Category: Othello

Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to detect and analyze various traits of racism in Shakespeare’s famous piece Othello and how it relates to the character of Othello.

Racism in literature considerably differs from its manifestations in politics and ideology. Thus, it is useless to search for mechanical coincidences between racist postulates that are widely known and racism in literature.

First of all, one should note that literature form is something that opposes political as political. Its discourse, of course, has referents in reality like for instance racist prejudices of the author and his social and cultural environment but what is more important they come into interplay with such structural characteristics of the literature work as plot, a discourse which may be described as self-reflective components. Therefore, our strategy is to trace racism as it occurs in the description of characters and their behavior, the plot. This racism is more likely to be cultural rather than biological, placing more emphasis on specific traits of character and behavior rather than on declaring inhumanness.

The structure of Shakespeare’s play and the forms of racial representation

The racist connotations can be already found in the circumstances that oriented Shakespeare to write Othello. It doesn’t mean that Shakespeare was himself racist because racism was entirely formed as capitalist ideology, but it is more relevant to interpret his choice of the main character as the choice of ‘marketable’ spectacular material to be set on stage since Moors were regarded as exotics in England of that period.

The connotations of this attitude exemplify the cultural otherness of Moor and various prejudices that arise from the Difference; today it of course can be regarded as racism. The opening scene of the play proves our assumption. It completely exoticizes Othello referring to him not by name but as ‘Moor’ and ‘extravagant stranger’ thus putting a certain mental boundary between him and the audience.

Blacks in English society of that time were perceived with negative connotations and are regarded as monsters therefore the play has frequent references to monstrosity. Of course, this step is ideological and is needed to establish the link between audience and performance. In this way, it can be described as a ‘marketing’ strategy’. English at the beginning of the 17 century often regarded blacks as monsters from the outside world and connected black skin with moral monstrosity. Bartels (1990) for instance states that postulating racial difference was regarded as a means for protecting one’s identity.

These racial prejudices are developed within the frames of Renaissance discourse. Thus, using racist characteristics of the main character and its connotations for the perception of the play the link between the playwright and his audience is established. Such racial mood characterizing England at the beginning of the 17 century is well-documented and it is not accidentally that it found its representation in literature.

Thus, Shakespeare exploits the theme and mood presented in Englishmen’s consciousness. In the starting scene, when Iago is openly expressing his dislike or rather hatred for Othello who has chosen Cassio for lieutenancy he already plans the revenge (“I follow him to serve my turn upon him”). Roderigo is chosen by Iago as an assistant to his plan since he feels the same mixture of racial, cultural hatred that automatically transforms into personal disgust for Othello. Rodrigo and Iago, thus are the racist protagonists in Shakespeare’s play but the discourse of cultural and racial difference goes far beyond simple racial references and utterances but is embedded in the discursive fabric of the play and literary means of expression such as metaphors and allegories.

Roderigo expresses his racial prejudices in such words: “What a full fortune does the thick lips owe / If he can carry this!” The word thick lips can be described as a completely disparaging reference to the facial characteristics of the dark-skinned race’ members. The starting scenes have such examples in abundance and will later discuss them but it is important that our analysis of racism in Othello and how it refers to the character of Othello being conceptual and this we have to outline the main forms in which racial meaning are embedded.

The whole system of racial hatred presented in Othello can be divided into several main interrelated elements. The first one is a literal reference to racial characteristics or direct offensive utterance and comparisons of Othello with the ugly and inhumane beast. The second one is racial or culturally determined stereotypes used to denote the features of character peculiar to Othello. They mainly concern the available and widely used narratives of the black race existing in the English cultural space of that period, even though events of the play take place in another country. And at last, the third element of racialization is the structurally determined fabric of the play and literary expressive means. These three elements form the system of racial representation of Othello and are something that determines the unraveling of the plot.

In the first scene of the play, Iago wakes up Brabantio crying that “an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe” (1.1.89-90), the image of Othello which is aimed at horrifying Desdemona’s father. Iago then tries to represent their sexual ties saying: “your daughter covered with a Barbary horse” (1.1.112). Using reminding Desdemona’s father that with Othello they will produce monsters. Iago further continues this racist narrative saying to Brabantio that “you’ll have your nephews neigh to you,” (1.1.112-18).

The starting scenes of the play thus prepare the audience for perceiving Othello as inhumane in which Shakespeare’s irony lies since at the end of the play we will find out that Iago is less humane than Othello. This strategy of Shakespeare should be regarded as overcoming racism through racism. In the second scene metaphors and other expressive means applied to Othello have more political and social characteristics and overtones. Brabantio now refers to Othello as a foul thief’ whose emotionality that enchanted his daughter made her flee from ‘wealthy curled darlings of our nation’ to ‘the sooty bosom'(1.2.62-72).

Brabantio is more prone to see Othello’s offense as mere political claiming that due to his blackness has no moral and political rights to deserve his daughter as other worthy men of ‘our nation’. Thus, here racist connotations are sublimated to political ones. A union between African and Venetian women was something unnatural for the majority of English aristocracy which perceived relations between men and women in limited space of aristocracy and its traditions.

Aristocracy traditionally represented a high level of social endogamy preventing people from the lowest sections of populations to have access to it. Thus, for Shakespeare’s audience, such a description of Othello and the stance Brabantio took was quite natural and understanding. Desdemona’s choice in their eyes thus was something going beyond all moral rules and was regarded as politically and socially monstrous.

Othello’s self-justification when he comes to court in the third scene is aimed at persuading the English audience not of his virtues but contrary to increasing their moral and social sentiments. To tell how he had captivated Desdemona Othello has to mention several exotic races he had told her about: “The Anthropophagi and men whose heads / Do grow beneath their shoulders” (1.3.146-47). These stories while having a frightening effect on Desdemona made her think positively about the stranger who narrated them – Othello. Thus, the exotics of the stories merged in Desdemona’s consciousness with the exoticism of Othello.

English racial and cultural consciousness at the time of staging Othello

Of course, Othello’s most obvious difference is his skin color, a sign of his African origin. Othello is a black moor is marked with a difference from the dominant cultural norms and perceptions of the audience and is different from other characters on the stage which represent white cultural and social traditions.

Therefore the audience is likely to have a negative attitude to this character and compare Othello with some mystical and frightening monster that they imagine from the existing literature on travels to Africa and other distanced lands. There exists another historical evidence of the fact that theatergoers would be astonished and confused seeing Othello on the stage. A black person was still something rarely met in the middle age England and there is well-documented evidence that their number in England was not very high and began to grow only from the beginning of the 17 century when West Africans were for the first time introduced to London.

Ruth Cowhig for instance has written that “there were several hundreds of black people living in the households of the aristocracy and landed gentry, or working in London taverns,” so she thinks that “the sight of black people must have been familiar to Londoners.” (Michael, 1989, p.45) Notwithstanding the fact, the majority of Londoners have already seen black people it was weird for them to watch Othello on the stage speaking and even expressing some thoughts and feelings.

The policy of Queen Elizabeth to bring new blacks ‘in the realm’ of England was regarded by many as a challenge to their interests and here the feeling of social, religious, cultural, and racial difference came into play. The dominant groups of society especially the rising bourgeoisie were against this policy that paralyzed the traditional social interactions.

