... ; the one flaw in his character is played upon by fate which brings about his downfall and death; innocent people suffer in the process, and the audience leave feeling a sense of fear, loss, pity and wastage at the end. Supernatural events, powers and elements are all essential parts of a tragedy. This fascination with the supernatural is a part of the society of the time. Many people believed ... in evil as a conscious force, that had a will, and many were genuinely frightened of various witches, demons, devils, ghosts and ghouls. This ... the King on many occasions, and has won himsel...

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• Grade Level: High School

... way. He wishes for other people's possessions and advantages, like he wanted to be Othello's Lieutenant, and was jealous of Cassio. By the title of the play, I automatically thought Othello must be the name of the main character of the play or must play a leading Role. However as I read the book I learnt that one of the main characters was Iago. Iago is a 28 year old Venetian, and ... Iago announced that he hated Othello, because he thinks Othello has slept with Emelia, his wife, so he plans to get even with him by using Roderigo to inform Desdemona's Father, of her affairs with Othello...

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How does the dialogue develop your response to the character of Othello? Othello is extremely nave and pitiful. The love he feels for Desdemona is shown in the language Shakespeare has written in other scenes. However in Act 3 Scene 3 Othello's language turns very sombre and evil. He uses animalistic phrases whilst speaking of Desdemona and her so-called disloyalty' with Cassio, which Iago convinces Othello ... is on going. Some of the phrases that caught my attention are "Death and damnation! O!- "I'll tear her all to pieces- and "Arise black vengeance, from the hollow hell."" This last quot...

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Iago's Character Act III scene III is very important in the play Othello. This is the scene that Iago changes Othello's mind about his wife, Desdemona. By Iago's words and everyone else's actions, Othello begins to believe that Desdemona is cheating on him with Michael Cassio. Othello trusts Iago and thinks he is honest, when in reality Iago is the least trustworthy of all, and ... Iago uses this against Othello. Although Iago is a very smart man, without everyone else's unknowing help, he would not be able to convince Othello of such a lie. In the very ... beginning of the scene, Desdemona ...

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Explain Your Interpretation of Iago's Character and Role in the Play So Far In the opening act of "Othello" the audience learns a tremendous amount about Iago. It is obvious that he is a central and complicated character. Shakespeare, in this opening act, manages to show or hint at all aspects of Iago's personality. There is no doubt after Act 1 that he is the villain of the story and an extremely ... intriguing character. Iago is not a character who likes to get his hands dirty. He creates the trouble, causes the stir but has ... the ability and coolness of mind to remove himself from the c...

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... out about the affair, he seems as if he is the perfect father. Let's compare Willie to Othello, who is viewed as a tragic hero. Othello was a very prominent man. Through lies and deceit Othello began to lose his mind and began to fall. Eventually he was pushed beyond all return and committed suicide, yet, Othello is not viewed as a coward, but is viewed as ... a hero and by killing himself next to his dead wife, he is seen as being romantic. Willie Loman may not have ... innocent man is very tragic, no matter how cowardly his death may seem. Although the days of the kings and leaders a...

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... cannot understand how Desdemona could be attracted to Othello unless he used magic to bewitch her. He seems to regard Othello as someone outside their own society. He accuses him of using drugs to seduce her and of him being a practitioner of "arts inhibited" to create an image of a particularly devious character. It is noticeable that Brabantio's view of Othello is very like Iago's picture of Othello created in the first scene ... soldier shown in scene 2 and in scene 1 where he is portrayed as the stereotypical "black"- sexual and a devil. The theme of appearance versus reality is evid...

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... upon a kiss? (5.2.410). It would seem that it would take an entire army to cause the man who speaks of this love to betray his wife. Shakespeare, however, was able to do it with one character. What is Othello's motivation in ruining Othello's life? Iago is a complex character who can't be analyzed in simple terms. Like many people, Iago can be mysterious and baffling. Shakespeare was ... their flaws and improve upon them. Roderigo is without a doubt the most gullible character in Othello. Throughout the play he is constantly being manipulated by Iago. The main reason that Roderigo is in...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... malignity" (413). Iago seems to be overbearing and tries to hurt Othello. He appears a great deal in the play and is rather unpredictable. Iago is 28 years old in the work and also a Venetian. He has a wife and by all accounts is rather ordinary. Yet, few could call this intriguing character ordinary as he does a variety of things in the context of the work that might ... be construed as rather extraordinary. He is able to make things happen through manipulation, where others might fail in such attempts. Many have seen ... her concern for Cassio" (346). It is rather troubling that Othe...

