The sympathy felt for a character often remains through character revelation. In spite of the change in personality and morals the first impression of the character is not forgotten. Othello who commits violent acts throughout the play ends his life with honour, reminding us he was originally introduced as a respected man of high position. A person can be manipulated by others to act outside of their character, and their emotions can blind them from making good decisions. In the end a person’s true character is reflected upon the way they react to the results of their wrong doing. It is possible to feel pathos for Othello in spite of his actions as his mistakes are a result of manipulation and do not demonstrate his true temperament, concluding
Throughout the Canadian theatre canon, stories about what it means to be Canadian and to have a Canadian identity are often explored, but a lot of these stories are often focused on one specific lens of being Canadian, the white Eurocentric lens. Canada often prides itself for being multicultural and an accepting country where people of colour from all over the world can move here and live a prosperous life. However, this is reflected very poorly in Canadian theatre. Harlem Duet written by Djanet Sears in 1997, challenges the white Eurocentric lens by focusing this Canadian story on the relationship of a black couple. This play explores many themes from race, feminism, and what it means to be Canadian or more specifically a black Canadian.
It is society that labels both Othello and Iago as outcasts, Othello for being dark skinned and Iago for being shoved down the social hierarchy. Both of these outsiders are uncomfortable in their current social system. Regardless, they are deeply submerged within it and are shaped by it. Their obsession over their circumstances and characteristics leads the men to destroy themselves. Shakespeare represents the outsiders in society through the three men of Othello. Othello is preoccupied with his race but still manages to take advantage of Iago’s class. Iago preoccupied with his class, still manages to take advantage of Othello’s race. Despite doing no harm to Othello and Iago directly, Cassio destroys both of the men’s marriages and in turn
However, this changes quickly, as Othello can begin recognize his lower social status in later acts, with the main character transition taking place in Act III. This leads him to see just how valuable Desdemona is, and begins the spiral of jealousy and self doubt that continues our story. In Olson’s reading, Othello even credits his own fate as the problem, stating that he was destined to have an unfaithful wife, rather than recognizing the class divide in his
A wise philosopher once stated, “Racism is man’s gravest threat to man — the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason” (Schwartsz). It is no revelation that racism often manifests hatred towards minorities. This concept has been widespread throughout the world for centuries. Racism has prevailed through several works of literature including “Othello” by William Shakespeare. In this particular play, the character, Othello, is allegedly a black man who experiences several accounts of racism from other characters, which eventually leads to his downfall. According to psychoanalysis studies, “Hate is grounded in some sense of perceived threat. It is an attitude that can give rise to hostility and aggression toward individuals or groups” (Abrams). Racism is arguably one of the strongest forms
In Othello, Othello and Desdemona are both characters that are struggling with their identities. In the beginning of the play we find Othello as a respectful man that is successful, but then we get Iago that manipulates him to make him seem as the bad guy. We also find Desdemona that turns against her father and the Elizabethan society to marry Othello, but we also find that she is respectful and obedient to 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
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.
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.
This is an analysis of the lines 260-279 of the third scene of the third act of Shakespeare’s Othello.
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.
Also, each relationship in Othello provokes jealousy in one partner. In a typical Venetian society, a woman was considered to be a man’s property, so if a woman was disobedient, it negatively impacted the man, while also questioning his masculinity. The hyperbolic soliloquy as Othello expressed he would “rather be a toad” than “keep a corner of the thing I love” is Othello’s justification of killing his wife, as her untrustworthiness challenged his masculinity and reputation. Referring to Desdemona as a “thing” emphasises the idea of women being property. Iago’s jealousy of Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is emphasised through the degrading comment of Othello, “an old black ram” “tupping” Brabantio’s “white ewe”. Comparing Othello to an “old black ram” introduces animalistic imagery, and puts him at a level below humans on the Great Chain of Being. The coming together of an animal and a human would disrupt the chain, and was thought to also disrupt the laws of nature and cause bizarre events to occur. The descriptive word, “black” highlighted that in the Renaissance times, black stood for sin and evilness. Emilia’s views on men are discovered through the metaphor comparing men to “stomachs” and women to “food”. Men “eat us hungrily, and when they are full they belch us”, implies men get rid of women as soon as they have had enough of them, and therefore should not be trusted.
In Cohen’s elucidation of Othello, he comments on the strong and prominent theme of white supremacy. Othello has pushed aside most, if not all, of his cultural characteristics in favor of adopting Venetian traits. He does this as a way to earn back some respect that he lost because of his skin color. Throughout the whole play, Othello is the victim of racial slurs that would demand serious punishment if they were directed at a white man. Cohen contradicts himself in this article when he says that Othello’s suicide “proclaims the triumph of the white civilization”(325) while demeaning himself, but then comments on how Othello reasserts his value with a simple statement. He goes from saying how Othello’s suicide reassured people’s beliefs that black people are inferior in their actions, to how his death left him with a clear resolution of the difficulty that he faced in his life. (150)
Just as in Sophocles' timeless Antigone, in Othello, hubris proves again to be a great man's hamartia. Similar to King Creon's tragic fall, Othello's blind killing of his soulmate, Desdemona, displays that pride can only lead in one's implosion. No ending is as quintessentially Shakespearian as watching a once loyal subordinate become disparaged to the point of blind fury by his formal idol. The fatal concoction of hubris and the desire to excel can land in disaster, and the ends rarely justify the means.
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. He lacks a fortifying defense to reject notions and assert by his enemies that they do not apply to him. Rather, his identity as an outsider is that he absorbs what is imposed upon him and what he consciously seek to reject. By making adaptation, we applied the essences into the context that closely related to us. The context of our group is at work. Three essences should be implemented into the acting, including outsider, insider, and conflicts. Young Chinese lady became the outsider and American lady who jealous her became insider. The roles we set were based on Othello and our own experience as outsider. We tried to present how this outsider feel, how she doubt herself and how helpless she is. The play was not only a show, but a reflection of ourselves. The label of "Chinese" was obviously referred in the acting many times to stress how ethnicity alienated the outsider. What made us more clearer about the outsider and how outsider and insider behave was another scaffolding activity addressed in class, the power dynamic. I had strong feelings of depression, frustration and helplessness when being an outsider, and controlled by the power. Just like Meimei was
He questioned “Why did I marry?” and then replies “Haply, for I am black”. This self-question and reply infront of Iago, his most trusted man, peels of his exterior self and gives the audience the insight of Othello’s honest inner thought. This self-doubt, significantly points out to the audience and confirms that Othello has accepted the fact that he is different, and conforms to the stereotype placed on him and admits that his difference causes it. Shakespeare used this scene, to voice out the doubts and his surrender to the battle of being accepted for who he is in the Venetician Society. Othello’s This rage at Desdemona’s infidelity signals destmetion of his identity as a successful and loving man. It shows that he now completely loses control of himself, he no longer is that gentle man. He has become so poisoned by the manipulation of Iago, he no longer hears out for his “fair