Category: Othello

A man who is virtuous and has many sympathetic traits, a person with flaws people would consider fatal, a person wounded by experience: that person is a tragic hero, and a tragic hero is perfectly shown by Shakespeare’s Othello.

Othello’s past is the reason he is the way he is today, his past is the reason he is considered a tragic hero. Him being a victim of racism “ his blackness is not only a mark of his physical alienation but a symbol, to which every character in the play”1.1. Having taken part in many wars and suffering from PTSD, he has developed a need for strong stability in trust with his soldiers and those around him such as his ensign. Being accused of witchcraft to make Desdemona fall in love with him, “ he never believed his daughter would marry Othello unless she was drugged or under some kind of spell” 3.3. The way he’s been treated in the past because of war and being manipulated by Iago shows how wounded he is from his past.

Othello’s true tragic flaw is that he is so vulnerable which makes it easy for others to control him, just as we see Iago do. “ I follow him to serve my turn upon him” 1.1. He internalizes iago’s negative view of black men, which undermines his sense of self, under Iago’s influence Othello starts to consider the differences between himself and Desdemona as problematic. When he realizes this flaw he was guilty and it was too late to change which made him realize besides his past his flaws are his biggest weakness. Othello’s role in the play, him being one of the main side characters compliments his tragic flaws. When you look at his flaws you probably think about his jealousy, when Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been an unfaithful wife, then he succumbs to his jealousy and kills Desdemona and then himself. Or his gullibility by allowing Iago to manipulate his insecurities and influence his behavior by planting seeds of uncertainty, distrust, suspicion, and jealousy in Othello’s mind.

The color of Othello’s skin is even more obviously a crucial factor in his downfall. “ His visibly alien racial identity makes him and his bride far more vulnerable to the machinations of Iago than if he were an equally accomplished and indispensable white man. With Othello being so gullible he started to believe everything people were saying about him and started to make him have negative references to his own race suggesting that perhaps his blackness is to blame for his lack of consortial ability. Iago plays a role in Othello’s negative view about his own race, he manipulates Othello by convincing him that people harbor racist sentiments against him, although it wasn’t true. Othello’s belief that racism exists not only brings about his downfall but gives others a reason to condemn his unstable behavior.

Othello struggles with many things but one more of his struggles which you could argue is one of the biggest reasons he is called a tragic hero is because of his lack of trust in his wife. Othello struggles with the idea that Desdemona is unfaithful, at first he refuses to believe it and demands proof he flusters Desdemona when she cannot produce a handkerchief he has given her. He overhears Cassio speaking of his affairs with Desdemona he sees the handkerchief in the hands of Cassio’s mistress. Even though Desdemona really didn’t cheat because Cassio hands Bianca Desdemona’s handkerchief and asks her to copy the pattern on the handkerchief. At the beginning of all this, it was Iago who planned all this and tricked Othello. Iago shares his evil plan for a Desdemona handkerchief; he will put it in Cassio’s room for evidence that Desdemona and Cassio have been having an affair. He understands that his gift from Othello to Desdemona might be a trinket to some but bere a lot of meaning to other people. Even after Desdemona tries to defend herself and tell the truth, Othello still can’t bring himself to trust Desdemona and continues to allow himself to be manipulated and controlled by Iago. Eventually, Othello is driven mad by this and allows his jealousy to take over and one night after Desdemona has retired to bed he approaches her bed and strangles her to death but even after she still continues to declare love for him.

Although Othello has been through a lot, Ann has many flaws; his biggest flaw is the way he allows himself to be controlled by Iago. Iago skillfully exploits Othello through his dextrous use of words. Earlier in the play, Othello refuses to believe Iago and about his wife but Iago manages to overpower Othello and deceive him Iago manipulates him through his words. Othello allowing himself to be manipulated like this shows the level of gullibility he has because of his being tricked into what leads to him being driven mad and him killing his wife and himself. This man who experienced hell in his past and continues to suffer hell in his presence is a man whose flaws would be considered fatal because, in the end, it was fatal for him, this man is Shakespeare’s Othello.

Shakespeare’s immense impact on the world of literature and language is still present today, over 400 years later. The themes, ideas, and messages across his works, still being relevant today, suggest he was not of an age, but in fact, for all time.

Shakespeare transformed nouns into verbs, verbs to adjectives, and suffixes and prefixes were added to adjust the meaning of particular words. His invention of more than 1,700 words and phrases including bump, lonely, amazement and upstairs, makes him a fundamental figure in the development of language. Find yourself using the term ‘gossip’ and you’re quoting him (A word which was first used in A Midsummer Night’s Dream). ‘The be-all and end-all’ is uttered by Macbeth as he contemplates murdering King Duncan. Shakespeare even invented the knock-knock joke in the Scottish play.

Shakespeare’s use of metaphors and similes in his plays and poems opened our minds to the possibility’s there are with comparison. Additionally, his impact exists through not only the way we express ourselves but how people experience and process the world around them. Had he not created the word ‘gloomy’ (in Titus Andronicus), would it be a sentiment we acknowledged in ourselves? His lasting impact on language is aided by the unforgettable characters, who voiced these new words.

Furthermore, Shakespeare’s plays remain relevant to us in modern times because we still struggle with the same issues that his characters faced. Most of us have times, like Hamlet, where, instead of facing our problems, we would prefer to disappear or like Shakespeare’s states, ‘dissolve into a dew’. His ability to create characters who, despite extraordinary factors, are totally and profoundly human in both their strengths and shortcomings is one of the many reasons he has always been so relevant.

Moreover, Shakespeare’s use of women is a further reason as to why Shakespeare was for all time. The role of women in his plays was very strange for his time. Although there are approximately seven times more male characters than female characters in his plays, his female characters often show displays of intellect, courage, recklessness, ambition, and pride, creating several vivid, independent, and free-thinking female characters in his plays. Additionally, Shakespeare’s depiction of equal relationships between men and women plays (which was rare at the time) creates a relevant storyline centuries later. Alluding to the possibility Shakespeare perhaps could be conceived as a progressive, advanced man, if not by today’s standards, then at least for his time. Perhaps Shakespeare helped pave the way for a slightly more equal society. In 1660 (44 years after Shakespeare’s death), King Charles II’s decree declared that ‘all the women’s parts to be acted in either of the said two companies may be performed by women’, giving rights to two theatre companies to allow women to act.

Shakespeare’s consistent importance in contemporary and modern society is also partly due to the messages his plays express. Across the three different types of plays he wrote, histories, comedies and tragedies, several themes are used across multiple of Shakespeare’s plays, such as appearance vs reality, ambition, and love, and all themes have lessons that can be taken from them. Love is a prominent theme seen in Romeo and Juliet, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew etc. In Othello, Shakespeare presents the idea that Love can be used against you and can be manipulated, as well as love’s ability to be blinding. The Taming of the Shrew presents the theme of love ultimately through characters finding a suitable partner for marriage. The key message being about courtship, marriage, and relationship and the emotional component is inferior to more dominant social and economic power structures, used for the benefit of husbands individually and broader family interests together. This message conveying to the contemporary audience how to act in marriage and reinforcing the reality of the patriarchal system in society.

Shakespeare significance in modern-day society can be shown through his influence on media. Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of The Shrew, was written in 1590. Four centuries later Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith created a movie adaptation of the play entitled 10 Things I Hate About You. Regardless of the different settings the plays take place in, certain things are constant, such as the ways the characters are portrayed and perceived. The movie reminds us that it’s traditional, virginal, shallow girls that are loved, whist independent girls with strong personalities and refusal to bow down to societal expectations are thought of as undesirable and unreasonable. Just like in Shakespeare’s time, fathers are still trying to control their daughter’s sexuality, where in The Taming of the Shrew, Baptista would not let Bianca get married unless Katherina does, resulting in Petruchio being found for Katherine, who only marries her for the dowry given by Baptista. In 10 Things I Hate About You the same plot is followed, Walter, the character based on Baptista, does not let Bianca date unless Kat does, and Patrick is paid to take Kat out on a date.