The model of understanding of African blacks as opposite to ‘English’ further strengthened the idea of Africa and its inhabitants as an exotic, mysterious continent.

The literature of that period reinforced the idea of blacks’ otherness, low mental and moral standards. The language of Moor’s monstrosity and childbearing often appears in Shakespeare’s play, frequently following the traditions of the prodigious birth which hints at definitely ominous events to come.

Iago and racism

In the closing scenes of the first act, Iago addresses Roderigo to make a plot against this ugly Moor: ‘[L]et us be conjunctive in our revenge against him; if thou canst cuckold him, thou does thyself a pleasure, and me a sport. There are many events in the womb of time, which will be delivered’. (1.3.369-72). Iago’s perception of time as a womb that issues and reproduces events gives him a certain role similar to that of Edward Gresham, a pamphleteer who constantly warned that monstrous births predicted future tragedies and calamities.

Though Iago is a more cheerful prophet since he realized himself not as a human victim but as a universal divine ordinator putting to order various supernatural events. “I have It. It is engendered. Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” (1.3.404-05). Iago can not be regarded as God or devil, he is conceiving offspring and ‘hell’ and ‘night’ are not causative but instead enabling moments. Iago’s desire to make a plot against Othello is motivated not only by social and economic reasons as one may think but also by purely racial hatred and contempt. It thus may be said that the interplay between vanity and racial difference constitutes Iago’s personality and his ambition to ‘destroy’ Othello.

Iago’s abovementioned metaphor is interesting in terms of equivalence between the idea and birth, the concept and conception – this is a metaphor that constantly recurs. This idea that the brain gives birth to human thoughts and the body gives birth to human children or monsters was very widespread in England of that period. The mindset that created them can be named vulgar materialism merging with religious and moral claims.

Thus, this combination of thoughts created an extraordinary negative perception of blacks and was even more barbaric than their culture. Other instances of the same problem may be found in Shakespeare’s sonnets dedicated to ‘their only begetter’. In Othello metaphors are used intentionally, sometimes almost literally so it becomes evident that the relation between mental conceptions and physical birth becomes linear – i.e. understandable for the audience.

Iago plays with this metaphor in the middle of the Second Act when Desdemona asks Iago to compose praise; he narrates how his ‘beautiful’ invention taxes his brain and then announces: “But my Muse labours, / And thus she is delivered” (2.1.127-28). As further this comparison is developed in the context of Iago plot theatergoers are once again reminded of this metaphor relation with the conceptions of biological generation and may also remember Iago’s words at the end of Act One concerning the impending ‘birth’ as being ‘monstrous’; as far as a metaphor becomes conscious it helps to understand a morally monstrous nature of Iago’s ‘conception’.

In ACT three Iago gives his monstrous conception including the basic idea of Desdemona’s infidelity to Othello and thus makes the first step for its realization. Othello makes a comment that Iago echoes his doubts concerning Cassio: “[a]s if there were some monster in his thought, / Too hideous to be shown” (3.3.111-12).

Othello then translates his idea to Iago saying that there must be reason for Iago’s being concerned when they were speaking about Cassio: [Thou] didst contract and purse thy brow together As if thou then hadst shut up in thy brain Some horrible conceit…. /[Thou] weight’s thy words before thou giv’st them breathe/ Therefore these stops of thine fright me the more; /For such things in a false disloyal knave /Are tricks of custom, but in a man that’s just /They’re close dilations, working from the heart /That passion cannot rule (1.3.118-29).

The first lines where ‘horrible conceit’ figures represent an evident continuation of Iago’s language of the generation that presented Iago’s thoughts as the hideous progeny waiting for birth and reduced to the womb of his brain.

The pursuing and contracting of Iago’s brow can be regarded as certain symptoms of the metaphorical labor which is to bring force the birth of offspring and to represent this idea to Othello who certainly is afraid of it.

The description regarding Iago’s taking pauses before saying his words creates the atmosphere of the birth process which is constantly accompanied by breathing and as a literal declaration of the fact that Iago thinks properly before he says something; although ‘stops’ are something that Othello refers to be the symbols of Iago’s hesitation, namely these ‘stops’ is something that gives birth to his thought and they no doubt look similar to the breathing of the future mother.

This well-designed pattern of the references to the process of childbirth provides good justifications for the Folio reading of the ‘dilations’ and not the ‘denotements’ from the Fist Quarto because dilations may serve the role of another reference to the process of birth which ‘passion cannot rule’. These images help Shakespeare to constitute the idea that Iago gives birth to the monstrous idea as some abstract mother may carry a monstrous child in the womb (Jones, 1965).

As the play unravels Iago however does not continue to breed his monstrous thoughts but instead transfers this mental pregnancy to Othello. He gives Othello the possibility to give birth to them himself thus taking away responsibility for his monstrous plans. Many researchers claim that the metaphor breaks down with this transfer of Iago’s thought to Othello. Sacks for instance tried to explain this process of transfer as some kind of ‘theft’ since womb in the late Middle Ages was often compared with purses, which were easy to stole and become a possessor of their contents.

So according to Sacks, Othello managed to steal somewhat ‘psychosexually’ the Iago’s ‘purse’ filled with ugly and trashy thought. The pregnancy didn’t naturally shift from Iago to Othello but it was a little bit difficult process that can be described as mental and verbal communication which generates stable conceptions and patterns in the person who is ready to adopt them. Thus, it can be claimed that Othello had a thought embryo saying to his mind that Desdemona was infidel to him. But the role of Iago in giving form and substance to this idea, in making it somewhat obvious and material can not be undervalued here.

The idea of Desdemona’s infidelity was generated by mental and verbal communication and intercourse between these men which is analogous to the sexual intercourse of Iago (as a male) and Othello (as female), impregnated thoughts through his ears. This process can be understood in terms of the Aristotelian theory of Animals’ genesis which states that a male’s seed is not just left in the female, and not just joined with female seeds in the womb but on the contrary, it shapes the nature of female’s seed.

This process is described by Aristotle in comparison to the carpenter’s job when he says that the carpenter only gives form to material and not joins it himself: “the active partner is not situated within the thing which is being formed” (113). Laquer has summarized this idea saying that “conception is for the male to have an idea, an artistic or artisan conception, in the brain-uterus of the female.”(29) and thus understood something essential to Iago’s role in Shakespeare’s play. The mental impregnation postulates the sublimation of racial prejudices on the level of practical realization of the monstrous plot.

Thus, racial and cultural characteristics of ugliness are redirected from Othello to Iago as ‘practically’ monstrous person and Othello’s discursive ugliness stays aside in theatergoers’ consciousness before he realizes the impregnated ideas of Iago. This act redistributes monstrosity between Moor and ‘civilized’ Iago, showing that racially worthy can be also morally ugly but at the same time leaving the taste of racial hatred to Othello which can not be driven out by the mere theater play. Thus, it can be said that the idea that Iago tries to impose on Othello is kind of a formative seed Aristotle mentioned and Othello’s brain is a womb or simply unformed material that needs to be shaped to realize the plot of Iago.

