... and Othello from Othello; Edmund, Goneril, Regan, and Lear from King Lear; Jachimo and Posthumus from Cymbeline; finally, poor jealous Leontes and opportunist Autolycus from The Winter's Tale. The common thread between all of these villains is common sense or really, the lack thereof. The first group I discuss, deal with the fools who deserve a little pity, for they have spun their stories by making bad decisions ... Iago planted enough seeds in him, Othello would blow up at his wife in public. He slapped Ophelia and called her outside her name. As strong and intelligent a person he was...

• Word Count: 1756
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... shortly as bitter as coloquintida. She must change for youth; when she is sated with his body, she will find the errors of her choice. Therefore, put money in thy purse-(ln.330-48) The main point to observe behind the first section of the soliloquy-like speech, (ln314), is that humans make their own destinies and rules: "Virtue? A fig! "Tis in ourselves that we ... a sect or scion. (ln.327-8)." One can tell by the connotation of the words Iago use, that he does not consider God to be a motivating force in the lives of humans. Take, for instance, the use of the words sect and balance; th...

• Word Count: 2496
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... this first scene that the subject of revenge is first introduced; He wants revenge on both of them. The path that leads to revenge has already presented itself in his wicked imagination and also to the audience, and in the gullible Roderigo, Iago and the audience recognise a willing tool to execute his plan. In the second part of the act, Othello is introduced in person for the first time.The first scene heightens the audiences ... anticipatation of Othello's first appearance. Although when Iago and Rodrigo talk to Desdemona's father, Othello is portrayed as ... ...

• Word Count: 1344
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... beloved wife. Even though these two characters rank differently, they both let jealousy get to the worst of them. Othello, whose tragic flaw is jealousy that derives from a lack of confidence, meets all the requirements of the Shakespearean tragic hero. One of the first requirements of being a tragic hero is being a person of high standing such as a noble or king, and he must hold greatness. ... Othello definitely meets this requirement because he is the general of a Venetian military. Since this play is written during a racist time ... , someone like Othello for example, is not consider...

• Word Count: 1285
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... in his words". "I know thou art full of love and honesty". Here he is saying that he knows Iago is a very "trusting" and "loving" person and that he would "never betray him. This is the point where the audience would become frustrated because Iago is plotting to destroy their bond of love and Othello has no idea. This is seen as very cold ... accident. At this point Emilia listens to what Iago has said and steals the handkerchief and gives it to her. Iago then plants the handkerchief in Cassio's room and convinces Cassio to give it to Bianca as a gift. After witnessing this, I believe t...

• Word Count: 1309
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• Grade Level: High School

... many women today; she is torn between her devotion to her father and her faithfulness to her husband. She shows her indecision in one of her first speeches with her father, My noble father/ I do perceive here a divided duty./ To you I am bound for life and education;/ My life and ... husband's travels and battles. In placing herself at her husband's side, she is, in turn, setting aside her own life as well. The majority of the characters in Othello are marked by their power and influence in their society. Iago is close to Desdemona's father Barbanzio and has great disdain towards ... c...

• Word Count: 1594
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• Grade Level: High School

... , and he was also spiteful. He wanted to cause destruction for the sole purpose of satisfying his desires. A person could get pleasure out of hurting others, but there are always consequences. Iago also counted on the fact that the other characters believed he was honest for the entire time. His manipulation is evident throughout the play, none more so than when he manages to convince "noble ... 1, 11-16). On impulse Iago's brain is quick to devise a plan driven by his jealousy to hurt the person who has hurt him, Othello. After obtaining the role he wanted of officer, he is no longer in...

• Word Count: 1955
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... of a tragic hero and a wicked antagonist adds to the effectiveness of the play. He characterizes in great depth by using soliloquies and conversation between the characters. Othello, a Moor, is the protagonist or main character. He is obviously an upstanding person of Venice. His virtues are admired by all, and ... (Ch. 3, p. 1016). He has self-control. To show his courageousness, Shakespeare uses a Senator's remark: "Here comes Brabantino and the valiant Moor." (1.3.47) Throughout the play, Othello is continually commented on by characters attesting to his courage and military leaders...