The ‘shrew’, Katharina, is irritable and critical at the start of the play. She continually degrades the men surrounding her, and she shows wild displays of rage, sometimes physically attacking whoever enrages her. Though she is also intelligent and independent. Kat is a shameless feminist, who is set with her values, but often contradicts herself over the course of the movie. She’s vocal about her loathing of the patriarchal society she lives in, and yet she is a character in a movie where the men ultimately get their way. However, in the end, both girls succumb to their male counterparts and a lot of their original values are lost. The similar plot lines and character traits show the impact of Shakespeare’s literature and his timeless storylines that are still appropriate in modern times. Whilst also suggesting to the contemporary audience that women should be mild-mannered, and subservient to their husbands.

To conclude, the key success of Shakespeare is due to the way he describes the emotions of his characters and the passion, love and hatred they have for each other. Additionally, the themes and messages present in much of his all compile into the multiple reasons as to why Shakespeare is still relevant and is continuing to be taught to younger generations.

Introduction

Love and passion have a lot in common; however, there is a thin line separating the two and this distinction only comes out through the actions taken by the involved parties. There has always been a conflict between love and passion because many people do not love; they are only passionate and as the confusion sets in, people become lost and finally despair for they do not get what they expect.

The raging conflict between love and passion comes out clearly in Shakespeare’s play; Othello and Yasunari Kawabata’s book; Snow Country. While in these two works there are people who are truly in love, others are just passionate even though they assume or pretend to be in love. This paper explores four characters viz. Othello and Desdemona from Othello, Shinamura, and Komako from Snow Country. Why do these people make decisions that they make?

Love vs. Passion

In Othello, Othello is passionate about Desdemona whilst she is in love with him. Shakespeare richly explores the conflict between love and passion. As aforementioned, it is hard to differentiate between love and passion as they all come in the name of love. Othello confesses his love for Desdemona while his actions negate these claims. He says, “…I love the gentle Desdemona” (Shakespeare 29).

This is only lip service and as the old adage goes, actions are stronger than words; Othello’s actions speak loudly against his words. By virtue of its selfish nature, passion tramples over love and the two cannot coexist. Love is long bearing, patient, and understanding among other virtues. On the other hand, passion mimics love for some time and eventually resorts to its self-seeking nature.

After confessing his love for Desdemona, ironically, Othello goes on to kill her. Othello simply married Desdemona to achieve his own good; love seeks for the common good of everyone, not an individual. Othello is passionate with marrying Desdemona because for one; he would brag it to his friends, and satisfy his ego. If only he truly loved Desdemona, he would not even thought of killing her.

To show how far love is from Othello, he uses unfounded hearsays to accuse his wife and takes no time to investigate the matter. He hurriedly concludes that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio simply because Lago thinks so. He justifies his claims by saying, “She turned to folly, and she was a whore” (Shakespeare 480). Love is not jealous and it does not accuse the loved especially in absence of substantial evidence.

Moreover, even if the loved is surely in the wrong, love brings forgiveness through mutual understanding; it does not bear finger pointing and death. Due to lack of love, inflamed with passion, Othello kills Desdemona. On the other side, Desdemona loves Othello and this is why she marries him and sticks with him even after her father tries to terminate the marriage by contesting it before the Dukes.

The conflict between love and passion continues to be manifested in Kawabata’s book, Snow Country. As Shinamura gets to know Komako well, it is evident that he cannot love. He is only passionate, passionate about his personal desires. As the story opens up, the reader learns that Shinamura is a “bored individual who lives a life of idleness” (Kawabata 8).

Actually, the reason why he comes to Snow Country is to kill this boredom and rediscover his ‘self.’ Therefore, it follows that he only accepts Komako as a ‘tool’ of satisfaction, not as a loving partner.

At one point, he forgets that Komako is a girl and in one moment, he calls her ‘a good girl’ and immediately tells her, “You are a good woman” (Kawabata 21). This is disturbing; Shinamura is only interested in the ‘woman’ in Komako, not anything else, not even a loving relationship. He is only passionate about her to achieve his goal of rediscovering his ‘self’ and killing boredom.

This is the reason why when Komako demands to know the meaning of such contrasting titles, he cannot offer a valid answer. Instead, the author notes that, “He had not dreamed that she was a woman who would find it necessary to take offense at such a trivial remark, and that very fact lent her an irresistible sadness” (Kawabata 27).

Of course, passion unlike love is not considerate; consequently, Shinamura could never imagine that his insensitive remarks would hurt anyone. On the other hand, Komako is in love with Shinamura and this is why, “she never let him out of sight at the resort…stumbled into his room all the time drunk and mumbling non stop…“ (Kawabata 46 & 49). It is only true love that could labor this much, not passion.

Conclusion

Love and passion are mutually exclusive; they cannot coexist. In presence of love, passion fades away. On the other side, passion negates any understanding of what true love is. Love runs deep into the soul and berths in the depths of heart; however, passion is superficial and self-seeking, resting on the surface of the heart to satisfy its desires, which in most cases are selfish.

Othello does not love Desdemona; if only he loved her, he would never thought of killing her. Nevertheless, because his ‘love’ for her is based on passion, he smothers her to death; this is jealousy and selfishness. His decisions are based on jealousy and indecision, made in haste, because he lacks love. Love is long bearing and does not accuse falsely; on the contrary, passion does this and does it with zeal and precision.

Shinamura is another passionate culprit who does not understand what true love is. This may explain why he is bored and ‘lost.’ he is so insensitive to Komako that she wonders what she is not doing right. He does not care and after realizing that Komako is not a professional geisha, he falls for Yuko despite the fact that he tells Komako she is a ‘good’ woman. No one can have both love and passion simultaneously. Where love is, passion melts away and where passion is, true love shy away.

Works Cited

Kawabata, Yasunari. “Snow Country.” New York; Vintage Publishers, 1996.

Shakespeare, William. “Othello.” Furness, Horace. (Ed.). Philadelphia; J.B. Lippincott Company, 2005.

The play of Othello has been one closely bound up with the question of race and racism. It is the underlying issue of racial prejudice in Venetian society that influences Iago’s plot against Othello, a prejudice both Othello and Desdemona are much aware of its existence. Desdemona denies prejudice in her own life. Her focus is only her love, of which she is loyal in preserving. However, Othello is not aware of how deep the issue of Elizabethan prejudice has conquered his own personality.

Prejudice makes Othello undermine himself by saying “I am not attractive”. “I am not worthy of Desdemona”. “It cannot be true that she really loves me,” and “If she loves me, then there must be something wrong with her” (Shakespeare 72). Such thoughts prevent Othello from discussing the matter with Desdemona, so he acts with the panicked assumptions under the influence of Iago’s lies and hints.

Surviving the Elizabethan’s prejudice requires Othello to be near perfect in strength and knowledge. For instance, Iago explicitly refers to Othello with a vulgar prejudice by asserting that “These Moors are changeable in their wills…” (Shakespeare 30). We cannot ignore this assertion Iago makes about Othello. This vulgar prejudice against Othello is what readers can sustain as the truth about racial prejudice during Elizabethan period (Graham 23).

Other critics consider Othello as one of the finest achievements of Shakespeare, but also as one of the most scandalous plays causing discomfort to both readers and viewers. Some critics argue that Shakespeare made a mistake by making a “Moor” his central character because only white characters could be tragic heroes.