The racial characteristics dominant in English society of this time can be traced to Othello’s behavior. Though many commentators claim that Othello was jealous it is not true since his realization of Iago’s ideas and plot may be described in terms of complete trustfulness. Jealousy may be described as a syndrome of obsessive states when every step of the object of jealousy is regarded by a jealous person as treason or infidelity.

This is not the case if we think of Othello’s behavior. Instead, he may be described as trustworthy. His complete trustfulness plays the role of ‘negative’ racism in Shakespeare’s play. It aims to show that cultural, racial, and mental differences make Othello unarmed in the encounter with the virtues of Western civilization – intrigues, rationality, and cold calculations. Othello’s naivety thus serves the role of postulating cultural difference and has positive connotations. The author of the play seems to hint to the audience that Othello is morally pure and natural in his behavior, not contaminated with false features of ‘western civilization’ such as hypocrisy and moral grubbiness.

By taking into consideration the fact that the final point of theater’s plays is audience but not the author’s ideas, there is no denying importance of the fact that this ‘negative’ racism was understood by theatergoers quite positively and they were inclined to ascribe all amoral causations to Othello rather than to Iago – their instigator.

After Iago impregnated Othello with his ideas and plot, he as a pregnant woman having irrational desires for abstract ‘something’, insists that his wife Desdemona show him the handkerchief well ornamented with strawberries – which is a fruit widely associated with maternity and frustrations of ‘strawberry marks’ on the children. Thus, from this time on the gestalt of trustfulness which was impregnated by Iago quickly transforms into a ‘green-eyed’ obsession with Desdemona’s infidelity.

But it is not jealousy because a jealous person trying to find the source of infidelity is afraid of finding it. After all, she seeks to maintain relations. For Othello, it is not jealousy but rather the fact of infidelity which is enough to transform him into a ‘green-eyed monster’. It is ‘natural’ without any taste of civilization and Shakespeare emphasizes it.

Even though the metaphorical language is discreet and sometimes is not properly consistent it continues to inform the plot of the play. Further in Act Three Othello thinks of cuckoldry as a problem of destiny: “Even then this forked plague is fated to us / When we do quicken” (3.3.282-83). The theatergoers hear the statement that has a purpose of constructing Othello’s fatalism, which makes him plagued while he is suspecting cuckoldry and thus, this reinforces his monstrosity as he is quickening the pendulum of his womb.

A few moments later Othello says: “I have a pain upon my forehead here” (3.3.290) as if the monstrous thought kicked his head seeking for freedom. It can be also described as certain anticipation of the idea’s birth. In the following scene, Emilia makes a comparison of Othello’s feelings to ‘a monster/ Begot upon itself, born on itself.” Desdemona replies to it “Heaven keep that monster from Othello’s mind!” (3.4.161-63).

Everybody watching the play already knows that Othello is bearing some ugly intentions in his mind and wants them to be realized if his doubts are confirmed and Desdemona’s is an infidel to him. The racial prejudices further transform in some form of mockery of Othello because of his ability to understand the truth but of course, they are suppressed by the tragedy of the moment. Othello following his actualized thoughts says to Desdemona in the Fifth Act:… confess thee freely of thy sin/For to deny each article with oath/Cannot remove, nor choke the strong conception/That I do groan withal/Thou art to die(5.2.56-59). The contemplation of the murder is for Othello the midwifery for his deformed and monstrous ‘child’ birth and the actualization of his monstrous conception.

Conclusion

Othello is one of Shakespeare’s interesting and moving dramas but its racial connotations move the audience sometimes in different directions. The mentalities of the audience who are the main interpreters and the point of the plot’s destination depend significantly on the cultural setting and conditions. If in Shakespearean England the racial prejudices were only becoming dominant, Britain in 18-19 century represented the paramount of biological and cultural racism. Notwithstanding these facts, Othello contains racial prejudices and patterns independent of their later or earlier interpretations because we possess a well-articulated notion of racism. This fact of course can’t obscure Shakespeare’s desire to overcome racism through its articulation.

Maybe he didn’t understand it but his play shows that negative features of character and bad morality are peculiar to every man notwithstanding their cultural or racial background. It may be said that Shakespeare not only reproduced the culture that created racial prejudices to blacks – he attempted to overcome them, though only we, ‘modern’ understand it.

References

Bartels, E. C (1990). Making More of the Moor: Aaron, Othello, and Renaissance Refashioning of Race. Shakespeare Quarterly 41: 454.

Jones, E. (1965). Othello’s Countrymen. The African in English Renaissance Drama London: Oxford UP.

Michael, N. (1989). Unproper Beds: Race, Adultery, and the Hideous in Othello. Shakespeare Quarterly, 40:409.

Shakespeare, W. Othello. (1980) The Complete Works of Shakespeare, ed. David Bevington, 3d edition. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

Shakespeare’s Othello and the Blind Owl by Sedayat can be compared and contrasted in several ways. For instance, it is evident that the characters and plots in the two books are different. Also, some themes such as, love, gender culture and murder are common in both works. However, The Blind Owl includes suicidal incidences, which are missing in Shakespeare’s Othello.

The creation ‘Othello’ is one of Shakespeare’s latest works and one of his ardent misfortunes, penned for a moment amid ‘ King Lear’ and ‘ Hamlet’. The production ardently presents cultural pressures – race, femininity, and religion. The play, perhaps more carefully than any of his other plays, relies on the strength of opposition and divergence, the characters.

He polarizes the characters into white and black. Othello is a general and a Moorish that has saved Venice. Here, is a man who, regardless of his alien origins, is the savior of his society, a person who is widely respected and well-liked, excluding by his lieutenant, Lago. The basis of Othello’s achievement is his immense love for his lady, Desdemona.

On the other hand, in The Blind Owl, the storyteller, a pen-case decorator, falls in love with a naive woman who is virtuous and demonic at the same time. Afterwards, the young woman shows at his front doorstep, goes into his residence, and lies on his sofa, where she dies. In a past life, the storyteller gives an account of his physical and emotional come down following his matrimony to a woman who has numerous lovers, but rejects to have sex with him. He unintentionally kills her.

In Lago, Shakespeare thrashes out with blacksmith rhythm, one of his extraordinary creations, a guy fired by jealousy, tempered by nausea, a person whose bravery is engraved into a form and devilishly, expresses himself in duplicitous twists and wrong turns sufficient to bring down Othello.

It is the essence of Shakespearean tragedy that the male protagonist should plunge from the transcendent heights to utter impoverishment, anguish, and demise. Winning her hand, securing her affection is his remarkable mastery and lifts him up to unimagined contentment. However, in this precise essence, Lago demoralizes, with the seed of envy. As atheism is a key aim, the whole structure of Othello’s supremacy and wholeness collapses.

He murders his spouse, visages the apprehension of what he has done, and distinguishes that everlasting damnation is the least chastisement than enduring life conscious of his own guiltiness. The play “Othello” symbolizes Shakespeare’s oft-repeated thesis of obligation and love as the mortar mix which connects the social order.

It is in Othello’s misfortune that he should contaminate mutually, divulging them as weak spots rather than strong points, the alchemy of his passions reducing them to acids which will consume his heart and crook his exact character. On the other hand, Sedayat presents a menacing piece of writing that looks at ideas of lunacy.

