Othello is a play about jealousy Essay Example for Free

Othello is a play ab kayoed green-eyed monster EssayOthello is a play about prehensiley, Iagos innate green-eyed monster and the enforce jealousy of Othello, discuss.Othello is a Shakesperian tragedy in which the valuable qualities of the roaring characters are mankindipulated against them in such a centering that their own qualities catalyse their own downf on the whole. At the erupt of the play all is well between the ingenuous Othello and sweet Desdemona until Iago slowly poisons Othellos mind until it cumulates in a rooty and murderous finale. Shakespeares plays are well notable for their examination of human emotions through drama, Romeo and Juliet examined the nature lie with, Hamlet examined the characteristic of having a weak mind, and both of these plays revea direct the dangerous aspects to extreme feelings. Othello is a play that also explores the demolition that human emotion keep lead to, and this essay shall consider the proposition that Othello is a p lay about the emotion of jealousy and its payoffs.Iago is the first cause of all the trouble in Othello. His apparent motive for wanting to oust Cassio in favour of himself is his belief that Cassio is less fit and capable of the position of lieutenant than he.Nor the function of a battle he knowsMore than a spinster, unless bookish rhetoric,Wherein the togged consuls can propose,As masterly as he. Mere prattle without practiseIn all his soldiership. Iago, Act I, scene I.The harsh sounding pr sound in the alliteration in Iagos vocabulary suggests his anger at Cassios appointment. This idea is afterward supported when Iago goes on to declare he cannot feel bed for the Moor, as he feels Othello picks officers out of favouritism. Iago feels hard done to by Othello, and the combination of these revelations indicate that Iago is jealous of Cassios new position and contemptuous towards Othello for giving it because he wanted the position for himself.He may also feel jealous because h e is considered less favourable as a person to Othello, because he scorns Othello picking his lieutenant out of favouritism. It is these feelings that rouse the desire for visit on Cassio and The Moor inside Iago, and cause him to forge the fall of his superiors. Jealous people are never happy with others fortunes and therefore can only be happy when others are misfortunate. Therefore, it is possible Iagos desire for close is spurred by his jealousy. Due to the feature Iago is the root cause of the tragic result of the play, the point that Othello is about Iagos innate jealousy seems to be well made because it is jealousy which first inspires Iago to bring misfortune to those he views to be better off than himself.Iago is not only jealous of Cassio, moreover also jealous of Othello. Similarly to the jealousy he feels for Cassio, Iago is jealous of Othellos respect and fortunate position. However, there is also evidence that Iago is jealous of Othellos relations with women. He believes that his wife has been unfaithful to him with Othello and this would rouse jealousy and contempt.And it is approximation abroad that twixt my sheetsHes done my officeIago also finds Desdemona very attractive, and perhaps reveals he wants her for himself, although Iagos precise motives are never revealed in the play.Now I do love her (Desdemona) tooNot out of absolute lust, through peradventureI stand accountant to as great as sin,But partly led to diet my r levelgeFor I do suspect the lusty MoorHath leaped In my seat Act II scene I line 280This speech can be interpreted as either meaning he loves Desdemona because he can use her as a tool in his revenge against the Moors behaviour with his wife, or perhaps interpretted as Iago admitting he wants Desdemona for himself- and his justification of this feeling being that Othello had Emilia. Either interpretation concludes that Iago hates the moor because of jealousy not only on the grounds of status and position in the army, m oreover also in terms of women too. The idea of Iagos innate jealousy of wanting Desdemona for himself would explain his behavoir of disregard for Desdemonas feelings in conspiring misfortune for Othello. Iago sees her as a whore,And Ill warrant her, full of game Iago Act II scene III line 19.And this intervention of devalueing is similar to that of psyche you want for youself and cannot break1. He is jealous of Othellos relationship with her, and thus his hatred extends to her because he feels that Desdemona should love him and thus he not only wants Othellos position, but to destroy the love he has with Desdemona because he is jealous of it. Iago would not have gone beyond his plans to simply eliminate Cassio if he had not felt passion for Desdemona, his actions to ruin her antecedent beyond military position.Another idea as to why Iago plans to eliminate Cassio and Othello is that of Coleridges suggestion of motiveless-malignity. The idea that Iago was not exactly jealous but just gained pas quantify