... /2004 3:30:50 PM Act I, Scene 3 The Duke and the Council are disturbed by the rumors that the Turkish fleet is planning an attack on the island of Cyprus. They are discussing a plan to send Othello there to defend it when Desdemona's father accuses his son-in-law of witchcraft. Othello suggests that ... to woo Desdemona for himself. Since Iago wants to destroy both Othello and Cassio, he comes up with a brilliant plot. It is based on Othello's trusting personality, for "the Moor is of a free and open nature" and can be easily deceived. He will use Cassio as the instrument to destroy the ...

• Word Count: 6585
• Approx Pages: 26
• Grade Level: High School

... , he plucks up the courage to confront Iago about the fact that his money has been spent but no results have come from it. This momentary aberration from his normal personality is short-lived indeed. When Iago reassures him and compliments him for his mettle, he immediately falls back to the old pattern. Ironically, he is murdered by the man that ... did not know her husband at all and assumed him to be who he was surface and delved no deeper. Emilia, throughout most of the play, is a bystander and an island of sanity in the midst of foolishness, stupidity, evil, and chaos. In the e...

• Word Count: 2512
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... Othello prior to their marriage was the fact that she deceived her father in order to be with Othello. This practice of deception simultaneously established an impure aspect of her personality while solidifying her devotion to Othello. This small impurity of Desdemona may have planted the seed in Othello that germinated into the raging beast of jealousy that he became. Desdemona ... 's first selfless act of lying to her father for Othello's love may have been the initial instigator of the jealousy that Iago supplemented. There was a shift in personality in Desdemona from the character t...

• Word Count: 4504
• Approx Pages: 18

... of action on which he has already decided - even in soliloquies, which by dramatic convention expose the character's true self or sincere views of himself, he appears to have a fluid personality that adapts to fit the situation, as shown by phrases such as "when devils will the blackest sins put on, They do suggest at first with heavenly shows-. This shows ... to the "old gradation, where each second Stood heir to their first-. This is yet another example of his duplicity, and an indication that it permeates all aspects of his personality. Although his denial of love as anything but a "...

• Word Count: 2807
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Graduate

... rank -Desdemona's marriage to him endangers her status. However, Desdemona claims she "saw Othello's visage in his mind- [1.3.253] and that she chose him for his interior - his mind and personality within - rather than physical exterior (his black skin) and social class. We must, however, also look at Othello's social rank in relation to others - he is a general, one much needed ... used to describe Desdemona. She is the epitome of grace and innocence - a true Venetian lady of the upper class. It can be said that she has a strong, generous and independent personality, depicted by her di...

• Word Count: 3595
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School

... in place. Although the opening chapter takes place in Venice, the real setting for the drama is Cyprus, and all the action of the play takes place on that small island within a few locations. The play is also unified by characters, with Othello and/or Iago dominating most of the scenes and most of the action. The entire play revolves around ... ...

• Word Count: 4125
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School

... not possibly have happened. Othello is a very respected military officer in the Venetian army. He is actually called into action for much of the play to help defend the Greek island of Cyprus from an imminent threat of invading Turks. This gives Othello the opportunity to show off is military skills as well as his heroic attributes. It again lends itself ... ...

• Word Count: 2635
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... distrust that comes to distance Othello from his love and eventually destroy him and all those around him. Like Hamlet, albeit to a much lesser degree, Othello exists as a very contradictory personality. In his character we can simultaneously observe great strengths and weaknesses. As a public figure he is a man of high stature and he is commanding of the trust and respect of ... ...

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