Speaking of the reasons of Othello’s tragedy, the opinions have been various. Some people believe that racial discrimination contributes to the tragedy; some deem that Othello’s character defects causes the tragedy; some think that the instability of their love leads to the tragic end……
In my opinion, many of these factors are the by-products of his self-contempt, the ultimate reason of Othello’s tragedy should be inferiority complex. First comes the Venetian military. Their reliance gives him the possibility to live a normal life as a Venetian and even higher status. Second is the senators’ compromising on his “illegal” marriage to Desdemona. It deepens his sense of inferiority. Then come Desdemona’s good temper and patience to Othello. The
(Act 1 Scene 3)
According to the common sense, there cannot be any creatures whose heads grow underneath their shoulders. Therefore, there is a great possibility that Othello tells these exaggerated but vivid stories to attract Desdemona who has never come close to such things, and he tells his sufferings to gain her sympathy and love.
Thirdly, as for the form of their marriage, it is not open and upright but in secrecy. It seems that, when being retorted in public at the council chamber, his behavior (in Act 1 Scene 2) is with great composure and courage. But taken from the other point of view, he has already slept with Desdemona and, most importantly, at her will. On this condition, Brabantio would have no means to separate them, not to mention the fact that Othello is the hero of Venice, the hero to protect the country and people. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the secret marriage is actually his trick to marry Desdemona due to the lack of confidence for being permitted by Desdemona’s
However, the reality is that in his eyes, Desdemona, is an angel, she is beautiful, white, young and born in a high-status family. While himself is a black and ugly Moor, exotic and alien in Venice. The self-contempt is so deep rooted that in his mind, he is taken advantage of to guard the Venetians, otherwise, he is nothing. If it was not for his loyalty and victory in guarding the country, he would never be acknowledged by the authority, not to say having the access to them and marry one of their young ladies. All his fame and power lie in their dependence on his military
Tragedy is an intrinsically human concept; tragic heroes are damned by what they themselves do. Othello is not so much felled by the actions of Iago, but by a quality all people possess-- human frailty. Accordingly, Othello is not a victim of consequences, but an active participant in his downfall. He is not merely a vehicle for the machinations of Iago; he had free agency. Othello's deficiencies are: an insecure grasp of Venetian social values; lack of critical intelligence, self-knowledge, and faith in his wife; and finally, insecurity-- these are the qualities that lead to his own downfall.
Othello, from the onset, is shown to us a play of love and jealousy. There is however more to this play than just love and jealousy; there is underlying racism, hate, deception, pride, and even sexism between these pages. Othello is a transcendent play, one that will survive the perils of time simply because it is still relevant. Even today, over 400 years later, there are still issues of racism and sexism. Hate is as natural as love in humans and Othello gets right to the root of that. We witness this from the very first scene, “…you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse/ you’ll have your nephews neigh to you” (I.i.112-14); to the very last, “Moor she was chaste. She loved thee, cruel Moor” (V.ii.258). Moor however is used as an insult all throughout the play; not so much the word itself but the feel of the word. Between these pages we see many different ways as to how the cultural differences between Othello and the other characters.
Othello is a man who is respected as a General in the Army. Brabanzio even considered him a friend. Thanks to Iago planting a seed in Brabanzio ear about his daughter, Desdemona, Brabanzio accused Othello of taking his daughter away from him by means of drugs or poision. Othello has fought on the battle-field and now finds himself on a very different kind of battle-field. He finds himself in a position of being forced to defend his honor, friendship and his love. There has been accusations made against Othello, so in a room filled with signors, masters, the Duke, and Brabanzio, Othello has a strategy of battlement in his own way. He tells the Duke to send for Desdemona, “Send for the lady to the Sagittary, And let her speak of me before her father” (1.3-115-116).
Desdemona represents many characteristics throughout the play Othello. The attributes of one such as Desdemona appear to be the perfect qualities that a woman can possess. Yet it is these same seemingly wonderful qualities that turn against their host, blinding them to the realities of society. Her trust in her husband does not allow her to see the beast he has become. Her loyalty to her friends blurs how the relationship may be seen from outside sources. Overall, this “perfect” Desdemona leads herself to her death, yet has no knowledge of doing so while on her life's journey. She leads on the perfect life, but in the end shows to every extent, that not everything can last forever. Not even your own loyalty to a relationship can last forever.
Othello is a man of romantic nature. He fell in love with the beautiful Desdemona. He was accused of stealing her away from her father. Othello was of a different race and did not fit in with her family. Othello makes a plea for Desdemona and tells his story which wooed her to begin with. Othello tells of the love that her father showed him since his boyish days. This was like a match made in heaven that overcame many obstacles which got in their way. Othello could not understand why he was good enough to work and fight alongside of her father, but was not good enough for his daughter.
In The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the “noble Moor” whose honor and innocence bring about his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this play Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othello’s embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding without any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal. He makes Othello believe that his new wife, the innocent Desdemona, is committing adultery with his newly promoted officer Michael Cassio. After this seed of jealousy has been planted, Othello’s mind takes its course in determining the true outcome, with a little more nudging from Iago. The course of action he proceeds to follow is one that not only ends his own life, but also the life of his wife and others. In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, Othello is a man who is still truly honorable, despite the course of action he takes to resolve his perceived problem.
