Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Othello Essay Research Paper OTHELLO ACT I free essay sample

Othello Essay, Research Paper ^OTHELLO: Act I Shakespeare # 8217 ; s narrative of green-eyed monster, treachery, and murderbegins on a street in Venice in the center of the dark. Roderigo has merely learned that Desdemona, the womanhe loves, has eloped with Othello, a Moresque general hired to take the Venetian ground forces against the Turks.Roderigo is angry at Iago, the immature Venetian he # 8217 ; s been paying to play # 8220 ; matchmaker- # 8221 ; for him andDesdemona. But Iago has other jobs. He # 8217 ; s ferocious with Othello for holding chosen Michael Cassio as hisLieutenant alternatively of himself, who has served loyally as Othello # 8217 ; s ensign. Iago hides an evil nature under amask of honestness, and he delights in the agony of others. With his green-eyed monster as a partial alibi, he sets out toarrange Othello # 8217 ; s ruin. Roderigo and Iago awaken Brabantio, a Venetian Senator and Desdemona # 8217 ; sfather, to state him that his girl has run off with Othello. Despite the regard Brabantio has for Othello as asoldier, he is leery of him personally because he is a alien. Iago convinces Brabantio that Othelloseduced Desdemona utilizing appeals and enchantments. Iago finds Othello at the hostel where he and Desdemona arespending their honeymoon. Iago warns him that Brabantio # 8217 ; s angry, but Othello feels he has done no incorrect. Agroup of work forces, led by Cassio, arrives to cite Othello to the Senate for an exigency war council.Immediately following, Brabantio arrives with his protagonists to set Othello in prison. Othello calmly suggeststhat they all go to the Senate and allow the Duke decide who is in the right. In the Senate Chamberss, Othelloexplains how he and Desdemona fell in love: as he told her of his escapades throughout the universe, she listenedwith awe and understanding. Their common attractive force was undeniable, and it happened without appeals or potions.Desdemona is sent for, and she non merely confirms Othello # 8217 ; s narrative but pledges her love for him. Brabantio, seeing that he # 8217 ; s defeated, is devastated. Othello is sent to Cyprus to contend the Turks. Desdemona will fall in himthere, accompanied by Iago and his married woman, Emilia. Meanwhile, Iago formulates a program capitalising on Othello # 8217 ; sopen and trustful nature and Cassio # 8217 ; s good expressions. The inside informations of the program are still probationary, but Iago # 8217 ; sobjectives are steadfast: to see Othello ruined and to win Cassio # 8217 ; s occupation as lieutenant. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: ACT IIThe war ends all of a sudden and out of the blue when the Turkish fleet retreats, overpowered by a storm. Othelloarrives and is gleefully reunited with Desdemona. The Moor calls for a jubilation in award of his matrimony andthe terminal of the war. That dark, Iago urges Roderigo ( who has come to Cyprus in the hopes of winningDesdemona after all ) to pick a battle with Cassio and acquire the immatur e lieutenant in so much problem that he willlose his occupation. Iago gets Cassio rummy, Roderigo starts an statement that leads to a blade battle, and Montano, the retiring governor of Cyprus, is injured seeking to halt the bash. Othello is awakened by the commotion andpromptly fires Cassio. The broken lieutenant is encouraged by Iago # 8217 ; s advice to near Desdemona andbeg for his occupation. Cassio doesn # 8217 ; t recognize that this is all portion of Iago # 8217 ; s program. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: ACT III Cassiogoes to Desdemona, who promises to assist. Sing them together, Othello # 8211 ; prompted by Iago # 8211 ; feels thestirrings of green-eyed monster. When Desdemona asks her hubby to give back Cassio # 8217 ; s occupation, Iago rapidly points out toOthello that her behaviour is so leery. Othello demands that Iago turn out his innuendos regardingCassio and Desdemona. Unfortunately for her, Desdemona has dropped the hankie given to her byOthello. Iago # 8220 ; workss # 8221 ; the hankie in Cassio # 8217 ; s room and cites it as the # 8220 ; proof # 8221 ; Othello demands. Cassio, surmising nil, gives the hankie to Bianca, his kept woman. Meanwhile, Iago tells Othello that he hasseen the hankie in Cassio # 8217 ; s custodies. When Othello asks Desdemona to demo him the hankie, shelies and says she still has it, but can # 8217 ; t demo it to him. Othello, convinced of her guilt, resolves that she andCassio will decease. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: ACT IV Though a batch has happened, Iago has merely begun. He arrangesfor Othello to listen in as he maneuvers Cassio into speaking about Bianca # 8217 ; s love for him. Othello thinks he # 8217 ; sreferring to Desdemona. In a rage, Othello vows to strangulate Desdemona that really dark. He asks Iago to killCassio. Lodovico, a relation of Desdemona, arrives from Venice. He brings a missive from the Venetian Senateasking Othello to return to Venice, and giving Cassio control of Cyprus. Desdemona is delighte d by the intelligence, and Othello, believing her joy is for Cassio, hits her in forepart of their invitees. That dark, Othello tries to pressureEmilia into acknowledging that Desdemona has cheated on him, but Emilia swears that her kept woman is pure andinnocent. Othello refuses to believe her. Iago persuades Roderigo that killing Cassio is the best manner for him towin Desdemona. With forebodings of decease on her head, Desdemona prepares for bed.^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: ACT V Roderigo attacks Cassio, but merely wounds him. Cassio, in bend, manages towound Roderigo, and Iago, hidden in the dark, stabs Cassio in the leg. Cassio # 8217 ; s calls bring Lodovico andothers running from their suites. Cassio identifies Roderigo as his aggressor, and Iago, feigning to avengethe lieutenant, kills Roderigo to forestall him from squealing their secret plan. In Desdemona # 8217 ; s sleeping room, Othello looksat her dormant figure with a combination of love and hatred. She awakens, and he announc es his purpose to killher for her Acts of the Apostless of criminal conversation. Desdemona protests that she is guiltless, but Othello smothers her, certain that themurder is an act of justness. Emilia comes in with intelligence of Roderigo # 8217 ; s decease. Othello admits to holding killedDesdemona, but says he had to because she was unfaithful. The bereaved Emilia protests, until Othellotells her Iago told him of Desdemona # 8217 ; s matter with Cassio. Emilia cries out, and Lodovico, Iago, and otherscome running. When Othello cites the hankie as cogent evidence of his married woman # 8217 ; s unfaithfulness, Emilia eventually realizes thather hubby # 8217 ; s immorality. Iago kills her to protect himself, so makes a tally for it. Montano and Gratiano rush out tochase Iago, and when they return with the impenitent scoundrel, Othello tries to knife him. He merely wounds him, though, and Lodovico orders Othello # 8217 ; s blade be taken from him. Lodovico Tells of letters fo und in Roderigo # 8217 ; spocket associating Iago with the confederacy to kill Cassio. With his last words, Roderigo besides accuses Iago. Afterbidding those around him to retrieve him as # 8220 ; one that loved non sagely, but excessively good, # 8221 ; Othello stabs himselfwith a sticker he had hidden in his cloak. Kissing Desdemona, he dies. Lodovico takes charge, orderingCassio to regulate Cyprus and condemning Iago to decease. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: OTHELLO Shakespeare # 8217 ; stragic hero is a strong, powerful, dignified Moor. He has come to Venice as a soldier-of-fortune, hired by thestate to assist Venice win their war against the Turks. He spends nine months in Venice, where his leadershipand kindness have made him a popular general. Although born a heathen ( a non-Christian ) he has converted toChristianity. While in Venice, he spends many eventides in the place of Brabantio, a Venetian Senator. Heentertains Brabantio and his invitees with narratives of his travels around the universe. He tells fantastic and exotictales of unusual people with antic imposts and unusual visual aspects. His narratives attract the attending ofBrabantio # 8217 ; s beautiful girl, Desdemona, who listens to his words with such avidity and sympathy thathe falls in love with her. She returns his love, and they elope, cognizing that Brabantio would disapprove of hisdaughter get marrieding an older adult male of another race, category, and state. To hear Othello # 8217 ; s narrative up until theelopement with Desdemona is about to hear a fairy narrative # 8211 ; the narrative of a fine-looking warrior brushing abeautiful immature princess off her pess, off from the clasps of her genitive male parent, and on to happiness.One reader has said that it # 8217 ; s about as if Othello has appeared from wonderland ; his narratives of his yesteryear arethat rich and charming. Shakespeare, nevertheless, has