“Othello” is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. The play focuses around a core group of characters that includes Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Michael Cassio, and Barbantio. These characters shape the story. The protagonist is Othello, who is a high ranking member of the Venetian army. Othello falls victim to betrayal by his “right-hand man,” antagonist Iago. Iago gives Othello the impression that he is trustworthy and a close friend, but this is a mask of his true feelings for Othello. Throughout the play, Iago repeatedly expresses his hate for his general. He devises plans to try to humiliate Othello. His first plans center around Michael Cassio, who is Othello’s lieutenant. When this scheme falls through, Iago then focuses on Othello’s …show more content…
Othello’s jealousy is evident throughout the play. The play was written during a time when racism was prevalent. Racism is evident in Act I, Scene 1, on line 89, Iago refers to Othello as a “black ram” when informing Brabantio, who is Desdemona’s father, of her and Othello’s relationship. (Shakespeare, pg. 987). This is an example of the racism involved. In Act I Scene 3, Brabantio, who is shocked by the news, states “It is a judgment maim’d and most imperfect.” (Shakespeare, pg. 995). This quote gives the impression that Brabantio does not agree with his daughter’s choice. He believes that their love is “imperfect” because Othello is black and his daughter is white. It is possible Othello’s jealousy may have spawned from this belief. Since Cassio is white, it would be easy for Othello to believe that his wife would rather be with him. To Iago, this realization would fit perfectly into his plan. After convincing Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, Othello’s jealousy results in impulsive actions that lead to his downfall. Examples of these impulsive actions include the striking of Desdemona. This occurs in the first scene of Act 1 on line 219. After Desdemona asks why he was mad, he refers to her as a “Devil” and then proceeds to strike her. (Shakespeare, pg. 1046). This act occurs in front of many of the other characters. Othello’s striking of Desdemona is the result of jealousy and anger. This clouds his judgment. Instead of approaching the situation in a calm manner, which quite possibly could have exposed the real truth, he chose to react the way he did. This would be a significant factor in his downfall. The most extreme example occurs at the end of the play, when Othello decides to kill Desdemona for her suspected affair. Desdemona’s murder occurs in Scene 2 of Act IV. Othello’s feelings completely take over, causing him to commit the worst act possible. At this time, Othello’s reputation
Othello, a play by William Shakespeare, tells the tragic tale of the black Venetian general, Othello, and how he is manipulated by his ambitious friend, Iago. Iago becomes angry at Othello when he promotes Michael Cassio rather than Iago to the lieutenancy. Iago then schemes a plot to take down Othello. Iago uses Desdemona, Othello’s new wife, to take down the great general. He leads Othello to considering that his wife is cheating on him with Michael Cassio. This causes Othello to become suspicious and eventually drives Othello into killing Desdemona. In the end, Othello learns that his wife was faithful, and Iago had lied to him. This upsets Othello and causes him to also kill himself. Iago’s many motives are never revealed to the audience or the characters as in the last scene he states, “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word.” (Othello. Act 5 Scene 2: 355-356). In the play Othello, Iago is the master manipulator that formulates devious plots against the characters of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello by using their desires to his advantage to reveal their underlying weaknesses.
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’, also known as ‘The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice’ is a play written by William Shakespeare, somewhere between 1601 and 1604. It is a tragedy set in Venice and Cyprus, with a strong and respected soldier, Othello, playing the protagonist; although some critics argue that the play should have been named ‘Iago’ after the treacherous villain whose role is at least as important as the protagonist’s. The play is the heart-rending tale of a black Venetian soldier, who is excellent at his occupation, but would still collect negative sentiments towards him due to his colour, and African ancestry (which is constant throughout the play with terms like, ‘Moor’, and ‘Devil’ being used to describe him and his characteristics, somewhat ironically as Iago is the true devil of the play). This grand soldier marries the lady whom he wooed with stories of his triumphs, Desdemona, despite the negative scrutiny the marriage would of received at that time. Iago tells Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, and he is furious – so much so that he takes the matter to the duke, as it is his belief that Othello tricked his daughter, with black magic and love spells. The duke sides with Othello, and the action soon moves to Cyprus where a war was supposedly breaking out. Whilst in Cyprus Iago, with the help of his ‘Goon’ Roderigo, stirs rumours and deceives the others to the extent of forcing the once respectable soldier to murdering his new wife. As well as tricking and manipulating many other characters along the way. The most disturbing truth about Iago’s wrong doings is the fact that he seemed to take pleasure in torturing his ‘Friends’ (probably better described as puppets, or tools), even his own wife, Emilia.
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.
Racial prejudice against Othello is introduced early in the play and is present throughout. Iago and Roderigo approach Brabantio with news about his daughter Desdemona. They inform Brabantio his
Racism in William Shakespeare's Othello. The play, Othello, is certainly, in part, the tragedy of racism. Examples of racism are common throughout the dialogue. This racism is directed toward Othello, a brave soldier from Africa and currently the supreme commander of the Venetian army.
