Cinthio And Othello Essay

What are the similarities between the plot of Cinthio’s work and Shakespeare’s Othello? (the main themes and conflicts)

Shakespeare's Othello had a lot of similarities with Cinthio’s work. Both stories had similar plot. In Cinthio’s story, it is about a Moorish general who is deceived by his ensign to believe that his wife is unfaithful to him. His jealousy lead the Moorish general to kill his wife . In Othello the plot is similar, Othello was fooled by Iago that his wife Desdemona is unfaithful to him and this leads him to kill his wife. Both stories are about human nature, jealously and tragic ending. Both story happen in the background of Turkish war.

What are the differences between Cinthio’s work and Shakespeare’s Othello? Consider the number and types of characters, the meaning of the Moor, the organization of the plot

In Shakespeare play, he used a lot of text to discuss the how the courtship of Desdemona and Othello develop. This is written in detail in scene 1. He added that Desdemona father does not like the marriage of Desdemona with Othello. This brings another character Roderigo, which does not appear in Cinthio’s work. Shakespeare portrayed Roderigo as a man who admires Desdemona and wish to marry her. This open the chance for Iago to step in to and he used Roderigo love for Desdemona to help him to disgrace Othello and break up the marriage. In Cinthio work, this part of story does not exist.

The endings also differs for the two plays. In Cinthio’s work, the Ensign ( Iago in Shakespeare's play) beat Desdemona to death with the consent of the Moor. However, in Othello play, it is Othello himself who smothers Desdemona to death.

In Cinthio’s story Othello is deployed to Cyprus to command troops in peacetime. ...

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...ckground, military background, social status. It is Othello background that makes his marriage with Desdemona, a white beautiful woman more difficult. Iago motivation is not clearly written in the play, but it may be a collection of hatred, envy and racism.

Based on the plot, develop a suggestion for what could be our artistic vision, help our director’s artistic vision out. Keep in mind the question, “what makes the story of Othello [the Moor] relevant to us?” Write 50-100 words.

The plot is about human weakness. Hatred, jealousy, lust can make anyone loses his mind and do the most unthinkable acts. We should understand our human nature and not be motivated by these evil characteristics to do thing to harm others. At the same time, there are many wicked people around, who will use many manipulative skills to persuade us to do evils and we must resist it.