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Character analysis in Othello by William Shakespeare
Character analysis in Othello by William Shakespeare
Characterise shakespeare plays short topic
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Betrayal is presented much in literature, for it happens to all of us no matter our social status. Shakespeare, Browning, and Huxley present the theme of obsessive power and how it will result in one committing vile acts, like betrayal, to obtain their desire.
Power is what every person wishes to obtain in some way, shape, or form. It is a driving force that will make an individual do whatever it takes to achieve the power he or she so desire. Iago from Shakespeare's Othello is an excellent representation of the theme of power. Throughout the play he manipulates his way into the position he wants. Why does he deceive to obtain power? Jealousy. It drives Iago mad. Does jealousy lead to a some form of madness? Iago, when speaking to Othello,
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describes jealousy as, "The green-eyed monster doth mock the meat is feeds on" (Shakespeare, III, 3, 166). The green-eyed monster appears much throughout literature, for example, Browning's My Last Duchess where a jealous Duke admits to how angry his last spouse made him, driving him to the lengths of killing his wife. In history it has been presented on numerous occasion that those who are older and more experienced feel more entitled to higher ranks than those who are younger and inexperienced.
This is Iago's case through and through. He betrays the trust of those
around him, all because of his obsession with power. We see obsession with power in Huxley's Brave New World with Mustapha Mond and the World State, and how Alphas must have power and authority over all of the other classes below them for they are genetically superior. The Alphas can even have a tendency to be jealous of the other Alphas. One of the principal characters, Bernard Marx, is a fairly decent example of an Alpha that shows signs of jealousy, for he is ridiculed for his short stature, therefore, being the cause of him being shy: one of his reasons for envying his colleagues (Huxley 41).
Are there different "types" of betrayal? Certainly there must, for the motivation behind them can differ. For example, Iago betrays nearly everyone out of jealousy. Othello feels betrayed when he hears the rumors of Desdemona and he is manipulated into believing them, therefore, igniting revenge. In a sense, Othello is betraying Desdemona, because she is not aware that she has in any way betrayed Othello, and still swears undying loyalty to him. Although, Othello is unaware of this and even calls Desdemona, "That cunning whore of Venice//That married with Othello," (Shakespeare, IV, 2, 89-90). Desdemona commits a "blind" betrayal so to
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speak. Betrayal can have been fueled by something or can be unintentional. Sometimes when someone is betrayed it cuts them so deep that they go to extreme lengths. One example is the betrayal of trust Othello feels when hearing of Desdemona bedding Cassio. Othello bursts into an outrage and falls into a trance, and when coming back to his senses, he orders that Cassio be murdered and plots to kill his own wife. He is so corrupted by jealousy that he is unaware of his true friend or foe at this point in the play. Jealousy is overall corrupting and changes a man either permanently or temporarily. Destructive love is another major theme that ties in with jealousy and betrayal. Jealousy being the cause, and betrayal being the result, ultimately equaling destructive love. Othello and Desdemona's relationship falls apart because of Othello's sudden envious nature. We see another example of destructive love in My Last Duchess with the Duke's jealousy. What is destructive love? When the love shared is destroyed over exterior forces, like jealousy, and brings about the destruction of the relationship and individuals in them. Othello and Desdemona both lose their life because of the results of destructive love. Browning's My Last Duchess touches on this subject as well.
What was once love turned into blind rage and cold-heartedness. All because of jealousy. The Duke in the poem goes on to say, "I gave commands;//Then all the smiles stopped together," (Browning 45-46). Othello is an honorable man and a loyal husband to Desdemona, though when Iago's accusation of Desdemona appears to be true, Othello becomes a different man, blinded by rage and envy. He even goes to the lengths of wanting to murder Cassio, asking Iago, "How shall I murder him?" (Shakespeare, IV, 1, 170). Not only will power corrupt a man, but so shall envy. To the point of wanting to murder a close friend or loved
one. When one desires power, he or she will put on a mask to hide their true intentions. This adds to the theme of Appearance vs. Reality in Othello. Iago couldn't be a more perfect example of manipulating others into thinking his intentions are pure. Throughout the majority of the play, he is referred to as "Honest Iago," showing the trust others have in him. This only make achieving his goal much easier, for no one would expect him to betray anyone. The Director in Brave New World hides his collection of Shakespearean works in order to keep his power. The Duke in My Last Duchess plans to marry again to further expand his power. Betrayal is more than common in today's time between nations, in relationships, etc. It happens to the best and worst of us. How one responds to it though, that is an entirely different story.
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
The characters in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World represent certain political and social ideas. Huxley used what he saw in the world in which he lived to form his book. From what he saw, he imagined that life was heading in a direction of a utopian government control. Huxley did not imagine this as a good thing. He uses the characters of Brave New World to express his view of utopia being impossible and detrimental. One such character he uses to represent the idealogy behind this is Bernard Marx.
In the play Othello (1603) by William Shakespeare, love and hate are two most critical far-reaching themes expressed throughout the play. There is no doubt that whether Othello loves Desdemona during the initial parts of the play and hence they get married. Then as the play progresses, Iago, the villain in the play manipulates Othello, by gaining his trust and injects him with the poisonous seeds of hate and jealousy. Thus, the great love between the couple fades away as hatred, jealously and revenge takes over Othello – which only ends after he murders his wife. Iago’s character was very diabolical from the very beginning of the play and it can be analyzed that Iago’s motivation for wrecking Othello’s happiness and his life arises solely from hatred. But, the real question that we need to focus, is that on whether Iago loved Othello at the same time? Can Iago’s evil actions be compromised if he wished that if he couldn’t be with Othello; Othello shouldn’t be with anyone - even if it included destroying
“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock.The meat it feeds on; that cuckold lives in bliss. Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; But, O, what damned minutes tells he o'er. Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves” (3.3.163-168). In Shakespeare’s Othello, jealousy is the common theme that becomes Othello’s undoing. Through text in the play, the audience can notice Othello slowly begin to become crazed through his speech.
