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Is Othello A Critical Thinker?

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Is Othello a critical thinker? It has been debated for many decades. Othello is some one that is taken through twist and turns; when it comes to the manipulation of his mind by his close comrade Lago. Othello is a combination of brilliance and naivety. From the beginning Othello showed his strengths along with his weaknesses. Othello showed his strength when he was willing to state his case to the Venetian Council regarding stealing Desdemona; but does this qualify one as a critical thinker. Othello showed his ability to command when he led the Venetians against the Turkish yet does this make one a critical thinker? no it does not. As the play progresses some of these same characteristics end up being Othello’s down fall. Othello at a certain point in the play begins to let his emotions over rule him. When Othello hears Cassio speaking with Lago about Bianca; he practically is having a nervous breakdown …show more content…

Bradley’s critique of Othello, critical thinker Othello is not. Bradley appears to agree with the idea that Othello has let his emotions get the best of him, and this is not the behavior of a critical thinker. Bradley states “Othello’s emotions are simple but overpowering, he is ruled by them”. Every decision he makes once the seed is planted by Lago is motivated by emotion. Bradley also states “In the first place, Othello’s mind, for all its poetry, is very simple. He is not observant. His nature tends outward. He is quite free from introspection and is not given to reflection. Emotion excites his imagination, but it confuses and dulls his intellect”. While Lago’s whole plan is playing out, he is taking advantage of Othello’s lack of control of his emotions. At times when Othello speaks he sounds almost like someone suffering from mental health issues. Othello states “I will chop her into messes. Cuckold me!” This is a very disturbing statement and with that he stepped into very dangerous territory; not at all the behavior of a critical

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The sympathy felt for a character often remains through character revelation. In spite of the change in personality and morals the first impression of the character is not forgotten. Othello who commits violent acts throughout the play ends his life with honour, reminding us he was originally introduced as a respected man of high position. A person can be manipulated by others to act outside of their character, and their emotions can blind them from making good decisions. In the end a person’s true character is reflected upon the way they react to the results of their wrong doing.

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With the laws of Venice miles behind them, the characters of Othello seem to have entered a Hobbesian state of nature where anything is permissible so long as it furthers the individual interest. Indeed, upon arriving in Cyprus, the majority of the characters have lives that are “poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes 76). Othello is the perfect illustration of the dangers of rhetoric. Iago exemplified the type of rhetoric that made the Greek demagogues threatening.

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When Lago was finally able to use Othello’s weaknesses to fill him with rage, he made Othello direct his beam of hatred directly at his former lover. Othello’s rage is noted when he calls his former love a “subtle whore.” Lago used Othello’s insecurities to control him like a puppeteer controls a marionette. Instead of being a slave to a master, he was a slave to his own manipulated emotions. By manipulating Othello’s weaknesses, Lago was able to convert Othello from a lover to a murderer.

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Othello shows fixed mindset because he feels insecure because he is black and he's jealous of Cassio and allow him to believe that Cassio has slept with Othello's wife Desdemona. This leads Othello to drive him crazy and confused and show actions of him treating Desdemona. The mindset of Othello was to hurt Desdemona he wanted to hurt her to make him feel better about himself his goal was not giving up on hurting her he was so devastated he calls her a whore and beats her around physically and mentally. In the scene he kills his own wife a wife that was so much in love with him. In the play Othello says, “Yes, right now.

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He shows us that Othello is far too naive and trusts what he is told. Othello also makes mistakes when he is confronted with moments of extreme distress and in this situation he has chosen both murder and suicide. Shakespeare also uses his monologue to develop and strengthen the idea that language can kill just as Iago has used it to kill Desdemona.

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The title of F.R.Leavis’ critique on Othello itself depicts the entire critique. The main title of his critique “Diabolic Intellect and the Noble Hero” suggests the Bradley’s point of view of analyzing Othello, which according to Leavis is sentimental approach towards Othello. Leavis accused Bradley and other critics who supported Bradley’s point of view for not being objective. And thus he called them sentimental and their critique “Sentimentalist’s Othello”. According to Leavis, because of the collective opinion about Othello, it essence suffers.

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Development of Othello The character of Othello transforms during the course of the play from a respected and revered general to a fallen and easily fooled man, due to the unfortunate sequence of events that transpire through both coincidence and Iago’s evil designs. He said that he wouldn’t be the jealous type unless he had seen it happen right in front of him, but with the help of Iago and a lot of coincidences it had happened in front of him. His judgment of the coincidence over ruled facts that could have changed the way it had ended drastically (Nwabueze, 167).

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Othello starts out as rational and confident, but when Othello’s jealousy leads him to a downfall and to an end, he becomes a beast without a ounce of rationality. The progression of othello’s character conveys the idea that he once had it all, he was rational and a confident warrior. The exposition of Othello introduces Othello as a confident and rational warrior and a loving husband to Desdemona. He was a trusting man who would believe in the absolute best in everyone.

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He thinks Othello’s love for Desdemona is not true, that money will change his mind. Lago says that he hates the moor (the black man). Othello is a gentle natured, middle-aged, black man that Desdemona

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The characteristics of Othello includes passion, obligation, courage, jealousy and intelligence. These are great characteristics to have, but proves to eventually lead to Othello’s demise. Othello was a foreigner from Africa who was sort of accepted into the Venetian society, only because of his excellent track record of winning wars, but he was an outsider and never fully accepted. Othello enjoyed the status and luxuries of being a General and leading the defense of Venice. He also understood that he

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Many individuals say he was a born talented yet his abilities got polished through his tremendous involvement in different occupations including, author, poetess, play and also wrote essayist, drama writer and sonnet. He additionally composed much documentation for in various holy places. He is one of the essayists who has composed different books and more than 35 plays. Villas, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Caesar, Midsummer night dream, Twelfth night are the names of his most prominent works (Biography.com Editors, n.d). Through this task, we will fundamentally assess the novel Othello and the real commitment of its character Othello and Iago.

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His nature tends outward. He is quite free from introspection, and is not given to reflection. Emotion excites his imagination, but it confuses and dulls his intellect.” “Othello’s nature is all of one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute.

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Alisha, You’ve described a detailed narrative of Othello’s intimate relationships with various characters in the play. From your comprehensive character analysis, you noted that your initial opinion of Othello changed as the play progressed from a respectable character to a surprisingly gullible character. In the end, you concluded that you may have prematurely judged Othello as a character. However, for me, my opinion of Othello remained the same throughout the play.

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844 Words | 4 Pages

Othello starts to believe Iago’s lies about his friends and wife, leading Othello to change his behavior towards his closest allies. Iago instigates a fight between Cassio and Montano, and Othello must take charge of his soldiers, he says: Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter, Making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee But never more be officer of mine. (2.3.210-213) Othello makes the decision to fire Cassio, and things get worse when Iago makes his wife, Emilia, steal Desdemona 's handkerchief.

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He takes in the spectator, but the human motive is primarily to take in himself. I do not believe that nay writer has ever exposed this bovarysme, the human will to see things as they are not, more clearly than Shakespeare (1951, 130). Perhaps with this in mind, A. L. Rowse in Shakespeare 's Globe considered Othello an ass or a beast of burden like the cow that is notorious for its stupidity. Indeed Othello manifests "bovarysme" (narcissism or self-love) as a human weakness the white people - particularly Iago and Desdemona 's father who calls him a black ram - refuse to tolerate. The main reason is because it always underlies his relationships, activities, and value judgements.

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