Others argue that Shakespeare was only expressing the values of Elizabethans regarding race issue, which he thought was an offensive portrayal of black people during his times. At the same time, other critics believe that Shakespeare was deliberately exposing the issue of racial prejudice of his fellow countrymen by representing a black tragic hero.

Shakespeare’s characters are among the racist in Elizabethan period. They frequently use the word “black” to refer to Othello. For instance, Iago compares Othello to “an old black ram” (Shakespeare 5). This portrays the perceptions of Elizabethans toward black race. Elizabethans see black people as animals that do not possess human civility, but animalistic instincts. Brabanzio prejudices against black race due to their skin color.

Consequently, he is unable to trust his own daughter’s association with Othello because it goes against his opinion concerning foreign race. Brabanzio reasserts his prejudice judgment by using the word “fear” to reflect his idea about blacks i.e. blacks are savage and uncivilized persons. Brabanzio goes further to substitute Othello’s dignity by referring to him as a “thing”.

At the same time, Desdemona must justify why she must marry a “Moor”. The white society does not accept racial marriages. When Desdemona asserts that she saw Othello in her mind, it means that she must rationalize and validate her love to Othello in her mind and not her heart.

Iago tells Othello that Desdemona as his wife is so unnatural to the point that she refused “many proposed matches …… Of her own clime, complexion, and degree” (Shakespeare 70).

ago uses these descriptions on Othello to invoke a sense of fear, evil, savageness and racial inferiority of the blacks. The culture of the whites portrays black race as degenerated and uncivilized. Othello must act within the limits of a racist society to deal with the alleged infidelity of Desdemona (Adelman 45).

The Elizabethan definitions and identity of the “Moor” varied. They used the term to refer to blacks or someone outside their race. Therefore, any other race outside the white’s society was insignificant. Iago vulgarly refers to Othello as a “Barbary horse”. Elizabethans used the term “black” in reference to “Moor”, black or any other person with Arabic origins. Iago refers to Othello with derogative terms because of his skin pigmentation and his growing love and desire for a white woman.

We can conclude that racial prejudice rotates around racial sexual union of Othello and Desdemona. Characters consider Othello as honorable and admirable person. However, Iago mixes sexual and race issues so as to find ways of attacking Othello from all sides. Therefore, Elizabethans use black’s physical features to define Othello’s identity.

Importance of race in the play

Racial prejudice marks the watershed in this play. The significance of Othello’s race and pigmentation work hard to expose racial prejudice in the Elizabethan era. This forces the audience not to see Othello as a stereotyped Moor, but as a tragic hero. The tragic event perpetuated by Iago transform Othello into what Iago wants him to be. This makes the play creates some discomfort among white audience.

Shakespeare links race, prejudice and sex issues in order to create a web of tragedies. The play exposes the whites’ fear of miscegenation and mingling of races through Othello. Shakespeare is using the Moor to challenge the ideologies of race, sex and miscegenation in the Elizabethan period. The play stirs the audience sympathy through representation of the love of a white woman for a black man (Hadfield 30).

This was a taboo during the Elizabethan era with the fear of mixed-race offspring. A suitable scenario comes out through Roderigo when he tells Desdemona’s father that, “you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you’ll have your nephews neigh to you” (Shakespeare 29).

Cultural treatment of foreigners

The descriptions other characters use in reference to Othello lead the audience to believe that Elizabethan people treated foreigners with a difference. Other characters use a number of culturally stereotyped names to refer to Othello. For instance, Emilia refers to Othello as the “Moor” by saying “The Moor’s abus’d by some outrageous knave…… And made you to suspect me with the Moor” (Shakespeare 30).

Such references make the readers conceive the story as one filled with stereotyped treatment of the Negros during Shakespeare’s period. The racist descriptions permeate the play throughout as evident in Roderigo and Iago.

However, as Shakespeare develops his character, Othello, we realize that some characters around him treat him as an equal. Othello has a rich history of ancestry. We must see Othello as a Negro, but as a high and courteous Moorish chief. In other words, Shakespeare counteracts the Moorish references by developing the traits of Othello so that readers may forget his skin color.

Later, Shakespeare presents Othello as a civilized, master of language, respected and above all, capable of passion beyond race. As the play closes, we realize that it is not all about race, but a story of a tragic character who commits a tragic act of murder.

It is critical to note that the play starts in darkness. Strangely, the characters do not use Othello’s name in reference to him. Readers can only guess who could be “the black ram” through the terms other characters use in reference to Othello. The reference to the terms Moor, thick lips and a Barbary horse equate Othello to an animal. Roderigo sees the union between Othello and Desdemona as an act which will only results into a creation of a “beast with two backs” (Shakespeare, 29).

We know that horses have wide lips, and by saying that the grandson will be a half-horse because of the “animal blood” in Othello is an extreme act of sex and racial prejudice cultural treatment of foreigners. Readers only have hints of Othello through references to animals Roderigo and Iago make. We can draw a conclusion between the Moor and animals. Roderigo and Iago make references to animals. They demonstrate that the Moors lack civility, and are half-human creatures that can only fit the definition of animals.

Brabanzio experiences confusion at his daughter’s affair with the foreigner, the Moor. Thoughts and fear carry Brabanzio away to conclude that Othello is using the black magic and witches to lure Desdemona. It is equally fascinating to note that Brabanzio makes such remarks before even knowing the identity of Othello.

He only relies on the descriptions Iago and Roderigo give Othello. The Elizabethans associated the dark and savage to black people’s magic. Since Othello is a “Moor”, Brabanzio laments, and wonders how Desdemona could have fallen in love with him “against all rules of nature” (Shakespeare 31).

Brabanzio takes it to the extreme by wondering how his daughter could have fallen “in love with that she feared to look” (Shakespeare 31). This reference gives readers ideas how Shakespeare’s contemporaries treated foreigners. In other words, sexual union between blacks and whites was against the law of nature during the Elizabethan period (Sanders 66).

Brabanzio uses some of the strongest remarks to define foreigners. Elizabethan considers different races that access the white’s society as pagans and bondslaves. For instance, Brabanzio asserts that “For if such actions may have passage free, bondslaves and pagans shall our statesmen be” (Shakespeare 32).

Readers conclude that the Elizabethan did not recognize the existence of black men as true men. The whites regarded the Moors as bondslaves and pagans with no place in their white society. However, as Shakespeare continues to develop his tragic hero, Brabanzio changes his notion about Othello. Shakespeare presents the Moor as a refined character who speaks, acts and dresses as whites do. He also portrays the outstanding leadership qualities of Othello.

Audiences begin to understand that Othello is no different from other white characters, except for the color of his skin. A part from Iago, Roderigo and other evil characters who characteristically refer to Othello as the Moor, the rest of the characters treats him with respect and call him the valiant Moor. This reference makes Othello’s race a significant part of him: a part which is rich in history and quite glorified.

The cultural context of Othello

When the play opens, it is hard for readers to imagine that the play will revolve around the issue of race. However, the cultural context of the tragic hero, Othello reveals that he does not compare to any racist terms other characters use to describe him.

In order to erase the issue of race in a cultural context of his hero, Shakespeare cleverly develops his character to counteract the savagery and uncivilized terms racist characters use in reference to Othello. It is obvious that Othello does not fit any of the descriptions his enemies impose on him.

For instance, when Othello advices his battalion to watch their swords reveals a deep personality of cultivated and intelligent man. Othello says “Keep your bright swords, for the dew will rust them. Good signor you have more command with your years than with your weapons” (Shakespeare12). These lines draw the readers’ attention to the civility and gentleness of Othello. Readers wonder whether to judge Othello from the stereotyped and prejudiced point of view of Iago and Roderigo or use Othello’s words to judge him.