1.) In the play “The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice” written by Williams Shakespeare, he reveals the main themes in Othello’s final speech. The two main themes Othello illustrates in his final speech are reputation and jealousy. In Othello’s speech he says, “When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, speak of me as I am.” (Shakespeare 355), showing the importance of his reputation. He is unable to cope with criticism due to his low-self-esteem and therefore, cares what other individuals have to say about him. Othello’s dark skin is the reason why he does not have high-self-esteem and becomes jealous when Iago tells him about his wife having an affair with Cassio. Othello loves Desdemona but he feels that he is not good enough for her
From this point on, Othello insecurity manifests into a seemingly irrational fear of being cuckolded, and his self-perceived worth diminishes exponentially. Othello comments on the likelihood of Desdemona cheating, by explaining how it may be “for [he is] black / And have not those soft parts of conversation / That chamberers have…” (3.3.280-282) Othello’s frustration with the threat of being cuckolded puts strain on his relationship with Desdemona, and she quickly becomes a victim of domestic abuse. For example, Othello acts as an interrogator, demanding to see the handkerchief which he gave her that symbolizes faithfulness and commitment towards Othello. (Quotation) When she is unable to produce their symbol of trust, Othello’s anger manifests inside him. The audience is shown a stark contrast to Othello’s typically cool, collected and composted nature. This abrupt and irrational change in behaviour is emphasized when Othello strikes Desdemona in front of Lordovico, (4.1.245) Othello’s
It is in the great tragedy, Othello by William Shakespeare, that Shakespeare has managed to create a character so pitiable, yet so powerful. Throughout the play, the audience witnesses Othello’s self-destruction and loss of power through his rage filled speeches and situations of false accusation. Witnessing his relationships with Iago and Desdemona is like watching one being driven mad with their own self-hate: any rational being would tell Othello to be realistic and trust his wife, yet the same individual would realise that Othello is mentally ill and not much can be done to help the situation. Therefore, the audience feels powerless in this situation thus he or she feels pity for the struggle the character is experiencing.
The role of jealousy, love and betrayal play a major role in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The entire play is based on the human interactions of the characters as related to Othello and Desdemona. The characters’ personalities, their social status, and their relationships to each other control the story line and their fate in the play. Othello is portrayed early in the play as an outsider with animalistic characteristics by Iago and Roderigo because of jealousy. “Your heart is burst; and have lost half of your soul/Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe”.(531) Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, accuses Othello of using witch craft on his daughter. “If she in chains of magic were not bound/ Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy/ So opposite to marriage that she shunned…” (535) This point is important because Othello must defend himself not only to Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, but to the entire Venetian Senate. “And till she come, as truly as to heaven,/ I do confess the vices of my blood./ So justly to your grave ears I’ll present/ How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love, / And she in mine.” (539) Othello proves himself to be an intellectual hero early in the play. He has worked hard to gain respectability and power, but because he has a different background, is from another country, is dark-skinned and is older than Desdemona, he becomes jealous very quickly of Cassio. Cassio is from the same social class, is compatible with Desdemona and is a young handsome man. Iago has also convinced Cassio to seek favor with Desdemo...
The play, Othello, is certainly, in part, the tragedy of racism. Examples of racism are common throughout the dialog. This racism is directed toward Othello, a brave soldier from Africa and currently supreme commander of the Venetian army. Nearly every character uses a racial slur to insult Othello at one point in the play. Even Emilia sinks to the level of insulting Othello based on the color of his skin. The character that most commonly makes racist remarks in Othello is Iago. It is very apparent that Iago uses racism as a scapegoat to hate and blame Othello. Societal racism takes its toll on its victims. The effect of racism on Othello is quite evident and is one of the main causes for his insecurity about his marriage. However, Othello is not wholly the tragedy of racism. The theme of jealousy is also extremely important in Othello. Racism may play a large part in the tragedy, Othello, but it certainly does not adequately explain the entire play.
One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers. From the beginning Othello is noble, quick to act, judicious, trusting, and gives much weight to the importance of duty. These are all traits that serve to make him great at the beginning of the play, and later, ironically become key elements in his downfall. These aspects can be considered the internal causes of Othello’s tragic flaw. “Othello's nature is all of one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute…. Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood.” Othello is pure an...
The first trait that led to Othello’s downfall was his easily manipulated conscience. Throughout the drama Othello let Iago control him as if he was a puppet under his master’s hands. When Iago first brought up the idea that Desdemona
Due to her father’s nobility, Desdemona’s high social standings translate to her angelic character which the Venetian culture pressures her to fulfill. Because of high expectations placed on Desdemona, Brabantio disbelieves Desdemona’s elopement with Othello, where he concludes “is there not charms/By which the property of youth and maidhood/May be abused?” (I.i.193-95). Utilizing the magic motif, William Shakespeare conveys Brabantio 's skepticism in his daughter’s deliberate abandonment, by logically reasoning supernatural forces must be at fault. By disregarding Desdemona’s desires for leaving, Brabantio assumes his daughter possesses virtuous qualities, making her incapable of defying him. Brabantio considers only one possibility for Desdemona’s elopement with the Moor: Magic. Compared to Desdemona’s father, Othello’s lieutenant, Michael Cassio also views her as possessing cherubic qualities. When Desdemona enters a room Cassio demands “hail to thee, lady, and the
In Act I, Othello expresses that he is a man of honor, a hero who’s held in high prestige by the upper class. What Othello expresses here is nothing that an archetypal hero would express; he expresses nothing towards Cassio (to the point where Othello has imagined killing him) and Desdemona but hatred and vengeance, and he has become poisoned by Iago’s ruse. Additionally, Othello has grown to only trust Iago, which will only make him grow worse. This is the beginning of Othello’s transformation to a tragic hero, with his naivety and jealousy being his