...In Othello, Shakespeare develops an indecisive tone through the use of dramatic irony and metaphors in order to characterize Othello as tentative. In the soliloquy, Shakespeare develops an indecisive tone by using metaphors to further characterize Othello as tentative. Shakespeare utilizes this soliloquy to employ metaphors which reveal Othello’s uncertainty after being told that Desdemona is unfaithful. The tone which is also evident within the soliloquy helps to further develop the uncertainty seen in Othello spawning from Iago’s dishonesty. In the beginning, Othello exclaims that if Desdemona is cheating and that “though that her jesses were my dear heartstrings, / I’ld whistle her off and let her down the wind, / To pray at fortune”(Shakespeare 3.3. 302-305). This metaphor, telling of Othello’s still existent love but need to expel Desdemona, illustrates how Othello is unsure of the news when he claims he still is in love with Desdemona. It also characterizes him as tentative because of the uncertainty that she is unfaithful and the actions he would take to resolve an affair. Next, Othello ends his soliloquy when he makes the statement that “Even this forked plague is fated to us / When we do quicken”(3.3. 317-318). Othello is reminiscing on idea...
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...the Shakespearean tragedy “Othello” written by William Shakespeare, the themes that’s being portrayed are honour and gender, through the play the audience if captivated by the characters choices and motives through the play. With the characters choices they help to make the play more understandable as the audience can recognise the tragic hero in both the plays. The relationships between men and women in Othello are remarked as lesser then men. Iago often refers to his wife as a prostitute - "A house wife that by selling her desires, Buys herself bread and clothes (iv.i.95)” showing what type of relationship women and men had during the late 16th century. Women were generally considered obedient, respectful, kind and warm. They were never outspoken nor were they meant to, for it could be seen as a lack of loyalty. When Othello accused Desdemona of cheating on him, he found himself in a position that he didn't want to face with. Othello was emasculated with the thought of a woman disobeying him. Men were easily manipulated into thinking the worst of woman because they were certain it would never happen. However, when the slightest things start to be pointed out the characters start to over analyse. Woman were not on the same level as men; men talked down to woman, they didn’t see them as equals nor think that they should be treated like one. This relates to Othello and Desdemona’s relationship – she “betrayed” their marriage by cheating so when Othello found out he reacted by saying...
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...Literature Paper 3: Othello How are conflicts between the individual and society presented in the play, Othello? In drama terms, the definition of conflict is the opposition between characters or forces that motivates or structure the action of the plot. In Othello, the conflicts between the individual and society are manifested through the conflicts between friends and enemies, Othello’s inner conflict, cultural and racial disparities which lead to racial discrimination. In this play, society precedence over the individual as the society somehow has forces to control the individual. takes Shakespeare uses techniques such as contrast, soliloquys, dramatic irony, syntax rhythm to achieve this. As a foreigner, Othello is an individual who is discriminated by the society he lives in which is dominated by white Venetians. Though he is a respectable general, he is still regarded as an outsider. In the beginning of the play, Iago presents Othello as a misfit in Venetian society because of different race and skin tone. This is seen through the snide remarks about Othello. “…an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe…” (1.1.88-89) This dramatic incongruity between Othello as the “old black ram” and Desdemona as the “white ewe” emphasises the Othello’s otherness. Through the antithesis-the contrasting light and dark imagery-we see the racial conflict between Othello (individual) and the Venetian society. The conflict between Othello and Brabantio is a microcosm of the conflict...
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...ALLEGOR AND IRONY IN 'OTHELLO' Y ANTOINETT B. DAUBER E Othello is Shakespeare's Spenserian tragedy, in which the theme of slandere d chastity becomes a vehicle for exploring the problems of an allegorica l art . Allegory is the mode of selfconscious faith, and Spenser's corpus may be rea d as a portrai t of the artis t as allegorist , wrestling first with the burdens of selfconsciousness and then with the burdens of faith.l In Othello, Shakespeare compresses and objectifies this struggle. Unlike Spenser, he is not committed to the maintenance of allegory, and so he freely dramatizes the interna l weaknesses and external onslaughts that lead to its destruction. What I am calling the 'Spenserian ' quality begins with the chivalric elements in the tragedy. Truly, Othello is a kind of Savage Knight, Desdemona, the absolutely, almost miraculously, worthy lady, and Iago, something of a manipulator like Archimago.2 But more particularl y I would call attention to a specific engagement with Spenserian rhetoric . Consider Cassio' s words of welcome to the disembarking Desdemona: Tempests themselves, high seas, and howling winds, The gutter'd rocks and congregated sands, Traitors ensteep'd to enclog the guiltless keel, As having sense of beauty, do omit Their mortal natures, letting go safely by The divine Desdemona. (2.1.68-73)3 He sets her in the line of Spenser's heavenly allegories . As a parallel , we may recal l Una , slandere d by the arch-magician , abandone d by 123 her...
