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Theme Of Insecurity In Othello

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Recommended: Analysis of Shakespeare's "Othello

William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello (1600) examines human flaws that transcend time, making it possess an enduring relevance. Set during a period of warfare between Venice and Turkey, Shakespeare explores the dangers of misplaced trust to create an engaging play focusing on a tragic hero’s moral collapse. Shakespeare also asserts the notion that disaffection can lead to individuals being susceptible to jealousy and vulnerable to manipulation. The universal afflictions of an excessive focus and reputation resonate with audiences today, showing Othello to hold relevance in the contemporary age.
Shakespeare demonstrates that and individual’s insecurity arises from their social and cultural differences and often results in their susceptibility …show more content…

Othello’s human flaw of hubris results in the disintegration of his dignity and his eventual demise. Initially, the arrogant tone and anaphora of “my parts, my life, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly” portrays Othello’s pride and certainty that his positive reputation in Venice will outdo Brabantio’s rebuttals. After Cassio loses his position of lieutenant the hyperbole in “I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial” epitomises society’s excessive focus on reputation and its adverse effects to one’s confidence. Othello’s emphasis on his reputation is highlighted in his exaggerated declaration “Farewell the … pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!” indicating that his reputation, being tainted by Desdemona’s supposed infidelity has stripped him of his military prowess. Following Desdemona’s murder, the satanic allusion in Emilia’s accusations “thou art a devil … thou art rash as fire” reduces Othello’s initially high status of an honourable soldier to that of a “cuckhold”. This loss of his positive image leads to Othello’s self-execution in an act of attempted atonement, portrayed in the paradoxical statement “for nought I did in hate, but all in honour …” demonstrates his preoccupation to salvage his reputation. Othello’s inability to face the consequences of his actions, resulting from his obsession with reputation facilitates his ultimate demise and the pathos in this allows the play to retain relevance with modern

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William Shakespeare’s “Othello” was a great example to showcase sacrifices made by characters to accomplish revenge or obtain power. Shakespeare told the story of Othello, a tragic hero, who was manipulated by Iago, which motivated him to kill his own wife. From this story, Shakespeare’s main goal was to portray characters making sacrifices for their ambitions. From this play, Shakespeare puts forth the idea of sacrifice through pointing out the importance of reputation and how sacrifices must be made to silence the truth.

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Shakespeare’s Othello, an early 17th century play, is a widely renowned work that is still studied in a psychological aspect worldwide today. The eponym of the play had ambivalent feelings for Desdemona, his wife, that were prevalent in the sense that he’d gone to extreme lengths, such as; abusing her, mistreating her, and ultimately murdering her. This was all due to his inner conflict of his love, yet intense hatred for Desdemona. All of his unsureness about Desdemona, though, was due to his true flaw- insecurity in himself. He had internal feuds about whether he, a black man in 16th century Venice, was a satisfactory husband for a noble white woman.

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In fact, it is these precise attributes that have allowed him to ascend to his current top-ranking role in the Venetian army and respected position in Venetian society, in spite of his ethnicity. Yet, as Othello is ready to assume the worst of himself at every turn, placing Iago in a in a state of utmost power over Othello, in a cruelly ironic twist it is also these precise attributes that are slowly warped and exaggerated to become his foremost deficiencies. Take, for instance, Othello’s sincere nature. As a soldier, Othello is conditioned to retain the utmost faith in his comrades’ truthfulness and expect the same in return. This trait is most clearly seen in Othello’s frequent referrals to Iago as “honest.”

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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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The following passage is significant to the play ‘Othello’ in retrospect to the plot progression, as it reiterates themes and introduces important facets to the plot development. Through Iago’s cunning manipulation and Shakespeare’s crafting of language, this passage is constructed as a pivotal point of the play, marking the transition of Othello’s personality and revealing his deepest insecurities that eventually lead to his downfall and tragic ending. Iago wields a lot of power over all the characters throughout the play, but in this passage in particular he is presented at his most powerful. The passage is riddled with subtle suggestions and insinuations by Iago to raise Othello’s suspicions of his wife’s fidelity, opening with the admonition to “beware, my lord, of jealousy!

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In the beginning of the tragedy Othello tells Brabantio to “Keep up your bright swords signior, for the dew will rust them” (1.2.72-73). This statement gives the reader insight to Othello’s level-head and smart decisions, before he allowed jealousy to cloud his vision. Othello becomes convinced that Desdemona has cheated on him with Cassio; therefore, he is angered and beings to seek revenge for a crime that was never committed. Iago tells Othello “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (3.3.187-189).

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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.

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Shakespeare’s play, Othello, deeply explores the effects of jealousy on a person. Shakespeare also portrays the different types of jealousy and alludes to the causes of them. Othello is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare around 1603, about a man, Iago, who plots to take revenge on a Moorish soldier, Othello, for he has “done my (Iago’s) office”. The deaths of several people, including Othello’s wife Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia, Othello and Iago’s companion Roderigo, were all directly linked to Iago’s actions. Othello illustrates that jealousy often leads to revenge, jealousy can prevent a successful relationship, and jealousy leading to one’s downfall.

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Othello’s character undergoes a significant change due to a series of events at the hands of Iago, the play’s antagonist to enhance the fact that even a valiant heroes can become corrupt. In the beginning of the play, Othello adores

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"Othello" by Shakespeare is a well-known and outstanding literary composition which pays distinctive attention to the dangers associated with jealousy. The play deals with the root and driving force of all evil and exemplifies how far jealousy can induce a human being as well as destroy lives by mere circumstantial evidence. According to Godfrey (1972), “Jealousy, once awakened, becomes self-perpetuating, self-intensifying, and where no evidence for it exists, the jealous person under the impulse of an extraordinary perversity will continue to manufacture it”. Jealousy manages the characters’ lives in "Othello" from the beginning of the play, when Roderigo feels jealousy towards Othello because he desires to be with Desdemona, and to the ending of the play, when Othello is furious with envy because he supposes Cassio and Desdemona have been engaging in a love affair. Some characters’ jealousy is generated by other characters.

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The common aim of playwrights of any time or location is to capture and hold the attention of their audience; this is what Shakespeare has clearly done. The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is one of Shakespeare 's most renowned plays. Through construction of intriguing characters, exploration of universal themes, use of comic relief and a well-written script featuring a compelling plot, Shakespeare ensured the tragedy of Othello would hold the interest of the audience; despite being over four centuries old. It possesses so many conditions that can be accentuated to hit nerves with both a Shakespearean and modern audience. The entire plot of Othello is very much like the attitudes and methods of our modern day society.

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After hearing this, Othello doubts himself, triggering insecurity and jealousy. After Iago tells Othello about Cassio’s possession of Desdemona's handkerchief in Act 3 Scene 3, Othello doubts Desdamona’s faithfulness and grieves by saying “O that the slave had forty thousand lives! One is too poor, too weak, for my revenge…All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven. ‘Tis gone '' The description of Othello’s love dissipating as ‘blowing to heaven’ is a metaphor that amplifies the effects of internalised prejudice on the marriage. Othello demonstrates the destructive power this can have on love and the tragic ends to which Othello is willing to go to repent this love.

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Othello’s This rage at Desdemona’s infidelity signals destmetion of his identity as a successful and loving man. It shows that he now completely loses control of himself, he no longer is that gentle man. He has become so poisoned by the manipulation of Iago, he no longer hears out for his “fair

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Olson, Rebecca. “ €Too Gentle: Jealousy and Class in Othello.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 3–25.

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Othello loses his respect and nobility when he falls right into Iago’s trap. In Act IV, an upset Othello strikes Desdemona. The Venetian gentleman, Lodovico, sees for the first time Othello behave violently. Lodovico asks,” Is this the noble Moor whom our full Senate/Call all in all sufficient?” (IV,ii,259-260).

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