Othello's character in the duration of "The Tragedy of Othello", by the world's greatest writer, William Shakespeare, is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. The other main characters in the play all form their own opinions of him and, as the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Othello's character changes from a flawless military leader, to become a barbaric murderer.
	Throughout the first act of the play, Othello is shown as many different characters depending on who is speaking. Iago complains of Othello's pride and "bombast circumstance" and is angered by the appointment of Cassio, an educated military theoretician of Florence to lieutenant, instead of himself. As Iago speaks to Brabantio about Othello, he uses the term "white ewe" to represent Desdemona, and "black ram" when referring to Othello. By using these terms, it shows that he is trying to give a bad impression of Othello when he is speaking to the royal family in Venice, because Othello is a Moor, or a Negro. Iago shows his black hatred for the Moor and his jealousy of Cassio in his first soliloquy and also reveals his evil intentions.
	As the act continues and Othello is being searched for by a group of people, Iago attempts to incite Othello into anger against Brabantio, but Othello does not take the bait. He feels that he (Brabantio) may do his worst because Othello is assured that his...
This contrasts with the innocent "white ewe" description that is often ascribed to Desdemona. These animal references continue in Iago's second soliloquy: "Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me/ For making him egregiously an ass" (2.1.330-331). First, Iago calls Othello "the Moor", a racist reference to Othello's African background. Next, Iago announces his plan to make Othello thank him, not knowing that Iago is the cause of destruction. The word "ass" continues to reference Othello's allegedly animal-like nature. Iago uses these racist, connotative words to undermine Othello as justification of his barbaric
Othello seems to have a really rough time finding the truth in people. The reasoning behind this is simply the way he acts around people. Although Othello is a cultural and racial outsider in Venice, his skill as a soldier and leader is nevertheless valuable and necessary. He is after all a man in high power and is respected for that simple fact. Essentially, the first impact that is made upon the reader of Othello is not one of high quality. He was called many names of which had to do mostly with his racial background some of these names include “the Moor” (I.i.57), “an old black ram” (I.i.88), and “a Barbary horse” (I.i.113). The two characters that begin the cruel introduction of Othello are two trusted comrades, one being Iago. Right from the start, Iago already begins the demise of Othello. Now since Othello made this decision to trust and simply see the good in everyone rather than the truth in everyone his life got turned upside down and started to take ...
	Iago uses a different tactic to manipulate Brabantio. He changes Brabantio's way of looking at the marriage of his daughter Desdemona to Othello. He awakes Brabantio by saying "Awake! What, ho, Brabantio! Thieves! Thieves! Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags! Thieves! Thieves!" (I.i.76-78) By saying this, Iago shows a new perspective to Brabantio by insinuating that Othello has stolen his daughter. Iago reinforces this when he say's,
The audience at this point know nothing of Othello that is gained by their own opinion, instead we are lead to believe from Iago’s race related description that Othello is a threatening and evil moor, whose beastial sexual appetite, conveyed by Iago’s cries to Brabantio, telling him that ‘an old black ram is tupping’ his ‘white ewe’ (1.1.89), is something of a rapist. Iago’s coarse animal related language conveys Iago’s feelings against Othello’s marriage in a much more pronounced way. The image of an ‘old black ram’ gives the audience nothing but negative images of Othello, especially when this ‘old black ram’ is being associated with the innocence of a ‘white ewe’. Iago then associates Othello with the image of ‘the devil’ (1.1.92) because of Othello’s colour, Iago warns Brabantio that he has ‘lost half [his] soul’ now that Desdemona is married to Othello. Iago here emphasises the biracial nature of the marriage, already showing his ability to manipulate people, in this case he is manipulating Brabantio, to believe in Iago’s own opinions and in theory to eliminate all thoughts that Brabantio might of had of his own about the marriage.
The main tragic hero qualities are charisma, military status and suffering. Shakespeare uses all these traits in the portrayal of Othello, as well as in his depiction of other tragic heroes such as Macbeth and Hamlet. Othello's is a character of high status and stature and this is reflected in his language. His charisma is built around his position. During the first scenes of the play, while it is set in Venice, he speaks mightily and confidently, undeterred by any threats put against him by other characters.
He is determined to expose Othello for the beast he is by "bringing this monstrous birth to light" (1.3.395). In the first scene of the play, Iago claims that he dislikes Othello for promoting Cassio over himself and later claims that he suspects that Othello has slept with his wife, and uses these as excuses to seek revenge on Othello to prove that he is an animal unworthy of Desdemona. In reality, however, Iago's true motives are for his own evil pleasure and in this pursuit of "joy, pleasance, revel, and applause transform[s] [himself] into [a] beast" (2.3.291). Iago makes his feelings known for Othello in the first scene of Act I, when he and Roderigo tell Brabantio that the "old black ram [was] tupping [his] white ewe" and that with his daughter "covered with a Barbary horse", his grandchildren "will neigh to [him]" (1.1.85; 1.1.108). Iago quickly angers Desdemona's father with his vivid bestial images and it is here that we realize the depth of Iago's cr... ...
