Why Is Othello Blame To Blame

763 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The plot and characters in Othello

The Battle of The Blame
In life people are forced to participate in ways to ruin something or someone even if it’s unintentionally. Life has ways of tricking the mind and causing people to do the unthinkable and in every case of destroying what was once well-kept, there are many people to blame. The disarray surrounding the protagonist in William Shakespeare’s play, Othello and his ultimate downfall, leave Emilia’s backstabbing theft, Desdemona’s innocent obsession for Cassio, and Othello himself for being easily mislead are to blame for Iago’s plan carrying out and the deaths that follow.
In the play Othello, Emilia is a character introduced as Desdemona’s best friend and the wife of Iago. Iago begins using Emilia’s relationship with Desdemona to gain access …show more content…

Desdemona never confronts Othello for his change in attitude and she is blinded by things that are going on such as her missing handkerchief. Desdemona is also blinded by trying to help her friend Cassio rather than resolve her husband’s anger. Many times during the play, she is able to ask Othello what is really wrong and going on with him, but she rather chooses to continue to persuade Othello to give Cassio his job back. “I swear by every sacred spirit that I’ve said everything I can for you (...) You must be patient a while. I’ll do what I can; and I’ll do more.” (Shakespeare 209) Desdemona’s inability to confront the source becomes one of the biggest problems in the play because she has no idea what is being said behind her, and she doesn’t even care enough to find out. Iago’s plan continues to carry out due to the fact that Desdemona coincidentally keeps being found with Cassio and as she pleads to Othello to forgive him, Othello has more reason to believe that Desdemona is cheating on him with

Show More
Related

  • The Manipulation of Perception in Shakespeare's Othello

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Iago Change In Othello

    2005 Words  | 5 Pages

    All Iago had to do was hint at Desdemona being unfaithful and Othello’s becomes very bothered it and eventually starts believing it. The author of an essay does an analysis on Iago and says “He slowly poisons people’s thoughts, creating ideas in their heads without implicating himself. Iago even says himself that the advice he gives is free and honest and thus, people rarely stop to consider the possibility that Iago is fooling them.“ (Shakespeare’s Othello – Honest Iago). So Iago would hint at something going between Desdemona and Cassio so that Othello would become bothered and ask him what he means by that, it was like a game that Iago was playing, he would drop a little hint and then expect Othello to pick up on it and start questioning it and become more even suspicious. Brabantio tells Othello “Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee” (I.ii.286-287), So In this scene Brabantio warns Othello that Desdemona has already fooled him and she might fool him too, so be careful, and it turns out, Othello believed in him after all and that’s part of the reason of why he thinks that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him. It leads him to start questioning Desdemona in a very suspicious way. At one point he even hits her in front of a nobleman and that was very shocking to the nobleman because he believed him to be a very calm and collected gentleman but obviously he was a changed man. The nobleman even expresses his shock by saying that “My lord, this would not be believed in Venice, though I should swear I saw’t. ‘Tis very much make her amends; she weeps” (IV .i.217-219). This negative thinking and insecurity was one of the main reasons to Othello’s change in a negative way. A lot of this was Iago’s doing but it was also Othello’s fault to fall for Iago’s

    Read More

  • Desdemona's Downfall Analysis

    1737 Words  | 4 Pages

    In fact, Desdemona holds herself in such high regard that she almost seems incapable of believing that anyone else may not. Luckily for her, Othello similarly holds her in high regard, at least until Iago begins to manipulate him. Even before Othello, Desdemona’s own father, Brabantio, thought highly of her. When she elopes with Othello, he never believes that she ran away from home willingly. He believes that Othello had enchanted her until she herself says otherwise. Upon this realization, Brabantio, warns Othello against Desdemona, telling him:

    Read More

  • Themes of Blame and Justice in "Othello"

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Play Othello first performed in 1604 written by Shakespeare was a play that portrayed the problems faced in society regarding blame and justice. He showed this by using the setting of Venice where almost everyone was rich, living in houses based in the most powerful part of Italy. Shakespeare used race which tied into the setting as the main character, a black man living in a white society. He used gender to portray labels and to show how different sexes were treated. Shakespeare is showing us that blame and justice are given randomly and are of anyone’s control, whether or not they are guilty.

    Read More

  • How Iago Convinces Othello that Desdemona and Cassio Must Die

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through small but effective hints and stories about Desdemona and Cassio, like Cassio’s supposed dream, Iago leads Othello to believe that there is no other possibility but that they are in a relationship. Iago’s malicious intent means he will say almost anything to make Othello believe that what he is telling him is true, fooling Othello into having complete trust in Iago. Iago not only skilfully traps Othello in his web of lies, but also makes it inevitable for Desdemona and Cassio to look suspicious one way or the other- like with the handkerchief or Desdemona pleading for Cassio’s reinstatement. This all adds to Othello’s growing doubt of Desdemona’s fidelity until he is certain that she, and Cassio, must die.

