Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a play written by William Shakespeare. The story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio, first published in 1565, inspires Shakespeare to write the play. Since the author never published any of his plays, it is controversially discussed when Othello was first published. However, it is believed that the play was first played between 1604 and 1605 and, first printed in 1622. The central characters in the play are Othello – a highly esteemed general in the service of Venice, and Desdemona – a beautiful young lady who enrages her father, the Venetian senator, because she elopes with a man several years older than her, who is Othello. The doomed relationship between Othello and …show more content…
After reading the letter from Venice, he begins to speak in less cohesive manner: “Pish! Noses, ears, and lips. Isn’t Possible? Confess! Handkerchief! O devil!”(4.1.42) His sentences lose their former completeness and he starts talking with more word association, as are the words “Handkerchief!”, and “devil!”. Othello’s new manner of expressing his thought is mainly a reflexion of his constant thinking of Desdemona, the handkerchief, as well as the sense of pure evil. These lines of his sounds really hard but at least they show the reader what really is on Othello’s mind. No clear and complete sentences are displayed but more like a torrent of true feelings. Thus, “Alabaster” can be assumed as his true attitude towards her.
Along with the doomed relationship between the main characters, another main theme in the play is the unsuspected weakness and deficiency in Othello’s character due to his racial character. This is because of the fact that he is a Moor. He is presented as half-civilized and not well adapted for life in cultured Venice. Many critics believe that the skin color of Othello has nothing to do with what is happening in the play. They explain that he is just a man, though he also happens to be black and his skin color can be ignored in the
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He thinks of himself as no one, someone on the periphery of social and political power. Furthermore, he also believes that being black will impact his interactions with people, especially his relationship with Desdemona. The critics who believe that Othello’s skin color is important for the character and for the interpretation of the play also suggest that this is in fact the reason why he experiences lack of confidence. Racism is a powerful issue as Shakespeare presents the color and ethnicities as social constructs that can be made to havoc with one’s own sense of self. The author shaped his character in that way in order to assert that race and implications of being an individual in the position of power push Othello’s into his own self-destruction nature rooted in doubt and fear. This self-destruction nature of the main character hampers his relationship with Desdemona. As mentioned above, he thinks of her as “Alabaster”. Alabaster is interpreted as a rock, which cannot give back the same amount of feelings that Othello invests in it. He refers to her as “Promethean heat” (5.2.12). In religio-mythology, Promethean heat, or also called fire, is the mythological substance of life. According to the story of Hesiod, it was a life-animating type of fire that was stolen from Zeus by the Titan named Prometheus. He stole it in
Othello dealt with thoughts of self-recrimination and he’d developed internalized oppression due to the people he’d encountered in his life in Venice. Internalized oppression was a side effect of living in Italy during the 1500’s if one was not white. Othello was one of the most important, if not the only, black men in Italy during that time. He was a highly respected general of the armies of Venice, and despite being black, he prospered during his time there. Though, inevitably, the people of Venice (i.e. Cassio, Desdemona, Iago) were the very ones responsible for his insane actions and tragic death.
Othello finds himself an outsider because he realize that he is black, so he is not a good husband to choose. He has a different religion, so he is not fully accepted by Venetian society. He is confused and doubts himself. He doubts why his wife chose him. He doubts why the society named him such exalted position.
The characteristics of Othello includes passion, obligation, courage, jealousy and intelligence. These are great characteristics to have, but proves to eventually lead to Othello’s demise. Othello was a foreigner from Africa who was sort of accepted into the Venetian society, only because of his excellent track record of winning wars, but he was an outsider and never fully accepted. Othello enjoyed the status and luxuries of being a General and leading the defense of Venice. He also understood that he
After hearing this, Othello doubts himself, triggering insecurity and jealousy. After Iago tells Othello about Cassio’s possession of Desdemona's handkerchief in Act 3 Scene 3, Othello doubts Desdamona’s faithfulness and grieves by saying “O that the slave had forty thousand lives! One is too poor, too weak, for my revenge…All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven. ‘Tis gone '' The description of Othello’s love dissipating as ‘blowing to heaven’ is a metaphor that amplifies the effects of internalised prejudice on the marriage. Othello demonstrates the destructive power this can have on love and the tragic ends to which Othello is willing to go to repent this love.