Othello must prove himself as a truly civilized Moor before the white society. Some readers easily follow the assumptions Iago and Rederigo claim about Othello. Readers cannot judge Othello from the words of characters with ulterior motives. Iago and Roderigo lack credibility to provide substantial information regarding Othello. This makes his opinion insignificant to the reader since they are cruel and baseless.

Shakespeare presents a tragic hero who is humble. Othello recognizes that he is different from other characters in terms of skin color and speech. Othello says that “Rude am I in speech… And little blessed with the soft phrase of speech” (Shakespeare 13). This humble act of humility defines Othello’s character throughout the play. Othello recognizes that he is racially different from whites, but not racially mediocre character to them. Shakespeare asserts the fact that the “other race” can rise above whites and be their hero.

The cultural context of Othello is one full of fascinating history. Othello woos a lover and friends alike with his rich cultural background and stories of heroism. They want to hear more and more of his fascinating tales. This creates a sense of admiration in Othello among some of his white admirers.

It is this rich and exotic history of heroism which is lacking in whites’ society. The fascinating history makes the Duke to admit that his daughter would have fallen for such a story. Othello is using his cultural background to his advantage and never admits that his race is inferior to any.

Throughout the play, comments of animal and savagery follow Othello. When Othello murders Desdemona, he uses the term base India to refer to himself. This barbarous act of brutality leaves the readers wondering whether Othello is a true civilized person or is an animal. This is the only instance where Othello puts is cultural orientation into a negative focus.

The fundamental issue for readers to ponder is whether Othello is a beast or a civilized person. Readers wonder whether Iago and Roderigo have been right all along about the civility of Othello. Like most of Shakespeare’s tragic characters, we realize that Othello is man, regardless of race, trapped in a web of deceit and evil plots.

Whether White or black, anybody is capable of murder, in a brutal manner, of course. Therefore, the issue of race inferiority is secondary to this play. Shakespeare demonstrates that racial prejudice has some of the most negative consequences, especially if people harbor ulterior motive against others.

Works Cited

Adelman, Janet. Iago’s alter ego: race as projection in Othello. New York: Routledge, 1997. Print.

Graham, Bradshaw. Misrepresentations: Shakespeare and the Materialis. New York: Cornell University Press, 1993. Print.

Hadfield, Andrew. A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on William Shakespeare’s Othello. New york: Routledge, 2003. Print.

Sanders, Norman. Othello: The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare’s Othello: Cliff Notes. Chicago: IDG Books Worldwide, 2000. Print.

Introduction

Oedipus Rex is one interesting story that leaves the reader with mixed feelings about the ill fate that followed Oedipus. The narrative ends with a sad note that leaves the reader wishing that all the effort that Oedipus and Jocasta put in ensuring that they did not end up fulfilling what the oracle had predicted about them. The essay intends to look at the life of Oedipus who is the main character of the book and how the gods were responsible for his downfall after the struggle he had gone through to make sure that he does not fulfill what the oracle had predicted about him.

The gods against Oedipus

The story is in a Greek setting where there are ancient aspects such as oracles and gods. The narrative revolves around the life of the main character called Oedipus who is born after a prophecy is made to Jocasta that she will give birth to a son who will kill his father and bear children with his mother. To avoid the fulfillment of this upsetting prophesy, once Oedipus is born Jocasta decides to get rid of him. She gives Oedipus to a herdsman who is supposed to get rid of him.

Her husband Laios believing that the kid had been left out in the wilderness and Jocasta believing that the servant had gotten rid of the baby that she had given him to dispose of. There are many assumptions that are made as to the servant also assumes that giving the baby to a Corinthian will ensure that the oracle is not fulfilled because the Corinthian would take the baby to a far-off land (Friedlander par 3).

Unfortunately, the gods were against Oedipus. As Oedipus is living life in Thebes, people start suffering and they, in turn, run to him because they hold him in high regard and view him as savior since he solved the Sphinx riddle for them after they had really been struggling to find a solution to it. This is what directed Oedipus in finding the true nature of his identity. Since Oedipus loves these people and Thebes, he seeks help from Tiresias who was a blind prophet.

This is where Oedipus unknowingly plunges into the journey of finding out who his biological parents are. One incident that clearly reveals that the gods were against Oedipus and were responsible for his downfall is the fact that even while he was living with his adoptive parents, the gods did not let him rest (Mitchell-Boyask par 8). Fate had to trigger him to leave his home after he learns about the oracle while he is leaving with his adopted parents. He runs away from this home believing that he was the biological son of his parents not knowing that he was only adopted.

Oedipus’s journey

While on his journey from home, the gods have to see to it that the oracle is fulfilled, not knowing, Oedipus stumbles upon a group of men where the road forks out into three and here as fate would have it, he unsuspectingly takes the life of his biological father. He comes into Thebes and just so that fate would be fulfilled he helps the people in solving the Sphinx riddle and as a sign of gratitude, they crown him king of Thebes. As a result, he unintentionally and just to show that the gods were responsible for his downfall, takes Jocasta’s hand in marriage and they bear children together. Just as the oracle had predicted that he would take his father’s life and lain with his mother and bear children with her (Foster 34).

Oedipus’s destiny

Destiny structures it that Oedipus himself would turn out to be the author of his own ruin. Once he sets his mind on finding out about what is causing Thebes’s trouble, he also places himself in the direct path to his destruction. In his pursuit, he follows up on each clue though Tiresias had been reluctant in revealing what the problem was because he knew that the outcome of it all would not be pleasant to Oedipus.

The gods had plotted for doom on Oedipus’s life and whatever turn he took seemed to bring him closer to the disaster that both he and his parents had avoided at all cost. It cost his parents that they had to get rid of him to prevent the oracle from happening. While it cost Oedipus, the effort of running away from his adoptive parents due to what the oracle had revealed. Little did he know that he was running straight into what he was evading. What makes it apparent that the gods caused Oedipus’s ruin is that all these things he does with the intention of avoiding the fulfillment of an oracle. He lives his life knowing that he has escaped the oracle since he is living far from his parents but since the truth about his identity is hidden from him, he does not know that he has indeed fulfilled the oracle (Friedlander par 3).

Othello

Oedipus cannot be compared to Othello since Othello could have investigated more into the matter. However, fate was against Oedipus because in intending to better the lives of the people of Thebes, he stumbles on the revelation that he has indeed fulfilled what the oracle had predicted and he exiles himself in despair and contempt due to the events that were conspired by the gods. In Oedipus’s case, his tragic end was a case done by the gods and as much as he tried to escape his fate, it unsuspectingly caught up with him in the end.

However, a look into Othello’s case, it can be argued that his fate was not as ill determined by the gods as that of Oedipus. In Othello, a fellow human being who was his “friend” plots his ruin by using matrimonial basis since he knew that Othello loved his wife and the fool, Iago had a capability of being evil. He uses this evil trait in him to see to it that Othello suffers for not appointing him as an official and instead he appoints another character.

Othello’s downfall

Othello’s downfall is something that he could have avoided were it not that he was blinded by the feelings of jealousy he had due to the great love that he had for his wife. His downfall is a conspiracy that was initiated by Iago who happens to be Othello’s ensign with a greed for power by mounting in position. He aspires to be appointed by Othello as his personal lieutenant but his wishes are thwarted when Florentine Michael Cassio is appointed instead.

This is when Iago gets jealous and plots disaster for Othello to get back at him, though Othello has no idea that Iago has a conspiracy against him. Iago intends to poison the minds of the Venetians against Othello and he approaches a gullible character, Rodrigo and tells him that Othello uses personal connections and politics while promoting men rather than using military prowess. Just as Iago conspires against Othello, a perfect opportunity occurs when he, Othello flees with Desdemona, who is daughter to a senator, Brabantio.