Shakespeare has taken characterization to a new height. His achievement is not simply in his invigoration of the English literature, but in his psychosomatic consciousness and approaching to get inside the brains of his characters long before social science envisaged. The characters in Othello contain a pragmatism which distinguishes them from the theatrical character as a representative for word and medium for accomplishment.

Shakespeare’s characters breathe; their predicaments and tragedies are devastating human. Othello and Lago are two of Shakespeare’s supreme mortals. Wickedness we learn can be as engrossing and considerably vibrant as any laudable task. A play that pits such characters alongside one another is a play that offers lasting loot for both its spectators and its performers.

Shakespeare’s works have delighted and motivated actors for centuries, they keep on doing so, and each cohort of actors wring new explanation and perception from the performance. On the other hand, time, characters, and space are all in an uncontrolled region where linear progression does not take much concentration.

Measures in the commencement lack explanation until the focal point, and there’s no way precisely to count the number of characters brought in the play. They may be a dozen, or possibly only two. In The Blind Owl, it is significant to comprehend the narrator’s imagery of his insight of the women characters.

A deep study of such imagery reveals that the narrator is instinctively treating the women of his formation, as blank screens onto which he is portraying different aspects of his characters that he cannot deliberately admit. To infiltrate to the heart of the narrator’s tribulations of distinctiveness and being, the knowledge of mothering and women is related to tribulations of reliance and self-esteem weakness of one capacity.

It is likely to imply that the storyteller is suffering from a split mind and is trying to assimilate a split off female factor. In reality, he is foretelling a fear of his own female factor. In such cases, the whole crisis of women is connected with one’s individual viewpoints at oneself, and it is always the feminine factor that dissociates to both men and women.

They seek out for the idyllic woman continues. His companion becomes one and the same as the biological mother and the wraithlike woman. The expedition is figurative; the narrator wants to find the mother in the globe of the bereavement, thus restoring significance to existence. Losing his mother has left him conscious of the need of sense in his reality. He ought to find her to complete the existential procedure.

Shakespeare hammers out with blacksmith tune, a man blazed by envy, tempered by detestation, a man whose willpower hammers into form and whose iniquity expresses itself in treacherous twists and cruel turns enough to oust Othello. It is the character of Shakespeare’s tragedy that the leading actor should thrust from the inspirational heights to utter impoverishment, hopelessness, and death.

Conversely, in the Blind Owl, an insubstantial girl appearing all through offers optimism. She is the portrait, which the storyteller paints on his account, a mental image that he loves, and the picture on an old jar. However, the young woman has a “double nature,” coming back as the narrator’s crafty mother, and, afterwards, as his immoral wife.

In Shakespeare’s plays, the basis of Othello’s victory is his immense love for his lady, Desdemona. Winning her hand, securing her affection is his greatest accomplishment and elevates him to unimagined contentment. However, it is this precise basis that Lago undermines with the seed of envy. As distrust takes the core, the entire structure of Othello’s supremacy and comprehensiveness, in relation to him, collapses.

He kills his spouse, visages the awareness of what he has committed, and realizes that everlasting damnation castigation that endures life alert of his own guiltiness. Although both books have incidences of suicide, The Blind Owl appears to be extremely influencing as even the author in the Blind Owl commits suicide, by gassing, an occasion that has outshined his work.

In conclusion, Shakespeare’s Othello and the Blind Owl by Sedayat compare and contrast themes in several ways. For instance, the themes of love, murder and gender are prominent in the two works. The play “Othello” symbolizes Shakespeare’s oft-repeated thesis of obligation and love as the mortar mix which connects the social order.

On the other hand, in The Blind Owl, the storyteller, a pen-case decorator, falls in love with a naive woman who is both virtuous and demonic. Othello murders his spouse, visages the apprehension of what he has done, and distinguishes that everlasting damnation is the least chastisement than enduring life conscious of his own guiltiness.

Conversely, in the blind Owl, the storyteller gives an account of his unintentional killing of a woman who rejects to have sex with him. Shakespeare’s Othello, perhaps more carefully than any of his other plays, relies on the strength of opposition and divergence, the characters.

The characters, in Othello, contain pragmatism which is distinguished form the previous task of the theatrical character as a representative for word and medium for accomplishment. On the other hand, in The Blind Owl, the narrator treats the women of his formation, as blank screens onto which he is portraying different aspects of his character that he cannot deliberately admit.

The social environment of England at the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century was characterized by great attention to social class, citizens’ jobs, and their reputation. Being in the army was a very prestigious occupation, with each rank linked to certain qualities and characteristics that the society of that time valued. For example, Othello was the General of the Venetian army; generals were often thought of as logical, trustworthy, and brave; only the most respected people were promoted to hold such a position.

Because social status played a major role in the society of England and London of that time, Shakespeare raised some questions associated with racial and gender inequalities, as well as the dynamics of family and workplace settings. For example, because Othello was Black, despite the quantity of the military ranks he had received, and despite his skillfulness and military courage to plan and execute battles, he would always be seen as less worthy of the gentlemanly status. Because of his racial identity, Othello’s glory as the General did not transfer to his success as a political ruler – he served as the insider and was seen as the lower class in the society, an outcast. For Othello, being “different” required him to always be aware of the implications of social perceptions of class and race.

Regarding gender roles as linked to the social viewpoint, Shakespeare created the couple of Othello and Desdemona as a typical representation of dynamics between women and men in the Elizabethan Society of London. In the couple, Othello plays the role of the dominating man while his wife is passive and dutiful. On the other hand, the couple did go through some struggles: Desdemona married her husband despite the objections of her family and had to give testimony that she truly loved Othello. It is highly likely that Shakespeare created the couple of Othello and Desdemona to show that even stereotypical gender roles inherent to the Elizabethan society could not influence relationships between people; similarly, how the society perceived social class and race did not reduce the value of Othello’s courage.

The play portrays Othello, the main protagonist, as a respected and confident military man. The Duke’s words, “I think this tale would win my daughter too,” when Othello describes his love for Desdemona, refers to the fact that Othello was admired for his eloquence (Shakespeare 41). He is in great demand due to his military skills, which can be seen from Cassio’s lines that the senate “sent about three several quests to look for Othello” (Shakespeare 46).

Meanwhile, Desdemona’s strength is her independent and honest nature as she insists on marrying Othello. For instance, the lines “My noble father, / I do perceive here a divided duty” shows Desdemona’s determination to convince her father that she has a right to make her decision (Shakespeare 42). Iago’s main strength is his ability to manipulate people by understanding their strengths and weaknesses. In lines “and what’s he then that says I play the villain,” Iago acknowledges that he seduces his victim, Cassio, by pretending to display good intent (Shakespeare 104). Thus, he can create different machinations while also retaining his image as an honest and loyal person.

Iago manipulates Cassio into a position of disgrace by carefully designing and following his plan. First, Iago tells Cassio that he suspects Desdemona is interested in him by saying that her eye “sounds a parley to provocation” (Shakespeare 83). Second, Iago persuades Cassio to drink with him and invites others to join them in this “night of revels” (Shakespeare 85). He orchestrates a fight between Rodrigo and Cassio by ordering the former to “cry a mutiny” (Shakespeare 91).

