago's relationships are
dysfunctional, he does not care about what he says; nor does he care
about anyone else's feelings. Iago has many reasons for.
Iago has many reasons for acting the way he does, his reasons may not
be right or logical but he believes in them so strongly that he is
willing to oppose people in the process of completing them. His entire
motives stem from one thing and that is jealousy. All of his motives
are due to this single feeling. His revenge comes from wanting to
avenge the people he is jealous of. In his quest for revenge he uses
Roderigo for money and the strangest reason of all, he seems to enjoy
what he is doing, shows his cunningness as he is able to use
corruption as a form of leisure.
In t...
... middle of paper ...
...hakespeare much earlier. In the opening scenes in
act 1, it is evident that Roderigo is the less cunning character and
is never in control of the situation. The two inform Brabantio of
Othello's relationship with his daughter. These events show signs of
deceit and envy.
Having analysed Act 1 Scene 3 and various previous passages, I feel
that Iago is on the verge of becoming a psychopath. I have studied in
detail the reasons for Iago disliking Othello and how Shakespeare's
literary craft has made Iago the villain that he is. These passages
show us that someone can become so obsessed with an issue that they
become disturbed. He has his motives from the very start of the play
and as it graduates, he develops them…"I have't, it is engendered!
Hell and night. Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's
light…".
and not that he did this by his own choice. With this metaphor of a
Act Two in Understanding Desdemona in Othello by William Shakespeare The play “Othello” written by William Shakespeare is a tragedy in which appearance and reality are juxtaposed with jealously, hate, honesty and innocence. The character of Desdemona is one of the most admirable, and yet most pitiful, in all of Shakespeare. She is completely innocent, unable to comprehend how her husband can be jealous when “I never gave him cause!”. The other women in the play are cynical Emila and Cassio’s mistress, Bianca: contrasted with these two, Desdemona stands as an icon of female purity.
The Significance of Act 3 Scene 3 of William Shakespeare's Othello Othello was written by Shakespeare around 1602 and was set 35 years previously to that time (around 1571) during the Elizabethan era. Shakespeare got the idea for the play from the Italian Novella 'Gli. Hecatommithi and only changed minor details slightly. He kept the same plot but some of the characters and themes in the play were very different.
“I asked her to wear something revealing, so she showed up in a prophet's toga.”(CITE) Jarod Kintz’s words are an example of miscommunication, or failure to comprehend meaning. In this case, it is implied that one person misunderstood the message of another, but incomprehension also applies to problems other than falsely interpreted requests. Incomprehension can occur when people misinterpret another’s words or intentions, or when a person misreads situations or events. The outcome described in Kintz’s quote is unexpected and unintended, but there are instances of incomprehension that have consequences of greater severity. Perhaps a classic tragedy with a high body count falls under these parameters.
Othello is a man who is respected as a General in the Army. Brabanzio even considered him a friend. Thanks to Iago planting a seed in Brabanzio ear about his daughter, Desdemona, Brabanzio accused Othello of taking his daughter away from him by means of drugs or poision. Othello has fought on the battle-field and now finds himself on a very different kind of battle-field. He finds himself in a position of being forced to defend his honor, friendship and his love. There has been accusations made against Othello, so in a room filled with signors, masters, the Duke, and Brabanzio, Othello has a strategy of battlement in his own way. He tells the Duke to send for Desdemona, “Send for the lady to the Sagittary, And let her speak of me before her father” (1.3-115-116).
In Othello, Iago uses his fine reputation as an “honest man” and Othello’s insecurities to manipulate him and carry out his master plan of destroying Cassio, Othello, and Desdemona. Iago’s insight towards the other characters’ weaknesses enables him to let them know exactly what they want to hear, which helps him gain their trust. He plays upon the insecurities of others to maneuver them into carrying out the actions he needs done in order to fulfill his own desires. In looking at Othello, we will consider the Othello’s blind acceptance of “the truth” as it is presented to him and find that when we blindly take another’s “truth” and accept it as our own, we merely become tools utilized by the person who gave us that supposed truth and give up the power of being ourselves—we fail to assert a self.