Othello’s jealousy

It just so happens that Othello is a black moor while Desdemona is a white girl and Iago uses this to spark up the senator in opposition to Othello. Brabantio tries to stop the relationship between his daughter and Othello by accusing Othello of using magic but the duke rules against this when he hears Othello declare his love for Desdemona. Due to this ruling, Brabantio has to surrender his daughter to Othello. Othello is afterward summoned by the Venetian senate to go to war in defense against the Turks. Desdemona follows him and Othello not knowing that Iago was responsible for causing the feud between him and his father in law he orders him to accompany Desdemona to Cypress.

Iago is now presented with the perfect opportunity to revenge since he has all his victims. He decides to trick Othello into believing that Cassio has been lying to Desdemona. Iago gets Cassio drank and then Rodrigo who is Iago’s accomplice in executing this plan starts up a fight with the drunken Cassio. In the event of this fight, Montano who is the retiring Cypress governor intervenes and is hurt by Cassio. Othello happens to walk in and finds the commotion in which case Iago pretends to be innocent and lays the blame on Cassio. This enrages Othello and he denounces Cassio from serving the moor (Shakespeare 32).

Iago with his evil plot in mind advises Cassio to have Desdemona intercede for him to Othello. At the same time, he plants a treasured handkerchief that Othello had given to Desdemona in Cassio’s belongings. He then tells Othello that Desdemona is having an affair and to prove it Cassio has in his possession the handkerchief that he had given to his wife. When Desdemona is questioned about the handkerchief and fails to produce it, Othello is convinced that indeed the two were having an affair. Iago advises Othello that instead of poisoning her, he should strangle her and this is exactly what he does.

When he finds out that it had been all a lie, he kills himself and dies on top of his wife. This clearly shows how gullible Othello was. His case is one in which he inflicts his own downfall. His personality greatly contributes to this downfall. He seems to trust everything that he is being told by Iago without taking the time to ask his wife about the matter. His jealous nature blinds him from being rational and instead, he agrees to everything Iago says without second thoughts (Walton 53).

Conclusion

If Othello had not been driven by the jealous feelings he had clouding his eyes, he would have realized just how faithful and truthful Desdemona was. He also has a personality problem that causes him to be convinced that indeed Desdemona could have an affair with Cassio. He seems to think that Cassio is much handsome than him and there is no reason why Desdemona would not have an affair with him. His downfall and ruin are clearly self-inflicted due to his gullible nature. Coupled with the fact that he was jealous and did not want Desdemona to be with another man. Sheer gullibility causes Othello’s ruin. Had he taken time to investigate the matter, he would have found out the plot before killing his wife and putting his trust in Iago. His downfall was clearly self-inflicted.

Works Cited

Foster, C. Thomas. “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” New York: HarperCollins, 2003.

Friedlander, Ed. “Oedipus the King”, by Sophocles. 2010. Web.

Mitchell-Boyask, Robin. Study Guide for Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. 2002. Web.

Shakespeare, William. Ed Ruffiel, Burton. Othello (Yale Shakespeare). Bloom, Harold: Yale University Press, 1912.

Walton, Keith. Strength’s Abundance: A View of Othello. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1960.

Writers’ use of various semantic meanings in their creative works is traditionally associated with the author’s internal desire to carry a particular thought through that image. Readers who study literature independently tend to interpret these meanings through the prism of their own experience, which means that it is highly likely that the use of the same elements by different authors and even in different books by the same author may not be understood in the same way. On the contrary, it is often the case that different authors seek to bring similar meanings to works using the same semantic imagery. Among these, the role of contrast, which is achieved on the integration of dark and light images, is particularly noteworthy. The most notable use of dark styles is found in John Milton’s Paradise Lost and William Shakespeare’s Othello. In these classic works of poetry, dark imagery is used extensively by the authors to reinforce opposition to light styles, but additionally, the playwrights showed that darkness should not be taken unequivocally. This essay aims to qualitatively explore the use of such meanings in the two works mentioned.

One of the central themes of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy is the juxtaposition of contrasts. The reader is made aware of this almost from the very beginning when the protagonist Othello is introduced as an African of Moorish descent. For sixteenth-century British poetry, the use of dark-skinned characters in prominent plot positions was novel because racist slogans in public sentiment were still strong. This is perfectly illustrated in Othello, when the dark-skinned protagonist, which inevitably gives rise to thoughts of “crude Africans,” turns out to be a decent and pious character. Thus, one of the first and most obvious uses of dark imagery is aimed at Shakespeare’s desire to show that not everything “dark” is characterized as evil and bad, as it might seem at first glance.

However, it would be erroneous to say that Shakespeare did not use dark imagery, among other things, to demonstrate a dark, hidden style. The tragedy of Othello is replete with various uses of dark signs and characters to emphasize the character’s unkindness. One of these is Iago’s lieutenant, whose actions are often described in the context of a deep, dark night. Against the background of the angelic bright Desdemona, who traditionally wears white dresses, Iago appears as a grim ignoramus whose motives and actions are associated with self-serving evil. Thus, it is correct to say that the use of the image of darkness in the work of Othello was also necessary to reinforce the boundary effects between good and bad.

Dark styles to enhance the contrast with white imagery are used effectively in another work post-Elizabethan England, namely Paradise Lost by John Milton. Milton uses dark colors in his biblical subjects to signify the Devil’s powers. The use of dark colors to heighten the ominousness is particularly evident at the beginning of book three when the playwright uses words such as “obscure,” “eternal night,” and “darkness” (Milton 45). This is used for the apparent opposition to the luminous angels and God, which Milton describes in terms of divine-luminous shades. These thoughts are borrowed from the evangelist John, who literally wrote that “…God is light; in him, there is no darkness at all” (1 Jh. 1:5). Thus, the use of dark imagery in Milton’s work is implemented to heighten the contrast between light and darkness, good and evil.

Once again, however, it would be a mistake to assign unambiguous meaning to the dark rhetoric in Paradise Lost. On the contrary, Milton describes God and the Devil as complex characters who do not differ in color alone. The most striking episode confirming the non-uniqueness of the images of good and evil relates to the reference to Adam and Eve. The people standing between God and the Devil have initially been associated with divine light and goodness, but after Eve’s original sin, provoked by the Devil, they were cast out of the light into darkness. By this example, Milton shows that God can also carry darkness if he considers it just since it is his will that people are driven out of Paradise. An additional example of the transition between light and darkness, and thus the softening of the boundary between good and evil, is the fallen angels in the service of the Devil: like humans, these angels were sinful because they crossed over to the side of darkness. This means that the use of darkness as an image in Paradise Lost has a concomitant meaning, through which Milton tries to show that the world is not composed only of black and white colors.

It is not difficult to draw parallels between the use of darkness as a symbol in Othello and Paradise Lost. Both Shakespeare and Milton are careful to show that there is no unambiguous dark and light imagery, but that integration must be sought everywhere. Thus, the fallen angels and Adam and Eve and Paradise Lost are juxtaposed with Othello, who semantically combines naturally dark colors — African skin — with light, kindly urges. Furthermore, like Eve, who has committed sin, Othello commits the murder of Desdemona at the end of the poem, which is metaphorically described by Shakespeare as “put out the light and then put out the light” (Shakespeare 235). This defines the desire of both playwrights to soften the boundaries set by society between dark and light, white and dark, good and evil since there is nothing unambiguous in this world.

