Characters in othello8/16/2023 ![]() Her relationship with Othello is one of love, and she is deliberately loyal only to her marriage. Shakespeare's Desdemona copes with prejudice by denying it access to her own life. Iago's scheme would not have worked without the underlying atmosphere of racial prejudice in Venetian society, a prejudice of which both Desdemona and Othello are very aware. Once again, he speaks with calm rationality, judging and condemning and finally executing himself. He can again see his life in proportion and grieve at the terrible thing he has done. Upon seeing that she was innocent and that he killed her unjustly, Othello recovers. Up to the moment he kills Desdemona, Othello's growing jealousy maddens him past the recall of reason. Such an obsession eclipses Othello's reason, his common sense, and his respect for justice. Jealousy forces Othello's mind so tightly on one idea, the idea that Desdemona has betrayed him with Cassio, that no other assurance or explanation can penetrate. Iago has noticed Othello's tendency to insecurity and overreaction, but not even Iago imagined Othello would go as far into jealousy as he did. ![]() Iago thinks he knows jealousy, having rehearsed it in his relationship with Emilia to the extent that Emilia believes jealousy is part of the personality of men, but Iago's jealously is a poor, weak thought compared to the storm of jealousy he stirs up in Othello. It is the emotion suggested to him by Iago in Act 3, Scene 3. Jealousy is what appears to destroy Othello. Whenever he is in doubt, that symbolism returns to haunt him and despite his experience, he cannot help but believe it. ![]() He looks at Desdemona's whiteness and is swept up in the traditional symbolism of white for purity and black for evil. As Othello loses control of his mind, these pictures dominate his thoughts. What Iago gives him instead is imaginary pictures of Cassio and Desdemona to feed his jealousy. Othello demands of Iago "Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore, be sure of it, give me the ocular proof" (Act 3, Scene 3). To "prove" something is to investigate it to the point where its true nature is revealed. For Othello, seeing is believing, and proof of the truth is visual. The true friendship was Emilia's for Desdemona, shown when she stood up witness for the honor of her dead mistress, against Iago, her lying husband, and was killed for it.Īppearance and reality are important aspects in Othello. Desdemona's love in friendship for Cassio is real but is misinterpreted by the jealous Othello as adulterous love. Iago often falsely professes love in friendship for Roderigo and Cassio and betrays them both. The immediate attraction between the couple works on passion, and Desdemona builds on that passion a steadfast devotion whose speed and strength Othello cannot equal. Othello finds that love in marriage needs time to build trust, and his enemy works too quickly for him to take that time. Types of love and what that means are different between different characters. It provides Othello with intensity but not direction and gives Desdemona access to his heart but not his mind. In Othello, love is a force that overcomes large obstacles and is tripped up by small ones. In Othello, the major themes reflect the values and the motivations of characters. Themes are central to understanding Othello as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary. Othello views his own racial identity as undesirable, and it is this lack of confidence in himself that allows Iago to persuade him that Desdemona is cheating on him.Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello. Despite this, Shakespeare ultimately allows Othello to succumb to the subtle racism that surrounds him. In Othello, Shakespeare creates a hero who is not a racist stereotype. How does Othello's race play a role in the hero's self-identity?.How does Othello's race affect his relationships with his wife and other characters?.Which characters in the play make an issue of Othello's race? What kinds of stereotypes are at work in this play?.At the same time, his status as a black-skinned foreigner in Venice marks him as an outsider and exposes him to some pretty overt racism, especially by his wife's father, who believes his daughter's interracial marriage can only be the result of Othello's trickery.īecause the play portrays the uber-racist fear of miscegenation (the mixing of races via marriage and/or sex), it's nearly impossible to talk about race in Othello without also discussing gender and sexuality. A military general, he has risen to a position of power and influence. Othello is one of the first black heroes in English literature. (Click the themes infographic to download.)
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