Have you ever thought about how much Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life? Othello struggled a lot during the play because of his dark skin color. He was called several racist names like “the Moor,” “old black ram,” “Barbary horse,” and “thick lips” (Shakespeare 1.1.40; 1.1.88; 1.1.111; 1.1.66).The term “racism” has been around for several years; it started in the twentieth century (Bartels 433). By the way the Elizabethan era viewed black people was similar to how racism is today with all of the racial comments, and stereotypes. Being a black person in a mostly white ethnicity area at that time had to be challenging based on Othello’s experience. Othello was the black sheep crowded around a herd of white sheep, he was an outcast. Racist comments were made by many of the characters like Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo, and Emilia. If there was an award for most used racial comment towards Othello, Iago would win. Racism in Othello had a tremendous impact on Othello. He was judged by the color of his skin and not his personality. Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life by ruining his marriage with Desdemona, alienating him from everybody in Venice, and by making him an easy target to be manipulated by Iago.
Throughout the scenes of Othello, the plot and characters of the play seem truly loving and trustworthy at first. Othello is a tragedy written by the master of English theater himself, William Shakespeare. The play tells the story of a powerful general of the Venetian army, Othello, whose life and marriage are ruined by a conniving, deceitful, and envious soldier, Iago. However, the subject of jealousy and betrayal has began to spread throughout almost each character 's veins after the manipulations of Iago come to alter the play all together. Shakespeare has created a mixed series of informal trials in which individuals are made to furnish proof of their claims. Through the manipulations of Iago, however, the play reveals how language can
“In Act 3 as Othello resolves to kill Desdemona, he is noticeably preoccupied with Desdemona's ‘whiter’ than snow skin. He implies he won't stab her because he doesn't want to "scar" her flesh. He also seems to think of her as a kind of pale statue – her skins as smooth as monumental alabaster’.”(Spark Notes) Racism in Othello is present throughout the book and contradicts the statement as Racism has a bigger part in the book than attitudes to women. This is evident as racism is show throughout the play and attitudes to women are only shown in sections of the
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……
Othello was written by William Shakespeare in the year 1603. It tells the story of Othello, a native of Northern Africa and commander of the Venetian army, whose life and marriage are ruined when Iago, his friend and a soldier under his command, betrays him. Because of Othello’s race, he experiences constant racism from the other characters in the play. Othello is one of the first literary works to deal with the issue of race and racism in society, and is also known as one of Shakespeare’s most controversial works. Race plays a major role in the downfall of Othello, in part because many of the characters do not feel like they can fully trust Othello, but also because Othello himself gradually accepts the prevalent racist beliefs of Europe in the 1600s.
William Shakespeare’s, Othello, written in 1603, is a tragic play based on the key concepts of jealousy, manipulation and deception. The concepts explored are established furthermore through the multiple physical and verbal exchanges throughout the play between the eponymous protagonist and villainous Iago, constructing a dramatic setting, further enticing audiences to explore the play.
Written during Elizabethan times, William Shakespeare's Othello provides insight into how race and racism has a role in society. Racism functions as one of the main forces that compels Iago to plot against Othello and ultimately lead to the tragic outcome of the play. However, the apparent racism acts as a facade, there to conceal the bigger issue: the distrust of women in the play. But herein lies the question - is Othello just a black man, villainized by white men and the victim of racism, or is he simply an accomplish to the patriarchal society in which he lives, conforming to the same behavior towards women as his white Venetian equivalents? The dynamics of the play act upon the idea of male superiority over women no more than by the oppressive racism towards one of the main male characters, Othello. Othello serves as an example to show the inequality in power between not only men and women, but also between race. Shakespeare reveals the role that gender
Fellow by Shakespeare is still accessible to today’s society as a has a focus on issues like racism. It can be seen that people continue to judge others by the color of their skin. In this country alone the recent rise of nationalism has brought back the problem of racism as strong as it was during the civil rights movement. What is even more ridiculous is that these conflicts have perdurated from thousands of years ago.
Tragedy, despair, jealousy, deception, manipulation, and hatred are just a few terms to describe Shakespeare’s thriller of a play, “Othello”. From start to finish, the readers are on the edge of their seats due to the impeccable storytelling of Shakespeare. In his play, there are two characters (Othello and Iago) who have a complex relationship with each other and their surrounding people. Iago manipulates Othello in making him believe anything he tells him therefore allowing Iago to close in on his objective. While Othello starts to have a lack of confidence, he slowly starts to trust Iago which ultimately leads to his downfall. In this play, readers are shown a pesky Iago doing whatever he can to undermine Othello’s authority and he goes through a good amount of work to achieve this goal.