• Word Count: 1511
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• Grade Level: High School

... , and he was also spiteful. He wanted to cause destruction for the sole purpose of satisfying his desires. A person could get pleasure out of hurting others, but there are always consequences. Iago also counted on the fact that the other characters believed he was honest for the entire time. His manipulation is evident throughout the play, none more so than when he manages to convince "noble ... 1, 11-16). On impulse Iago's brain is quick to devise a plan driven by his jealousy to hurt the person who has hurt him, Othello. After obtaining the role he wanted of officer, he is no longer in...

• Word Count: 1955
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... are being unfaithful. In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, the book The Pilot's wife, by Anita Shreve, and the film Unfaithful it is apparent in the main relationships being examined in these works that one person has been disrespecting the other person in order to achieve a relationship with another. In the play Othello, Othello is ... and is easily led to mistrust his wife. "Why? Why is this? Think'st thou I"d make a life of jealousy? To follow still the changes of the moon with fresh suspicions? No! To be once in doubt is once to be resolv"d."(III, iii, 177-180). It is Othell...

• Word Count: 1809
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• Grade Level: High School

... amount of pain it caused her in Act IV scene ii and iii. The lack of love portrayed by Emilia can only be attributed to not only to her verbally abusive husband and the lack of affection shown by him, but also perhaps to her inability to love another person, as she is never shown true, forgiving, honest love by another human herself ... . Many arguments have been made pertaining to the jealousy of both Othello and Iago; however, it could easily be argued ... many. Emilia is a particularly interesting character developed by Shakespeare. Although one may not notice at first glance, she is...

• Word Count: 1300
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... opening scene, moving to the dead middle of the action, and finally the scene where Desdemona is murdered. Othello starts the play on top of the world. He is the man that everyone wants to be: married to a beautiful woman, the head of the Venetian army, and has a decent status within the Venetian court. It is important to note, however, that Othello is one of the first characters in a major play ... himself. An important question to ask for this section of the play is, how could the good-hearted, brave Othello automatically assume his loving wife is cheating? The answer is simple, compl...

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... is presented as automatically being associated with negativity: Your son-in-law is far more fair than black. By seemingly complimenting Othello and saying that his qualities are of a white person, the Duke depersonalizes people of black skin, insinuating that they are not equally human and it is in this way that Othello's character is severely marginalised ... very limited amounts of power and influence within the text. The marginilisation of female characters is expressed primarily through the character of Desdemona and the associated notions of the female role and rights in marriage. ...

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

... . However instead of deeming him with negative qualities because of his skin color Shakespeare blesses him with heroic abilities as well as the heart of a hero. The audience sees how much Othello trusts his wife in the first act. Barbantio, Desdemona's father, takes great offense to his daughter marrying a man of dark skin. He claims that Othello has wooed Desdemona "By spells and medicines ... trust in his heart make his character the ultimate anti-hero? His untrusting personality is consistent through the play and could be the reason as to why Iago shows no signs of heroism. Yet anothe...

• Word Count: 1287
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... job trapping people into his web of lies; there is a dichotomy between the person Iago presents himself as and who he actually is. Iago has a lot to do with the transformation of the character Othello throughout the play. Iago even says in the beginning: "The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest that ... he does, in order to carry our his revenge, is to make Othello believe that Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona.   This is definitely not the truth, but Iago is so convincing that Othello has no choice but to believe him. There is a dialogue between Iago and Othello ...

• Word Count: 1504
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... how? Let's see. After some time to abuse Othello's ears That he is too familiar with his wife; He hath a person and a smooth dispose To be suspected, framed to make women false. The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be ... madness trigger. This evident is the handkerchief. Iago has been asking Emilia for it many times. He uses it for his plan as will. The reason for Othello to be mad is the fact that this was the first gift he got for her. As Iago have everything work for his side, the handkerchief ends up in Cassio's ...

• Word Count: 2346
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . Iago plans to ruin Othello by carrying out a plan based on lies and deceit. This plan will make Iago the only person that Othello believes he can trust, and Iago will use this trust to manipulate Othello. First, Iago plans to remove Cassio from his position as lieutenant so that he himself take over Cassio's position as confidant and Lieutenant to Othello. Then ... of a motiveless malignity" . In other words, Iago's only reason for destroying Othello is that Iago is an inherently bad person. The conversations that Iago has with Roderigo and Cassio show that Iago invents reasons for his...

