Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
What is the nature of the betrayal in othello
Analysis of othello character
Character analysis in othello
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Men depersonalised even their own wives in order for them to have felt justified to use them for personal benefits. One of the senators, a person of importance in society, says “Adieu brave Moor; use Desdemona well,” after Desdemona gained Brabantio’s permission to marry Othello. The word “use” shows that it would be customary to exploit and take advantage of women. Furthermore, after the marriage, Othello says “The purchase made… The profit’s yet to come.”
In the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare showed how the lies and the jealousy of others can ruin a relationship . Throughout the history of this play people have understood it as a “triad of nobility,purity, and villainy.” A literary critic, Michael Andrews noted the significance of the handkerchief that was used in the play. “Othello tells Desdemona that the handkerchief is a love-controlling talisman his mother received from an Egyptian "charmer.” The gift that Desdemona receives is used to represent a symbol of Othello’s love.
The way these women act and conduct themselves is unquestionably related to the ideological expectations of Elizabethan and patriarchal society. Desdemona, Othello 's wife and Brabantio 's daughter, is represented as the ideal woman. So she would never be disloyal to her husband. On many occasions, Desdemona obeys her husband firmly and calls herself obedient even after Othello hits her. She was loving and loyal to Othello and wishes a long marriage of prosperity and commitment that would lead to her ultimate happiness.
Iago uses very clever methods of persuasion and manipulation aimed to use Othello’s hamartia against him, pointing out that “ “She (Desdemona) did deceive her father, marrying you,” so much so that Brabantio “thought ’twas witchcraft”. Through this, Iago is subtly raising the issues of Othello’s cultural differences with Desdemona; a root cause behind Othello’s insecurities with his wife – along with inadequacy due to race, degree of sophistication and age. As Iago prompts Othello to think the worst, his utterances are short and uneasy, revealing the beginning to his downfall, whilst Iago’s dialogue is at length highlighting his growing power of
Shakespeare’s Othello chronicles the downfall of a noble Moor, Othello, who is deceived by a man he considers his friend, Iago. Throughout the course of the play, Iago toys with Othello and eventually leads him to murder and lose his love, his new wife Desdemona. Iago exploits the unquestioned trust Othello places in him to achieve evil ends. As such, trust is a central theme in the story.
Roderigo, is a young and rich man. He becomes furious when he finds out that Othello marries Desdemona. Once again we see how emotions take over the characters and commit foolish decisions. Roderigo is so in love with Desdemona that he gives all of his money to Iago because Iago promised him that he would help him win Desdemona’s love. Iago once again betrays another one of his victim.
Roderigo also feels that same very fear Othello does, as he is talking with Iago after the Duke and senators leave the room, he states, “It is silliness to live when to live is torment” (Othello I,iii, 303). Roderigo is heart broken at having witness to Brabantio- Desdemona’s father- giving his blessing to Othello and Desdemona’s marriage, for he was so in love with Desdemona, it simply makes him want to die to not have her, in fear that he has lost her forever to the Moor general. Roderigo is so in love with the Venetian woman, that he would do whatever he could- even die to have her, no cost whether money or his own life- could get in his way. These two- envy and fear- power jealous up
In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.
Desdemona, daughter to senator Brabantio has spurned the advances of eligible young Venetian men, but is captivated by Othello chiefly because of his harsh experiences. We first come
Due to the fact that there is not a single relationship in Othello that demonstrates true friendship, the tragedy unfolds and results in all characters ' demise. This can be seen when Othello vilifies Desdemona for being a disastrous wife and says, "I will withdraw, To furnish me with some swift means of death, For the fair devil [Desdemona]. Now art thou my lieutenant" (3.3 543-545). As a result, this shows how arguably the most sacred friendship is not even true in between Othello and Desdemona. Othello is notably naive in this instance due to the fact that he puts his wife on death row based on the suspicion Iago planted.
In Othello this can be seen through the character of Desdemona who is established from the start of the play as the loyal and faithful wife of Othello even standing up to her own father after their elopement was revealed and declaring that she was ‘Due to the Moor’. The drastic change in their relationship can be seen through the symbolism of her handkerchief which represents her chastity and worthiness as a wife as well as the strength of their relationship. In Act 3 Scene 3 Othello, after being manipulated by Iago challenges Desdemona’s faithfulness and orders her to show him the handkerchief which he reveals had been a gift from his mother, stating ‘if she lost if or made a gift of it my father’s eye should hold her loathed and his spirits should hunt after new fancies’. This imbues the circumstances with dramatic irony as Desdemona has lost the handkerchief. Desdemona’s identity as a loyal and faithful wife who belonged to a strong marital relationship with her husband consequentially transitioned to a seemingly unfaithful and deceiving whore.
Also, each relationship in Othello provokes jealousy in one partner. In a typical Venetian society, a woman was considered to be a man’s property, so if a woman was disobedient, it negatively impacted the man, while also questioning his masculinity. The hyperbolic soliloquy as Othello expressed he would “rather be a toad” than “keep a corner of the thing I love” is Othello’s justification of killing his wife, as her untrustworthiness challenged his masculinity and reputation. Referring to Desdemona as a “thing” emphasises the idea of women being property. Iago’s jealousy of Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is emphasised through the degrading comment of Othello, “an old black ram” “tupping” Brabantio’s “white ewe”.
Nadia In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, the title character is a valiant hero who is in love with his beautiful bride, Desdemona. The play’s villain, Iago, destroys this love by feeding Othello vicious lies about Desdemona, causing Othello to slowly go mad. By the end of the play, Othello, in a fit of jealous rage, murders his wife. This significant change in Othello’s character is not sudden; rather, it is a gradual transformation that takes place after a series of events that occur throughout the play.
As the tragedy begins, Othello and Desdemona had run off and gotten married without telling Desdemona’s father. When Iago finds out he did not get the job he wanted, he tells Roderigo to “Proclaim him in the streets; incense her kinsmen”(I. I. 76-80). Brabantio, who did not know about his own daughter’s marriage, is finding out from two strangers. This allows Iago to take advantage of Barbantio’s surprise and to come in between the newly weds with his disapproval.
Even a father thinks women act one way and are not what they seem. Then Brabantio, still enraged about the new marriage, continues to say, “Keep an eye on her, Moor. She lied to me, and she may lie to you”(1.3.5-6). This shows that Brabantio believes that Desdemona will continue to be deceiving. He suggests that women have to earn their trust and that they do not deserve trust from their significant others.