Meanwhile, Iago reports to Montano about the need to cure Cassio of his “evil,” referring to his drinking problem (Shakespeare 91). This scene ends with Cassio stabbing Montano, who tried to stop Cassio (Shakespeare 93). Thus, Iago successfully persuades Othello and others that Cassio is irresponsible and disgraced by luring Cassio into drink and fighting. Therefore, Cassio is unfortunate because he was trapped in Iago’s plan to humiliate him.

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. Simon & Schuster, 2017.

The correlation of the fate of the hero with the development of society, which is the main distinguishing feature of the genre of tragedy, can take on a variety of artistic forms. It can be folk-historical tragedy, bringing to the stage the broad masses of people set in motion by social cataclysms. At the same time, it is a tragedy, in which the plot is based on a conflict that captures a relatively small number of characters (Boorman, 2021). Even with the most cursory acquaintance with most of the mature Shakespearean tragedies, it is easy to see the center of the playwright’s attention. These are the relationship between the fate of the characters and the course of the development of society. Shakespeare’s great tragedies most often develop the theme of the death of the best people and their internal discord. Such is the tragedy of Othello, where the author describes the internal struggle of people whose honor has been tarnished.

In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the main characters kill their wives to protect and restore their honor. During the play, women must obey their husbands to show real honor. Iago and Othello reflect this attitude towards their wives: they give them a reason to feel faithful by killing their women. Iago kills Emilia because she dishonors him by revealing his manipulation of Othello and Cassio. Othello strangles Desdemona because of the false infidelity that his assistant Iago imposed on him. As can be understood from the play, both characters have their idea of what honor is and how it is manifested. Nevertheless, both Othello and Iago kill close women to protect themselves, their honor.

The only deliverance for Othello from this doubt that relentlessly settled in his house and his soul is the solution to which he comes ‒ the murder of Desdemona. However, having accomplished it, Othello learns that Desdemona is innocent, that both are victims of that monstrous intrigue that Iago wove so skillfully. Othello calls himself an honest killer:

“Why, anything:
An honorable murderer, if you will;
For naught, I did in hate, but all in honour.” (Shakespeare, 1975, 5.2.345)

These words are the key to the murder he committed: a man for whom honor is above all, he could not exist next to vice and could not allow dishonesty to go unpunished. Realizing the horror of what he had done, he kills himself – cuts his throat with a dagger.

Faith in man is broken – this becomes the cause of Othello’s despair and, at the same time, the source of his loneliness. Because of this, a person decides that his whole past life and the attitude of those close to him were an illusion. It seems to Othello that nothing is lasting, honest, moral in the world; everything in a person is unsteady, chaotic, impermanent. Having understood the laws of this world, Othello fights it in every possible way in the name of the humanistic ideal of a beautiful, real, honest person. In the play, the hero goes to extreme measures to kill his wife, who, in his opinion, dishonored him. It becomes a metaphor and a message to an ordinary person that one must fight for confidence in life and people. It is necessary to eradicate everything that can negatively affect the further development of the individual. At the same time, in the last scene, Shakespeare reminds the ordinary people not to lose their minds in the struggle for honor, no matter how important it may seem.

The advantage of Shakespeare’s tragic soil is that he is still able to show how this or that passion grows out of the fullness of a naive human consciousness under certain conditions. At the same time, it is a normal human passion unlike the writers of a more mature bourgeois society (Carr, 2020). Therefore, the Renaissance image of Othello speaks much more directly to the feeling of every person – both to the jealous and one who has never known jealousy. The potential energy of normal, natural human nature in Othello becomes the energy of affect.

References

Boorman, S. C. (2021). Human conflict in Shakespeare. Routledge.

Carr, D. (2020). From (apparently) feeling to being grateful. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 55(1), 145–154.

Shakespeare, W. (1975). Othello. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Iago is the central character in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, a lieutenant in the service of Othello. He is a boor and a plebeian by nature, forced to be in the Moor’s service, hating him for the humiliation he suffers at the same time. He weaves an intrigue around Othello and Desdemona, and the lieutenant Cassio gets caught in it without even knowing it. Iago is the opposite of Othello – cunning, crafty, and jealous, ready for any baseness; His motive is the thirst for destruction:

Virtue? A fig!
‘Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus (Shakespeare, lines 426 – 427).

He has no desire to seize the treasure – his intention is only to deprive the possessor of the prize of the pleasure that his possession provides. “For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In complement extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am (Shakespeare, lines 95 – 98).

In Shakespeare’s portrayal of Iago’s character, the readers immediately notice an apparent contradiction: even though he is the meanest and most vile scoundrel imaginable, he nevertheless enjoys the unconditional trust of everyone around him. As long as his interests do not influence Iago, he can genuinely make a difference to all who ask him for advice with his knowledge of the world and the clarity of his views. He does this gladly as it flatters his vanity, feels his superiority in this, and finds in it a reinforcement of the correctness and steadiness of his cynical view of life (Kim 199). Moving on from the way other people see Iago to the way he is by nature, it must be mentioned that Iago is an exceptionally erotic character, understood in the most vulgar sense of the word. Indirectly, this conclusion flows from the fact that Yago suspects that everyone has an excess of sexual desire; he thinks this desire overrides everyone else’s and is as strong as his own. And so, from his point of view, politeness and kindness to women are forerunners of lust (Kim 200). So the courtesy of Otello and Cassio to Iago’s wife is sufficient proof for the latter that they are on intimate terms with her. In short, he can understand or explain friendship or kindness only in connection with some selfish goal or plan. Speaking of racism as a possible motivation for Iago’s behavior, it is worth noting that it is not the primary and only source of its manifestation. Being in a race with Othello for promotion, the hero uses the hatred of other characters towards mixed races and black people, such as Othello, to achieve the loss of the latter’s position.

Works Cited

Kim, SanghHyun. “Rereading Othello through Bernard Jackson’s Iago.” Sungshin Humanities Research, vol. 42, 2020, pp. 195–214. Crossref. Web.

Shakespeare, William. Othello. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2020.

One of the peculiarities of William Shakespeare’s plays is the indirect focus on the significant role of minor characters who can have the great impact on the major characters. In his play Othello, William Shakespeare also accentuates the meaning of minor characters and their actions for the development of the tragedy in Othello’s life.

Certain minor details, the characters’ actions, and the peculiar features of their behaviors are combined together in a complex web which forms the plot of the tragedy and leads Othello to his demise.

To analyze the role of the minor characters in Othello’s life, it is necessary to concentrate on such characters as Iago, Michael Cassio, and Emilia. Iago is depicted in the play as the enemy of Othello who tried to conceal his crucial intentions. Feelings of jealousy, revenge, and odium live in his heart. When he fails to be promoted as Othello’s lieutenant he creates a malicious plan for the revenge.

He tries to control and manipulate every movement of his life and Othello’s one and every action of those people who are around him. Thus, Iago’s ambitions and unfair intentions break the peace in Othello’s world and lead to the tragedy because Othello believes in “honest Iago”, and he trusts any “pestilence” that Iago presents. In spite of Othello’s power and will Iago achieves the goal and reveals the hidden side of Othello’s nature.

