Comparing Othello And Hamlet

William Shakespeare once wrote, “To be or not to be, that is the question,” and, “It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock.” These two quotations were carefully crafted, by the literary genius himself, to entertain not only the Elizabethan era, but for all the years to follow. Which will forever be known as classics, William Shakespeare composes two plays, Hamlet and Othello, that involves deception and tragic flaws that lead to tragic deaths while containing two protagonists that share very different qualities.

Evidence of deception is apparent from the beginning in both of Shakespeare’s works. In Act I Scene V, the Ghost tells to Hamlet, “But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.” This

reveals the corrupt way that King Claudius achieved his royal status. Besides Hamlet, he deceives everyone else of his innocence and convinces others of Hamlet’s madness. Similarly, in Act 1 Scene 1, Iago says about Othello, “In following him, I follow but myself. Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, But seeming so, for my peculiar end. For when my outward action doth demonstrate The native and figure of my heart In compliment extern, ‘tis not long after But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.” This explicitly demonstrates Iago’s true and evil motives to ruin Othello’s life, portraying a pure a example of deception. Shakespeare uses deceit to acknowledge personality traits in characters and to contribute to the overall dramatic aspect of the plays.
One thing that Shakespeare uses effectively is the use of tragic flaws in the characters he creates.

In both Hamlet and Othello, these tragic flaws lead to the devastating deaths of the protagonists. Hamlet’s flaw is his inability to act on his actions because his mind always busily contemplates the consequences. His flaw starts to become evident in his first soliloquy and progresses as the play goes on. He states, “To be or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of trouble And by opposing end them.” This initially shows that he is torn back and forth from his thoughts. It also becomes largely obvious after every decision he makes. After it was confirmed that Claudius was the murderer, Hamlet still hesitates to kill him and avenge his father. He goes back and forth in his head, over-thinking the situation, leading him to take no action at all. If he wasn’t so indecisive, the ending of the play could have panned out much differently, sparing multiple lives. Furthermore, Othello’s tragic flaw is his ability and commitment to trust people with such ease. Because Othello denied Iago the position of being his right-hand man, Iago is infuriated and is devoted to ruining his life by manipulating those around him, specifically Cassio and Desdemona. Because of the trust Othello has in Iago, Othello is convinced to believe that Cassio and Desdemona are betraying him by

sleeping with each other. Othello is easily gullible and the confidence he holds in Iago unfortunately drives him to madness and, eventually, his death.

The two plays had many similarities but the characteristics of the protagonists differ in various aspects. One specific quality that stands out between the characters Othello and Hamlet is the length of time they take to act on their feelings. As said before, Hamlet takes a drawn out amount of time, almost excessive, to act upon the actions he wishes to take. This opposes Othello’s quality of acting too quickly. Othello rapidly believes the information that Iago feeds him and punishes whom he believes is guilty. Hamlet, even with visible proof, hesitates to murder Claudius because of the conversation he holds with himself in his head. William Shakespeare, in Othello and Hamlet, designs two characters that hold bold qualities that contrast each other.
Both Hamlet and Othello are written masterpieces. Infused with tragic flaws, diverse characters, and schemes of deception, the plays entertain from beginning to end. With varying use of diction, boundless drama, and a gripping plot, William Shakespeare creates two plays that still capture the hearts and minds of readers today.