Hamlet. Romeo. Othello. These men not only star in some of Shakespeare’s finest plays, but they are all classic examples of tragic heroes. A tragic hero is one who is courageous and admired but who has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. Othello was one of the greatest military men of the time. He was highly respected among his superiors for both his military prowess and level headed nature. This was a man who could be in the heat of a battle and would remain collected. Though this great hero also had great shortcomings. Othello was naive, jealous, and concerned with public appearance. Othello is truly a dynamic character. As the play continues and his jealous increases, Othello gradually changes from a flawless military general into
Iago makes his actions of revenge toward Othello almost immediately by informing Brabantio, a Venetian senator and father of Desdemona, that "an old black ram (Othello) is tupping (his) white ewe (Desdemona). " (l.i.97) Iago's next motive becomes clear when he convinces Othello "that he (Cassio) is too familiar with his (Othello's) wife." (1,iii.4399) Iago's motive here is to break the bond between Othello and Desdemona.
Insulting Othello, by referring to him solely by his race, Iago begins to show his machiavellian nature. When Othello is needed by Iago to fulfil his plans, he acts as though he is his friend. Iago has no qualms about his deceitful actions. In order to rile anger in Brabantio, he wakes him with the news that his daughter has married Othello:
References to black and white carry the most weight and contribute much to the actions of the characters; those colors often are used as a comment on race, on good and evil, on sexuality, or a combination of the three. The play does not proceed far into the first scene without a racial statement, where Iago informs Brabantio that Othello and Desdemona have run away together: “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/ Is tupping your white ewe” (1.1.85-86). Iago refers to Othello as a “black ram” and to Desdemona as a “white ewe,” pointing out the differences in skin color (since Othello is a Moor). A ram, since it has horns, can also be symbolic of the devil; therefore, Iago makes Othello devil-like and racially different at the same time. Additionally, the color black is often seen as evil or bad, whereas white is seen as good and pure. Since the black ram is “tupping,” or mounting, the white ewe, Iago is making a reference to the sexual act of Othello, black, taking Desdemona's virginity, white and pure. Planting an image like this in Brabantio's mind causes him to react negatively towards the marriage, and because Othello is darker-skinned, it makes the situation worse....
In Act 1, Scene 1, Iago effectively uses racism to turn Brabantio against Othello. He is the catalyst for all the destructive events throughout the play, starting from the very beginning. Iago uses viciously racist slang to enrage Brabantio, saying that Othello has wed his daughter.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Iago is willing to prattle on Othello and Desdemona for animosity. Iago's poisoned language builds up Brabantio's fearness of mixed race marriage and especially his pure daughter. Iago's manipulation of Roderigo and Brabantio sets up the battle between Othello and Brabantio. Later on in the play Iago still seeks help from Roderigo by forcing him to kill Cassio whom is drunk with just a few words. Montano which is the governor of Cyprus stepped in to resolve the problem between Cassio and Roderigo. Unfortunately Cassio stabs Montano since he lost control of himself from Iago's...
In Othello, The Great Chain of being is seen through the antagonist Iago who extensively uses racial prejudice and animalistic language to dehumanise Othello as an animal or beast, purely because of his complexion. In the beginning of the play, Machiavellian Iago pursues to report and persuade Brabantio of Desdemona and Othello’s secret elopement in the middle of the night. Iago abruptly bellowed, “an old black ram….is tupping your ewe” (I.I.85-86). Metaphor has been used to add more offence to Iago’s directive insult of Othello by metaphorically, comparing him to a sexually, aggressive animal in a malevont phrase. The infusion of strong animalistic descriptive language and animal imagery is used to illustrate the hostility towards Othello’s ethnicity and both Desdemona’s and Othello’s interracial marriage to which causes the audience to instinctively analyse for the character’s weaknesses. Furthermore, Iago’s incorporation of animalistic terms allowed him to control his victims, to be more susceptible to his manipulation. In the later scenes, Iago’s manipulative character is further shown when he witnessed Cassio leaving Desdemona’s room without the acknowledgement of Othello, so he used this as an opportunity to report back to Othello by manipulating Desdemona having an affair with
The Development of the Character of Othello as Shown by his Use of Language and Imagery in William Shakespeare's Play
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.