Othello’s Demise Othello, the lead character in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, is done in by the same character attributes, which propelled him to become a great military leader. He has accomplished great victories in battle to the likes, of no others. He is held in high regard throughout the nations as one of the greatest military leaders and is called upon to fight in the most challenging battles successfully. There is no deterrence, by Othello even though his is not of the same race or from the same country, whom he defends. 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 …show more content…
When fighting a war, you must be obligated to the fight and the mission dictated down through the ranks. Othello was conditioned to command a military fleet and to lead in ways that folks serving him would respect his command and carry out the command fluently. Othello was better conditioned to believe the lies been told to him or revealed to him by his military commandos, who was obligated to each other possibly by oath. He had only been married to Desdemona for a short while and was a socially weak person. He was not conditioned to evaluate her truths over the lies been told. She could not present the evidence required to be exonerated, per Othello’s logic. Othello lost it mentally and lent more to the obligation trait of the military which in his mind caused for the execution of Desdemona and death of
Othello is a blend of significance and faintness, in his own words "an honorable murderer" (V.2, 295). He was a defense general, and although he was a foreigner from Africa, Othello achieved his status by his skillfulness in the war. He was a man of intelligence and courage who, under pressure, could make an inspiring speech. Othello could have been considered a self-assured outsider who was intellectual in military matters but was somewhat socially insecure. He lead an intense life, wavering between success and fear.
Brooks DeWitt Dr. Wellmann English IV Dual Credit - 2nd 15 February 2023 Shakespeare Drama Essay Despite being a brilliant warrior, Othello is a highly introverted foreigner in Cyprus, forcing him to carry out a deed that would ruin his life. Othello experiences many motivations, but two stand out significantly more than the others. In the astonishing play, Othello William Shakespeare illustrates Othello’s motivation to action due to his insecurity and his love for Desdemona.
He occupies contradictory personal and political positions. He is a trusted military officer, who holds power and ensures safety for the Venetian state, and who seeks to become a member of this society, through marriage in his case, with Desdemona. But Othello is a black man in a white world, which makes this insertion into society harder. He appears to be an impressive figure who displays a number of qualities, such as sincerity, authority and level-headedness in face of danger or strenuous circumstances (quote here or give specific example to illustrate the point.) This is revealed in Act 1 Scene 2.
Rhetoric is an incredibly powerful tool capable of seducing even the most obdurate of people. As one of the most illustrious playwrights ever, Shakespeare was no stranger to the power of rhetoric. Rhetoric served as the fountainhead of Shakespearian allure. We watch the dramatic works of Shakespeare because we enjoy having our emotions manipulated; we enjoy the catharsis and self-reflection that accompanies a trip to the theater. Shakespeare truly was a master manipulator, but his manipulation was generally beneficial.
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
Throughout the play Othello’s blind trust in Iago led him to a perplexed state in which he was vulnerable to flaws that he did not usually struggle with. In a perplexed state Othello “becomes jealous and eventually a murderer” (Kliger 222). Without Othello’s blind trust in Iago Othello would never have become perplexed and would not have led to flaws that resulted in the murder of Desdemona. Othello recognized his growing problem as he said “There is no more but this: Away at once with love or jealousy” and yet Othello was still unable to shake his jealousy as Iago kept feeding him lies (Shakespeare III.iii.222-223). Othello became so jealous that he began to think he would be “happy if the general camp, pioneers and all, had tasted her sweet body, so [he] had nothing known” (Shakespeare III.iii.397-400).
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.
Development of Othello The character of Othello transforms during the course of the play from a respected and revered general to a fallen and easily fooled man, due to the unfortunate sequence of events that transpire through both coincidence and Iago’s evil designs. He said that he wouldn’t be the jealous type unless he had seen it happen right in front of him, but with the help of Iago and a lot of coincidences it had happened in front of him. His judgment of the coincidence over ruled facts that could have changed the way it had ended drastically (Nwabueze, 167).
Othello written by William Shakespeare tells the story of Othello being a soldier and the only black person in their land. It's also about his best friend Iago that manipulates him to do a lot of things that throughout the story can make his actions develop and seen as a villain. While many people think Othello wasn’t a villain at the end o the story wrong because of Othello’s jealous actions and dishonest juxtaposition to his earlier self and psychopathic tone. All of this contributes to his being a villain.
As per him, Othello was respectable who has a solid identity. He was benevolent and sentimental. He had exceptional sentiments, feelings, and energy towards anybody. He was the professional of good and viewed as the saint with a secretive identity and unconquerable personality (Birtannica.com Editors,
At first, Iago tells Othello that his wife is having an affair. Even though he has no evidence to support these claims, Othello still believes Iago because he is kind of insecure about himself since he was already accused of using witchcraft on her because he is a black man and there is no way Desdemona fell in love with him by her own free will. (2.2.) Iago starts by convincing him with lies that will lead to Othello’s downfall. After an incident happened, Othello removes Micheal Cassio from his position as lieutenant because he was drunk, Desdemona then begins asking Othello to give him his job back and that increases his suspicions that she is in fact having an affair
In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.
But, Othello did not seem to think so. This caused Iago to feel like he wasn 't appreciated and he vowed to get revenge on Othello. He got his revenge by working Othello 's mind to believe that Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio. After Iago got Cassio drunk one night, Cassio lost his place as lieutenant. Iago suggested that he go plead to Desdemona to show her he is a good man, and then she would convince Othello.
He gets so angry that he smothers Desdemona, he soon realizes that this was a mistake. This is a very weak point for Othello, because he has let the world get between he and his love. He was not strong enough to carry the both of them
Introduction Introduction Strategy: Background Information Introduce title Othello and author William Shakespeare In Shakespeare's Othello, Iago and Othello’s complex character development lead to continued conflict and their downfalls. Body Paragraph: Othello the General Primary Source Quote about how Duke needs Othello to defend Cyprus Analysis of how Othello is a trusted and respected military commander Secondary Source Quote about how Othello won the respect of Brabantio and Desdemona Analysis Body Paragraph: Othello’s tragic flaw Primary Source