Michael Cassio also becomes the object of Iago’s manipulations and that is why causes Othello’s fall. Cassio is just a stringed-doll in Iago’s hands. He is devoted to Othello, but his sympathy and good relations with Desdemona result in the development of the tragedy which is greatly controlled by Iago. Othello becomes blinded with jealousy and hatred, he loses the abilities to interpret the situation correctly and make mistakes which cost a person’s life.

Emilia’s character is one of the most influential minor characters in the play. Shakespeare uses her character in order to develop the tragedy and to lead it to the end.

Thus, Emilia’s obedience greatly contributes to the tragic end of the play. Nevertheless, she represents an immense courage and gives Othello the right vision of the situation which changes the whole situation once more. Thus, Emilia’s actions have the great impact on Othello’s destiny.

On the one hand, she is obedient and eager to please her husband. She agrees to give Iago Desdemona’s handkerchief. Despite her husband’s attitude to her, it seems that she tries to win her husband’s heart. This action leads to the series of ill-fated events and eventually causes irrationalized and confused Othello to smother his innocent wife Desdemona.

One the other hand, when Emilia learns about the tragedy and realizes what she has done, she demonstrates Othello the truth and accuses Iago because of his sins. As a result, Iago should pay for his malicious actions. And Othello, with the pain of murdering his innocent wife, does not see the sense in his living.

Othello by William Shakespeare illustrates those important roles which each minor character can play for determining the fate of the main tragic hero. The crucial actions and behaviors of Iago, Michael Cassio, and Emilia are presented as minor details and secondary facts. However, they influence the life of the main characters and contribute to the development of the tragedy.

Introduction

Othello is a literary play that was written by William Shakespeare in 1603. The play is a tragedy revolving around four main characters that include Othello, Desdemona, Iago and Cassio. The four main characters have different roles in the play that complement each other in this tragic play.

Othello Characters

Othello is the lead character who plays the role of an army commander in the Venetian army. Cassio and Iago are junior military officers who work under Othello. Desdemona plays the role of Othello’s wife and the daughter of a senator. The play begins with a conversation between a rich gentleman known as Roderigo and Iago.

Othello: Plot Summary

Roderigo complains about Othello’s secret marriage to Desdemona and demonstrates his intense passion for her. Roderigo expected Iago to inform him of this development because of their friendship. Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and his previous efforts to marry her had not succeeded. Iago is not happy with the fact that Othello had promoted Cassio ahead of him despite his inexperience. Roderigo decides to report Othello to senator Brabantio who is Desdemona’s father.

Desdemona’s father goes out to look for Othello but they unexpectedly bump into each other in a security meeting where Othello has been summoned to advise senators on the impending attack on Cyprus by the Turkish troops. There is a very uncomfortable encounter between Othello and Brabantio after the meeting.

Desdemona’s father accuses him of using witchcraft to marry his daughter but Othello manages to defend himself. Brabantio warns Othello that his daughter would betray him. As a general in the Venetian army, Othello leads the army troops to fight against the Turkish troops. Othello leaves Venice in the company of his wife, Iago and Cassio and Desdemona’s attendant known as Emilia.

The Venetian army under the leadership of Othello calls for a celebration after the fall of the Turkish troops. In this celebration, Iago and Roderigo plan a conspiracy to completely destroy Cassio. In their plan, they were going to entice Cassio to drink excessively so that he would cause a commotion at the party.

Othello gets disappointed with this development and decides to punish Cassio for causing a disturbance at the party. The next step for Iago is to harm Cassio through Roderigo. Iago creates a scenario to make things appear as if Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair so that Roderigo would attack Cassio. Iago also tricks Othello into believing that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio.

Othello feels betrayed by these events and resolves to kill his wife and Cassio. He sends Iago to kill Cassio and decides to confront his wife on the issue. The end of this play is characterized by a series of murders. Iago kills Roderigo to prevent him from revealing their plot and exonerates himself from an attempt to kill Cassio by implicating Cassio’s girlfriend known as Bianca.

Othello kills Desdemona in a confrontation and tries to justify his action by claiming that his wife had committed adultery. The only evidence he has is Desdemona’s handkerchief that was found in Cassio’s lodging. In Othello’s explanation, Emilia discovers Iago’s plot and reveals it to Othello. Othello regrets his action after discovering that his wife was actually innocent.

Iago kills Emilia for exposing his evil intentions. Othello stabs Iago with an intention of making him feel pain in his entire life and later commits suicide when he discovers that the authorities are about to arrest him for murder. The authorities arrest Iago and execute him for his actions. A Venetian nobleman known as Lodovico makes a declaration that Graziona would be Othello’s heir.

Othello Analysis: the Plot

It is evident from the play that Othello’s life changes from good to bad in many instances. In the beginning of the play, Othello is a very successful army commander at the top of his career. This changes drastically when he murders his wife and later commits suicide. It is a shame for a top army commander to die under such circumstances.

Othello’s happy marriage with his wife Desdemona is eventually destroyed by Iago’s conspiracy. Iago succeeds in breaking Othello’s marriage through his evil plot. Othello’s Cyprus mission had a significant influence on his downfall. His rival Roderigo got a perfect opportunity to separate him from his beloved wife. Othello had complete trust in Iago who later betrayed him because of his selfish intentions.

Othello’s weaknesses and flaws are responsible for his demise in this play. Othello’s love for Desdemona is a major weakness that leads to his downfall. Iago exploits this weakness to advance his selfish plots. Iago realizes that Othello is a very jealous man in fear of losing his wife to a Venetian gentleman.

Iago goes ahead to use this weakness to convince Othello that his wife is unfaithful. Othello reacts by killing his wife and this leads to his eventual demise. Othello completely believes in the military system and does not question any information that Iago brings to him. It is this weakness that makes him to believe everything that Iago tells him without careful consideration. It is this flaw that leads to his eventual downfall.

Introduction

Throughout the world, a dark, primal aspect of humanity is not hard to find. It is silent, usually never more than a whisper until it is too late, and can be as dangerous as poison. It is jealousy. Jealousy can destroy friendships, relationships, and even alliances. William Shakespeare undoubtedly knew the significance of this ugly part of human nature when writing his play Othello.

By examining the three central male characters in this play – Lago, Othello, and Cassio – Shakespeare illustrates the causes, immediate effects, and the ever-lasting bitterness that can result by allowing one to fall prey to this self-destructive affliction.

By following closely these three characters and the results of their attitudes and actions, Shakespeare presents support to the idea that the more an individual allows oneself to associate with jealousy, the more and more likely that the individual is to do harm to both those whom they love, as well as to their own person.

It is everyone’s responsibility to avoid jealousy at any cost; however, many people shun this responsibility and allow themselves to propagate this vice. Nevertheless, whilst one can choose to dodge the responsibility of living jealousy-free life, one cannot dodge its consequences thereafter.

The best thing is that, when one makes a choice, he/she chooses the consequences also and this is what Othello and Lago painfully learns later. On the other hand, living a principled life pays as in the case of Cassio. Othello and Lago are punished for their jealousy, while Cassio is rewarded for living a principled life.