Meanwhile, both Shakespeare and Milton turn to the classic use of darker shades to heighten the contrast between light and darkness. Thus, the authors of the works often turn to this tool to emphasize the contrast in an image (Kampf). These arguments may seem to contradict the previous paragraph, but it is essential to recognize that in order to minimize the boundaries between light and darkness, it was necessary to set these boundaries first. Through the darkness, Shakespeare was showing darkness and secrecy, and Milton was addressing darkness when he described the world of hell. These associations helped the reader to feel rhetorically more potent the difference between light and dark. Thus, this textbook tool for the use of dark styles was used intentionally by the authors, simplifying the work for the reader.

To summarize, it is accurate to note that the images of darkness are not unambiguously used in the two works studied. Both Shakespeare’s Othello and Milton’s Paradise Lost try to teach the reader not to judge phenomena and people only by the first impression. Thus, the darkskin Othello is not connected to natural darkness until the last chapters, and not all of Milton’s angels are genuinely light. In addition, the use of darkness has another symbolic function. In particular, the contrast between good and evil is heightened through the use of darkness. This makes it easier for the reader to understand which character is good and which should be associated with darkness.

Works Cited

Kampf, Diane. Dark & Light Symbolism in Literature. Pen & Pad, 2017, Web.

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Global Language Resources, 2001.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2017.

Shakespeare employs the use of irony to convey his message to his audiences. The use of irony creates exciting scenes and makes the audiences identify with the characters. There are several instances of use of irony in the play. Shakespeare uses irony significantly to demonstrates Othello’s prejudice. This is probably the ultimate irony in the play.

Critics have focused their attention on Othello has the victim of Elizabethan prejudice. Ironically, Othello commits a shocking act of prejudice in the play against his wife, Desdemona. He refers to his faithful wife as “cunning whore” that must suffer for unfaithfulness with her life.

Othello blindly refuses to prove the innocence of his wife and summarily execute her. Othello is a good man who commits ironical act of murder. This is an ironical act of prejudice against Desdemona (woman). Audiences know that Desdemona is a victim of Iago’s evil plots against Othello. However, Othello neither knows the innocence’s of his wife nor Iago’s evil schemes.

Irony drives the scenes in Othello. The audiences know Iago as an evil man. However, he is masquerading as a man of honor. Iago assertively declares his good name in the play by extolling himself as “Good name in man and woman, dear my lord. Is the immediate jewel of their souls……But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him.

And makes me poor indeed” (Shakespeare 185). Iago, a jealous man from the beginning of the play, pretends to befriend Othello and speaks to him about the danger of jealousy. Therefore, it is ironical for Iago to warn Othello of jealously as follows “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock, The meat it feeds on… .” (Shakespeare 193).

Anagnorisis is a time of recognition of unknown or unsuspected truth in Greek tragedies. Anagnorisis emanated from the works of Aristotle. The idea forms a turning point in Greek tragedy. The protagonist recognizes his tragic mistakes almost at the end of the play leading to his failure and downfall.

Shakespeare uses recognition in Othello whereby the tragic hero wrongly murders his wife leading to Othello’s downfall in the play. Othello must get a form of recognition in order to make his fate as well as the play tragic. There are no chances of saving the victim of the tragic hero.

Otherwise, the play will not be tragic. Shakespeare cleverly relates his plots to create anagnorisis leading to the climax of the play. This creates a catharsis among the audiences.

Recognition depends on the doubts, beliefs and skepticism of the main characters in the play. Othello demands that Desdemona confesses her infidelity to him as he prepares to kill her. Othello tells Desdemona thus “If you bethink yourself of any crime unreconciled as yet to heaven and grace, solicit for it straight” (Shakespeare 156). Othello believes that he acted fairly by killing his wife.

Recognition occurs when Othello learns the truth after smothering his wife. Othello’s belief that his wife is unfaithful comes to an end. Emilia challenges Iago about the fabrication he had told Othello. We learn that it is Emilia who gave Iago the handkerchief. This is the moment of recognition where the play turns to tragedy.

There are other elements of recognition which emerge through the traits of other characters in the play. These revelations are mainly evil, and they contribute to the final tragedy of the play. The main tragedy in Othello can be partially due to unavoidable accident and characters flaw of Iago. Jealous Othello ends up killing Desdemona. Jealousy is a ruinous character flaw in Othello (Mabillard 30).

What follows recognition are strings of other revelations and the evils characters meet their fate too. Shakespeare reveals the tragic fate of Othello to the audiences as the play continues. The tragic death of Desdemona reverses Othello’s fortunes in the play.

Othello must be punished for the murder he has committed. Therefore, he takes his own life. Emilia’s life ends because of conveying the truth to Othello. Iago is terribly wounded and captured and will pay for his sins.

Shakespeare reveals characters’ intentions, dreams, motives and desires through the use of speeches and actions. Shakespeare uses messenger speech to reveal the innocence of Desdemona through Emilia and the cunning nature of Iago.

Othello’s messenger arrives to deliver the news of a broken Turkish ship in the storm. The speech enables the audience to see that the “Moor” is still at sea amidst the storm. The storm signifies unrest and trouble to come. Iago’ schemes are part of the storm to unfold in the story.

Iago’s message to Desdemona’s father depicts Elizabethan prejudice towards race outside the white society. Whites do not see any civilization in blacks. Therefore, the whites constantly refer to Othello with names depicting animals.

Messenger speech in the play allows the audience to have a clue of the scenes Shakespeare does not present on the stage. The use of the herald of Othello is particularly important in setting the plot for the next scene. After the storm of the sea ends, Iago’s storms of schemes follow.

Emilia is a messenger who delivers truth to Othello. Without her speech, Othello cannot learn the truth about Desdemona’s innocence. This is particularly essential since it contributes to the recognition or Anagnorisis of the play. This speech marks the downfall of Othello and other evil characters in the play.

Works Cited

Mabillard, Amanda. Othello Study Guide. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare’s Othello: Cliff Notes. Chicago: IDG Books Worldwide, 2000. Print.

Othello is among Shakespearian tragic plays as the story ends with numerous characters dead including the main principals. The play explores issues of power and the main difference that existed between male and female roles and occupation during the Elizabethan period. The play also focuses on jealousy, chastity, magic, love, murder and miscommunication. Out of vengeance Othello commits murder on the main basis of unfaithfulness.

When basing the play on the feminist perspective, we can analyze and judge difference social status and values that women held in Elizabethan society. Through Othello, we get to learn of privilege practices in patriarchal marriages and restrictions and suppression of femininity in the play. According to the play, women were only meant to marry whereby after marriage they were massively held responsible for child rearing and house management.

In addition, Elizabethan society expected women to be obedient, silent, and chaste to their fathers, husbands, and brothers; let’s say that the society expected women to obey men in general. The society saw women to be psychologically and physiologically inferior to men. The following compares and contrast the principal female characters in the play Othello: Desdemona, Bianca and Emilia. It demonstrates the restrictions placed on women during Elizabethan era.

Women as Possessions

The play Othello clearly demonstrates women as possession. After hearing Othello’s defence and Brabantio’s complain, the Duke allows Desdemona to go with Othello to Cyprus. Iago is assigned by Othello who ironically describes him as an honest and trustworthy man to inform the Duke that “To his conveyance I assign my wife (Shakespeare 283).”

Following Othello’s comments, we can clearly get to know how he views his wife; he treats Desdemona as his own possession. Actually, Othello see her as a commodity which should be transported and guided everywhere. The first senator asks Othello just before they leave to Cyprus to take good care and look after Desdemona. On the other hand, Desdemona’s father sees her as his property.

Brabantion believes that Othello stole Desdemona from him without his permission. When Iago woke up Brabantio to inform him that Othello had eloped with his daughter Desdemona, he called out, “Awake! What, ho, Brabantio! Thieves! Thieves! Thieves! Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags! Thieves! Thieves (Shakespeare 1.1.7)!” Iago is actually suggesting by his shouts that Othello had stolen Brabantio’s property.

The role and occupation of women is also depicted in Othello’s loving words to his wife Desdemona when he called her “Come, my dear love, /the purchase made, the fruits are to ensue (Shakespeare II.3.8-9).” This clearly describes what marriage meant in Elizabethan society; it was an act of purchase whereby women were bought by their husbands as a favor while they were expected to sexually fulfill men’s desires since men considered it a return for the privilege done to them.

Iago also depicted the view of women possession by men in the society when he believed that Othello had slept with Emilia his wife. Iago said ‘it is thought abroad that “twixt my sheets/He’s done my office (Shakespeare I.3.381-2).” Iago felt very bad when he realized what Othello had used his possession and that is what drove him to revenge by insulting Emilia in public before killing her.

Emilia never complained since she is objected to obey her husband, above all to remain silent and not complain in any way. This shows that women were actually deprived of their humanity during Elizabethan era. Iago had an intention of sleeping with Othello’s wife Desdemona as a pay for what he did to him.

He clearly stated in chapter two of the play that “evened with him, wife for wife (Shakespeare II.1.290).” The feelings of women are completely ignored in the play for example Desdemona and Emilia’s feelings have been completely been disregarded in the play. This clearly brings out the fact that women were merely objects to be used by men to fulfill their own desires; they were perceived as possessions by men.

Women as Submissive

Desdemona depicts women being submissive to their husbands and this can be seen when she continually obeys orders from her husband Othello from the beginning of their relationship to later stages of the play when Othello got jealous.

Desdemona herself declared that “I am obedient (Shakespeare III.3.89).” Towards the end of the play, we still see Desdemona obeying Othello’s commands; she submissively agreed to go to bed when Othello ordered her to do so. Even in her final breath though full of grief, she remains faithful and true to Othello and provides him with an ilibi which he does not put in use. This shows that Desdemona has completely accepted and respected her role as a woman in the society; she is an obedient wife to Othello.

Emilia being known as a strong character in the play also indicates her awareness of her proper roles as a woman in the society. At the end of the play when she revealed Iago’s plans, she says that “Tis proper I obey him, but not now’ (Shakespeare V.2.195).” Though Emilia decided to disobey her husband, she still felt the urge to explain why she had deviated from her responsibility as a woman.

Bianca also expresses similar sentiments but consoles herself after Cassio spurned at her because he wanted her to be circumstanced. Bianca is being forced by the laws of the society to get circumstanced, actually she did not want to put up with the idea of being circumstanced which implies that Bianca had no choice but to agree and embrace the laws of the society.

Based on what the three characters went through, we can clearly see that the society weighs heavily on women’s shoulder. This has left them feel like they need to support men themselves even if the men’s actions are not worth bearing with. Brabantion clearly expressed his thoughts concerning women as being, “of spirit still and quiet’ and ‘A maiden never bold (Shakespeare I.3.95-97).” Brabantion actually expressed his expectations of women through his words.

Women were to obey men by following all rules of nature. It was natural in Elizabethan society for feminine to do what their husbands, fathers and brothers told them. This is what was termed as being natural; any other action was termed as unnatural since the society did not recognize it.

At the beginning of the play, Desdemona is featured as a confident, defiant and strong woman; however she ended up becoming a victim of emotional and physical abuse which led to her death. Despite the fact that she was obedient and passive to her husband, she blames Othello for his violent behaviour.

Desdemona decided to take the blame of the harm; when Emilia asked her who was responsible for the bruises on her face she replies “Nobody; I myself. Farewell (Shakespeare 5.2.29).” Desdemona exhibited symptoms of a “battered woman syndrome.” However, she puts all the blame on herself and endured all the abuses from Othello.

Women as Powerful

The play Othello also depict that women can also be powerful. This statement means that women in the play had the right to question men despite the fact that the society was too harsh on them. At the end of the play in Act IV, we see Emilia damming her opinions concerning men; she argues that women are not physically different from men.

She states “Let husbands know, their wives have sense like them; they see and smell, and have their palates both for sweet and sour as husbands have” (Shakespeare IV.3.92-5). Emilia believes that women too undergo suffering just like men; they also have affections and desires.

However, she believes that men are weak mentally. Emilia suggested that men are simplistic and brutish since they are not able to control their own desires with their own logical thought. This is very evident in the play through Iago and Othello’s actions which proves of Emilia’s statement. Desdemona exhibits the strength of a woman in public when she made a powerful speech as she was trying to explain to her father concerning her duties as a woman to Othello. She openly disagreed with her father.

Women in the play are depicted as a source of strength to women. When Othello mistook his wife by believing the bad rumor that she is cheating on him, he felt like he did not want to be a soldier anymore. He was convinced that he had lost his masculine and that is why he did not have any form of desire for thrusting cannons, big wars and military music.

Desdemona’s infidelity left him emasculated. This brings out the biggest role women played in Elizabethan society; they acted as a source of strength to their husbands. Othello totally lost pleasure on the things he loved and instead filled with rage and anger to revenge back for what Cassio had done to him not knowing that it was just a bad rumour.

Women Being Disloyal and Promiscuous

Bianca is Cassio’s lover though she is very jealous after realizing what Iago had plotted for the man loved. Bianca is referred in the play as a harlot and a whore since she is poor and coming from a lower class as compared to Emilia and Desdemona. She is used by Iago to make Othello jealous by dropping Desdemona’s handkerchief at Cassio’s feet.

This was to confirm that Desdemona was actually committing adultery. Othello actually confirmed his suspicion after Bianca conducted a good act with the handkerchief. Bianca allowed Iago to use her which made her become disloyal to her lover Cassio causing the lives of Othello and Desdemona.

Brabantio believes that since Desdemona had the strength to deceive his own father by eloping with Othello was a great possibility that she can deceive her husband too by another man. The main idea that Brabantio had was that “unruly daughter will make an unruly and promiscuous wife (Shakespeare 213).” Iago convinced Othello that Desdemona was actually cheating on him.

He told Othello that a woman who could easily obey and deceive his father is capable of screwing around with other men. Othello did not think twice, he did not see that Desdemona’s decision to escape with him was actually a sign of love and loyalty to him. He however saw it the way Iago had told him; a sign of infidelity and disloyalty.

This shows that most men in Venetian believed that those women who stood strong to oppose men were capable of doing worst things. They were considered as disloyal and promiscuous. However, often, almost in all the scenes in the play, we see that Othello is always preoccupied by matters of flesh whenever he was talking with the wife. This also brings out the role of women in the society which is objects for satisfaction.

The male society in the play despite rating women as second citizens, they also constructed them as evil for luring them into sexual sin. Iago stereotyped women by suggesting that they are not always as they appear; he believes that women are more of housewives and wild cats.

On the other hand, after Othello wrongly mistook Desdemona for cheating on him, he ceases to find any form of sexual power. While speaking to Iago concerning his plan to murder Desdemona, he becomes adamant and states that he will “not expostulate with her, lest her body and beauty unprovide my mind again” (Shakespeare IV.1.203-5).

Generally, all the women in the play are accused of inappropriate sexual behaviours and prostitution yet as we see it, none of the women appear guilty of what they are accused of. This shows how men undermine women and how possessive they are such that if they get any form of information that they are or have cheated on them; they do everything within their power to avenge it. This also shows that men blame women for their failures instead of accepting that they are wrong, they put the full blame on women.

In conclusion, the play Othello explores issues of power and the main difference that existed between male and female roles and occupation during the Elizabethan period. Through the play, we get to learn of privilege practices in patriarchal marriages and restrictions and suppression of femininity in the play.

