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Othello
When Othello finally recognizes that Desdemona was not, as he has been led to believe by Iago, "false as water," he is very distressed and feels he must be punished for what he has done, crying...
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Othello
Brabantio, in Shakespeare's Othello, is the father of Desdemona, the woman whom Othello has just married at the beginning of the play. Brabantio also happens to be a Venetian senator. Iago explains...
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Othello
Emilia is generally considered to be a foil for Desdemona in this play, where their differing characters contrast and illuminate each other. Emilia is older, wiser, and cynical about men and their...
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Othello
In act 5, scene 1, Iago's plan leads to both Roderigo and Cassio being stabbed in a scuffle. Roderigo is dead at Iago's hands; Cassio is merely wounded. At the end of the scene, Iago tells Emilia,...
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Othello
Like many of Shakespeare's major characters, Iago is both an individual and a larger-than-life personification of one or more abstract qualities, in his case power-lust and envy. Throughout the...
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Othello
Othello's non-European background can be said to result in perceptions of him by the other characters that are paradoxically both negative and positive. Desdemona's love for him, as she states...
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Othello
Despite the fact that he is black and discriminated against, Othello's skill as a general has helped him achieve a high rank in Venetian society. He is referred to by the Duke of Venice as "Valiant...
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Othello
Initially, Othello is a pretty self-confident character. He's absolutely certain that he's the finest soldier in Venice and that, in the shape of Desdemona, he has a loyal, loving wife. Yet after...
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Othello
It is difficult to posit any evidence that justifies Iago's actions in Othello. At the beginning of the play, he explains to Roderigo why he has decided to torture and deceive Othello: he feels...
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Othello
An interesting question! If you are asking why the play should be titled Iago, I can understand why. As a major character, Iago dominates nearly every important scene in the play. It is also Iago's...
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Othello
Iago has already made it perfectly clear just how much he hates Othello. Yet he still follows him. The reason he gives is that it will allow him the opportunity to carry out his revenge more...
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Othello
In the play, Othello doesn't really hate Cassio until Iago manipulates him into doing so. Essentially, Iago is the one who plants in Othello's mind the idea of Cassio having an affair with...
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Othello
There are several instances of irony in this scene. First of all, there is dramatic irony in Desdemona's remarks to Cassio that she will "do all [her] abilities in [his] behalf," coupled with the...
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Othello
Line 119 is a good start to figuring out what Desdemona thinks about Iago. She bluntly calls him a slanderer. She does not even waste time saying it with flowery language either. She just accuses...
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Othello
In act I, scene 3 of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Othello, Othello explains the reasons for his love for Desdemona and her love for him. He explains that Desdemona "lov'd me for the dangers I had...
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Othello
From the outset of the play, it is clear that Iago has no love for Othello. He bitterly resents him for a number of reasons—not least of which is his being passed over for promotion. Iago reveals...
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Othello
The play opens with Iago and Roderigo conspiratorially discussing the Moor, in darkness; the tone of the opening scene, in which Iago declares that "in following the Moor, I follow but myself,"...
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Othello
According to Othello, Iago is the man of honesty. In Act One, Scene 3, Othello tells the Duke that Iago is a man of honesty and trust. Shortly after complimenting his officer, Iago enters the...
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Othello
The Tragedy of Othello is a play full of betrayals, and Iago's treatment of Roderigo is just one example of Iago's capacity for treacherous behavior. Roderigo is not characterized as a very...
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Othello
A good place to start such an essay might begin with a definition of the term, “tragic hero,” as defined by Aristotle in Poetics, and how that particular character elicits an emotional...
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Othello
Women in Othello are not at all insignificant––after all, the downfall of the titular character in the play is due to his devotion to a woman, Desdemona, even though it is orchestrated by Iago;...
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Othello
Gender is extremely significant in Othello. Iago uses gender norms common in Venice at that time to manipulate Othello into killing the woman he loves. The stage for this is set early in the play,...
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Othello
Throughout the play, Shakespeare illustrates the passionate and often misguided emotions of love and hate. Love is illustrated by Othello's strong affection for Desdemona. Despite Othello's passion...
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Othello
Othello feels regret as soon as he discovers from Emilia that Iago has been plotting against him. Emilia tells Othello, who has just killed his wife, that Iago asked her to get the handkerchief—a...
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Othello
At the start of the play, Emilia appears to be subservient and manipulated by her husband, Iago, but by the end she has gained in self-confidence and has seen him for the villain he is; finally,...
