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Reality And Illusion In Shakespeare's Othello: The Moor Of Venice

1585 Words7 Pages

William Shakespeare stands to be one of the greatest literary geniuses of all time. His plays have enamored numerous audiences and inspired countless writers over the last several centuries. One of his great tragedies is “Othello: The Moor of Venice.” In this play especially, language has the same power as action; speaking about an event will make that event become reality for those who hear, and it will affect reality as if that event had taken place. Words become the initiators of action, and once spoken they cannot be counteracted because they alone determine the course of the future. More specifically, the words the characters use to assemble their thoughts and conversations divide the play in half; one half being reality, and the other, illusion. Throughout the course of Shakespeare’s “Othello,” the worlds of reality and illusion are constructed in order to reveal the underlying theme of perception vs. reality. The term “world” is difficult to define because different people have different ideas about what the world is. For some there is a religious connotation. However, when it is used to mean all things in existence it may have a different connotation depending on personal beliefs. Near the beginning of the play, the word is used by Shakespeare to establish a religious theme. Brabantio accuses Othello of winning Desdemona by trickery, either by drugs or black magic, using the word with a …show more content…

Desdemona: “Beshrew me if I should do such a wrong For the whole world. Emilia: “Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’the world; And having the world for your labor, ‘tis a wrong in your own world and you might quickly make it right." Desdemona: “I do not think there is any such woman.” Emilia: “Yes, a dozen; and as many to the vantage as would store the world they played

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