“Insecurity kills all that is beautiful” in Shakespeare’s Othellothe tragedy clearly testifies to this theme as it tells the story of marriage of beauty and passion that turns to ashes all due to insecurity. More specifically, the story of Othello, a successful Black Mauritanian general of the Venetian army, tells of an interracial marriage to a White upper middle class Venetian wife, Desdemona, who is determined to make their love eternal. However, due to Othello’s decision to appoint Michael Cassio over his trusted ensign Iago, Iago tells Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with the newly appointed white lieutenant, Cassio. In response, Othello kills Desdemona by smothering her with a pillow. Once finding out that Iago made the whole story up, Othello kills himself out of guilt and honor. Many may wonder what was the cause of Othello’s core problems that commenced his demise to kill his love and then take his own life. Jealousy, such as a man losing a lover to another man, can originate from deep insecurities about maintaining honor and a sense of manhood. For example, Othello’s conflict
The question is how sympathetic is Othello to the reader? Othello feels betrayed by the snare. But Othello loses his look of a gullible, good guy when he decides he wants Cassio and Desdemona dead. The rage of his jealousy turns the character of Othello, the readers know, on its head and creates a different look. Only during and after the death of Desdemona can the reader see the good that was once in him.
"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on…" (Othello, III.iii 169-171) In his rage, Othello charges Iago with the killing of Cassio, his lieutenant who supposedly slept with his wife. Othello then plans to kill Desdemona. Even during the course of the killing, Othello maintains his love for Desdemona (although this might seem a contradiction.) He refuses to defile her body in any way. "Yet I'll not shed her blood; nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow, and smooth as monumental alabaster." (Othello, V.ii 3-5)He then proceeds to choke or smother her to death. The theme of love in Othello changed from puppy love, the lighter side of love, to jealousy, the darkest side of love.
In The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the “noble Moor” whose honor and innocence bring about his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this play Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othello’s embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding without any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal. He makes Othello believe that his new wife, the innocent Desdemona, is committing adultery with his newly promoted officer Michael Cassio. After this seed of jealousy has been planted, Othello’s mind takes its course in determining the true outcome, with a little more nudging from Iago. The course of action he proceeds to follow is one that not only ends his own life, but also the life of his wife and others. In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, Othello is a man who is still truly honorable, despite the course of action he takes to resolve his perceived problem.
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.
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.
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.
The role of jealousy, love and betrayal play a major role in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The entire play is based on the human interactions of the characters as related to Othello and Desdemona. The characters’ personalities, their social status, and their relationships to each other control the story line and their fate in the play. Othello is portrayed early in the play as an outsider with animalistic characteristics by Iago and Roderigo because of jealousy. “Your heart is burst; and have lost half of your soul/Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe”.(531) Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, accuses Othello of using witch craft on his daughter. “If she in chains of magic were not bound/ Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy/ So opposite to marriage that she shunned…” (535) This point is important because Othello must defend himself not only to Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, but to the entire Venetian Senate. “And till she come, as truly as to heaven,/ I do confess the vices of my blood./ So justly to your grave ears I’ll present/ How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love, / And she in mine.” (539) Othello proves himself to be an intellectual hero early in the play. He has worked hard to gain respectability and power, but because he has a different background, is from another country, is dark-skinned and is older than Desdemona, he becomes jealous very quickly of Cassio. Cassio is from the same social class, is compatible with Desdemona and is a young handsome man. Iago has also convinced Cassio to seek favor with Desdemo...
To become powerful, is to become corrupt, and The Tragedy of Macbeth is a prime example. In William Shakespeare's tragic tale, a young nobleman soon becomes corrupt when he is given the opportunity to become king. His need for power and safety drives him to corruption, ultimately killing off anyone who stands in his path: innocent or not. Throughout the play, many characters portray the impact power has on a relationship: Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, Banquo and Macbeth, Macduff and Macbeth and many more. While all these characters were affected by power in the play, Banquo and Macbeth's relationship best demonstrates the effect of power.
Othello has many positive traits, including being a great leader and loyal. He also has one negative trait that ultimately leads to his death; jealousy. Iago provokes deep, strong emotions in Othello, jealousy being the strongest. Jealousy is a nasty little emotion. It causes people to do terrible things because once it is on a person’s conscience, it stays for quite some time. Because of these effects, jealousy can impact some of the strongest people such as Othello. The love between Desdemona and Othello was portrayed so elevated and pure and was filled with religious words and phrases that just added to the strength and sanctity of their love. Othello has such a strong mind, but jealousy caused by the manipulation of Iago, negatively impacts him. Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his friend Cassio. When Othello asks Iago for proof of Desdemona’s deceit, Iago describes scenes and events in which Othello has a reason to be jealous. In Act III, Scene I Iago is describing to Othello, Desdemona and Cassio’s imagined relationship, “It is impossible you should see this/ were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross as ignorance made drunk.” These images planted themselves inside Othello’s mind and haunted him until he did something about it. These images led to Othello believing Desdemona really did love
Iago had tricked Othello into believing that Desdemona cheated on him with Cassio, thus causing him to become jealous. His jealousy overcame his usual respectable, noble personality and he became irrational and violent. His jealousy and rage lead him to kill his wife, something he would never have done if he had not been jealous.