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• Has Bibliography
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... innocent woman. Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes Iago's plan as "motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity" (413). Iago is overbearing and tries to hurt Othello. He appears a great deal in the play and is rather unpredictable. Iago, a 28 year old Venetian man is, by all accounts, quite ordinary. Yet, beyond his "normalcy", he's an intriguing character, able to make things happen through manipulation. Many have seen this ... character as evil, but what is Iago's motivation? It could in fact be that he is envious of Othello. Yet, he seems to be somewhat proud and enamored of himself. Iago...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is pompous and conceited, and this is visible after only a short period of time. Othello is being described by others before the audience sees him speak for himself. As we listen to him, the reader also starts to believe that when we finally get to meet this Othello character, he will be all of what Iago says, if not more. But as we read on and come ... to where Roderigo tries to awaken Brabantio, Iago uses fowl, racist and ageist language against the Moor and ... uses plus the fact he mentions little of war also helps portray him as a a nice guy. He openly admits to marrying Desdemona...

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... fortune does the thicklips owe If he can carry't thus" (I.I. 63-37). Rodrigo is a rich man in loved with Desdemona, he is always sending gifts through Iago to Desdemona but despites of all his efforts he could not spike Desdemona's attention. He blames Othello for this and even makes racial slurs toward the Moor. Roderigo's jealousy toward Desdemona's love for Othello was ... so blindly that ultimately lead to his death. Lastly, Bianca was also a character affected by jealousy, after finding Desdemona's handkerchief, she accused Cassio of infidelity. "Let the devil and his dam ... not ...

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... world's most debated issues is very prominent in Shakespeare's tragic play: Othello. The issue of racism is shown through the words and actions of every single character in the play. The motivating factors and reasons for a character's racist mindset may vary, but this topic still happens to appear in majority of dialogues. Roderigo, Iago, and Brabantio are three characters that portray racist traits throughout the play ... he is just a suitor, but still involved in the general army. He has no real reason to dislike Othello, so he goes with the crowd and choses to disrespect Othello. He...

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... 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 of the daughter had all rights in ... the say of whom she shall marry. When Desdemona left the house of her father, Brabantio, to wed the Moor, Othello, it seemed to be her first step in ... redefining her role as a women. Instead ...

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... anger and jealousy that is "flaming" and doesn't seem to stop. There is a part of him that wants this "flaming" anger to be "quenched" so he can be brought back and restored to his former self, or "former light restore," before all of these ideas were put into his mind by Iago. Othello is wanting the strength and ... power to "repent" himself and renew his emotions back to the way he felt when he still viewed his wife in a positive light. While ... justifying his actions. Othello's speech clearly shows different aspects of his character in the play. His references to Desdemona's purity...

• Word Count: 1803
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• Grade Level: High School

... These three attributes "bravery, ambition, and self-doubt "struggle for mastery of Macbeth throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to show the terrible effects that ambition and guilt can have on a man who lacks strength of character. We may classify Macbeth as irrevocably evil, but his weak character separates him from Shakespeare's great villains. Macbeth, great warrior though he is, is ... explaining that he lusts after Desdemona because he wants to get even with Othello "wife for wife- (II.i.286). None of these claims seems to adequately explain Iago's deep hatred of Othello a...

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... he tells Desdemona: " Or keep it as a cistern for foul toads | To knot and gender in! "(4.2.61-2). In these lines, he compares her to a woman who allows any man to copulate with her. The character of Othello experiences perhaps, the most dramatic change, and Shakespeare's done well to reflect this in the character's language. The hero in a play can never make an impact without the ... knows More than a spinster-unless the bookish theoric, Wherein the toga'd consuls can propose As masterly as he! Mere prattle without practice Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had th'election; And I-of...

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... of the play Othello says this to Emilia: "My friend, thy husband, honest, honest Iago."(5.2.151) Showing more of his belief in Iago. This is why it was possible for Iago to trick him. The situation in Tartuffe is similar to this. In Tartuffe the tricked character is Orgon who is being tricked by Tartuffe. Throughout almost all of Tartuffe, the character ... Tartuffe holds Orgon in the palm of his hand ... and Orgon doesn't even know it. And why is this? Because Orgon trusts Tartuffe almost more or more than his own family. This is expressed particularly well in the passage "This is too ...

• Word Count: 1168
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... about Othello's demise. Othello's insecurity, in particular about his African origins and his relationship with Desdemona, is an element of his character that contributes to his transformation from a noble, fair and loving man, to a destructive and vengeful one. One of Othello's most obvious insecurities is in regards to his race and why Desdemona would ever love a ˜Moor'. It is not until Act 1, Scene 3 that Othello ... keep a corner in the thing I love For others' uses " (3.3.270-73). Even after he has murdered Desdemona he clings to his pride and reputation, and tries to justify the m...

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... but he believes in them so strongly that he is willing to kill and destroy peoples lives in the process of completing them. His entire motives stem from one thing, jealousy, all of Iago's motives are due to this single feeling. His revenge comes from wanting to avenge the people he is jealous of. He seems to elaborate on these initial ideas until he things that every body ... wife, for this he wants further revenge. In his quest for revenge he uses Roderigo for money and the strangest reason of all, he seems to enjoy what he is doing. During the play Iago uses carefully thought out word...

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... expresses his honest love throughout the play during the most difficult times. Moreover, Desdemona is an independent character that loves Othello, but always has her own opinions as well. Furthermore, a piece of cloth that symbolizes their love is overpowered by their truthful feelings for each other. Consequently, in ... even though he is questioning her, he does not want to fight, as he is afraid to lose his closest friend and lover. Furthermore, all of Iago's words make Othello a green-eyed monster that now wants to kill his wife to get rid of all this jealousy in his mind. Othello e...

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Othello is indeed full to bursting with various images of nature, animals, storms and Heaven and Hell, all of which enhance our reading of the play. They are not only useful in a practical way but are also often symbolic of other things. Without these images, Othello wouldn't have the same effect on readers nor would it be as powerful a play. The references to these images have huge impact ... do me wrong' (4ii). Emilia cries ˜O, more the angel she' (5ii) upon discovering her murder and responds to Othello's accusation by calling her ˜heavenly true'. Even Iago talks of her as ˜blessed' (2i...

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... says he hates Othello, who recently passed him over for the position of lieutenant in favor of the inexperienced soldier Michael Cassio. Perhaps the most interesting and exotic character in the tragic play "Othello," by William Shakespeare, is Iago. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits him and moves him closer ... a trap where Roderigo maims him, and all that time, Iago - his friend - is behind it all. In the end we learn that Iago is capable of anything - not even Othello is safe from this villain. O...

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... . He portrays this through Iago, who utilizes his own strengths and cunning wits to paradoxically exploit the weaknesses of others, especially Othello who is susceptible because of his own feelings of inadequacy and alienation. He destroys his victims from the inside, under the guise of friendship and in a sense is the main character of the play, as if there is no Iago there is no story. He ... life, I must show out a flag and sign of love, which is indeed but a sign" (1.1.155-158). With the culmination of these two statements, the audience realizes that Iago is two-faced character, "I a...

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... , he is a weak and gullible man who is probably swindled often. On the other hand, Iago is pictured as a determined man who knows what he wants. He is also shown to be intelligent, with an excellent insight into human nature. He has no respect for Roderigo and simply uses him for monetary reasons. Iago also has no respect for Othello. It ... with less important characters such as Brabantio appearing as a major character who has little effect on the rest of the play.In these opining scenes although the themes of Love and deception are first introduced the problems in Cyprus seem more impo...

• Word Count: 1344
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• Grade Level: High School