The Major Themes in William Shakespeare's Othello

The Major Themes in William Shakespeare's Othello

Irony and double meaning are the basis and patterns of Othello, in

which nothing is what it seems to be; white is black and generally the

characters and themes have contradictory aspects. Irony is one of the

characteristics of tragedy as the outcome, although inevitable, is

unfair. In Act 1 scene 1, Shakespeare sets up the main themes of:

jealousy, revenge, xenophobia and racism, love, outward appearance and

inward reality and deception.

Act 1 Scene 1 is laced with irony, which mainly centres around the

character of Iago. Although Iago openly expresses his desire to seek

vengeance, Shakespeare presents his character in such a way that the

audience are never sure of the validity of what he says. When he

speaks to Roderigo, he seems to be open about his insincerity when he

says 'I am not what I am'. This leaves the audience feeling aware from

the beginning of the play that appearances of Iago are not what they

seem and introduces the audience to his devious nature as he attacks

Othello's character to others but appears to be a faithful friend at

the same time. Iago's deceitful way of defaming people is a major

theme which continues throughout the play. It is ironic that Iago and

Roderigo are willing to annihilate Othello's character, when both of

them use deception to their own ends. Iago is clearly manipulative,

and Roderigo is dishonest and corrupt as he is willing to pay Iago to

promote his suitability as a suitor to Brabantio which is ironic as,

although appearing to be helping Roderigo, he is actually deceiving

him as well. Iago's deception of the other characters continues as h...

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... and conflict A theme which runs throughout

the play. Desdemona exerts her power and independence in a patriarchal

society and demonstrates that she is able to chose her own husband, as

Brabantino observes, 'O, she deceives me'. From the reaction of other

characters it is clear that their marriage is going to cause

disruption throughout the play because they act so strongly against

it.

The action and the themes introduced by Shakespeare in Act one Scene

one, are very important as they set the scene for the rest of the play

and they give the audience an insight to the characters and the events

that are to come. Iagos scheming nature and his jealousy are

introduced which leads him to the revenge and corruption which is one

of the causes of the downfall of the other characters and that tragic

events that take place.