... Like to the Pontic Seaeven so my bloody thoughts shall ne'er look back', Shakespeare emphasises the transition of Othello's character from the former proud, noble man to one consumed by jealousy. He is, as critic Christopher Reaske described, an 'egotistical and immediately jealous' (Shakespeare's Othello, 1966) man who paradoxically justifies himself as 'cruel yet merciful' at killing ... Desdemona, indicating his lack of rationality. Subsequently, the dramatic device of Othello falling into a trance due to the shock from his excessive jealousy draws attention to the victory ...

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... his incorporation of societal concerns of manipulation, as well as desired honour and reputation. Thus, through a critical study of Othello, I have come to believe the text successfully reflects Elizabethan values which are present in modern society. Shakespeare's Othello centres on the complex idea of jealousy as a means of exploring the emotion which is prevalent in all societies. Jealousy ... perception of him as evil", as asserted by Frances Tague, and ultimately gains him significant respect. Through my understanding of Othello, we can see that Shakespeare utilises the societal re...

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... late 20th century, despite being set in the Elizabethan era. Thus in examining these different interpretations, the varying portrayals that mirror the composer's context reinforce why Shakespeare's "Othello" is such a great text. Shakespeare's "Othello" depicts the Elizabethan culture, illustrating how women were oppressed during those times and marginalised in society. Men viewed females as property, illustrated in the opening scene ... soliloquy, further reinforcing the view of women as objects without emotions. Likewise to the role of women changing from Elizabethan times to a contemp...

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... once again they"re "the bad guys" and the audience isn't suppose to agree with what they say. By having these three men describe Othello in such a way, Shakespeare is telling the audience "since these guys despise Othello so much, Othello is good, and anything they say about him is biased because their evil". This scene is not racist, it is, if anything, anti ... -racist. In Othello, Shakespeare speaks of Othello through the people in the play with an unbiased point of view, Desdemona, the Duke, etc. This is true because of the fact that every person in the play, except ... he is sayin...

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... death, destruction and sorrow; in essence the tragedy of the play itself, Othello's demise, is caused by this transformation. The most prominent cause behind Othello's downfall portrayed by Shakespeare is Iago, as he deliberately plots and is the direct instigator of the downfall of Othello. Iago says that Othello will be, "as tenderly led by the nose as assess are," and ... wooed my lady, Know of your love?" or by muttering under his breath, "Ha, I like not that," when Cassio visits Desdemona. Iago warns Othello, "Look to your wife, observe her well with Cassio." Shakespeare intensifies ...

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... The Predominant Factor Throughout The Play? Many people consider Shakespeare's Othello to be a racist play. The main character in this controversial play is a black moor who marries a white woman, but their marriage is later destroyed by treachery, jealousy and deceit. Although ... is the only time she says what she thinks of him, she hid her racism towards Othello all through the play and disapproved of his marriage with Desdemona, but could not show her true feelings because she would get in trouble with her "lord". Because Shakespeare wrote a play about a black and white union, in a...

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... fact based on the play. To truly understand the relationship one must summarize the movie and the play then compare them. The movie "O" is based on Shakespeare's "Othello". The setting takes place in a wealthy private school. Othello is played by a African American basketball player, who made his way from the ghetto to a prestigious private school through means of his ability in sport. His ... friendship with Oden. He soon looses this strong friendship after a brawl with Roger which was instigated by Hugo. The result of the brawl was Mike's suspension from the basketball team. Shakespea...

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... joy for destruction as well as swayed, insecure jealousy. This is achieved through the use of a range of characters; Iago, Othello, Desdemona, who possess polar qualities, and also through a range of situation and scenes of commitment, savagery and uncertainty. Shakespeare uses the egocentric, manipulative and malignant character of Iago in an attempt to present a disturbing picture of evil, destructive jealousy. ... fuelled by a disturbing love for jealousy. The image of jealousy is further portrayed to the audience through the "honest fool", Othello. Shakespeare is able to manipulate t...