    Read More

  • The Flaws of Othello, Murderer of Desdemona

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the main character Othello is typically victimized and portrayed as a mere scapegoat of the villainous Iago’s devious plans. However, Othello is not completely void of responsibility for the death of his wife. Othello, the tragic hero, is just as responsible as Iago for his premeditated murder of Desdemona due to his own internal flaws. Specifically, flaws such as his vivid imagination and his self over-idealization are brought to the surface by Iago, which consequently allows Iago to easily manipulate Othello.

    Read More

  • Othello's Flaws

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    Making mistakes are part of everyday life. Whether it is turning down the wrong road while driving or choosing the wrong answer on a test, humans will not be perfect. But there are situations where decisions affect significant consequences on life that can determine life and death. Failure is not always a harmful outcome. Michael Jordan once said, “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed”. Failure is a flaw that can cause other events to occur because of it. These events could be either beneficial or detrimental. The story of Othello is a clear example of this fact. In this story, Othello continuously is guided into traps by Iago and fails to escape them. There are ways he can avoid them but Othello’s flaws keep him from escaping the traps. Othello’s flaws are part of his character and cause him to the decide the wrong way to handle a conflict. As a result of Othello’s flaws, he, Desdemona and Emilia die an unnecessary and cruel deaths; if Othello would have made minor adjustments in those events, the story would have ended in “they lived happily ever after.”

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Desdemona's Death In Othello

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emilia is Desdemona’s servant and best friend, she is always with Desdemona or nearby. Emilia goes to Cyprus with Desdemona and Iago, Emilia’s

    Read More

  • Conflict is a Major Issue in Othello

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...or example when she asked him to tell her how much he loved her, “If it be love indeed, tell me how much”. Her maids add a little to Cleopatra’s characteristics. Also she had a messenger go to Antony saying she was dead, which she was not.Cleopatra’s character is so exotic and proud to be able to manipulate men but Desdemona is a complete opposite. Betrayal is the other ultimate theme of both of these tragedies. In Othello, he betrays Desdemona by believing the evil Iago and not communicating with his wife. He instead assumes Iago’s statements are of truth. We see Iago’s slyness and cleverness grow and a vapid rate, Desdemona’s innoncence becomes more apparent and Othello’s character galls from a noble warrior into a jealous fool. Iago is the source of the problems in Othello. He has motivation to ruin dear Othello because of the promotion Cassio gets instead of Iago.

    Read More

  • Iago's Tragedy In Othello

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    Othello kills his wife Desdemona falsely believing that she has cheated on him. The reader knows that Desdemona has been faithful to her husband, but Othello thinks his wife has cheated on him because he is tricked by Iago. Iago is able to trick Othello because Othello does not think he is worthy of Desdemona’s love. Iago tricks Othello into believing Othello’s wife has cheated on Othello using a handkerchief. Iago has his wife Emelia steal the handkerchief and he leaves it for Michael Cassio to find. When Othello sees Cassio has the handkerchief he assumes Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona because Iago has told him that Cassio admitted to sleeping with Desdemona.

    Read More

  • Desdemona's Death In Othello

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Iago deceives Othello and Cassio, thus both become unaware of all the things that are to come. Othello catches Cassio with Desdemona and becomes enraged, and all Iago does is convince Othello that Desdemona is cheating. Iago states, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er Who dotes, yet doubts-suspects, yet strongly loves!" which makes for suspicion that Desdemona is unfaithful to Othello. Iago shows his deceiving ways throughout the whole

    Read More

  • Tragic Hero's Downfall In Othello '

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 and Cassio might be having an affair, Othello did not believe him, he had faith in his wife. After many lies that Iago planted in Othello’s ears, Othello started to believe him and he dropped most of the faith that he had in Desdemona. Iago told Othello that in his sleep, Cassio said “Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our love”. Cursed fate that gave thee the Moor” (III.iii.416-417).

    Read More

  • Othello: the Abnormalities in the Play

    2012 Words  | 5 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello boasts quite a little list of abnormalities in both occurrences and personal behavior.

    Read More

  • Is Othello To Blame For Desdemona's Death

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    Desdemona doesn't even think Othello would get jealous. When Desdemona loses her handkerchief, Cassio finds it on accident and keeps it. Othello finds out about Desdemona losing the handkerchief he gave her and goes mad, thinking she gave it away to Cassio. Her ingenuousness by being close with Cassio indicates that she thinks it is possible to be friends with men without falling in love with them. In a time where women have to be pure and conscientious, this is a hard thing to do, when people judge women for being promiscuous just by seeing them have a non-romantic relationship with the opposite sex.

    Read More

  • Who Was Responsible For Othello's Downfall

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    Responsibility for Othello’s Downfall In one of Shakespeare’s plays--Othello--a well-respected general by the name of Othello meets a tragic end when his best friend Iago betrays him, his wife dies, and he himself commits suicide. But who should be held accountable for this tragic end? Many solely place the blame on one character. However, responsibility for Othello’s downfall truly lies on the actions of several characters, specifically Emilia for initially refusing to reveal her actions in stealing Desdemona’s handkerchief, Iago for seeking vengeance against Othello, and Othello for being too prideful.

    Read More

More about Why Is Othello Blame To Blame

Open Document