Jealousy In Othello Essay

In the tragic play, Othello, William Shakespeare creates the true wickedness of the character, Iago, through his devious plans created to cause the demise of Othello. Shakespeare crafts Iago’s evil characteristic through the way he manipulates others in order to carry out his plans and his unfit motivation for his maliciousness.

Iago, during the play, displays a notable lack of remorse or guilt for the many horrendous deeds he commits. This is seen twice in the scenes where Iago is confronted about his devilish plan. (2.) After Othello kills Desdemona and reveals to Emilia that it was Iago who convinced him about the affair. This causes Emillia to start to realize her husband’s plans. (3.) As Iago enters the scene of the murder, Emilia openly asks Iago if he told Othello that Desdemona was cheating on him; Iago responds thusly: “I told him what I thought, and told no more than what he found himself was apt and true” (V.II.212-213). (4.) Iago is stating that Iago just told Othello what he knew and what made sense (which is obviously not true). The fact that he could so blatantly lie about what had occurred when it resulted in the death of an innocent person goes to show how unremorseful he was about his actions and about taking an innocent life. (3) Later, when Iago is promptly caught after fleeing the scene, he is interrogated by Othello about his scheme. Iago arrogantly responds with the following: “ Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word. (V.II.355-356).(4.) Iago is, for as unusual as it is for a Shakespearean villain, refusing to reveal his motives for his evil plan. This final act of defiance does nothing

Jealousy and envy are not only two very powerful emotions but can also be seen as two influential forces that can dictate the actions of an individual. These emotions assist in igniting and fanning the fire that motivates people to seek out their desires. In the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello written by William Shakespeare, Iago utilizes his emotions of jealousy and envy as a catalyst to commence his plan of achieving the highest level of military and political influence while also destroying Othello’s social reputation. The development of the character, Iago throughout the play, happens very seamlessly and in a very gradual fashion, with the help of the writing and rhetorical strategies of bestial imagery, dramatic irony, and pathos. Furthermore,

For example, when Roderigo shouts, “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe!” Shouting racial slurs about Othello, blatantly calling him black and constantly referring him to an animal says that Roderigo is jealous that Othello has managed to win Desdemona’s love. Insulting Othello is cruel and is a malicious act on Roderigo’s behalf, but his motivation for being so vengeful is that he is extremely jealous of Othello. Another example of how Shakespeare conveys that jealousy is the motivation behind committing malicious acts is when Iago states he will ruin Othello, “I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad, that ‘twixt my sheets. Has done my office. I know not if’t be true, but I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety.” Iago hears rumors of Othello possibly sleeping with his wife. As a result, Iago grows feelings of jealousy. Already being resentful of Othello for passing the promotion to Othello, this encounter increases Iago’s thoughts to ruin Othello. Iago’s jealousy of Othello possible sleeping with his wife is the spark of the motivation to ruin Othello. Attempting to destroy someone’s life because of jealousy is cruel. Another instance of how Shakespeare conveys that jealousy is the motivation behind committing malicious acts is when jealous Othello decided to kill Desdemona for being “unfaithful” stating, “For to deny each article with oath cannot remove

Iago uses very clever methods of persuasion and manipulation aimed to use Othello’s hamartia against him, pointing out that “ “She (Desdemona) did deceive her father, marrying you,” so much so that Brabantio “thought ’twas witchcraft”. Through this, Iago is subtly raising the issues of Othello’s cultural differences with Desdemona; a root cause behind Othello’s insecurities with his wife – along with inadequacy due to race, degree of sophistication and age. As Iago prompts Othello to think the worst, his utterances are short and uneasy, revealing the beginning to his downfall, whilst Iago’s dialogue is at length highlighting his growing power of

“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 doubts suspects, yet strongly loves!”(pg 62) Iago gives Othello a warning of the dangers of jealousy but, he acts exactly as Iago predicted and does not follow his advice. Later Othello even makes the assumption that Desdemona is sleeping with his best friend because she lost the handkerchief he gave her. Instead of verifying that Cassio was talking about his wife he decides to kill him and Desdemona immediately

