Perfect People In Shakespeare's Othello

What is a perfect person? A perfect person balances, right? No one is a mental or physically balanced person. We can try to stabilize our physical bodies and emotional mindsets, but it never lasts long. If people try to always have control, they are not only lying to others, but they are also lying to themselves. They put on a mask and hide from the world. In the play Othello, by renowned author William Shakespeare, a set of images are given throughout the book that shows this idea. All four images: a garden, handkerchief, scale, and door— connect and although are powerful on their own, mean something even deeper than they had before. We can control ourselves, but when jealousy appears, our inner scale of sensuality and reason tip; this brings

This quote, spoken by Iago, who although was talking to Roderigo was intentionally talking to the audience. He goes into explaining that, “we will plant nettles or sow lettuce . . . supply it with one gender of herbs or distract it with many, either to have it sterile with idleness or manured with industry, why, the power . . . of this lies in our wills.” It is saying, that our lives and our bodies are gardens. We decide what to plant, nettles or lettuce, things that sting or things that nurture. We can plant few or many things in our gardens, but in the end, it’s us that plants them and us that has to deal with the

We make these decisions, though varying on the person, with a logical reason behind them. Many things can alter the logic reasoning uses: anger, jealousy, lust, etc. When these factors enter your brain, the reasoning you have for making decisions changes. For example, when Iago was persuading Othello that Desdemona cheated, it only took a dream and a falsely placed handkerchief to undermine his logic. Iago schemed, “I will in Cassio’s lodging lose this napkin, and let him find it. Trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ.” Iago gives us a universal truth about human nature and the human brain. “Trifles light as air,” were issues of nothing, but to the jealous, they are enormous matters. A dream of Desdemona and Cassio and a planted handkerchief was all it took for Othello to become blindfolded to all forms of reason and logic. Due to how unbalanced he was, he let his sensuality get the best of him. His sensuality being the anger, jealousy, and as Iago remarked. “raging motions, our carnal stings, our unbitted lusts” when he talks about our balance in the quote, “If the balance of our lives had not one scale of reason to poise another of sensuality, the blood and baseness of our natures would conduct us to most preposterous conclusions.” He is testifying the truth of human nature, without reason, we can