Shakespeare’s Othello chronicles the downfall of a noble Moor, Othello, who is deceived by a man he considers his friend, Iago. Throughout the course of the play, Iago toys with Othello and eventually leads him to murder and lose his love, his new wife Desdemona. Iago exploits the unquestioned trust Othello places in him to achieve evil ends. As such, trust is a central theme in the story.
Othello’s character undergoes a significant change due to a series of events at the hands of Iago, the play’s antagonist to enhance the fact that even a valiant heroes can become corrupt. In the beginning of the play, Othello adores
The common aim of playwrights of any time or location is to capture and hold the attention of their audience; this is what Shakespeare has clearly done. The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is one of Shakespeare 's most renowned plays. Through construction of intriguing characters, exploration of universal themes, use of comic relief and a well-written script featuring a compelling plot, Shakespeare ensured the tragedy of Othello would hold the interest of the audience; despite being over four centuries old. It possesses so many conditions that can be accentuated to hit nerves with both a Shakespearean and modern audience. The entire plot of Othello is very much like the attitudes and methods of our modern day society.
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.
The tragedy of Othello written by William Shakespeare presents the main character Othello as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man. However, because of his insecurities and good nature he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his alleged friends. Shakespeare is known for his exceptional ability to compose plays full of deceit, revenge, and jealousy. Jealousy is an underlying theme throughout the tragedy and has been represented by many of the main characters, such as Iago, Roderigo, and Othello. The topic of jealousy will ultimately lead to the demise of many characters throughout the tragedy.
Othello’s Role in Venetian Society If we take the textbook definition of ethnic groups and apply it to Othello and the Venetian society it is striking that he lacks a lot of features when compared to the “regular” Venetian society: no common background nor history and no shared customs. Therefore, not only his skin color sets him apart, but also his origin from another ethnic group, opening all kinds of
These two villains slander Othello to the point of eradicating any pity the audience could have developed towards Othello. The Venetians also have a hidden fascination for Othello and his foreign qualities but, they mask feelings with negative slurs. The audience also affected by the portrayal of Othello, and are persuaded to feel pity for him because of his circumstances; being betrayed by his ensign and being looked down upon because of his Moorish descent. Shakespeare also uses racism as a creative apparatus to generate a metaphor between Desdemona and Othello.
We find both racial attitudes towards Othello even though he is a man that works hard to get what he wants. The racial attitude is only because of the era that they live in, the Elizabethan era in
Throughout history, societies have succumbed to the toxic concepts of racism, causing an unthinkable amount of chaos and devastation. While racism on its own can lead to many societal evils, racism coupled with jealousy can create a truly catastrophic force that can only lead to pure destruction. When someone of a different race and culture is placed in this kind of society, this destruction will only naturally follow. In the play Othello, William Shakespeare focuses on the tragic outcomes of Othello, a Venetian general and black Turkish Moor, and Desdemona, his white Venetian wife. Throughout the play, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello.
Shakespeare’s play, Othello, deeply explores the effects of jealousy on a person. Shakespeare also portrays the different types of jealousy and alludes to the causes of them. Othello is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare around 1603, about a man, Iago, who plots to take revenge on a Moorish soldier, Othello, for he has “done my (Iago’s) office”. The deaths of several people, including Othello’s wife Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia, Othello and Iago’s companion Roderigo, were all directly linked to Iago’s actions. Othello illustrates that jealousy often leads to revenge, jealousy can prevent a successful relationship, and jealousy leading to one’s downfall.
The play "Othello" is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, some believe that Shakespeare wrote the play around 1603. Some background information about this play is that it takes place between Venice, Italy and the island of Cyprus. This play spin around the love of Othello, an accomplished soldier, and Desdemona, the daughter of one of the most powerful men in Venice. Moreover, how one man found the way to break them apart, by playing into one of mans strongest weakness jealousy. There are a few factors that will change Othello 's emotional stability and it will change his life forever.