In Othello, by William Shakespeare, the author emphasizes through dramatic irony, how an inanimate object doesn't have loyalty to one person and therefore, can incite quarrels over its possession.
In Othello Iago uses Desdemona's misplaced handkerchief as a catalyst for Othello's mistrust of her. Iago states,”I know not that; but such a handkerchief—/ I am sure it was your wife’s—did I to-day/ See Cassio wipe his beard with.”(III.iii.437-439) Iago provokes Othello by claiming that his wife gave Cassio her handkerchief as a token of her love. This is an example of dramatic irony because as an audience we know that the handkerchief came to be in Cassio's possession because Iago anonymously gave it to him. This fuels the flames of Othello's anger
ii, 275), so he is even at the end of the play linked to the
Through his suggestion to Cassio, Iago can now be certain that Cassio will entreat Desdemona to petition for him with Othello. Cassio does implore Desdemona and she responds, “Be thou assured, good Cassio, I will do all my abilities in thy behalf” (Act III Scene III). Iago manages to obtain the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona that had strawberry patterns on it form Bianca. He then tells Othello to ask for the handkerchief and if she doesn’t produce it, than she must be cheating on him. Iago also manipulates the undeserving devotion of Emilia. We learn at the end of the play that Iago “begg’d of me to steal it” of Emilia. Like Desdemona’s good nature, Iago exploits his own wife for his malicious revenge. The handkerchief was the final straw for
Iago talks about jealousy and deception in this same scene, but never gives any proof or direct descriptions of Desdemona's betrayal. Yet we know that Othello's perception has been sufficiently influenced to make him angry and sick by the end of this conversation. He tells Desdemona he has a headache, but he refuses any help from her. When she puts her handkerchief to his head, he pushes it away saying, "your napkin is too little" (3.3.285). This takes on more significance later on in the play when we find out that this handkerchief is the first token of love Othello ever gave to Desdemona.
This item represented Desdemona’s love for Othello, but also all of the scandal that happened in the play. It was traditional in this time for women to give their handkerchiefs to the one they loved. In this play, however, while Desdemona did give Othello her handkerchief to represent her love, Iago used this item to manipulate Othello so that he could take Cassio’s place. In a way, the handkerchief is the second most important part of the conflict. Iago had a copy of the handkerchief made identical to Desdemona’s, and placed in on Cassio. This ended up causing the main uproar of the
Texts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences can be seen through the context of the female coupled with the context of racism. The role of the female has developed from being submissive and “obedient” in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the “moor” is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s appropriation, Geoffrey sax’s Othello, reflect the context and values of their times.
Continuing Act three, Scene three, Othello feels the beginning of a headache. Desdemona offers Othello a handkerchief to ease the pain upon Othello’s forehead. The handkerchief is a gift from Othello to Desdemona as a symbol of the love shared by Othello and Desdemona. In Othello’s pain the handkerchief falls from Othello’s hand and Emilia steals the handkerchief. Iago uses the characters of the play as pawns, including wife Emilia. Jealousy is the fuel and the handkerchief is the spark. With the handkerchief in Iago’s possession, Iago can continue to spin the web of lies and deceit. Iago plans to leave the handkerchief in Cassio’s lodgings to further support the suspicion of Desdemona’s infidelity.
the play, it seemed that Othello was the only one who didn't know the truth.
The Tragedy of Othello William Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, from the sixteenth century is an excellent example of Renaissance humanism. “A poet of unparalleled genius, Shakespeare emerged during the golden age of England under the rule of Elizabeth I.”(Fiero 3:98) He produced comedies, tragedies, romances and histories. According to Webster’s pocket dictionary, a tragedy is defined as a form of drama in which the protagonist comes to a disaster, as through a flaw in character, and in which the ending is usually marked by pity or sorrow. I would like to concentrate on the character Iago and the theme of deceit.
According to The Merriam-Webster dictionary, a parody is defined as “a piece of writing, music, etc., that imitates the style of someone or something else in an amusing way”. Despite this, a parody can also be used as recognition towards the original writer to appreciate a piece of work. Incorporated into Ann-Marie MacDonald’s modern drama “Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), are two of Shakespeare’s remarkable tragedies “Othello” and “Romeo and Juliet”. MacDonald uses the two tragedies to create her modern play “Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)”, that portrays itself as being a parody and also a tribute to Shakespeare’s work that is reinforced with the changing of the original tragedies, the characters involved in the plays, and also both MacDonald and Shakespeare’s outstanding writing style.
Within the play Othello, Emilia’s faulty decision to concede Desdemona’s handkerchief to her husband Iago cements the fate of Othello, Desdemona, and Roderigo as it is the final object of proof that the three require to take action against their perceived offenders. Although Emilia made frequent claims to know the true nature of men, and teased Desdemona’s naivete regarding her husband, Emilia submissively chooses to turn over the handkerchief to her husband once he has demanded it without a true explanation for why he wants it. She is aware of the torment that it’s loss will cause her mistress, since it is a valued possession, but she underestimates importance and the impact it could have with the couple. Once Othello believes that Desdemona
William Shakespeare masterfully crafted Othello, the Moor of Venice as an Aristotelian tragedy play. The main protagonist of the play, Othello, is the perfect example of a tragic hero. Shakespeare was influenced by Aristotle’s concept of a tragic hero and used Aristotle’s principles to create Othello. William Shakespeare attempted to create an Aristotelian tragedy play with a tragic hero and succeeded in Othello, the Moor of Venice by weaving in pity and fear into each line and action. The power of pity and fear creates the upmost tragic situation and follows in accordance of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. Othello makes the ultimate act as a tragic hero by killing himself at the end of the play. “Othello, more than any play in the canon, has a fascinating and contentious performance and reception history,”
Shakespeare excellently uses Desdemona’s handkerchief as a symbol in this drama. It symbolizes the love between Othello and Desdemona. The handkerchief was Othello’s “first gift” (3.3) to Desdemona; therefore, it was precious to both of them. Othello tells Desdemona that her “napkin is too little” (3.3) after Iago questions the relationship between Cassio and Desdemona. By saying this Othello means that her love for him is inconsequential. This dialogue shows how trusting Othello is of Iago. Iago later says that he saw “Cassio wipe his beard with [the
See Cassio wipe his beard with.” (III,3,2121) Upon proof that Cassio has the handkerchief, Iago gets Othello to effectively divorce Desdemona and align himself with Iago. His plan to kill her is not only persuasive but very clever: he knows that Othello will be put to death for the crime. Othello says, “Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her!
William Shakespeare wrote works that are typically known for their tales of love, drama, and tragedy. While there are a diverse number of themes in Shakespeare's many plays, it is not often that many of the works are associated with irony. One work in particular, Othello, is mainly recalled as a story of deception, jealousy, and even racism, but seldom is the story analyzed for its use of direct contradiction and cynicism. For example, the villain of the story receives more attention than the protagonist though it is named after him, the vocabulary within the dialogue is opposite of the theme, and there are multiple characters that are perceived as one way though shown as another. There is a large amount of various kinds of irony used in Othello,
Othello and Rustam have two very different tragic flaws. There is one thing that these two men have in common, and that is that they are tragic heroes. But, their culture had an impact on their tragic flaw.