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...In the play Othello none of the characters ever try to find out what's going on for themselves. Instead they listen to rumor and hearsay, this is what makes this play a tragedy. From the very beginning of the play we see the characters trust Iago to a ridiculous extent. For example Roderigo has been promised by Iago that he will use the money he's receiving to help him win Desdemona. We as the reader know he is lying, but Roderigo does not. “Tush, never tell me! I take it much unkindly/ That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse/ As if the strings were thine, shouldst know this.” (pg 15) It's very strange that he is willing to give Iago so much money without trying to find out where it is going until he has given Iago almost everything he has....
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...individuals, it seems only obvious that Shakespeare who is renowned for his exploration of universal themes chooses to explore the determents of these desires for the individuals and their relationships in his play Othello. The strive to acquire or retain authority and control is explored through the dynamics between the main male characters- Othello and Iago. Shakespeare initially employs binary characterization of these two, Iago depicted as power- hungry and the personification of evil with a strong hatred towards Othello. This characterisation is established early in the play when Iago states to Roderigo...
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...character’s personality and actions affect the fate of the other characters. A point much contested by critics is how Shakespeare presents Othello himself: some, such as A.C. Bradley, hold the view that the General is a noble tragic hero, whereas F.R. Leavis would contradict this by claiming Othello to be a weak man whose fatal flaw is jealousy. Iago is a key instrument in Othello’s downfall and uses deception to plant the idea of Desdemona’s infidelity. He adroitly persuades Othello to accept this idea in a very short length of time. Shakespeare first uses Iago to develop the theme of perception when Iago hints at the topic of Desdemona’s supposed affair in 3:3. Iago then claims to have asked about Cassio ‘But for a satisfaction of my thought’. The idea of ‘thinking' is repeated many times after this, and is significant because of the way Shakespeare has the characters appear to perceive each other – for example how people see Iago, who is mentioned many times to be ‘honest’ – Othello even says ‘I know thou’rt full of love and honesty’ – and this dramatic irony allows him to successfully carry out his deception. The audience alone knows he is untrustworthy until late in the play, as he appears to be helping each character while actually stirring negativity between them. This ‘motiveless malignity’, as claimed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, leads Othello to murder Desdemona. However, some would disagree with critics who claim Iago to be a simple, average bad character concocting trouble:...
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...towards depictions of tragedy, be they real or fictitious, as they present the darker aspects of human nature without dwelling too far into them oneself. The concept of betrayal is explored in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello: The Moor of Venice, wherein the characters are faced with the consequences...
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...often associated with virtue, courage and valour. Within Othello, Shakespeare questions the meaning behind heroism and admirability in the context of a Venetian society, in which the play is set. Through the tragic descent of Othello’s composure and his actions, the audience is left to wonder whether or not his virtue and presentation as an admirable general and hero, actually exists. Act 1 of the play presents Othello's decisions and behaviour as the epitome of virtue and valour, showing him as a high statured character - the definition of a tragic hero in Aristotelian methods, as it demands a character of greatness to suffer the greatest downfall. Although not necessarily presented as high born, he is deemed to be virtuous through his military prowess and well articulated speech; this however may be argued by the drastic change of fate within act 3 where Othello’s so called ‘valiant’ image is challenged by Iago’s ‘pestilence’ whispered with his own mind which can be seen through his brash actions and broken language, additionally it can be argued that Othello can be deemed dishonourable in his own actions in the first act of the play by his unblessed marriage to Desdemona; therefore the overall presentation and view over Othello is left to debate. Through Shakespeare’s use of dramatic methods, we as the audience are thrown straight into the action of scene 1,in the form of in media res; it is Iago that announces Othello to the audience as a ‘black ram’ and a ‘devil’, casting...
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...English essay: How does Browning and Shakespeare present jealousy in the poem 'the laboratory' and 'Othello' Jealousy is described as someone who is showing envy usually of someone because of their achievements or advantages, jealousy plays a major role in both Othello and the laboratory. throughout the both of them jealousy is used for destructive purposes only. as an audience we are led to feel that both jealousies are motivated not by hatred but by the passion for one another, crazy as that may seem. Shakespeare uses jealousy as a central theme throughout the play, without this aggressive and destructive emotion, there would be no solid plot. Shakespeare often refers to jealousy as a devouring emotion "Beware, my lord of jealousy! it is the green eyed monster which doth mock, the meat it feeds on" this fits extremely well with Iago's description of Othello being "beaten up with passion". This suggests exactly how strong Othello's monumental jealousy really is, once Othello becomes aware that his wife is unfaithful, Iago continues to feed his jealousy which causes Othello to indeed behave like a monster. however, its dramatic irony that Iago says this to Othello. the audience knows that Iago is perhaps the one "eaten up" with jealousy and Othello is none the wiser he holds; the form of personal and professional jealousy. The jealousy that is portrayed in 'Othello' is very similar to the one portrayed in Browning's poem The Laboratory, it explores the theme of relationship...
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...relationship between manipulation and jealousy, and its eventual culmination into Othello’s descent into insanity. The scene opens with an emotional and dramatic soliloquy from Othello in which he marvels at Desdemona’s beauty and attempts to validate his supposed honourable intent in murdering her. This passage is significant in augmenting the reader’s comprehension of Othello’s emotional conflictions as demonstrated through his constant oscillation between a yearning for vengeance and his lingering feelings of love. Othello’s experiences of internal struggle is seen in the repetition of “It is the cause” (5:2:1,3)....