Desdemona is a stunning, youthful, white, Venetian debutante. She is her father's pride and joy, but she refuses to marry any of the rich, handsome Venetian men that her surroundings expects her to spend the rest of her life with. Instead, she elopes with Othello – an older black man, an outsider to Venetian society. Turns out, this is a pretty intrepid move – Desdemona not only defies her father's expectations (that she marry a white man of his choosing), she also thumbs her nose at a society that largely disapproves of interracial marriages. In this way, Desdemona's relationship with Othello speaks to the play's concerns with Sixteenth Century attitudes about sex, gender, and race. Desdemona withholds many attributes to the play Othello by Shakespeare. She leads on a perfect life, as the perfect woman, but will it last forever?
In the Sixteenth century, as we see clearly from Othello and other works of both Shakespeare and Cinthio's original version of Othello, race was a topic of great debate and discussion. Today, in the twenty-first century the debate retains its controversy and passion. However, attitudes towards race have taken a dramatic turn during the last century. In the developed world people are now living in an increasingly cosmopolitan society would undoubtedly be more tolerant and would reject or even be offended by racial discrimination to any person or sections of the community. Openly 'racist' people today are seen as outcasts. Taking this into account, the way a modern audience would react to race and racism in Othello is dependent upon the way in which that modern audience would interpret 'Othello'. This prompts the questions of what sort of message Shakespeare wanted to send to his audience and was Othello the moor portrayed as a tragic hero or did his character eventually come to resemble the prejudices of which he was a victim. Shakespeare also discusses the issue of race with other characters such as the hateful Iago and the prejudices hidden deep in Barbantio.
The director uses specific language and tone to stress the issue of race in Othello. The controversy of racial relationships is expressed through Brabantio's negative attitudes and words. He refers Othello to a 'foul thief, implying that his daughter could never love a man of a different colour, and that therefore Othello has stolen her from him. Brabantio compares Othello to someone that no one would want and he is disgusted that Desdemona would "run from her guardage to the sooty bosom". Thus implying that Othello is dirty and undesirable. The choice of language from the director highlights the other characters pessimistic and disrespectful attitudes towards Othello due to his skin colour.
of the Capulet’s orchard. This is a brave thing to do, for, if he had
Othello is a man of romantic nature. He fell in love with the beautiful Desdemona. He was accused of stealing her away from her father. Othello was of a different race and did not fit in with her family. Othello makes a plea for Desdemona and tells his story which wooed her to begin with. Othello tells of the love that her father showed him since his boyish days. This was like a match made in heaven that overcame many obstacles which got in their way. Othello could not understand why he was good enough to work and fight alongside of her father, but was not good enough for his daughter.
In everyones life there is always the one person who you think you can trust, and later come to find that they have been playing you all along. This is the exact case for Othello. Iago, whom Othello thought was a person he could trust, betrayed him in many horrific ways.As you read the famous Shakespearian play, Othello, the Moor of VeniceI, you come to realise pretty quickly that Iago is the evil charecter in this play. The readers do not actually get to see a good side of Iago, if there is any, because he is constantly using and playing people. Readers will also come to learn that no matter how evil Iago may be perceived as that he is very much a coward, using other people to do most of his dirty work for him.
Internal and external struggles influence people to action, be it swift and daring or cunning and low. In Shakespeare's plays, the events around and within a character often combine to cause a character to act in a manner that would be considered out of character or unnatural for the person. Shakespeare uses these characters to provide the audience with a lesson or theme; to give them something they can apply to life and see learn from. In Othello, the character he uses as an example is, in fact, Othello. Shakespeare informs his readers of how doubts caused by rumors and lies can lead to the breakdown of even a once noble person.
Othello is one of Shakespeare?s prime examples of an ?other?, someone who doesn?t truly belong to society by some unfortunate inheritance of ethnicity and race, made worse by the negative stereotypes constructed by the Venetians to apply to outsiders like him. Although Othello is a gifted military hero, a ?worthy governor? (II.i.30) and a ?full soldier? (II.i.36), he is also damned by his color, his blackness. Most of the Venetian insiders, including his wife Desdemona, refer to Othello as merely ?the Moor?, and label him with such blatant insults as ?l...
Shakespeare wrote different types of plays such as comedies, tragedies, and historical plays. The play Othello is one of his tragedies. It is about a character named Othello who is a Moor, in the service of Venice. Throughout the play Iago, Othello's lieutenant, manipulates Othello to believe that Desdemona, Othello's wife, is cheating on him. Various characters in the play Othello appear to be virtuous, upstanding individuals, but their actions reveal that they are not as they appear to be.