Othello is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies; originally written as a play and performed to an Elizabethan audience. Othello and many of Shakespeare’s other plays have been performed to various audiences since, and have been adapted into Opera, Ballet, Film and television productions. Othello has survived the centuries to this day and age; and continues to captivate and remain relevant to a modern audience; Othello certainly is a timeless classic work of art. “The object of tragic imitation is men in action.” As stated by Aristotle in his work, Poetics. Othello consists of men in action, in more than one sense; Othello (titular character & protagonist), Iago and Cassio are ‘men of action’ and additionally, throughout the play we are able to observe men and women combating none other than life itself. The play deals with various themes and issues, however, this essay will focus on jealousy and race.
Othello is considered one of the infamous (if not the most) literary works focusing on jealousy and the consequences it brings about. Various characters besides Othello fall victim to jealousy in the play and subject to different forms, i.e. sexual suspicion, lust and even disputes over promotion. It may be said that jealousy is the essence of the ‘tragedy’ that takes place in Othello. Shakespeare utilizes the literary technique of dramatic and tragic irony in these lines delivered by Iago, addressing Othello, “O beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on…” , It is ironic because although on the surface Iago plays an advisory role against jealousy, he actually means for it to further incline Othello towards it. The audience is aware of Iago’s plots and schemes, though Othello is not ...
... middle of paper ...
... utilizes motifs in the ‘black hawk’ representing O. Multiple times we a shot of the hawk and one of O following. Hugo’s caging of the hawk mascot foreshadows Hugo’s ensnaring of O’s heart and soul. By the end, Hugo’s voiceover is repeated and added on to, “But a hawk is no good around normal birds, it can’t fit in…” Hugo essentially describes O’s situation in school, with him as the black hawk, dark and proud but in an all-white school that is hesitant to treat him equally.
Shakespeare and Nelson both made use of appropriate techniques to highlight the issues of jealousy and race to their respective audiences, which are still present in society and will continue to be, as long as humans will be human.
Works Cited
Othello, Act I, Scene I Lines 81 - 94
Othello, Act I Scene III Lines 288 - 290
DVD, Dir. Tim Blake Nelson. Lions Gate Entertainment, 2001
“I am not what I am,” proclaims one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most enigmatic villains, Iago, in the tragedy Othello. Iago’s journey for revenge enables him to become capable of immoral acts, and whilst his malevolence excites us, we are no more intrigued by his attributes than we are of the play’s tragic hero, Othellos’. Rather, both characters’ confrontation with jealousy and their subsequent moral demise as a result of failing to control such an emotion provides the true excitement for audiences. Iago’s spiteful manipulation of Othello makes him a multifaceted character — whose corrupt attributes make the audience examine their own morality. However, the same can be said of Othello; his failure to withstand Iago’s ‘pouring of pestilence’
In a passage from William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago dramatizes a subsequent conflict between Othello and Desdemona when he warns the former of a green-eyed monster, the manifestation of jealousy. As the play progresses, Othello becomes more like this beast that Iago told him about. Instead of being the honorable and respectable character he was, Othello now displays a more questionable personality, one that causes him to doubt his wife of infidelity. Even though Iago does play a role, it is mostly due to Othello’s insecurity that transforms him into a monstrous person.
The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello. Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy, which should have been a love story, speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source of the tragic action in Shakespeare’s
The play, Othello is one of the most famous tragedies composed by William Shakespeare during the Renaissance period. It powerfully portrays a world where the acts of evil ultimately vanquishes fidelity, nobility and integrity. The central themes jealousy and manipulation embodies the foretold tragedies and the downfall tragedies of the characters due to one’s insecurities. Through the use of literary techniques and figurative language, Shakespeare has effectively explored the themes of jealousy and manipulation.
William Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy about revenge through jealousy and deception. Throughout the play, Iago is constantly pitting characters against each other in order to satiate his anger from being denied the promotion to lieutenant that Cassio was granted. As a catalyst for all the conflicts that arise during the play, Iago merely uncovers the underlying insecurities characters such as Othello, a notable war general in Venice, are struggling with. Animal imagery as well as the use of light and dark to differentiate between race is very prominent and is used to drive a wedge between the newlyweds, Othello and Desdemona. Although Othello is a highly accomplished and well respected war hero, the notion that Venetians, including Desdemona, are a superior race, prevents him from ever feeling truly secure in his marriage, ultimately leading to the demise of several people close to him, and finally himself.
