Othellos Diverse Themes Essay - 1947 Words

Othello’s Diverse Themes Othello is one of William Shakespeare’s tragedies which thrives on a group of themes. Let’s see if we can sort them out and determine the dominant ones from the lesser ones. The pain which the audience experiences is no accident, but rather one of the themes written into the play. Critic Caroline Spurgeon in â€Å"Shakespeare’s Imagery and What it Tells Us† explains the significant contribution which imagery makes to the theme of pain and unpleasantness running through the play: The main image in Othello is that of animals in action, preying upon one another, mischievous, lascivious, cruel or suffering, and through these, the general sense of pain and unpleasantness is much increased†¦show more content†¦Nor is this all. Such jealousy as Othello’s converts human nature into chaos, and liberates the beast in man; and it does this in relation to one of the most intense and also the most ideal of human feelings. (169) Of course, jealousy of a non-sexual nature 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: 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 him in thy hate.† Iago responds with an expression of hatred, saying that he does indeed hate the general because he â€Å"Nonsuits my mediators; for, ‘Certes,’ says he, / ‘I have already chose my officer.’† Lily B. Campbell in Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroes indicates the palpable hatred: It is then on a theme ofShow MoreRelatedOthello, By William Shakespeare1599 Words   |  7 PagesVenetian Senator Brabantio. Shakespeare undoubtedly positions the marriage to be viewed as heroic and noble, despite Othello’s hamartia and subsequent downfall that inevitably occurs. Their marriage is then sabotaged by the jealous Iago, Othello’s ensign and villain of the play. While Iago’s ostensible justification for instigating Othello’s demise was his failure to acquire Othello’s position as lieutenant, Iago’s motives are rarely directly articulated and seem to derive from an obsessive, almostRead MoreOthello Analysis838 Words   |  4 Pageslater in the essay. The audience views characters in Othello in many different ways especially when dramatic irony causes the reader/audience to view a character differently than what another character in the drama may thing of them. Othello is very diverse play in which is holds many different element s but also gives the audience a chance interpret the story. First lets discuss the elements that are found in this drama. Symbolism is used a couple different times in the drama. 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Iago is intent on destroying Othello’s sense of honor and reducing him to a bestial state. Iago views Othello as a beast masquerading in warrior’s dress. He wants to return Othello to what he believes to be his natural bestial state, and he realizes that to achieve this goal he must dupe Othello into violating his code of honor. Ironically, as Iago tries to unmask Othello’s bestiality, it is the beast within Iago that is exposedRead More Othello’s Diversity of Imagery Essay2781 Words   |  12 PagesOthello’s Diversity of Imagery  Ã‚        Ã‚   The diverse imagery found in Shakespeare’s drama Othello represents a world all by itself. And this world of imagery contributes to the prevailing sentiment of pain and suffering and unpleasantness.    There is no shortage of imagery in the play; this is for certain. Critic Caroline Spurgeon in â€Å"Shakespeare’s Imagery and What it Tells Us† sorts through the plethora of imagery in the play:    The main image in Othello is that of animals inRead MoreExposing Racism in William Shakespeare’s Othello Essay2036 Words   |  9 Pages The infectious discrimination of Elizabethan racists is derived from fear unnatural a racist’s hate plagues a vulnerable community of black slaves, with religion and war corrupting diverse cultures in the attempts to purify the existence of sin. This enlightening argument of what inspires William Shakespeare’s to compose the play Othello contaminates romantic relationships, Before the integration of black-skinned people into Elizabethan culture, Christian ideology coalesce Satan’s appearance withRead MoreOthello by William Shakespeare: An Epic Play Worth Reading1406 Words   |  6 Pagesbetween Love and Evil. While reading Othello, one encounters such diverse and dynamic characters as, Othello, Desdemona, Rodergio, Iago, and Cassio. These characters are all affected, in some way either by jealousy, or manipulated by Iago to feel jealousy. The literary techniques that Shakespeare uses to advance the theme of â€Å"Jealousy ultimately destroys those affected by it,† are: characterization and personification. Another theme that also pops up in Othello is â€Å"Good vs. Evil† because there areRead MoreEssay on The Other in William Shakespeares Othello2354 Words   |  10 PagesThe Other in William Shakespeares Othello In several of Shakespeares plays the writer introduces the notion of being considered an other, and whether certain groups are in or out. This theme is significantly portrayed in the play Othello, in which a black general living in Venice must constantly struggle to balance his dual nature of both Moor and Venetian. It is apparent that before the play begins, Othello has not yet resolved his duplicitous self-image; however, throughout the