Othello Love Analysis

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Love is the ultimate dagger: a dangerous game when circumstances turn awry. When passion or short term pleasure supersedes commitment, hearts break. Some people swear to never love again after losing love; some people recede to depression when love is not reciprocated; however, love draws in the human heart. Some people search their whole lives for their proverbial knight in shining armor or the perfect woman. Much less medieval, some simply search for a friend to love. Regardless of the object of love, it is founded in an unsaid promise between two people to be faithful and honorable. In Shakespeare’s seventeenth century tragedy Othello, the plot revolves around love as Othello’s beloved friend and officer Iago puts the fidelity of Othello …show more content…

Because of Iago’s manipulation, Othello perceives the relationship between Desdemona and Cassio to be romantic. Iago bends Othello’s thinking, setting the “green eyed monster” upon him (III. 3 166). Jealousy twists the frame through which Othello views love. Initially, Othello thinks nothing of the exchanges between Cassio and Desdemona. In fact, it was Cassio who helped Desdemona marry Othello in the first place (. Working from a different perspective, Othello perceives an innocent relationship to be one of infidelity because he sees the commonalities between the two types of love. Desdemona refers to Cassio as a good man, a worthy man, and a man whom she loves. Because the platonic/romantic view of love is grounded in the same traits of honesty and commitment, Othello cannot tell the difference between the reality of the situation and the appearance, especially because “men should be what they seem” (III. 3 126). The text suggests here that from various perspectives, an innocent form of love can appear to have deeper implications. With the definition of love relying on the lens through which it is viewed, love shows a degree of relativism. The basis of determining evidence of Othello loving Desdemona in the platonic sense lies in the dialogue and interaction in the text, while Iago and Othello are not given as many lines for opportunities to reveal any possibilities of platonic love. Thus, even the analysis of the love between characters is limited to the way the characters are presented rather than definite, objective evidence of the nature of love between

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