In Shakespeare’s Othello, the audience can only sit back and helplessly watch as Othello falls victim to not only Iago, but to Venetian society itself. Throughout the tragedy, many readers are left scratching their heads in confusion as they wonder how Iago can practically trick a whole city into believing his ruse. From one blunder to the next, our titular protagonist Othello finds himself trapped in Iago’s web of lies which ultimately leads to his greatest crime, the killing of his very own wife. Consequently, Iago’s masterful use of deceit and manipulation is made apparent during the work, which begs the question, how exactly was Iago able to dupe a whole society with such baseless lies? To answer this question, we must look towards Venice’s inherent construals and so I will argue that the tragedy is made possible by Othello 's racial identity, which thus explains how Iago is able to trick the citizens of Venice so easily by capitalizing on Othello 's status as an eternal outsider.
Envy and deceit are catalysts for revenge. William Shakespeare idolized Geoffrey Chaucer and allowed him to influence his plays and poems. All of his works were written in a poetic language. In the tragedy, Othello, Shakespeare uses characterization and external conflict to create Iago’s deceptive, vengeful, and envious motives. Using the characters’ relationships against them, the play reveals the power of deception and misinformation to destroy trust and loyalty.
When people of one race believe themselves to be superior to those of another, only catastrophe can result. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, racism was extremely prevalent, and white supremacy was much more pronounced. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello. Most characters in Othello display both covert racism and overt racism towards Othello. In the beginning of the play, during the initial dialogue between Brabantio and Roderigo, the first references made of Othello are “his Moorship” and “the Moor,” which is echoed by most of the characters.
Many have credited William Shakespeare 's plays as being the greatest of all time, and The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is no exception. Each reading of Othello yields new revelations and demonstrates the intricacies of Shakespeare‘s work. The play’s protagonist, Othello, can be seen as being overly trusting of Iago, however, this is not the case. Iago deceives many characters, not just Othello. Moreover, Othello’s actions are based on seemingly physical evidence, giving him good reason to act as he does.
William Shakespeare is commonly known for his tragic and deceiving plays. From Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, to Hamlet characteristics like treachery, jealousy, and manipulation are inscribed throughout his work. Wolves have the “conversation of death” before they attack their prey; while Iago stealthily used Othello’s character flaws and jealousy, convincing him that his wife committed adultery acts, in his play Othello. In the play Iago uses other people’s low self esteem against them. For example, Othello is a colored man who is married to a white women, Desdemona.
Iago, a white man, went against and betrayed his leader, Othello, essentially giving “The Moor” the power in the story. In conclusion, Shakespeare, by means of developing the plot of Othello and making everything tragically fall together in the end, makes a point that a person's’ pigmentation and predetermined racial stereotypes are by no means an accurate indication of what lies beneath the skin: the true theme of Shakespeare’s
Despite being a Moor, Othello, protagonist of the Shakespeare play of the same name, is the general of the Venetian army. Though this pairing may seem strange, Marianne Novy explains in her book Shakespeare and Outsiders that Venice traditionally appointed foreign generals in order to prevent a fellow Venetian from arranging a coup d'état and taking over the city in a hostile manner. However, Novy fails to explain why Othello is black. The Venetians could have simply elected a Frenchman or another European with Italian-like physical features were they simply looking for a foreign general. However, Othello is continually described as black in the Shakespearean tragedy about him, Desdemona, his lover, and Iago, an acquaintance out to seek revenge
William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello (1600) examines human flaws that transcend time, making it possess an enduring relevance. Set during a period of warfare between Venice and Turkey, Shakespeare explores the dangers of misplaced trust to create an engaging play focusing on a tragic hero’s moral collapse. Shakespeare also asserts the notion that disaffection can lead to individuals being susceptible to jealousy and vulnerable to manipulation. The universal afflictions of an excessive focus and reputation resonate with audiences today, showing Othello to hold relevance in the contemporary age. Shakespeare demonstrates that and individual’s insecurity arises from their social and cultural differences and often results in their susceptibility
Othello is the protagonist and the tragic hero of this tragedy play. Tragedy plays were so common in the Renaissance and they involve the death of the protagonist who is usually a man of high position and exceptional abilities. The death of the tragic hero is brought about by a conflict between him and some powerful force whether it is fate, God or established authority which limits his hope and ambition and destroys him at the end of the play. Othello begins as a respected warrior and hero but ends up as an irrational husband who murders his wife because of his insane jealousy after Iago deceives him and convinces him that his wife was having an affair with his lieutenant, Cassio. Othello is a Moor who has his own insecurities that he thinks of himself as an outsider in the Venetians ' society,
He wants to be remembered as an honest leader who was fooled by his best man. Therefore as you can see the tragedy Othello, the Moor of Venice has many example of Othello being both principled and immoral. He begins off with being a calm and confident character who keeps his mind in difficult situation. However when his jealousy takes over he become an irrational, violent, and insanely jealous husband. Othello murders his own wife after Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been unfaithful.