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... and is very much in love with Desdemona, who shares his faith. His love for her is matchless and unexplainable. Shakespeare also portrays Othello as a very nice Moorish General, who is caring towards his white soldiers. At the end of the play, Othello proves himself to be a noble character. He stabs himself in justification for all he has done. He is a good man ... are obvious when analyzing his character. It is a prominent misconception that most whites possess higher moral values than their black counterparts. Shakespeare makes an exception to this perception and characterizes Iago as...

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... Iago said he wanted it. Iago then placed the handkerchief in Cassio's room to make him look guilty. Also, throughout the play, it seemed that Othello was the only one who didn't know the truth. Shakespeare uses situational irony well to make the story more interesting. The verbal irony in this novel can sometimes be humorous because of how ironic it is ... add humor to the story and make it more interesting to read (or watch). Dramatic irony plays an important role in captivating the audience. Throughout Othello, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to make the play a richer experience. Dram...

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... knowledge is portrayed very differently in both characters, and this self-knowledge greatly affects each hero's fate and determines how they interact with other characters. However, Shakespeare creates the same tragic flaw in Titus and Othello- hubris, or excessive pride and passion. Hubris causes both characters to kill someone they love irrationally, and is ultimately the downfall of both characters. Excessive ... of others (especially Iago). This gullibility eventually leads him to kill his own wife, and, out of remorse, to kill himself. Shakespeare follows classic tragic form when wr...

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... adaptation by Oliver Parker explore ideas of otherness and the patriarchy. William Shakespeare represents multiple ideas in his play Othello. Oliver Parker further resonates Shakespeare's ideas, using different cinematic techniques. Patriarchy has always been associated with a rigid concept of manipulation and control. Both William Shakespeare and Oliver Parker show how that idea, when entwined with fears and ... misunderstandings of otherness can lead to catastrophic incidents. The opening act of Othello establishes that Othello takes an important position in Venice that gives him high...

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... way you cut it, honesty can affect you greatly and every solitary day. This idea was one of the most specific and open parts of the plot of William Shakespeare's Othello. In the play Shakespeare gives us brilliant insight as to what can happen as a result of believing and trusting in the honesty and words of others. Though they might seem sincere, he ... to be untrusting, but it wasn't Desdemona's beauty that turned Othello's rage, it was Iago's words that brought forth the Moor's anger. Desdemona herself had been faithful and kind throughout the story, and this is only another example ...

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... in presenting complex, multi-faceted and credible characters that stand the test of time. William Shakespeare's "Othello" (1604), a Jacobean play which follows the Aristotelian model of a tragedy, is highly acclaimed in modern society despite the contextual change of four centuries. The "tragic flaw" in Othello's character, comprised of more than a single flaw; naiveté, jealousy and pride, are ... makes him susceptible to deception which leads to the birth of his jealousy. This concept still relevant in the modern world, allowing Shakespeare's tragedy, "Othello," to stand the test of t...

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... the moor. He can only believe that witchcraft is to blame. This seed planted, he rants in front of the court only later to be calmed by his old friend Othello. Shakespeare uses the references as an aside. In reality they may have only been involuntary reaction to the situations. Maybe if he says what he thinks out load then it will ... loose his services just when they need them the most. Starting from the beginning Shakespeare wrote Iago's part to be the antagonist. Convincing the other characters that the love of the Desdemona for Othello must have been conjured up by magic. Shakespea...

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... to focus mainly around the male main character and his conflict, which tends to deal with a woman. Othello presents this with Othello himself and the conflict deals with his own wife. Women also seem not to be favored in Shakespeare's plays, yet more of the problem. In Othello, Shakespeare writes his male character's to view women in a demeaning way. In the 17th century the family ... , or feed on nourishing dishes, or keep you warm, or sue to you to do a peculiar profit to your own person"(Othello Act.3 Sc.3 Li.77-80). Shakespeare seems to use women as a type of motive in his play. In O...

