Othello Themes Essay - 1946 Words

Othello: Themes How many themes course through the Shakespearean tragedy Othello? Let us in this essay analyze the variety and depth of the themes in this play. Lily B. Campbell in Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroes indicates that hate is the theme on which this play opens: It is then on a theme of hate that the play opens. It is a hate of inveterate anger. It is a hate that is bound up with envy. Othello has preferred to be his lieutenant a military theorist, one Michael Cassio, over the experienced soldier Iago, to whom has fallen instead the post of â€Å"his Moorship’s ancient†. Roderigo questions Iago: Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hate. And the reply is a torrent of proof of the†¦show more content†¦Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† sees this play as a study in sexual jealousy: Othello is not a study in pride, egoism, or self-deception: its subject is sexual jealousy, loss of faith in a form which involves the whole personality at the profound point where body meets spirit. The solution which Othello cannot accept is Iago’s: ‘Put up with it.’ This is as impossible as that Hamlet should, like Claudius, behave as if the past were done with and only the present mattered. . . . (144) Of course, jealousy of a different type also torments the antagonist, the ancient, to the point that he ruins those around him and himself. Francis Ferguson in â€Å"Two Worldviews Echo Each Other† describes how there is no cure for the jealous passion that rules Iago’s life: On the contrary, in the â€Å"world† of his philosophy and his imagination, where his spirit lives, there is no cure for passion. He is, behind his mask, as restless as a cage of those cruel and lustful monkeys that he mentions so often. It has been pointed out that he has no intelligible plan for destroying Othello, and he never asks himself what good it will do him to ruin so many people. It is enough for him that he â€Å"hates† the Moor. . . .(133) Act 1 Scene 1 opens with an expression of jealousy and hatred: Roderigo is upbraiding Iago because of the elopement of the object of his affections –Desdemona -- with the Moor: â€Å"Thou told’st me thou didst hold himShow MoreRelatedThemes in Othello Essays994 Words   |  4 PagesThemes in Shakespeares Othello Throughout Shakespeares play, Othello, there are many themes interwoven to describe the authors perspective of the true nature of a mans soul. Three themes critical to the play are doubt versus trust, monstrous imagery and the fallible love of man. One central theme of the play is the major contrast of doubt versus trust. For whatever reason, Othellos trust of Desdemona is too weak to resist Iagos accusations. As happens in many of Shakespeares works, miscommunicationRead MoreTheme Of Manipulation In Othello806 Words   |  4 Pagesstudents, Shakespeare’s great tragedy ‘Othello’ sparks an interest in the audience as it represents the destructive nature that manipulation, deception and jealousy has on personal relationships. Focusing on Act 1 Scene 1 we will explore the catalytic natures of manipulation, deception jealousy, as well as the overall significance the scene harbours as the crux of the play, representing many ideas foreshadowing of what is to come throughout the rest of ‘Othello’. Shakespeare sets the scene on theRead MoreThemes In Othello Essay2144 Words   |  9 Pagesalso be found as a link on the â€Å"Othello Song† document in the class folder. Centre Square Assignment 1. 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Bradley, in his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, describes the theme of sexual jealousy in Othello:    But jealousy, and especially sexual jealousy, brings with it a sense of shameRead MoreThe Theme Of Evil In Shakespeares Othello2010 Words   |  9 Pageshimself? Is Iago evil? Essentially, Iago could be described as the central trouble-making, ill-willed character of the play; he leads a lot of the characters into a state of confusion, convincing them to think poorly and wrong of other figures in Othello that are in fact innocent of their accused crimes. But does this make him an evil individual? Let us begin by defining the word evil. An evil person may be considered as somebody who condones bad or morally wrong activities that cause ruin,Read MoreEssay on The Variety of Themes in Othello2340 Words   |  10 PagesThe Variety of Themes in Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Shakespearean tragedy Othello the number and description of themes is open to discussion. With the help of literary critics, we can analyze this subject in detail.    In the essay â€Å"Wit and Witchcraft: an Approach to Othello† Robert B. Heilman discusses the ancient’s instinctive reaction to the love-theme of the play:    Before coming directly to the forming of the love-theme that differentiates Othello from other Shakespeare playsRead MoreThemes Of Shakespeare s Othello2113 Words   |  9 PagesCentre Square Assignment 1. Themes in Othello Love - Othello says, â€Å"For know Iago, // But that I love the gentle Desdemona, // I would not my unhoused free condition // Put into circumscription and confine // For the sea’s worth.†(Shakespeare, I.ii.24-27) This quote supports the theme of love found in the play Othello by William Shakespeare. This can be seen in how invested Othello seems to be emotionally when speaking about Desdemona. An aspect of love is already present in the fact thatRead More The Theme of Control in Shakespeares Othello Essay996 Words   |  4 Pages The Theme of Control in Othellonbsp;nbsp; nbsp; Throughout history, powerful empires with boundless control have had a tendency to fall victim to corruption. It is common knowledge, among political scientists and historians, that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. William Shakespeares Othello, the Moor of Venice (reprinted in Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 6th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993] 1060-1147) contains several