Deceitful Motives In Othello

True Motives in Deceitful People

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.

Othello was published in the early sixteenth century. Commedia dell’arte, a popular comedy in Italian theatres, persuaded Shakespeare’s motives when writing Othello. Shakespeare writes this play with a “disturbing, tragic ending, not the traditional romantic tragedy that has puzzled commentators” (Whalen). The deceitful motives of the characters in Othello derived from popular comedy of early Italians in the sixteenth century.

When Shakespeare wrote Othello, he intended to keep the audience on their seats. Common playwright techniques such as “improvised dialog, quick repartee, sham regional dialects, sly mockery, satire, obscene jokes and raillery” are used to amuse the audience (Whalen). Shakespeare focused on emphasizing how the audience will react. Whether they are expected to cry, laugh, or gasp, he put meticulous thought into the plot.

While writing the play, Othello, Shakespeare carefully mapped out the characters’ roles to achieve a more interesting plot. Between