Othello

Othello is the protagonist in this story. Despite the fact that he is a great storyteller and a trained soldier, he has let these good qualities and reputation to be “stained with jealousy and making emotional decisions” (Bradley Para. 4). His jealous traits become pronounced after marrying Desdemona.

After Lago plots to stain Cassio’s reputation by staging an attack at the bar, Othello comes in and sacks Cassio immediately without consultations. He says, “Cassio, I love thee / But never more be officer of mine” (Shakespeare 36). This is immature, irrational, and emotional decision; Othello should at least do some investigations before firing Cassio. To some extent this is insensitive and selfishness which resonates well with jealousy.

Due to jealousy, Othello does not trust his wife and he is even willing to kill her based on unfounded hearsays. After finding Cassio in his house, he gullibly believes Lago’s lies that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. Othello’s jealousy consumes him making him withdraw from his wife. He says, “I will deny thee nothing / Whereon, I do beseech thee, grant me this / To leave me but a little to myself” (Shakespeare 49).

The reason why he wants to be left alone is that he cannot contain his jealousy. Human beings are bound to make mistakes occasionally; however, Othello behaves as though he is holier that thou and this is why he cannot understand Desdemona. Othello is not perfect either and the reason he acts the way he acts is that he is jealous; not that Desdemona cannot match his ‘principles’.

Finally, Othello’s jealousy hits climax when he kills his wife. Even though Lago is a schemer and is out to ruin Othello’s life, he realizes how jealous Othello is and warns him, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock” (Shakespeare 57).

Surely, this ‘green-eyed monster’ is lurking around the corner, waiting for the right time to pounce on Othello. He confesses, “When I shall turn the business of my soul/ The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt / Away at once with love or jealousy” (Shakespeare 58). The business of ‘his soul’ is to kill his wife for he questions her ‘revolt’. This tells it all and to cap it all he says he is done with her regardless of whether what he had for her was ‘love or jealousy.’

Nevertheless, as aforementioned, when one makes a decision, he/she chooses the consequences also. The immediate effects of Othello’s choice to believe every lie he hears and harbor jealousy is the breakdown of his marriage. The effects affect Othello’s life together with those around him. The long-lasting effect cum rewards of Othello’s decisions is guilt and eventually, death. After smothering his wife, he realizes that she is innocent and she did not give Cassio her handkerchief; Lago had planned everything.

Even if Othello does not die, this guilt will be long lasting and heavy to bear. However, the ultimate rewards of jealousy finally catch up with Othello as he kills himself. He says, “I took by the throat the circumcised dog / And smote him, thus” (Shakespeare 67). The ‘circumcised dog’ here is his wrong decisions and jealousy and to ‘smote it’ he has to die and thus gets rewards of jealousy, a dark, primal aspect of humanity.

Lago

Lago is the most flagitious character in this play. He is out to hurt everyone and settle scores as he enjoys people’s suffering. Surely, is not hard to find jealousy amongst human kinds. First, it is his wife; he thinks she has cheated on him by sleeping with Othello.

He says, “It is thought abroad that ’twixt my sheets / He has done my office” (Shakespeare 87). This is uncalled for as he cannot justify his claims and due to jealousy coupled with timidity, he kills Emilia, his wife. Then it comes to Cassio, after Cassio’s appointment, Lago’s jealousy is obvious.

He says, “I know my price, I am worth no worse a place/ One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, A fellow almost damn’d in a fair wife/ As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practice” (Shakespeare 29). This description is harsh and can only stem from jealousy. According to Mabillard, Othello knows Lago is not a competent man and that is why he prefers Cassio to him (Para. 5).

After arriving in Cyprus, Lago plots how to eliminate Cassio to further his plans of ruining Othello. His plans work out well and Cassio is fired; however, he does not get the post left vacant by Cassio.

He arranges Cassio to meet with Desdemona only to reveal this to Othello. Despite the fact that he knows about Cassio’s meeting with Desdemona, he says, “Cassio, my lord! No, sure, I cannot think it/ That he would steal away so guilty-like/ Seeing you coming” (Shakespeare 65). This is hypocrisy fuelled by jealousy. He has planned all these and he should defend Cassio better were it not for his jealousy.

Surely, jealousy would do anything. Apparently, Lago has been pushing Emilia to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief to use it as a proof of Desdemona’s infidelity. After he gets the handkerchief, he hurriedly places it in Cassio’s house. This gives him a foothold to accuse Desdemona of infidelity. When Othello asks for proof of infidelity, Lago vows that has seen “Cassio wipe his beard with her handkerchief” (Shakespeare 99). This is heinous act founded on jealousy.

Nothing can match Lago’s jealousy and wickedness. He seems to enjoy every bit of other people’s sufferings. Even after getting Cassio out of his job and straining Othello’s marriage, he is not satiated. He still wants Cassio dead and this is why he tells Roderigo to ambush Cassio and kill him. He tells Roderigo, “…by making him incapable of Othello’s place/ knocking out his brains” (Shakespeare 65). This is the far jealousy and wickedness can get.

However, killing to Lago is not an issue; he kills his wife and now is planning the death of Cassio. Nevertheless, there is prize for jealousy and Lago has to pay it fully. Othello attacks Lago and wounds him badly and this is the reward of jealousy and wickedness. People attract what they are, Lago is wicked; consequently, he attracts wickedness (Bradley Para. 9).

Cassio

Cassio is a principled and he has no bad intentions whatsoever. Throughout the play, He lives by his principles and does not allow himself to be drawn into wickedness or jealousy. Due to his goodness, he is rewarded. First, Othello prefers him to Lago and trusts him with the coveted post of a lieutenant albeit inexperienced. The only time Cassio attacks someone is when he attacks Roderigo in self-defense.

After long time of remaining loyal to his work maintaining good relationship with everyone, he is rewarded with the post of Othello. Lodovico arrives with reveals that Cassio has been appointed as he says, “May be the letter moved him / For, as I think, they do command him home / Deputing Cassio in his government” (Shakespeare 203). This is a reward of goodness and living a principled life.

Conclusion

Surely, Shakespeare knew well about the primal nature of human beings characterized by jealousy. He knew for sure that, those who are jealous and wicked receive wickedness in return and those living by good principles receive good rewards in turn. Nature has way of regulating these events and it rewards everyone according to his/her actions without favoritism. Othello is gullible and full of jealousy.

He cannot trust his wife and this is why he accuses her of infidelity and finally kills her. He confesses that he really does not know what he feels for her is love or jealousy; however, jealousy takes precedence and he kills Desdemona based on unfounded accusations of infidelity. Lago on the other side is an epitome of extreme human wickedness. He is out to settle scores and hurt everyone around him.

This makes him kill Emilia; plots to ruin Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio. Nevertheless, due to their wickedness, Othello and Lago receive rewards of death and hurt respectively. Cassio on the other side receives good rewards due to his good principles. Shakespeare’s message here is, “do not be deceived, you reap what you plant” (Mabillard Para. 11).

Works Cited

Bradley, Alex. “Shakespeare: Othello.” Nd. Web.

