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Literary analysis of William Shakespeare
Themes in Othello by William Shakespeare
Literary analysis of shakespeare
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Shakespeare’s plays show the complexity of human beings. Everyone is different in reactions, actions, and thought. Shakespeare explores various themes throughout his writing career. Each play is unique, and their themes are handled in a very distinct way as Shakespeare writes each work with great care. Two major themes are appearance versus reality and relationship between motive and will; Othello, Hamlet, and Henry IV, Part 1 all portray these two themes in similar and different ways. In Othello, Iago is Shakespeare’s most malicious character and serves as a vehicle to these two themes. Iago despises Othello; he has a strong will to destroy Othello’s life, yet the motive behind his plan goes unexplained. Iago is a great manipulator of the tongue and lies to everyone in order to advance his plan; however, every character in the play considers Iago an honest character, and Othello even associates Iago with light and eyesight. Othello continuously asks Iago to explain or make something clearer. Until the very end, Iago appears to be honest and helpful to the other characters, but underneath this seemingly harmless façade, Iago is a demon with the strongest will; he will stop at nothing until he ruins Othello’s life. Iago uses a positive appearance to enact his …show more content…
Othello, Hamlet, and Henry IV, Part 1 explore these concepts in various ways. Shakespeare’s plays show that people are not black and white. They react and act differently to situations. Their motives can either be transparent or ambiguous. Their masks may hide the truth for a time, but reality has a way of coming back around. The complexity of humans seemed to greatly intrigue Shakespeare, yet with characters like Iago, Hamlet, and Hal, Shakespeare realized that he could never fully figure out the human puzzle; so he created his own puzzles of the will, motive, and
In Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago Is shown to be the villain. With the cunning use of his brilliance and manipulation, he is able to orchestrate an entire plot to take his revenge on Othello the center of all his ill tempered aggression. By lying to characters like Roderigo and many others, including his wife, in order to
The character of Iago has traditionally been viewed as the most infamous villain in all of Shakespeare. The conniving ringmaster of the tragedy of Othello, Iago serves as a necessary catalyst for the action of the play. He takes such a principal role in the drama that the play has commonly been described as Othello’s tragedy, but Iago’s play. Scholars have disagreed, however, as to whether or not Iago can simply be described as an ingenious villain lacking all regard for morality. Many have seen some of his most inhuman or evil qualities as the very thing that makes him human; others have attributed his manipulative ambition to a deep-seeded psychological need to belong and have drawn clear parallels between Iago and the play’s tragic hero, Othello. Clearly there is more to Iago than a simple lack of a moral compass. In the process of becoming the vehicle for the tragic actions of the play, Iago also brings about his own downfall. He is the second tragic figure of Othello, and the undoings of both Iago and Othello demonstrate both the extents and limits of human potential as well as Shakespeare’s implication that no single man can ever be greater than the world around him.
An understanding of William Shakespeare’s philosophies reinforces the meaning of the human condition found in the play Hamlet. The revenge tragedy is an example in the exploration of good versus evil, deceit, madness, inter-turmoil, and utter existence. Shakespeare, fascinated by the human mind and human nature, clearly and completely illustrates the meaning of “self.” Hamlet is a drama that examines one’s personal identity. From the beginning of the story atop the castle when the guards enter the platform to the conclusion of the performance as Hamlet lies, dying in Horatio’s arms every characters’ psychological type is
Many would perceive madness and corruption to play the most influential role in Hamlet. However, it could be argued that the central theme in the tragedy is Shakespeare's presentation of actors and acting and the way it acts as a framework on which madness and corruption are built. Shakespeare manifests the theme of actors and acting in the disassembly of his characters, the façades that the individuals assume and the presentation of the `play within a play'. This intertwined pretence allows certain characters to manipulate the actions and thoughts of others. For this reason, it could be perceived that Shakespeare views the `Elsinorean' tragedy as one great puppet show, "I could see the puppets dallying".