• Word Count: 2354
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... him, to be Lieutenant. From this hate comes his need for vengeance and the main conflict of the play. Iago plans to ruin Othello, in doing so, make Iago the only person that Othello believes and trusts, and Iago will use this trust to manipulate Othello. In Iago's vengefulness, he First, Iago plans to remove Cassio from his position as lieutenant so that he himself ... of a motiveless malignity" . In other words, Iago's only reason for destroying Othello is that Iago is an inherently bad person. The conversations that Iago has with Roderigo and Cassio show that Iago invents reasons for ...

• Word Count: 2349
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... distinctive from each other. In Othello, friendship is portrayed as relatively a negative aspect. Iago and Roderigo's friendship is based on superficiality. Iago is known as the villain of the play and Roderigo, a suitor of Desdemona. Reading Othello, a person might presume that Iago and Roderigo are friends, but in reality Iago is using him to seek revenge on Othello. Iago's jealousy of power and ... a friend to achieve personal gains. Roderigo can be described as a sheep and Iago as a Shepherd. During conversations between Roderigo and Iago, a person can assume the superiority of Iago...

• Word Count: 1407
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... job trapping people into his web of lies; there is a dichotomy between the person Iago presents himself as and who he actually is. Iago has a lot to do with the transformation of the character Othello throughout the play. Iago even says in the beginning: "The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest that ... he does, in order to carry our his revenge, is to make Othello believe that Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona.   This is definitely not the truth, but Iago is so convincing that Othello has no choice but to believe him. There is a dialogue between Iago and Othello ...

• Word Count: 1506
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... job trapping people into his web of lies; there is a dichotomy between the person Iago presents himself as and who he actually is. Iago has a lot to do with the transformation of the character Othello throughout the play. Iago even says in the beginning: "The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest that ... he does, in order to carry our his revenge, is to make Othello believe that Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona.   This is definitely not the truth, but Iago is so convincing that Othello has no choice but to believe him. There is a dialogue between Iago and Othello ...

• Word Count: 1417
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... of Shakespeare's most villainous characters is disliked mainly because he is extremely good at being bad. Iago, from Othello, the Moor of Venice, appears to epitomize the phrase "pure evil," and at first his actions seem to originate from this simple cause. When one takes a closer look at the motivating factors behind Iago's actions, it can be concluded that his actions all stem from ... disturbing aspect of this plan is that Iago intends to use Desdemona's integrity and goodness against her in an effort to "make the net that shall enmesh them all," as said above. (Bevington, p607) At f...

• Word Count: 1501
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• Grade Level: High School

... the idea of a person being black to great effect in two of his plays. These were Othello and Titus Andronicus. Each of these plays are violent tragedies in which there is much suffering, back stabbing, and loss of life. However in each play the usage of a black character is vastly different. Yet in both tragedies the ... Othello does not fit in. The second character that was created by Shakespeare as a black man was Aaron. Aaron is one of the "bad guys" in Shakespeare's first tragedy, Titus Andronicus. Aaron is a slave who serves the queen of the Goths. When she is captured by the roman ...

• Word Count: 1913
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• Grade Level: High School

... have its balance back if nature took the life of the one who unnaturally caused the death of another. As a result, many lives were tragically lost. However, deaths are relatively insignificant to the importance of nature's stability in the end. Through these tragedies, Shakespeare reveals how the world's natural order will prevail even when a person's choices bring chaos and destruction. Othello ... and Desdemona's marriage started off strong. The two brazenly defended their love despite Venice's racist setting, and Desdemona's hot- ... of his evil plans that he wanted carried out, subc...

• Word Count: 1655
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... of white noble women. If we look at the play "Othello," we can see that how Shakespeare emphases his thoughts and beliefs about racism throughout the play. However, Othello described as a noble person he is a tragic hero of the play. He is a moor who commands the armies of Venice. He is dark skinned and ... in war and Cassio was chosen instead of him. Iago does not say anything racist to Othello's face but he talks a lot behind him. The first time we hear one of his racist comments is when he's talking to Brabantio about Othello and Desdemona " Even now, now, very now an ... racist co...

• Word Count: 1299
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School