Mabillard, Amanda. “The Moral Enigma of Shakespeare’s Othello.” 2009. Web. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/othello/othelloessay1.html>.

Shakespeare, William. “Othello.” Furness, Horace. (Ed.). Philadelphia; J. B. Lippincott Co. 1886.

The works, created by William Shakespeare, always amaze the reader and open a new world, full of dreams, devotion, love, and betrayal to them. Each character, introduced in Shakespeare’s plays, is unique indeed: one character may be rich, another can be poor; one of the characters is smart, another is full; some of them are quite happy for a certain period of time, and some of them cannot find their love and happiness during all their fictional lives.

To my mind, one of the most complex, captivating, and, at the same time, the most evil characters in Shakespeare’s plays is Iago from The Tragedy of Othello. Nowadays, the screenwriters try to present the best villains ever, however only few fictional characters may be compared to Iago.

One of such fictional characters, who may be compared to Iago, is the Joker from The Dark Knight. Each action and each word by Iago or Joker has its own sense and reason. In order to achieve the desirable purpose, they try to weight every detail and control the lives and actions of people around.

Shakespeare made his character an absolutely amoral person, who can steal, lie, or even kill to achieve the goal. Iago’s amorality, his desire to have more power, and his tricks have much in common with the Joker’s actions and turn out to be the best examples of pure evil people from fictions.

Shakespeare’s Othello is one of the most powerful pieces of writing, where the author concentrates more on people, their desires, and qualities than on the historical facts and political affairs; characters’ sexual anxiety is far from any political aspiration (Corns, 53).

Without any doubts, the character of Iago is one of the most crucial one in the Shakespeare’s play. When someone wants to know how evil looks like, it is better to think about Iago, remember his “honest” actions, and get a clear understanding that evil may be somewhere near. “I follow him to serve my turn upon him.” (Shakespeare, 1, 1, 42). These Iago’s words take place almost at the beginning of the play during the conversation between Iago and Roderigo about Othello, the Moorish general.

In spite of the fact that Iago is one of the soldiers under Othello’s command, Iago has rather evil intentions and the desire to take up Othello’s position and does not afraid to share them with another person. From these words, it becomes clear that Iago is upset with unfair promotion; he cannot agree to the idea that now, he is under command of a person, he does not respect at all. Now, he wants to revenge, he wants to be promoted, and he is going to find some people to assist him.

Iago’s actions are smart enough: first, he should be sure that the person, he shares his goals, feels the same antipathy to Othello; second, he does not share all his secrets, just those, he finds not too much harmful; and, finally, he chooses only those people, he is able to control and even blackmail.

It is necessary to admit that Iago’s amorality and evil do not prevent the reader to be amazed with Iago’s intelligence and abilities to control situation. For example, Iago is aware of Roderigo’s feelings to Desdemona and is sure that Roderigo will do anything to win this lady. This is why Iago finds it rather helpful to use Roderigo’s money and jewels for own goals – “thus do I ever make my fool my purse” (Shakespeare, 1, 3, 383).

Of course, such actions cannot be regarded as good ones, but still, Iago demonstrates the best qualities of a really good businessman. The end of the play is rather tragic, and all actions by Iago were exposed. The reader does not have an opportunity to find out what the Iago’s end is, but still, his end is almost obvious – evil actions should be punished properly. To my mind, such concepts like briberies and corruptions, which are so popular nowadays, are grounded a bit from this very work by Shakespeare.

Of course, Shakespeare is not the only one, who is able to create really evil characters. Lots of writers present a huge number of antagonists, who prevent the success of the main characters, who add a bit of intrigue, and who try to achieve own goals by means of lies, murders, blackmails, etc.

Unfortunately, not each evil character may be compared and be equal to the one, created by Shakespeare. But still, even our modern cinema and literature can amaze readers and viewers. One of such antagonists, who are famous by his bad actions and intentions, is the Joker from The Dark Knight.

This character is interesting from many perspectives and causes numerous contradictions at the same time: first, he is too evil and always eager to break some rules and harm society as well as Iago, however, his attitude to some situations makes the viewer smile; secondly, his hate towards Batman makes him the main antagonist, however, some of his actions are rather smart and cause certain respect.

His horrific appearance and constant laughter do not cause positive emotions, but still, some of his words and actions should be taken into consideration as they have certain sense and even can teach something.

So, the peculiar feature that is inherent to both the Joker from The Dark Knight and Iago from Othello is their desire to break the rules, make someone’s life unbearable, and get unbelievable pleasure from doing all those bad things.

Someone may think that it is not reasonable to compare these two antagonists, as they existed during different periods of time, and they goals had rather different nature. However, to my mind, their unreasonable actions are worthy of attention. First of all, these two characters have one concrete enemy and tried to use other people to take revenge and kill their opponents.

For Iago, it was Othello, for the Joker, it was Batman. The Joker decides to use the mob, who hates Batman as well, in order to intimidate society, attract Batman’s attention, and have enough power and money to resist everybody’s favorite. Iago uses Roderigo, who also wants to take revenge upon Othello for Desdemona, Roderigo’s money, and Roderigo’s support.

However, the Joker and Iago never use money, they got from their accomplices; this is why these characters are similar to their desire to manipulate people just in order to manipulate. The Joker admits one time: “It’s not about money… it’s about sending a message. Everything burns!” (The Dark Knight) The same idea is characterized Iago’s intentions and actions.

Another point that unites the Joker and Iago in their words and actions is their abilities to lie, not think about the consequence, and not consider their consciousness.

At the beginning, Iago tells that he hates Othello because the latter did not promote him but promoted Cassio; however, with some time, he admits that Othello slept with Emilia, Iago’s wife, and this is the major reason why Iago wants to revenge. Almost the same picture is observed in the Joker’s actions: first, he admits that it was his father, who “put a smile on that face” (The Dark Knight); later, he presents absolutely another story that it is his wife, “who tells me I ought to smile more” (The Dark Knight).

The reader of Othello and the viewer of The Dark Knight can easily concede that any of their words are false. As we can observe, the actions of these two characters do not have any reason, they do not care about the rules, their society live in; these people are so evil that they have satisfaction only in case someone is suffering, however, it is even hard to imagine if these people can be aware of what satisfaction really means.

In general, the analysis of words and actions by Iago and its comparison to the Joker’s actions lead to unpredictable results. These two evil characters were created in different epochs, cultures, and conditions, however, at the same time, their dreams, goals, words, and actions are so similar to each other.

It is impossible to support any of these characters, but still, it is possible to learn something from their actions, analyze their mistakes, and comprehend that evil may exist in different forms. Very often, it is very hard to find out where the true evil can be, but such great works like Othello or The Dark Knight provide us with a chance to evaluate possible examples and be careful with such “Iagos” or “the Jokers” in real life.

Works Cited

Corns, Thomas, N. “A History of Seventeenth-Century English Literature.” Blackwell Histories of Literature. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello, Moore of Venice. Teddington: Echo Library, 2007.

The Dark Knight. Dir. Nolan, Christopher. Perf. Bale, Christian, Ledger, Heath, and Caine, Michael. Legendary Pictures, Syncopy Films, DC Comics.