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the antagonist and villain who causes all the trouble and disorder. Othello is the protagonist, and is the main person Iago’s destruction and revenge is aimed towards. Othello is naïve and gives everybody his trust even though he may not know them or they haven’t earned his trust yet. He often refers to Iago has “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289). Iago is so angry that Othello didn’t give him the promotion that was given to Cassio that he plans to seek revenge against Othello. He seeks his revenge against Othello by manipulating and lying to all of the people around him including his closest friend Roderigo, Cassio, Othello’s wife Desdemona and even his own wife Emilia. In the end, Iago’s lies and manipulation led to the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, Othello and Desdemona. This isn’t the first time many of these individual characteristics have shown up in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
Iago in William Shakespear’s play “Othello” offers a precise explanation; Iago is a hateful, havoc seeking manipulator who holds several motives behind destroying several lives. From the beginning of the play, the reader is captivated by Iago’s character of a villain. In the beginning of the play it is revealed to the reader through the conversation between Iago and Rodriguez that Iago loathes Othello because he was not assigned the position of Lieutenant. However, it seems as the story progresses, more factors come into play regarding his hate towards Othello. He reveals another motive in a soliloquy; that he despises Othello because he slept with his wife. Furthermore, Iago 's hate towards Othello could also be attributed to Othello 's African
Iago is a powerful predator who exploits those around him by infecting their perceptions of truth with carefully chosen fallacy. His skill in finding the proverbial chinks in others' armor allows him to skillfully weave his machinations of destroying Othello into their minds and actions; by manipulating character's perceptions of Desdemona, Iago gains the leverage he needs to exploit each character. No one is impervious to Iago's seething purpose; even Othello falls prey to Iago's suggestions and insinuations about Desdemona. Iago's constant presence as the stager, as well as his ceaseless - but subtle - reinforcement of events through narration, allows him to be the pivotal force that directs Shakespeare's Othello.
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.
Iago, the evil villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is more than just a villain. In many ways he is the most intelligent and appealing character in the play. Iago shows superiority over the rest of the characters in the play. He has the ability to manipulate the characters in the play, therefore controlling the play with every sequence of events. His intelligence shines through his ability to deceive, his ability to strategize, and his ability to twist the truth. Iago is appealing to the characters of the pay because he gives them what they want. Iago is appealing to the reader as well. His character is totally unconflicted about being evil, making him known to some authors as the villain of all villains. Iago is, in many ways, the most intelligent and appealing character in the play.
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.
Throughout Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the main character; Hamlet displays his contemplative side and his sexual deviancy wrapped up in his enigmatic character that makes for a thought provoking play with many interesting twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. Hamlet’s creative character allows for the viewer and the characters in the play alike to search deeper into the meaning of Hamlet’s words hoping find something more about Hamlet than meets the eye. As for Hamlet’s sexual deviancy, his dirty jokes and interest in his mother’s sex life are just another loop Shakespeare employs to get the reader engrossed and slightly disgusted in the story. Hamlet’s philosophical and contemplative side involves the reader in Hamlet's quest to find and accept the whole truth however hopeless it is, due to Hamlet’s love of questions that cannot be answered with certainty.
The Theme of Appearance vs. Reality in William Shakespeare's Works Characters within one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragic plays. Hamlet, appear to be true and honest but in reality are infested with many falsehoods and deceptions. Characters such as Polonius, Claudius, etc. and Hamlet gives an impression of a person who is sincere and genuine. but behind their masks are plagued with lies and evil.
Upon examining Shakespeare's characters in this play, Hamlet proves to be a very complex character, and functions as the key element to the development of the play. Throughout the play we see the many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction.
Iago, the villainous character of the play Othello uses his soliloquies to reveal what he has in store for the other characters. From the view of the other characters Iago is an honest and trustworthy person who they all seem to confide in and take advice from. Yet by the end of act 1 scene 3, the audience is informed that he appears to be quite the opposite. He is a two faced character who appears evil on the inside and wants to trap the other characters in his destructive web of lies and hatred. While reading the soliloquy it becomes evident as to how evil Iago is;
Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, is a character that builds up anger throughout the play. As the play continues, Iago seeks to destroy all those in his path. However, it is not clear what motivates Iago to go as far as he does. When he has destroyed Cassio’s reputation he could have secured his partnership with Othello and lived on happily. Instead of being happy to take Cassio’s position, Iago wants to mess up Othello’s life by tricking him into thinking Desdemona has cheated on him. This random desire to destroy others’ lives is a huge part of Iago’s character.