Othello Vs. Oedipus The King

Othello definitely didn't trust the right people either. His main mistake was trusting the evil Iago and not trusting his wife. Iago tells Othello, “My lord, you know I love you” and Othello believes him. However, when Othello is about to kill his wife, she tells him that her only sins were “They are loves I bear to you”, he doesn't believe her. When she professes that she never had an extramarital affair with Cassio, Othello smothers her. Throughout the entire play, Iago presents “evidence” of the affair, but Othello never stops to ask his wife if it was true. He merely wanted to believe and trust Iago instead of his wife. This kind of distrust is worse, because Othello, like Oedipus, trusted the wrong people, which sped up each character's downfall.

Othello also holds a position of power, though he is often referred to as a “moor”. Othello promotes Cassius to lieutenant (instead of Iago). He later uses his power to strip of that title the man of whom he is jealous of possibly sleeping with his wife. This small act demonstrates that when forced to, Othello will abuse his power to get what he wants, like Oedipus.

Othello is figuratively blind to the truth as well. Iago deceives Othello several times, first as posing as a friend who only has Othello's best interests at heart. Othello, and even Cassius continuously refer to Iago as “Honest Iago”. Iago pronounces his love for Othello more than once also, indicating another thought that Iago plants in Othello's mind that Othello believes. Secondly, Iago deceives Othello by planting suggestions that Cassius and Othello's wife might be having an extramarital affair. He does not want to implement his “friend” Cassius, but he “cannot think it, that [Cassius] would steal away so guiltylike, seeing [Othello] coming” when Cassius has been asking Othello's wife to get back his job. Iago also plants the “evidence” of the strawberry-embroidered handkerchief to further the deception Iago is planting in Othello's head. The evil plan that Iago describes in his soliloquy shows that even without Othello being prone to jealousy, Iago would be able to deceive Othello enough for him to believe his wife is unfaithful, which would still ruin his life.

Situational ironies are coated throughout the entirety of both plays. The way situational irony is presented is different in each, but in one way or another, the audience knows the situation, and the main character does not. It also has different effects- the audience knew the end of Oedipus the King before they bought their tickets, whereas they were kept guessing on whether the evil plan would work in the end of Othello. However, though the end was known in one play but not the other, in both the next step was known. In Oedipus the King, the audience knew already that Oedipus would proclaim the cause of the play shall be punished, and then when Tiresias accuses of him being the cause of the plague, he denies it and throws him out. The audience already knew the legend of how Oedipus found out about the man whom he had killed, and the fact that his mother was now also his wife. The fact that the audience already knew the legend and what would happen in the play created the situational irony. Among the situational ironies that occurs in Oedipus the King, Oedipus declares that to find the murderer of the king, he will “fight for him as if he were my father”- the audience knowing, of course, that the king was Oedipus' father.

Some topics in this essay:
Lastly Iago, Oracle Delphi, Oedipus King, King Iago, Othello Oedipus, Oedipus Othello, King Oedipus, Afterwards Oedipus, Tiresias Oedipus, Othello Iago, tragic flaw, situational irony, oedipus king, tragic flaws, main character, didn't trust, othello's wife, cause plague, unfavorable circumstances, extramarital affair, othello's tragic flaw, tragic flaw jealousy, unfavorable circumstances didn't, oedipus didn't trust, consequence tragic flaw,