made Othello a human being, non a character from a fairy tale. Unlike other Shakespearean tragic heroes, Othello is non a prince or a male monarch, although he is descendedfrom # 8220 ; work forces of royal besieging # 8221 ; ( rank ) . In Venice he is seen as a professional soldier, a all right and brave one, but still a hired general. By puting him closer to the common adult male, Shakespeare makes Othello easier toidentify with, more sympathetic. His narrative could be our narrative, and his mistakes our mistakes. Othello # 8217 ; s good qualitieseasily outweigh the bad. We know he # 8217 ; s powerful, weather, and important ; the regard given to him by theVenetian Senate Tells us that. He # 8217 ; s besides soft and romantic. The narrative he tells of wooing Desdemona is richand poetic, and his early scenes with his married woman show him full of love and devotedness. Cassio # 8217 ; s trueness to him showsthat Othello is well-liked by his soldiers. When Cassio feels he has lost Othello # 8217 ; s regard, he is broken-hearted.There are besides qu alities about Othello that have a good side and a bad side. One of these is his unfastened andtrusting nature. Othello believes that others are honorable and sincere until he has proof that they # 8217 ; re non. Thisopen-hearted love of his fellow adult male makes Othello an attractive and generous friend. But it besides leaves himsusceptible to Iago # 8217 ; s scheming ; Iago knows his program will work because Othello trusts him and has no ground tosuspect that his loyal ensign would intrigue against him. Othello is besides naif, peculiarly about adult females. Hesays: For since these weaponries of mine had seven old ages # 8217 ; pith Tiff now some nine Moons wasted, they have usedTheir dearest action in the tented field ; Act I, Scene three, lines 83-86 Having spent most of his life in armycamps, Othello knows little of adult females and love. This naivety has charm in the first act, where the strong andpowerful general admits to being a shy and cautious lover. In the 3rd act , nevertheless, Othello # 8217 ; s inexperienceallows Iago to convert him that he doesn # 8217 ; t understand Venetian adult females, that they are known for rip offing ontheir hubbies. As a professional soldier, Othello has gained a strong repute. The subject he haslearned has earned him the regard of the Venetians, who severely necessitate his aid. When he fires Cassio, it # 8217 ; s tomake an illustration of him to the remainder of the soldiers. And he refuses to reinstate him as a affair of principle.Sadly, it is this rigorous codification of award # 8211 ; both military and private # 8211 ; that forces Othello to kill Desdemona. When aman # 8217 ; s award is lost, harmonizing to this codification, he must win it back. For Othello, this means Desdemona # 8217 ; s decease, which he sees as an act of justness, non of retaliation. Equally painful as it is for him, he doesn # 8217 ; t see that he has achoice. He is a soldier, trained to populate by the regulations. The last of these # 8220 ; double-edged # 8221 ; virtuousnesss is Othello # 8217 ; spowerful poetic imaginativeness. The narratives he weaves for Desdemona are rich and impressive. As Othello retellsthe narrative of his wooing in the Senate office, the Duke is so smitten that he understands how his girl waswon by such narratives. Othello can weave thaumaturgy with his narratives and transform the truth into poesy. Yet this richimagination has a disability: it makes Othello vulnerable to Iago # 8217 ; s narratives of Desdemona # 8217 ; s unfaithfulnesss. Othello # 8217 ; simagination runs wild with Iago # 8217 ; s invented inside informations and # 8220 ; proofs. # 8221 ; The most common position of Othello # 8217 ; s # 8220 ; tragicflaw # 8221 ; is that he # 8217 ; s a covetous individual who allows green-eyed monster to predominate over good sense. But is jealousy Othello # 8217 ; sproblem? Or is he, as he says, a adult male who is non easy made covetous? Is this the calamity of a adult male non jealousby nature, who is made covetous by the barbarous uses of Iago? Read Act III, Scene iii carefully, and judgefor yourself whether Othello is by nature covetous. Othello is besides a passionate adult male, and this makes himexciting. But he admits that he has a ardent pique ( Act II, Scene three, lines 207-212 ) . Iago capitalizes on Othello # 8217 ; sexcitability. Once Iago has convinced the Moor that Desdemona # 8217 ; s holding an matter with Cassio, Othello movesto his deathly retaliation rapidly and single-mindedly. Always remember that Othello is a alien. Despite hisstrength and pride, he is neer wholly at place, and is invariably cognizant that others consider him aforeigner. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: IAGO What is Iago # 8217 ; s motive in destroying Othello # 8217 ; s life? This inquiry haspuzzled readers and bookmans for centuries. Iago is a absorbing, complex character who can # 8217 ; t be analyzed insimple footings. Like many people you meet, Iago c an be cryptic and baffling. Merely when you think youunderstand him, he does or says something wholly perplexing. Shakespeare was evidently fascinated bythe adult male # 8211 ; he gave Iago more lines than any other character in his work # 8211 ; more than Hamlet, King Lear, orOthello. Here are some of the facts we know about Iago: He is a 28-year-old Venetian who is Othello # 8217 ; s # 8221 ; ancient # 8221 ; or # 8220 ; ensign, # 8221 ; a relatively low-ranked commissioned officer. He seems to hold no history of dirtydeeds ; in fact, about every character in the drama calls him # 8220 ; honest. # 8221 ; ( The word is applied to Iago 15 times inthe drama. ) He # 8217 ; s married to Emilia, a salty vocal adult female ; they seem to digest each other. If theirs was alove lucifer, we # 8217 ; re neer told, and it # 8217 ; s hard to think. Let # 8217 ; s expression at some possibilities that might explainingIago # 8217 ; s behaviour. 1. He loves evil for evil # 8217 ; s interest. Some characters in Elizabethan play are merely exhaustively bad ; they were born that manner. From this point of position, Iago needs no motivation. He merely loves to see people suffer.2. He is motivated by green-eyed monster. In the drama he expresses openly his green-eyed monster of Cassio and Othello. He isjealous of Cassio # 8217 ; s occupation and of Othello # 8217 ; s success as a soldier and with Desdemona. 3. He is seeking revenge.The rumours that Othello has slept with Emilia and the possibility that Cassio has besides slept with her injury Iago # 8217 ; spride and do him desire to see both work forces ruined. 4. He is motivated by a force he merely doesn # 8217 ; t understand.The grounds he offers throughout the drama are frequently contradictory. Iago bits at whatever excuse he can tojustify his atrocious behaviour. As you look over the text, seek to make up ones mind which of these ( or other ) grounds explainIago. Remember that his motivations may overla p. If there were a simple manner to explicate Iago, he wouldn # 8217 ; t be theintriguing character that has appalled and thrilled audiences for 100s of old ages. Iago does hold qualities onwhich everyone can hold. Here are some of them: 1. He is a fantastic histrion. For old ages, he has fooled everyone into believing he # 8217 ; s honest. Even if Emilia suspects him of being a rogue, she has no thought that he # 8217 ; struly evil. You # 8217 ; ve seen newspaper studies about the mild-mannered individual tungsten ho suddenly is discovered to be amass murderer; neighbors who are interviewed often say, â€Å"He was the nicest person, so polite and friendly! Ican’t believe he was capable of such a crime!† Friends of Iago would have said the same thing about him. 2.He is amoral. An amoral person has no moral standards at all. Iago never thinks twice about his behavior. Heplunges ahead without a twinge of guilt or regret. Even when the innocent Desdemona becomes a victim of theplot, Iago has no pangs of conscience. He moves to satisfy himself, no matter who suffers. And he goes to hisdeath without a word of regret! 3. He is highly intelligent. Iago plots his actions knowing how everyone willrespond. His insight into the behavior of others is practically perfect; he can adapt himself to the personality ofwhoever he is with–from Roderigo to Desdemona to Cassio to Othello, knowing just how to â€Å"play† him or her.Ironically, the one person he misreads is Emilia; he doe sn’t suspect her loyalty to Desdemona outweighs herfeelings for him. 4. He is an egotist. His opinion of everyone except himself is very low. He laughs at Othello’strusting nature, thinks Roderigo is a gullible fool, treats Emilia as a shrew, and scorns Cassio’s honest virtues.The only person he respects is himself, and everything he does in the play is for the satisfaction of his ownego. 5. He is a cynic. He shows contempt for all conventional standards of decency. He is loyal only when itserves his own needs. He delights in dishonesty. He doesn’t believe in romantic love, attributing it to a sexualitch. His opinion of the human race is so low that he allows innocent people to die without a word of regret. 