Iago is filled with hate,jealousy and envy. He would do anything to get Desdemona away from Othello and to have her himself .It is clear that Iago is jealous because he goes out of his way to tell Desdemonas father Brabantio a lie. He tells him that she is having an affair with Cassio so that she is having intercourse with Othello. Iago shows signs of fixed mindset. His mind is fixed on getting revenge on Othello so he comes up with a “evil” plan to destroy Othello’s life. Iago is motivated by hate because he didn't move on from the thought that Othello is doing wrong by Desdemona.“ I hate the moor” ( Act 1 Scene 1 Line 171-174) . This shows that Iago have real hatred in his heart for Othello and that he is fixed on getting revenge . Iago would not tell the truth . Carol Dweck states “ when you enter a mindset you enter a new world “.

The next part of jealousy we see is right at the end of act I.III, when Iago begins to speak to himself and goes on to say why he truly hates Othello. “I hate the moor,/ and it is thought abroad, that

In the book Othello, Iago is a very manipulating man, throughout the book he manages to manipulate three main people, Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello. He uses all their weaknesses to bring them down. Iago wants revenge on Othello, because Othello overlooks Iago and his abilities, so Iago manipulates these three characters to get back at Othello in the long run. He comes up with a very good plan to get each other to turn against one another. So in the end he ends up getting what he wanted, revenge. Many characters fall into Iago 's web of deception throughout the book.

Manipulation is shown in many ways such as politics, the media, misleading information and false advertising. To convey one’s thoughts to your own advantage is seen as crude and unnecessary. However, many people have their reasons in manipulating someone whether they are good or bad. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the concept of taking advantage of someone through manipulation leads to unnecessary, horrible events.

As a scheming villain, Iago begins to ensnare Othello into his trap of vengeance by echoing in Othello’s mind prospect of an affair between Cassio and Desdemona. Iago begins his insinuations by reminding Othello that Cassio served as their go-between during their courtship through a rhetorical

Because Cassio is distraught from the sequences that occurred earlier, he confides to Iago for advice. After recommending him to talk to Desdemona and Cassio leaving, he finally figures out his plan to destroy Othello. He first starts off with realizing his irony of helping Cassio while trying to be evil at the same time. It has been so easy for Iago to mold the other characters into his plan that it is hilarious to him. At this point, it is questioning to the audience of the continuation of his plot. The job is complete in terms of getting Cassio relieved, but he continues to strategize. “For whiles this honest fool/ Plies Desdemona to repair his fortune, / And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor, / I’ll pour this pestilence in his ear” (2.3.341-4). Iago has set the trap for Cassio to ask Desdemona to possibly try to change Othello’s mind which will lead to Othello believing that they are having an affair. From this point on, the ultimate plan has begun and the pace speeds up. The audience would watch and see how everything will unravel.

What major theme from “Macbeth” does your portrait represent, creatively and academically, in relation to characterization and archetypes?

In Othello, it is jealousy that ultimately leads to the downfall of three characters, Roderigo, Othello and Iago. "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green eyed monster" (III.iii.163). Although, Othello is not the only play where William Shakespeare has made jealousy a central motivator. He did it in Macbeth also. Jealousy has many faces between these two plays and in both they lead to the downfall of characters.

In the beginning of the tragedy Othello tells Brabantio to “Keep up your bright swords signior, for the dew will rust them” (1.2.72-73). This statement gives the reader insight to Othello’s level-head and smart decisions, before he allowed jealousy to cloud his vision. Othello becomes convinced that Desdemona has cheated on him with Cassio; therefore, he is angered and beings to seek revenge for a crime that was never committed. Iago tells Othello “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (3.3.187-189). This statement is directed towards Othello, and is significant for many reasons. This statement directly relates to how Iago is targeting Othello’s major weakness, which is jealousy. However, this quote also adds dramatic irony to the play because Iago’s major motive throughout the tragedy is his own jealousy of Cassio. This statement also foreshadows how jealousy will ultimately be the cause of the demise of many characters throughout the