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Othello
As a tale of betrayal, suspected infidelity, and murder, Othello makes a powerful statement about human nature. Certainly, this popular Shakespearean play made waves during its time. Yet, its...
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Othello
There have been several film versions of Othello. Three are notable. The first starred Orson Welles, who also produced and directed the film in 1951. The movie is very much of its era, filmed in...
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Othello
It is Iago's envy that causes him to hatch his scheme to destroy Othello. This scheme forms the basis for the entire plot. The audience discovers in the first scene of the play that Othello has...
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Othello
Iago states in act 1, scene 1 that he is jealous Othello made Cassio his lieutenant. Iago believes he has had more battle experience and is therefore better qualified for the position than Cassio....
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Othello
Act 3 of Othello is pivotal for the development of the play as a tragedy. This is the place in the drama when Othello finally starts to internalize the lies and deceit that Iago has been spreading...
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Othello
At the end of the play, Othello smothers Desdemona because he thinks she is unfaithful. Iago has successfully manipulated him into believing that Desdemona and Cassio were having an affair. When...
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Othello
Othello is a respected, talented general, known for his fearless exploits and leadership in battle. Although he valiantly serves the country of Venice, he is considered an outsider because he is a...
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Othello
In act I, scene 1, Iago tells Roderigo to yell with great abandon at Desdemona's father's house to waken him. He says, "Do, with like timorous accent and dire yell/ As when, by night and...
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Othello
Jealousy is the driving force behind much of the action—and tragedy—within Shakespeare's Othello. Othello thematically traces how jealousy can destroy lives—and how so often jealousy stems...
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Othello
Unfortunately, Othello's character development over the course of the play traces a tragic fall from grace. Othello begins the play as a successful African general in the defense forces of Venice....
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Othello
You absolutely can compare Julius Caesar with Othello. The two plays are both tragedies, so they share many similarities. Both focus on tragic heroes (Brutus in Julius Caesar and Othello in...
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Othello
Act II provides a clear delineation of the three characters. It is in this act that we learn what sets the three apart. The act also provides insight into how exactly Othello and Cassio,...
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Othello
I tend to agree with this statement, as the tragedy in Shakespeare's Othello relies upon deceptive appearances and exploited assumptions about these appearances. After all, Iago is able to dupe...
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Othello
A lot of critical interpretations of Shakespeare's Othello focus on the single-minded evil of Iago's deception and the ways in which it brings about Othello's downfall. However, while this...
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Othello
Othello is a notably heroic character, making his manipulated downfall all the more tragic. Although his nobility and honor are some of his primary characteristics, Othello is also a black man in a...
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Othello
One of the themes of the play is the nature of what people consider to be civilized. Within the world of the play, Venice represent the "civilized" European world and Othello, as a Moor, is a...
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Othello
There are certainly some instances of deception that are not perpetuated by Iago. In Act III, Scene 4, Desdemona has lost her handkerchief and wonders aloud about its whereabouts. Emilia says she...
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Othello
As it was in the ancient biblical story of Cain, the "worm of jealousy" moves into Othello's heart and causes him to commit his heinous act of killing Desdemona. Iago is the one who places this...
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Othello
Othello's status as a black man in a white man's world is of vital importance to the plot of Shakespeare's Othello. In defiance of stereotypical and racist assumptions about the black community...
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Othello
Iago is a complex and duplicitous character. That means we can never fully trust what he says, even when he is speaking a soliloquy. Part of his belief that he deserved the promotion is grounded in...
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Othello
In Act 3, Scene 3, Othello does refer to his race. He uses the reference in a monologue after the devious Iago has manipulated him into believing that Desdemona was involved in an inappropriate...
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Othello
What an interesting assignment. Shakespeare's Othello offers many choices. You can choose an incident that is a turning point in the play--when the incident results in a character's or characters'...
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Othello
You might start your search for quotations in Iago's description of the perfect woman, which occurs in the first part of Act 2, when he is jesting with Desdemona and Emilia. After listing these...
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Othello
Brutal in many ways, Shakespeare's Othello is especially ruthless in its treatment of women. By the end of the play, Desdemona and Emilia are dead, both murdered in swift succession by their...
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Othello
The first incident, featured in Act I, Scene 1, in which Iago and his sidekick Roderigo inform Brabantio that Othello stole his daughter Desdemona was definitely planned. When the upset Brabantio,...