from seeing others miserable is, in my opinion, is a stronger idea than that of Iago acting because of jealousy alone. There is evidence to suggest that Iago was not jealous of Othello supposedly having sex with his wife, but just saw it as more earth to hate him. Iago did not hate Othello because of this- but as well as this- and this suggests that Iago had no real reason to hate Othello, but his evil character enjoyed the pleasure of seeing a great man fall.I hate the MoorAnd it is thought abroad that twixt my sheetsHe has done my office Act I scene III line 385The use of AND in this speech suggests that Iago hates the Moor through separate reasons than the issue of his wife. Iagos treatment of Roderigo and Desdemona in the play also suggest that Iago is just an innately evil person rather than someone corrupted by innate jealousy. Roderigo and Desdemona have transact faith in honest Iago, and he abuses their trust and incorporates them into his plans regardless of how he may hurtthem as individuals. O good Iago,What shall I do to encourage my lord again?Good friend, go to him Desdemona to Iago Act IV scene II line 147He has no reason to be jealous of Roderigo and Desdemona and until now he hurts them anyway, so this suggests Othello is not just about Iagos innate jealousy, but his evil ways. He knows the trouble he is causing, and indeed uses dark imagery to let out the enjoyment in the pain he creates.I havent. It is engendered. Hell and nightMust bring this monstorous birth to the worlds lightThe darkness in the actors line and the imagery of hell he uses indicates a dark cruel side in Iago and the playful romantic imagery of his evil plans proves he retracts enjoyment out of it without guilt.If consequence do but approve my dreamMy boat sails freely both with wind and steam.I believe getting so much enjoyment out of their misery is a point against Othello being about Iagos innate jealousy because jealous people tend to a ct irrationally. Iago methodically plans his actions. However, the fact Iago is so rancor could also have hardened him over the years. He seems to be jealous of anyone who is valued favourably, and resentful to anyone who values someone else more highly than himself. In this way I am of the opinion that the play is very much about Iagos innate jealousy transforming him into a bitter man who derives his only pleasure in feeling from seeing people who could be happy turn miserable. Iagos tragedy is perhaps that he can never be happy himself and so spends his life making others miserable with motiveless-malignity. However, in the book Seven, a serial killer saysI took it away because I envy your normal life detective, so it seems that envy is my sinhaving killed his victims he admits he wishes he could be normal. Jealousy and envy are closely interlinked, so if a serial killer who kills helpless victims even prefers to die because of his jealousy of normal happy people, then the fact Iago shows no remorse perhaps wagers that Iago did not primarily act out of his jealousy but lust for causing pain.Othello is very much in love with Desdemona at the start of the play, he feels his soul bound to hers and has complete faith and trust in her. His soft language is almost like poetry and reveals his gentle nature.Oh my souls joyIf I were now to die,Twere now to be most happy for I business organizationMy soul hath her circumscribe so absoluteThat not another comfort like to thisSucceeds in unknown fateOthello is an old black man and Desdemona is a beautiful young Venetian girl, in Shakesperian times this would have been considered a very unconventional marriage and people would have looked down on it, at the time, black people were only associated in England with Slaves. The play, however, shows that true love in any circumstance can over power social integrity. In the starting of the play, their relationship is very solid despite the troubles that they had to go th rough to be agreeed, however Iago poisons Othellos mind into becoming a jealous monster. Desdemona originally speaks of Othello as if he is beyond jealousyMy noble MoorIs true of mind, and made of no such basenessAs jealous creature are. Desdemona Act III, scene IV.Therefore, when Othello is in the end corrupted by Iagos slowly dripping trickle of evil lies and ideas, it is a shock to Desdemona to see her husband so callous. The play is about how Othello changes from one man into a completely different one, and the cause of this is jealousy. Thus I can say that the play is about Othellos imposed jealousy. As Othello spends more and more time with Iago, he becomes almost in Iagos possession. At the beginning of the play, Othello has a musicality in his words, and speaks with such beauty and power.Amen to that, sweet powersI cannot speak enough of this contentIt stops me here it is too much of joy.His references are to God and Christianity, and he talks of sweetness, joy and content ment. Later, however, the imagery he uses in his speeches changes completely. Shakespeare uses imagery in language to portray the personalities of characters, and thus, a change in Othellos speeches indicates a change in personality.Damn her Lewd Minx. O damn her, damn herCome, go with me apart, I forget withdrawTo furnish me with some swift means of deathFor the fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant Act III, scene IV.The imagery he uses here is that of darkness and hell. These are similar to Iagos imagery repetition of hell. Shakespeare makes a connection between Iagos hellish imagery and Iagos possessing of Othello. Witchcraft in Shakespeares time had more social stigma attached to it than in 2002 Britain, therefore, Shakespeare was making strong linkages between Iago and evil, stronger than how we would interpret it today. The almost hellish possession of Othello by Iago leads to the end result, and thus the imposed jealousy of Othello by Iago is a main part of what the play is about.Psychologist Emma Goldman states on jealousyJealousy, the contortions of which we see in the matrimonial tragedies and comedies, is invariably a one-sided, bigoted accuser, convinced(p) of his own righteousness and the meanness, cruelty and guilt of the victim. Jealousy does not attempt to understand. Its one desire is to punishas severely as possiblehonour is restored as soon as blood is shed, either that of the man or the woman. From the archives of the New York public library.This description is essentially what Othello goes through and basically summarises the play. Othellos imposed jealousy is different to Iagos innate jealousy because while Iago appears to be jealous of people who merely have the capacity within them to be happy, Othello appears jealous of Cassio and suspicious of Desedemona because he genuinely thinks they do him wrong. This can lead to the interpretation that Othello was never indeed jealous.Coleridge believed that Othello was indeed not jealous.Let me repeat, that Othello does not kill Desdemona in jealousy, but in a conviction pressure upon him by the almost superhuman art of Iago, such a conviction as any man would have entertained who had believed Iagos honesty as Othello had Notes on Othello, ColeridgeColeridge is saying here that Othello was not jealous of Cassio, or unnecessarily suspicious of Desdemona, but in fact just severely hurt. Iago is repeatedly referred to as honest throughout the play, and even his own wife Emilia did not suspect him of such evil acts. Therefore, because Othello is such a believing and trusting person, he had no element within himself that questioned the honest Iago, with whom he was on first name friendly terms with.Othello was not jealous when he killed Desdemona, but in fact felt it was the only way in which he could regain his respect. In Shakespearian times, the man whose wife was unfaithful would be labelled a cuckold. It was a huge public disgrace to the man as well as an emotional str ain, and Othello, being proud, did not take this well, thus he killed the woman he loved not out of jealousy, but out of solemn agony. Without Desdemona, and with the knowledge that someone he loved so deeply had betrayed him, Othello felt in despair. view where he comes. Not poppy, nor mandragora,Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,Shall ever medicine thee to sweet sleepWhich thou owedst yesterday Iago of Othello Act III scene III, line 329.In this way we can see that Othello is not just a play about jealousy, but it is also a play about trust and deception. Othello should have believed Desdemona but the seemingly honest Iago used everyones good traits against them, and caused the bloody mess single handedly.To conclude, Othello is perhaps a play about the innate jealousy of Iago, however, I am left unsure about the precise motives Iago has. I tend to agree with Coleridge, that Iago is motivated simple by the direst cruelty, although there is substantial evidence, such as his be haviour towards people who seem happier than himself, that Iago suffers from innate jealousy aswell.The play to me, seems to be more about mistrust, and the tragedy that Othello believes Iago over his wife. The fact Othello is so quick to inquiry both his love and his best friend also suggests that Othello has a weakness in character judgement and solidarity of emotion. However, Iago was a very intelligent manipulator, and had luck on his side, to create a catharsis of emotion which drives Othello to kill his beloved, and how Iago manages to do this, is essentially what the play is about. It leaves the open question for me, that did even Shakespeare not know exactly what control Iago, did the writer have doubts, or was he just unable to convey such a complex character within the confines of a play.1 It is a psychological theory that if someone/something you love is unreachable, your mind will automatically begin to devalue them to ease the pain of not having that person/thing. It is easier to accept a whore does not love you than to accept a genuine pure girl does not love you.