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How does the playwright explore key ideas in the play? In your answer refer to techniques such as structure, dialogue, setting and characterization. In William Shakespeare's Othello, the themes he has presented stand to be the reflection of the values and motivations of the characters. Major themes such as jealousy, deception and honour and reputation shape the ... hatred towards Desdemona with his dialogue in Act 4, "I will chop her into messes." The dramatic structure of the play clearly unveils the downfall of Othello through his tragic flaw jealousy. Not only does Shakespeare explore the...

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... feature of one of the lead characters is not clearly dictated. In the movie, Lawernce Fishborne played Othello and I was left considering an important characteristic of Othello: How dark is Othello's skin? Visually, at least in modern America, a culture that Shakespeare could not have predicted or written for, this choice could be powerful choice. It is made clear that his skin is dark, but ... familiar with the Moors, so any nuances that might be given through that are wasted upon me. Othello is described as "black" rather than "brown" by many of the characters in the play. This could ...

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... . This struggle between good and evil is both an outward conflict and internal struggle as demonstrated by some of the characters in "Othello." In "Othello," written by William Shakespeare, there is a clear challenge between good and evil shown by what the characters feel and do. This challenge can be either ... an inward struggle or an outward conflict. In Act 1, Shakespeare presents the reader with the antagonist of the play, Iago. Iago is a schemer and ... and evil. However this struggle happens within him because of the lies Iago had planted in his mind. After the lies about Desdem...

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... other characters" secrets and confessions. His great cunning, manipulative abilities, and almost supernatural perception mean that he is a very formidable foe, and this makes Othello's fall seem even more inevitable and tragic. Shakespeare clearly brings out the importance and irrelevance of the major and minor characters, respectively. Thus, the audience is able to distinguish exactly what occurs, and is ... that of his jealousy of Cassio and Othello. Othello also contains many glitches, mainly dealing with the issue of racism. I found Shakespeare's choice of a black man to be scorned a...

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... cloth anymore; it has now become sacred and later in the play, it will be responsible for Othello's demise. Many of the characters in Othello are also symbolic such as Iago who has been characterized as Shakespeare's perfect villain. He is responsible for the deaths of Othello, Desdemona, Roderigo, and Emilia, but appears to feel no remorse. Every action he takes is one of ... Cassio together again to help them both out, but this only gives Iago a chance to punish Othello and physically wound Cassio. Another form of irony is the word choice that Shakespeare uses to describe relationship...

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... the worst racist in the play "old black ram tupping your ewe" to Brabantio, "thick lips" and he describes Othello as a "Barbary horse." While racism may not be as prominent, it still exists. Through Shakespeare's Othello, today's audience could relate to the idea of racism, a very real social dilemma that confronts them in their daily lives as well ... 's society. This is because jealousy is a universal human emotion. Every person feels envy. Iago was the main reason for jealousy in Shakespeare's Othello. He was extremely envious of his colleague Cassio who was promoted to the rank of li...

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... , means "resentful or bitter in rivalry." The tragedy Othello focuses on the doom of Othello and the other major characters as a result of jealousy. The theme of jealousy is prominent throughout the play as it motivates the characters" actions. In Shakespeare's Othello, jealousy is portrayed through the major characters of Iago and Othello. It utterly corrupts their lives because it causes Iago to ... show his true self, which in turn triggers Othello to undergo an absolute conversion that destroys the lives of their friends. Iago, "most honest" ... , according to Godfrey, "justified" (...

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... and tragedy, although the latter category has been identified as his point of particular strength. Like those of many other authors, Shakespeare's catastrophic story lines adhered to the outline of Aristotle's classic tragedy. The play Othello, well known as one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, proves to be an excellent example of this statement. In Aristotle's observations, he first realized that every ... great tragedy had a character that was larger than life. In the play Othello, the title character himself proves to follow this standard. Shakespeare required that a large acto...

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... each interpretation differentiating from one another. This essay will focus on the difference between the relationship of Iago's character and Othello's character and on the consistency of how Othello's character was viewed by other characters in the production. The movie O was a more modernized remake version of Shakespeare's Othello. The concept of a black guy being the main character stayed the same but The relationship between ... Othello and Iago's characters was interpreted differently in the two films. In O, Iago's character, Hugo, did not have a very close relationship to Othell...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate