... hate, honesty, betrayal and revenge, not to mention thought-provoking themes dealing with the meaning of life, death, as well as the existence of God. Hamlet as a tragedy is about as far from the classical Greek tragedy as Shakespeare gets, and may be more fitting of a Romanesque revenge tragedy ... a man of radical contradictions and constant unpredictability. Hamlet repeatedly displays his propensities for being reckless yet cautious, courteous yet barbaric, angry yet manic, loving and tender yet ferocious and cold-hearted. On top of all that he somehow also manages to be sometimes driv...

• Word Count: 3419
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... there are five conditions. The protagonist, Othello in this case, must experience a death or a total loss of ranking in society. oor, who the audience sees to hold a position of power, commanding respect as a result of his military position and apparent human nobility. Othello's human nobility is evident through his: language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament.(Aristotle) Keep up your ... history in the Hitler's', Milosevic's and Pol Pot's of humankind, gushes throughout the text in the form of Iago's often brutal, vulgar images and dialogue that focus upon blackness: an ol...

• Word Count: 1812
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... down into an animalistic state, "foam(ing) at the mouth" and breaking out to "savage madness." This is the first time we see Othello not as a general, taking the most loving and utilitarian actions, but as a broken, "mad" man. However Othello still holds a small doubt as to Iago's accusations and demands Iago show proof and like clockwork his opportunity appears, tricking ... very swift. Jealousy becomes so fast to take over the mind of Othello and turn him to destructive thoughts. However Othello still clings onto his love for Desdemona, talking of killing a "fine fair...sweet woman," ...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... from who he was at the beginning of the play to who he becomes at the end. Upon the play's completion Othello has become a murderous avenger, barely recognisable as the loving husband he once was. There are many causes of Othello demise. Othello experiences divisions within him and splits in his sensibilities and psychologies, initially caused by the scheming Iago. The ... of Othello's downfall. Audiences are made aware of his malicious plans through his soliloquies. As Othello falls into Iago's "web of deceit," Shakespeare portrays Othello's change from a humble, soft-spoken, loving, a...

• Word Count: 854
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a short interlude, a calm moment where Emilia and Desdemona discuss the situation at that moment in time. Desdemona has a premonition of death and sings the "Willow Song" remembering her old maid Barbary whose lover went mad and abandoned her, she died singing this song. In Oliver Parkers film adaptation this "Willow Song" is played throughout the film during ... authority that has transformed Desdemona into a lifeless victim. Emilia stands up for Desdemona who can no longer do it herself, she courageously defies the orders of the males who are commanding her to leave and go up to bed. ...

• Word Count: 944
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... do earlier in the play, comparing Othello to a "base Indian- who cast away a pearl worth more than all of his tribe. Finally, Othello recalls a time where he defended Venice by killing a Turkish enemy, and then stabs himself in a re-enactment of his earlier act; thereby casting himself as both insider and outsider, enemy and defender of the state. There is no ... destroyed during the course of the novel. The conflict between illusion and reality is portrayed evidently throughout The Great Gatsby. Similarly, Jay Gatsby must deal with the tragic consequence of "loving too well-. Resemblin...

• Word Count: 1385
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... daughter Desdemona has run off with Othello, exclaiming that she has been 'stol'n from me.' The roles of a woman during the 1600s was to follow her husband or father's commanding orders ( 'I am obedient') and were often caught between their own desires and the dominating male's demands. Wives were seen by their husbands as 'nothing, but (only) to please ... ...

• Word Count: 902
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... film (Othello's history as a dubious character and Iago as a drug-user begging for his father's recognition) as well as some elements left out (the interplay of the Doge of Venice commanding Othello back and leaving Cyprus to Cassio) makes O a distinct entity from Shakespeare's work. ...

• Word Count: 570
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... racial issues. Shakespeare's Othello outlines the protagonist with barbarity as seen in his characterisation of "thick lips" and the recurring use of animal imagery such as "an old black ram". It highlights the Elizabethan tendency to align black with barbarity and white with pureness and virtue. Othello's lack of criticism to these racial rejections elucidates racism as ... , kindly responding with the metaphoric reference to her father as the "lord of duty". The parallel scene in O exemplifies an independent yet disrespectful teenage girl, rejecting her father's loving concern. This ag...

• Word Count: 1401
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... whole world – 'Ud's pity! who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch?" (IV iii lines 71-73). On the other hand, Emilia's weakness in loving others becomes apparent to the audience once again when she betrays Desdemona, the woman she must serve with love and patience. Emilia clearly does not love Desdemona as much as ... completely shifted the dynamic of the play. With the visual proof that Emilia supplied to Iago she helped Othello to see the most untrustworthy character as honest, and the most loving character as a "whore." Emilia's low self-esteem brought on...

• Word Count: 1300
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... position as a figure who is both an outsider and a part of Venetian society. He seems to have calmed himself and regained his dignity and becomes empowered with this envision of killing himself, something so extreme and so radical, which only highlights his powerful nature in making decisions. His suicide is a last act of service to the state, as he kills the ... state and similarly to this Othello feels as if he has betrayed his duty both to his wife and to the state itself by becoming blinded by Iago's lies. By killing himself, he is casting the same hand of judgement that he cast on ...

• Word Count: 1235
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... about Roderigo's desires; that in the end even though Roderigo had followed every instruction to the letter Iago both metaphorically and literally stabs Roderigo in the back. Iago's reasoning for killing Roderigo in itself shows his true nature, for he did not kill him because Roderigo was unable to murder Cassio, but it was merely to tie up loose ends. Even ... of a military position that he felt he had deserved, both leading people to commit suicide as well as kill others. Or there is Hedda, who has driven people back to old addictions, manipulated a sickly family member, her husband,...

• Word Count: 802
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... holds great surprises' indicating that he has total control in his life. His arrogant departing smile and rhetorical quote but for the grace of god' signifies his keenness to leave. Symbolism has also been adopted with the metaphorical flickering light representing lost aspirations. Whilst her Madonna like pose serves ... child's welcoming of change has allowed their relationship to progress. In addition to this the characters have exchanged roles, we view the father has grown old weak "your face has grown to ancient innocence- whilst the child is now portrayed as a contemplative adult a...

• Word Count: 2540
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... into a jealousy so strong That judgment cannot cure." Iago reveals that jealousy will conquer all other emotions in Othello, therefore accomplishing his goal of corrupting a man of "constant, loving, noble nature." Shakespeare created a character that was symbolically similar to Satan; both characters crave the destruction of all things that are traditionally moral and correct. Considering time and place ... ...

• Word Count: 757
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to look on " [1.3.99] and is the first to plant the doubt of adultery by saying that she will betray other men for having betrayed him. Othello's easy transformation from a loving partner to a murderous husband is not caused wholly by Iago's manipulation but also by being in "a society which sees Othello and Desdemona as gross and dis-natured. At the tragic ... ...

• Word Count: 1464
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , and Emilia is the balance of both, being the nonconforming feminist. Shakespeare's depiction of each simultaneously establishes cultural ideals of women and challenges the justice of them. Desdemona is loyal, loving and compassionate toward Othello; her actions as a submissive wife coincide with Victorian views of women. Her obedience to Othello's commands was the accepted act of wives during the time period ... ...

• Word Count: 616
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... others may dismiss this joke; quite the opposite is the sinister undertone, especially where his provocative language would suggest so in other scenes. When Iago claims to Brabantio that, "An old black ram is tupping a white ewe,"" as well as Othello and Desdemona are, "making the beast with two backs,"" to describe their sexual activities, Iago clearly implies to the other ... , which brings everyone together, as well as tearing them apart. The irony of this of course is, for a character that is so devilish; he seems to have the power of God with his puppets on strings. ...

• Word Count: 1539
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . It illustrates Othello's fatal flaw in believing that honour and reputation were more valuable than trusting his wife. Till his own dying breath 'I killed thee: no way but this. Killing myself, to die upon a kiss' the repetition of 'kill' highlights his acknowledgement of guilt and his attempt to recover his honour through his own death. The human traits explored ... ...

• Word Count: 981
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... story of Othello. It is both the cause, and the tool which Iago uses, for everything that happens in the book, from Iago's hate for Othello and Cassio, to Othello killing his own wife and then himself. It even appears in non-relevant places such as Cassio's mistress, Bianca, which ends up being a somewhat important factor of the play. Basically, there ... ...

• Word Count: 974
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Cassio treats Desdemona, in an elegant and polite manner and wanted to exploit this fact. Iago is also a man who knows well how to avoid undesired inconvenient events, instead of killing Cassio by himself, Iago decided instead to send Rodrigo to do the job. When the act was done, Iago turned his back on Rodrigo and killed him....

• Word Count: 320
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... appears to be a loyal servant to Othello but nonetheless he uses racist terminology in discussing Othello behind his back on occasion referring to him as a bestial man and an "old black ram". A crucial example of Iago's duplicity and dishonesty is when he is hiding his identity from Brabantio and when the men 'draw [their swords]', he picks Roderigo ... beast-like images and portrays Othello and Desdemona's relationship as an animalistic one. This is seen with phrases such as 'old black ram' and 'tupping' and 'white ewe' in suggesting Desdemona. This image suggests b...

• Word Count: 1567
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... whom he earlier revealed that he had such resentment for. Iago is clearly two-faced and so ironically in act I scene ii he pays reference to the two-faced Roman god Janus. Thus, in just the first two scenes Shakespeare introduces the complex character of Iago. Also introduced are the racial issues and themes within the play. Iago's hatred of Othello ... ...

• Word Count: 799
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... are lead to believe from Iago's race related description that Othello is a threatening and evil moor, whose beastial sexual appetite, conveyed by Iago's cries to Brabantio, telling him that "an old black ram is tupping" his "white ewe" (1.1.89), is something of a rapist. Iago's coarse animal related language conveys Iago's feelings against Othello's marriage in a much more pronounced way. The image ... of an "old black ram" gives the audience nothing but negative images of Othello, especially when this "old black ram" is being associated with the innocence of a "white ewe". Iago then as...

• Word Count: 714
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... against him. Desdemona also shows independence as she does not try to blame Othello once and takes responsibility herself. After Desdemona's first speech Brabantio is in disbelief and disowns her "God bu"y, I have done. I had rather to adopt a child then get it" which shows Desdemona has an active role and is not just passive. Othello also supports the idea Desdemona does ... ...

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is shown from the very beginning of the play where he tells Brabantio of the inter-racial marriage that his daughter is a part of. "Even now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe", Iago's rough racial depiction of the union of Othello and Desdemona presupposes Othello as bestial and barbaric before Othello even enters into ... animal imagery. This quote illustrates the major differences between Desdemona and Othello. He refers to her as a white ewe, meaning pure and young. And Iago refers to Othello as an old black ram. The act of them running off together seems a lot wo...

• Word Count: 1008
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate