StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

The character of Othello - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The character of Othello. The character of Othello is quite difficult to sum up because it comprises a number of different elements which stand in contradiction to each other, making him appear inconsistent at times. The other soldiers in the play make much of his Moorish origins, which means that he has “thick lips” (Act I, Scene 1) signifying African features, and he is unflatteringly compared to “an old black ram” (Act I, Scene 1) because of his love for the fair Desdemona…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.1% of users find it useful
The character of Othello
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The character of Othello"

Download file to see previous pages

He is proud, and a good husband, but he is vulnerable to the vicious slanders of others who resent his presence among them. Othello himself is obviously deeply loved by Desdemona, and he claims that “She loved me for the dangers I had passed” (Act I, Scene 3), which Desdemona agrees with. He is highly thought of as a soldier, and apart from Iago, most people respect him for his achievements. Part of the crisis that occurs in this play has to do with the social context of a non-Christian outsider coming in to Western society and taking on high position in court and the hand in marriage of a desirable white woman.

Diyanni puts the blame for Othello’s downfall squarely on the influence of Iago: “Othello’s language later in the play reveals his decline from a courageous and confident leader to a jealous lover distracted to madness by Iago’s insinuations about his wife’s infidelity” (DiYanni, 2004, p. 927). It is true that Othello is driven to distraction by the second-hand tales of assignations between Desdemona and her alleged lover Cassio. One criticism that could be made of Othello is that he is not a very good judge of character.

He is duped by Iago, and he accepts the account of events that he is given, and the piece of evidence in the form of the missing napkin is enough to convince him that something untoward has happened. The way he goes about finding out the truth is deceitful, since he makes up an excuse to ask Desdemona about the napkin, and this shows that he is gullible, and easily led when it comes to matters of romance. Desdemona is a feisty woman, but she shows admirable deference to her husband’s authority.

It is a pity that he did not trust her word and give her the same loyalty and respect that she gave to him. The real tragedy of Othello’s character is that he jumps to a wrong conclusion and kills his wife in haste, not because he hates her, but because he loves her, and he has built his whole life, and his military career, on being a good and upright husband to her. Seeing her run off with someone else would make other people laugh at him, and he is extremely angry, even to the point of cursing her with the words “Damn her, lewd minx!

Oh damn her, damn her!” (Act III, Scene 4). He is deeply hurt, because he thinks she has deceived him, despite all their vows and his absolute loyalty and commitment to her. There is a violent side to Othello, and he imagines all kinds of ways of killing her, with an emphasis on destroying her beauty and emphasizing his power over her. Although this reaction is very extreme, it is also understandable, and even in modern times the newspapers are full of stories of masculine rage being taken out on former partners when relationships break up.

It is very human to feel this way, and the audience can identify at least with how he feels, even if they do not agree with what he does about that feeling. There is evidence in the last scene that Othello comes to realize his error, not just in distrusting his wife, but also in thinking ill of other people involved in the story. Even though he is not a Christian, he displays all the features of a Christian penance, asking forgiveness of Cassio, and admitting that he has done something terribly wrong.

He mentions the fact that he

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The character of Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
The character of Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1450718-othello
(The Character of Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
The Character of Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/english/1450718-othello.
“The Character of Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1450718-othello.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The character of Othello

Othello the Moor of Venice

Cursory analysis of othello B.... Aristotle's concept of tragedy is based on a sum total of a few essential fundamentals that are a complex plot with a suitable beginning middle and the end, organic unity, appropriate length, the unities of time and place, apt relationship between the character and plot, goodness, consistency of characterization, hamartia, peripity, anagnorisis or discovery, feelings of pity and fear and catharsis.... othello, the Moor of Venice, as a Tragedy Name of the Student Subject Name of the Concerned Professor March 8, 2011 Thesis Statement Aristotle's Poetics a pamphlet of about fifty pages, incomplete, ill preserved and unsystematic, has proved a book of perennial interest for students of literature....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Othello as a Tragic Hero

When analysing The character of Othello on this ground, one can see that Othello is a renowned and prosperous general who meets his tragic doom not because of misfortune but a flaw in his character, namely, his growing jealously.... The description Othello as a noble general in the play has often been viewed as an apt judgement about The character of Othello by many critics.... Therefore, one can certainly assume that the construction of the character of a tragic hero is so complicated that one has to engage in a great endeavour to judge or evaluate the intricacies in the creation of such a popular character like Othello....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Three men who have played othello

One of the major differences that have been seen in The character of Othello has been his race.... In this article we are going to discuss how Orson Welles, Ira Aldridge and Tommaso Salvini have represented The character of Othello.... Orson Welles was a white actor who takes the role of othello.... Iran Aldridge was the first black actor to take up the role of othello.... This was a better portray of othello considering that he was believed to be black in the original play....
3 Pages (750 words) Research Paper

A Shakespearian Stage History: The Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice

In that sense The character of Othello shares one more common trait with Shakespeare's tragic heroes and that is his unshaken courage and his indomitable will, which he not only evinces in facing the hardships that he comes across in life, but also in meeting his death with a sense of poise and a marked manliness.... Name of the Student World Literature Name of the Concerned Professor 25 July 2013 A Shakespearian Stage History: The Tragedy of othello, the Moore of Venice There is no denying the fact that there happen to be only two nations that have distinguished themselves in the sphere of tragedy, which are the Greeks and the English....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Othello the Moor of Venice as a Tragedy

istotle's concept of tragedy is based on a sum total of a few essential fundamentals that are a complex plot with a suitable beginning middle and the end, organic unity, appropriate length, the unities of time and place, apt relationship between the character and plot, goodness, consistency of characterization, hamartia, peripity, anagnorisis or discovery, feelings of pity and fear and catharsis.... Based on the parameters as established by Aristotle for a worthy tragedy, William Shakespeare's othello, the Moor of Venice is an ideal Aristotelian tragedy....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

A Study of William Shakespeare's Othello

However, when the play's setting moves to Cyprus, a different side of othello is seen.... he character of OthelloOthello is the general of the army of Venice, and he is the main character in the play.... The main characters in the play are othello; the play is named after him, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia and Cassio.... On the other hand, the supporting… This paper presents a study of William Shakespeare's “othello”. Different characters in the play display how their intentions are strikingly driven by passion instead of reason....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

Othello by Shakespeare

The character of Othello in the play cannot truly be considered as an independent one.... The complexity of The character of Othello has led to opposed views of him and to significantly different interpretations of his intentions.... Through The character of Othello, Shakespeare explores in some depth the theme of the outsider, how his integrity and secure identity can be undermined within an unfamiliar culture.... This book review "Othello by Shakespeare" analyzes a complex and controversial character of othello as he leaves it to readers to decide his intentions and inner feelings....
7 Pages (1750 words) Book Report/Review

Shakespeares Othello The Moore of Venice as a Tragedy

The author of the present research paper "Shakespeares Othello The Moore of Venice as a Tragedy" brings out that critics overtime had made controversial remarks regarding The character of Othello.... nbsp;Some critics support othello as a true tragic hero, some critics cannot truly qualify his status.... hellip; According to Bradley, “There is practically no doubt that othello was the tragedy written next after Hamlet”, “[and it] is the most painfully exciting and the most terrible” (Bradley, 1905 p....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us