6.He is extremely proud. Suspicions that Othello has slept with Emilia eat away at him. Othello’s appointment ofCassio makes him furious. Iago sees anything that threatens his self-esteem as a personal insult, which mustbe avenged. He isnâ€℠¢t angered by the thought of Othello in bed with Emilia because he loves her, but becauseanother man has gotten the best of him! Villains in literature are always a source of scary fun. Shakespeare,fortunately, has created in Iago more than just a villain. Iago is a complex character who combines enormousintelligence with an impulse to see others suffer. We may get a vicarious thrill as we watch him operate, butfeel a great sense of relief when justice is finally served. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: DESDEMONA As a youngVenetian woman, Desdemona has lived a sheltered life in her father’s home. She falls in love, probably for thefirst time, with a man several years older than herself, from a faraway land, and of a different race. She’scaptivated by the man’s stories and wishes she were a man so that she might also have an exciting life.Knowing that her father would disapprove of her marriage to such a man, she elopes with Othello and goeswith him to the war zone. Desdemonaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s portrait is that of a lovely, courageous, gentle woman, deeply in lovewith her husband. Is she a perfect character, free from flaws? Most Elizabethans wouldn’t have thought so.They would have seen her as disobedient and disrespectful. A nice young lady simply didn’t marry behind herfather’s back. They would have shared Brabantio’s disapproval of her marriage to a man of a different class,age, and race. And when Desdemona pleads with Othello to reinstate Cassio, Elizabethans would haveconsidered her a pushy, interfering wife. This is not to say that Shakespeare’s audiences weren’t moved byDesdemona’s death. It’s just that their opinion of her was influenced by social customs no longer current.Today, her behavior toward Brabantio, though perhaps insensitive, is forgivable; her begging Othello, even if itcomes close to nagging, is hardly a major flaw. If Iago represents evil in the world, Desdemona may representthe good t hat evil often destroys. She is guilty only of loving her husband too much. She has no defenseagainst his terrible accusations because she is young and inexperienced. There’s been no room in hercloistered world for the kind of thoughts Othello thinks she is hiding. She doesn’t even believe that there arewomen who are unfaithful to their husbands! If you look at what other characters say about Desdemona, you’llfind that everyone praises her innocence, her goodness, her generosity. She risks her husband’s angerbecause she promised Cassio she would help him. Desdemona inspires such devotion in Emilia that she isprepared to die for her. Even on her deathbed, she won’t betray her husband. Rather than have him accused ofthe murder, she takes responsibility for it. Is Desdemona a believable character? Is there anyone who can beso self-sacrificing? Shakespeare is careful to give her a few minor flaws–her treatment of Brabantio, herstubborn persisten ce about Cassio, her lie about the handkerchief–to make her realistic. But our overallimpression of her is highly favorable, it’s her very innocence that makes her a victim of circumstance. Howcould such a person know about or prepare herself for the likes of Iago? ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: CASSIOCassio is an attractive, likeable young man who seems to be a good choice for Othello’s lieutenant. He’s loyalto Othello, and is crushed when he errs and Othello fires him. It is partly Cassio’s determination to make thingsright with Othello that allows Iago to succeed: Cassio tries to win Othello’s favor by going through Desdemona;it’s this friendship Iago misrepresents to Othello. Cassio has many youthful faults: he’s rash, impatient, and notvery serious about his relationship with Bianca. He also can’t handle his liquor. Yet the offenses Iago suspectshim of–sleeping with Emilia, having an affair with Desdemona–are all in Iago’s mind. The innocent Cassioalmost becomes a victim of Iago’s treachery. Roderigo and Iago almost succeed in killing him. At the end ofthe play, however, Cassio is awarded control of Cyprus, and we believe that the island is in good hands. Hissurvival tells us that order and decency will survive, despite the price that has been paid. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO:EMILIA It’s astonishing how quickly our opinion of Emilia changes. When she first appears, she seems littlemore than coarse, hard-edged, and world-weary. Her opinion of men is very low–after all, she says, it’s owingto men’s faults that women cheat on them as much as they do. We’re also distressed when Emilia findsDesdemona’s handkerchief and doesn’t return it to her. She’s merely following Iago’s instructions, and can’tknow what he has in mind, but still, she’s being dishonest. However, she redeems herself when she discoversDesdemona near death. Emilia’s grief and her willingness to die for the truth tell you that her rough exterior hashidden a good and generous heart (at least where Desdemona is concerned). As one critic said aboutEmilia’s last moments: â€Å"If she lived forever she never could soar a higher pitch, and nothing in her life becameher like the losing it.† ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: RODERIGO Does Roderigo fall into Othello’s clutches becausehe’s foolish or because he’s unlucky? This is a difficult question to answer. All we know of Roderigo’s past isthat Desdemona rejected him when he tried to court her. There’s no question that Roderigo makes somestupid assumptions: 1) that he can â€Å"buy† Desdemona; 2) that she is having an affair with Cassio just becauseIago tells him it is true; 3) that killing Cassio will make Desdemona turn to him for love. We watch Roderigowith amazement. We wonder when he’s going to realize that Desdemona doesnâ⠂¬â„¢t love him and never will. But,in his defense, Roderigo may be just unlucky to have fallen into Iago’s clutches. As we know, Iago is a mastermanipulator. He is able to deceive people who are stronger and smarter than Roderigo. And remember thatRoderigo is a man in love and particularly susceptible to being fooled. If you’ve ever had a crush on someone,you know that people in love don’t always think clearly. As Iago convinces him there is hope with Desdemona,Roderigo will do anything he asks. He’s that fixated on her. Do you have sympathy for Roderigo when he’skilled? On one hand, he’s played a role in Iago’s wicked plot. On the other hand, he dies because he wasfooled by someone he trusted. Is Roderigo punished too harshly for his failure to see that Iago is wicked?^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: BRABANTIO Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, is a Venetian Senator. When we firstmeet him, he’s terrified that his only child has been kid napped by Othello and seduced with drugs and potions.When he learns that Desdemona’s in love with the Moor, he’s bitter and resentful. He accepts defeat, but notgraciously: he won’t allow Desdemona to stay in his house while Othello is in Cyprus, and he warns the Moorthat Desdemona could betray her husband if she betrayed her father. Yet Brabantio is not a villain. He’sdisappointed when his daughter marries a man so different from herself, and hurt when she does so behindhis back. So wounded is he by Desdemona, that when he dies in Act V it’s probably of a broken heart.^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: SETTING It’s not surprising that Shakespeare chose Venice as the setting of a storyfilled with passion, jealousy, and sexual tension. For the Elizabethans, the Italians were a wicked people, livinglives of treachery, murder, and loose morals. When playwrights of the day wanted to portray wickedness, theyoften created Italian characters causing problems in En gland, or set the plays in Italy. Venice was particularlyexciting to the English. The women there were rumored to be very beautiful, and very interested in making love.Venetian men were considered hot-tempered, aggressive, and easily jealous. An Elizabethan audiencewatching Othello would have been highly suspicious of Desdemona and her behavior. Running off to getmarried behind your father’s back was simply not done. Because Desdemona was Venetian, however,audiences wouldn’t have been too surprised. As for Iago, he probably represented the kind of villainElizabethans thought ran rampant throughout Italy! One interesting note is that the name Iago is Spanish. (TheItalian form is Giacomo.) Shakespeare gave his most evil character a Spanish name, probably because Spainwas England’s worst enemy. Italy may have been the home of romantic, exotic sin, but true evil, according tothe Elizabethans, came from Spain! ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: THEMES The major themes of Othello are 1)appearance and reality, 2) society’s treatment of the outsider; and 3) jealousy. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO:APPEARANCE AND REALITY Can we ever know the truth about a person? Is it possible to know if someoneis lying to us? How can we discover what lies behind the words someone tells us? Shakespeare wasfascinated with these questions. Many of his most evil characters were thought by others in the play to besincere and truthful. In Othello, this theme has its most potent and dramatic realization in the character of Iago.Iago fools everyone in the play into believing he’s honest. No one even suspects him of treachery, until the finalact when Roderigo first realizes how badly he’s been fooled. In short, Iago proves that evil intentions can bemasked behind a facade of honesty. The theme emerges in other characters: Brabantio is deceived byDesdemona’s reaction to Othello, assuming she fears him when she truly loves the Moor. Othello suspects thatDesdemona is unfaithf ul, despite her innocent looks. Othello also feels he’s being deceived by Cassio, whomhe trusts and who appears loyal. Emilia’s exterior suggests salty indifference, but she turns against herhusband and dies in defence of Desdemona. Even Bianca, who is suspected of dishonesty, is ultimately seenas a sincere and caring woman. And Othello, considered a barbarian by many in the play, is gentle and nobleuntil driven to near-madness by the cruel manipulations of his most trusted â€Å"friend.† The inability to judge truefrom false is a human dilemma that we have all faced. In Othello’s case, the dilemma proves fatal.Shakespeare dramatizes the problem by showing the consequences of trusting someone whose mask ofhonesty is perfect, almost to the very last. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: SOCIETY’S TREATMENT OF THEOUTSIDER Everyone has known the feeling of being alienated from a group, whether it’s as the new kid atschool, as a member of an ethnic or religious m inority, or as someone who holds an unpopular opinion.Shakespeare points that problem in Othello by making his hero an outsider, one who doesn’t quite belong inthe society in which he lives. From the very beginning, when he’s held in suspicion by a man who accuses himof seducing his daughter with mysterious charms, Othello stands apart from everyone else. As a man ofanother race and from another country, much of the conflict he faces is due to the reigning opinion that hedoesn’t quite belong. Othello’s sensitivity to the issue becomes clear when Iago uses it as proof thatDesdemona couldn’t be faithful to a man so foreign–such a match is â€Å"unnatural,† he says. Othello’sself-confidence, once so strong, is easily eroded by Iago’s ability to convince him that he’s inferior to the menof Venice. Shakespeare dramatizes through Othello the tragedy of a man whose insecurities about hisbackground, fed by public opinion, weaken his defenses and allow his worst instincts to take over.^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: JEALOUSY Othello represents how jealousy, particularly sexual jealousy, is one of themost corrupting and destructive of emotions. It is jealousy (fed by his innate sense of evil) that prompts Iago toplot Othello’s downfall; jealousy, too, is the tool that Iago uses to arouse Othello’s passions. Roderigo andBianca demonstrate jealousy at various times in the play, and Emilia demonstrates that she too knows theemotion well. Only Desdemona and Cassio, the true innocents of the story, seem beyond its clutches.Shakespeare used the theme in other plays, but nowhere else is it portrayed as quite the â€Å"green-eyed†monster it is in this play. Since it is an emotion that everyone shares, we watch its destructive influence on thecharacters with sympathy and horror. ^^^^^^^^^^OTHELLO: THE SOURCE OF OTHELLO Shakespearedelighted in taking old stories, adding his own particular brand of geniu s, and creating something new–andbetter. He based Othello on a story in a collection of tales, called Hecatommithi, written in 1565 by GiraldiCinthio, an Italian. A short synopsis of the original story gives some indication of how Shakespeare merelyborrowed stories and made them his own. The heroine, called Disdemona, falls in love with a Moor. Her familyagrees reluctantly to her marriage with him, and the couple lives together in Venice for awhile. The Moor (givenno name) is sent to command the troops in Cyprus. The Moor and Disdemona travel there

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