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...However, in the play, “Othello” by William Shakespeare, honesty works hand in hand with irony. The word itself, “honest” shows up repeatedly throughout the play. The word “honesty” is ironic and works to deconstruct the play and is mostly untruthful when used in the play. It is used to make the reader aware of a character’s true personality, not the personality that the other characters see in the play. The most common usage of the words honest and honesty throughout the play are in regards to Iago. Iago uses his reputation as an honest man, to manipulate the ones around him and watch them suffer. Othello considers him to be “Honest Iago” (I.iii.290). Each character describes him as truthful, trustworthy, honest and full of love. Iago states, “O wretched fool, that lov’st make thine honesty a vice!” (III.iii.385). He says that being honest can be harmful and those who are honest are fools. By saying his, he is referring to himself as a fool. When he says, “I’ll love no friends sith love breeds such offence,” he portrays himself as someone loyal who would never lie to anyone, especially not Othello, someone of a military rank (III.iii). However, this is dramatic irony because the reader knows that Iago is in fact a villain, and becomes frustrated with the ignorance of the characters knowledge of Iago and the frequent use of the word. Every dishonest fact that Iago tries to convince to each character is another lie towards his destructive plan to have Othello kill Desdemona. Honest...
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...Othello – Summary of Act I. Shakespeare's famous play of love turned bad by unfounded jealousy, begins in Venice with Iago, a soldier under Othello's command arguing with Roderigo, a wealthy Venetian. Roderigo has paid Iago a considerable sum of money to spy on Othello for him, since he wishes to take Othello's girlfriend, Desdemona as his own. Roderigo fears that Iago has not been telling him enough about Desdemona and that this proves Iago's real loyalty is to Othello not him. Iago explains his hatred of Othello for choosing Cassio as his officer or lieutenant and not him as he expected. To regain Roderigo's trust, Iago and Roderigo inform Brabantio, Desdemona's father of her relationship with Othello, the "Moor" which enrages Brabantio into sending parties out at night to apprehend Othello for what must obviously be in Brabantio's eyes, an abuse of his daughter by Othello... Iago lies that Roderigo and not himself, was responsible for angering Brabantio against Othello, Iago telling Othello that he should watch out for Brabantio's men who are looking for him. Othello decides not to hide, since he believes his good name will stand him in good stead. We learn that Othello has married Desdemona. Brabantio and Roderigo arrive, Brabantio accusing Othello of using magic on his daughter. Othello stops a fight before it can happen but Othello is called away to discuss a crisis in Cypress, much to the anger of Brabantio who wants justice for what he believes Othello has done...
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...> Compare the way writers present the forces of destructive love in Othello, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and A View from the Bridge. > > Shakespeare, Hardy and Miller present the forces destructive love in a variety of different ways, key ways include; through the use of literary terminology, representation of characters and symbolic themes of culture/society at the time. It is often portrayed within a mixture of other categories of love; patriarchal, romantic and unrequited intertwined with the most prominent themes of fate, family and tragedy. > > In terms of form, structure and context; Shakespeare has chosen the form of a play for his story of Othello therefore being divided into Acts and Scenes which develops the undertone of drama allowing for 'cliffhanger' endings, which when portrayed in the theater is positively reviewed by the audience. For example the first known performance in November 1604 at Whitehall Palace, which then created widespread delight causing the play to move across England. Perhaps the play was so greatly beloved due to the time in which it was written, as it came into the Jacobean period (when King James I ruled England) as the period of delight during Elizabethan times (due to War Victory) was over and so the tone of the play will be keeping well with the tone of the time between the reigns. It will also be coinciding with the theme of War as the play is set in the backdrop of Wars between Venice and Turkey when in reality the Spanish Armada will...
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...How is the concept of the outsider represented in Othello? An outsider is someone that is not fully accepted by society. They tend to be shunned and excluded, deemed different and a threat. Outsiders don’t conform to society’s values and beliefs and the concept of this is represented in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’. In this tragedy, the Outsider alienates themselves by going against sixteenth century attitudes about sex, gender, and race. Shakespeare comments on how a society excludes and mistreats someone different from the paradigm that defines the Venetian society. The tragic figure, Desdemona, is an example of this concept and her actions, and the actions of people around her ultimately doom her. Desdemona is portrayed as a beautiful, young, Venetian woman. She is first set as an outsider when she chooses to marry an old, black man, Othello over young, wealthy, white Venetians. Interracial marriage was highly uncommon and looked down upon. This is clearly shown when Iago makes racial comments about Othello, “Even now, now, very now an old black ram is tupping your white ewe”. Iago’s use of black and white imagery degrades Othello and gives the impression that he has defiled the pure ‘white ewe’, Desdemona. Iago clearly doesn’t approve and sees the union of black and white as a bestial one. Shakespeare uses repetition (now, now, very now) to emphasise the particular idea that what is happening is shocking. Shakespeare is deliberately startling and troubling the audience, using...
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