When many people decided to sit down and read a book or a play it is because the title or summary entices them. As the story comes to an end it is decided whether or not the person related to or understood the point of the literature. Great authors and playwrights know this and set in place concepts. Many different concepts, to catch different audiences attention and to deepen the understanding of the literature. In order to understand Shakespeare’s play Othello, it is necessary to examine the emotions of jealousy, manipulation, being consumed by something, and gender.
Being the only different person in the room is hard; constantly being judged, and never actually fitting in; it can drive even the most normal person insane. The Tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare is a play about a general who is different: the only one who’s black. No one else in Venice is from Africa, and with such a high position in the Venetian military, Othello’s race is almost non-existent, he appears to actually fit in along with the rest of the fair-skinned people. In this play, Shakespeare develops the motif of racism as a seed that grows, and eventually creates a sociopath full of hatred. Overall, racism is a viral disease that encircle us, and subconsciously controls our actions.
Othello has been described as one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays because the play focuses on its themes of good and evil, military, politics, love and marriage, religion, racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality; but the controversy and debate surrounding Othello is “Why is Othello a qualification for a tragedy?”
“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;It is the green-eyed 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” (3.3.163-168). In Shakespeare’s Othello, jealousy is the common theme that becomes Othello’s undoing. Through text in the play, the audience can notice Othello slowly begin to become crazed through his speech.
Essential to the success of Othello is the fact that the issues and themes explored in this tragedy, written by Shakespeare in about 1604, are still relevant to the modern audience. The interest of an audience is held by themes that are fundamental to the human condition, as these reflect our world and examine human nature. Othello explores the issues of racism, gender, domestic violence, the supernatural and the pathology of the entirely evil person, which are all remarkably relevant to our time. Thus the interest of the audience is held, as issues that affect the viewers and readers of the play spark individual opinions, reflection and thought.
In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, good is often confronted by evil, in which almost every case is in the form of jealousy. Iago, the plays antagonist, is a very manipulative villain. Iago uses his own agony and distress brought upon him by his envy of others, to provoke the same agony within the characters in the play. Jealousy’s ability are shown to influence people to new ends and make all humanistic judgment disappear leaving that man a monster torn apart by envy. Jealousy’s true destructive wrath and the pure evil it brings out in people can be revealed through Iago’s actions throughout the tragedy Othello.
This character is so noble, Othello's feelings and actions follow so inevitably from it and from the forces brought to bear on it, and his sufferings are so heart-rending, that he stirs a passion of mingled love and pity which readers feel for no other hero in Shakespeare, and to which not even Mr Swinburne can do more than justice. Yet there are some critics and not a few readers who cherish a grudge against him. They do not merely think that in the later stages of his temptation he showed a certain obtuseness, and that, to speak pedantically, he acted with unjustifiable precipitance and violence; no one, I suppose, denies that. But, even when they admit that he was not of a jealous temper, they consider that he was "easily jealous"; they seem to think that it was inexcusable in him to feel any suspicion of his wife at all; and they blame him for never suspecting Iago or asking him for evidence. I refer to this attitude of mind chiefly in order to draw attention to certain points in the story. It comes partly from inattention (for Othello did suspect Iago and did ask him for evidence); partly from a misconstruction of the text which makes Othello appear jealous long before he really is so; [Endnote 2] and partly from failure to realise certain essential facts. I will begin with these.
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……
While I do agree that the play shows some emphasis on the power of love and what it can do to weak minded men like Othello, I completely disagree with Carol Neely and actually think that Othello’s central theme revolves around race and jealousy. Racism is clearly seen in the play and it plays an important role in Othello’s behavior and actions. Jealousy is also seen all over the play and is fueled by circumstantial evidence in the play instead of real facts, but nevertheless, this is what drives Othello to kill his wife and Iago to manipulate everyone around him to do his evil deeds.
“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