Women are taken as possessions by their men, they should be submissive and to be blamed in cases when men fails. Women are also considered as disloyal and promiscuous beings in the society. However, despite the challenges women faced in the Elizabethan period, we also see them standing out to be strong and courageous as depicted by Desdemona and Emilia.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.

Shakespeare, William. Othello. Maryland: University Press of America, Inc., 1985.

“Othello” is a play that was first published in 1622, and it is one of history’s most significant works of literature. This Shakespearean play is considered as one of the most intimate and touching tragedies by the renowned author. Shakespeare derived his idea from the story “Tall of the Moor” by Gerald Cirthio and modified it into a play that has remained significant to date. “Othello” is a play that addresses the themes of deception, love, and power.

The main character in the play is Othello an army general whose social, self, and racial identities are a source of his inner conflicts. Othello’s sense of identity is mostly revealed through his attempts to gain acceptance in a foreign culture. Although Othello is a mainstream member of the Venetian society, he is uncomfortable with his ‘black Moor’ identity.

The main character constantly tries to mold himself into an acceptable Venetian citizen in accordance with the society’s standards of race, sexuality, marriage, and power. Consequently, Othello seeks to distance himself with the misconstrued stereotypes of a ‘Moor.’ This essay seeks to prove that the main character’s sense of identity leads to his self-destruction.

Othello’s identity exists in the space of erratic changes. Othello is considered a lesser person at first but later receives the position of an ‘honorary white’ Venetian. When the play starts, Othello is a colonized human being who has to try to internalize the ideologies and mannerisms of the white Venetian society. However, through his efforts, Othello is able to break into the confines of the Venetian culture and achieve the status of a respected member of this society.

Othello seeks to further his quest for an acceptable-identity by marrying into the white Venetian race, but his relationship with Desdemona only reverses his earlier gains (Shakespeare 115). Othello marries Desdemona in order to achieve the highest social status in Venice, but this move triggers the sequence of events that lead to his self-destruction. By the end of the play, Othello’s quest has turned him into a schizophrenic maniac.

From the onset, Shakespeare portrays Othello as a character who completely identifies himself with his inherited culture. Othello believes that the pursuits of military exploits, male social dominance, and rational, emotional control are the hallmarks of Venetian identity. At one point, Othello articulates his sense of identity by saying, “my parts, my title, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly” (Shakespeare 118).

This statement illuminates the main character’s blind quest for acceptability as well as his sense of insecurity and vulnerability. Othello takes every chance he can get to reiterate his status as a Venetian. For instance, Othello sharply responds to Brabantio’s racist jabs by saying that his services to Venice shall ‘out-tongue’ his enemy’s complaints (Shakespeare 119).

Othello’s constant references to his perceived inferiority dominate his way of thinking. Eventually, Othello is unable to shake off his feelings of inferiority as portrayed by his belief that his wife prefers a white junior officer to him.

Some of the things that are important to Othello are the possessions that solidify his identity as a high-society Venetian. Some of these possessions include his Venetian wife and his position as a military general. Ordinarily, a black man would marry a black woman, and the position of a general would only be accorded to a feudal lord. However, because Othello has broken these class barriers, he feels that he is entitled to a certain sense of identity. Nevertheless, this entitlement to a certain sense of identity is instrumental to his fall.

For instance, to avoid being the subject of ridicule in the society, he resorts to killing Desdemona and disguising his actions as suicide. Othello is of the opinion that murdering Desdemona will help him retain his status as a respectable general. Furthermore, to avoid being tried for attempted murder, Othello chooses to kill himself.

Othello had earlier distinguished himself from his Turkish heritage by saying that he is a Christian who is trusted with the responsibility of guarding his country (Shakespeare 324). Nevertheless, this sentiment does not seem to matter when Othello’s sense of identity is under threat.

The height of Othello’s self-identity crisis is manifested when Othello discovers that Desdemona is innocent. Othello’s speech about the motivation behind murdering his wife reveals how his sense of identity drove him to commit murder (Shakespeare 329). Furthermore, in this speech, Othello reveals his true feelings about his Turkish identity.

Consequently, the speech reveals that Othello is aware of the violent attributes of his non-Venetian identity. However, his final words before he kills himself with a sword profess his undying allegiance to the Venetian heritage. It can be argued that Othello’s self-identity crisis contributed to his tragedy.

“Othello” is a Shakespearian tragedy that presents a hero whose sense of identity leads to his untimely demise. The main character seeks to hold on to his Venetian identity at whatever cost. Consequently, Othello’s attempt to marry into a race that he considers superior sets his tragedy in motion. Throughout the play, Othello maintains the standards that he considers important to his Venetian heritage. Nevertheless, even in death, Othello still seeks to hold on to the identity that he considers superior.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Othello the Moor of Venice, London, United Kingdom: Arden Shakespeare, 1996. Print.

Race can be discussed as the factor which is used to accentuate the person’s otherness and specific identity. Although such works as William Shakespeare’s Othello, Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” and Langston Hughes’s “Negro” are rather different in their genre, structure, and idea, these three works discuss the same theme of race. To understand the role of race as one of the main themes presented in the works, it is necessary to analyse the authors’ approaches to discussing the topic in detail.

Although Hughes in his “Negro” discusses race as the main source for the character’s identity and attempts to accentuate the role of the black race for the whole world history, Shakespeare in Othello and Welty in “A Worn Path” are inclined to provide the emphasis on the characters’ race as the explanation to their behaviours and actions; thus, the concept of race in the tragedy and the short story can be discussed as having the hidden meaning.

In “Negro,” Hughes states his racial identity openly while drawing the audience’s attention to this fact. Thus, Hughes declares in the first line of the poem, “I am a Negro” (Hughes 1). This self-identification is necessary to support the idea that the character is proud of his race, and he discusses his race as important for the whole world’s history and development.

Hughes states that being a Negro means to be a slave, a worker, a singer, and a victim, but the reader can note that the emphasised self-identification is necessary to support the idea that the character’s race is the real reason for his pride. Culp notes that it is characteristic for Hughes to discuss his race as the source of pride because of his identity.

In this case, Hughes plays the role of “the spirit of his race” (Culp, 240). To accentuate the role of the black race for the world’s history, Hughes uses the metaphorical similes and the night imagery to stress on the character’s blackness, “Black as the night is black, / Black like the depths of my Africa” (Hughes 2-3, 18-19; Jackson 90). Hughes also uses the allusions to Julius Caeser and George Washington to emphasise the historical significance of the black race (Hughes 5, 6).

Even though Hughes accentuates that the blacks were slaves and victims, his short metaphorical representation of the African American history within the world context can be discussed as the author’s focus on the special role of the blacks in the history. If the black identity is openly discussed in Hughes’s “Negro,” and it becomes the main theme of the poem, the race plays the more subtle and vague role in Shakespeare’s Othello.

Shakespeare’s main character Othello is a black, the Moor, but the role of his race for the tragedy’s plot and characters’ behaviours is not obvious. On the one hand, Othello’s race is not accentuated, and the character is depicted equally to the other characters in the tragedy while being “great of heart” (Shakespeare 5.2.359). On the other hand, Othello’s racial identity can be discussed as that force, which makes him act decisively and brutally.

The role of the race in the tragedy can also be discussed while referring to the presence of the racial discussions in Othello. Thus, the statement of the Duke “If virtue no fair beauty lack, / Your son in law is far more fair than black” can be discussed as rather racist because of referring to the colour of skin as the measure for fairness (Shakespeare 1.3.290-91; Skura 309).

Furthermore, it is important to note that Othello is focused on his reputation, power, and role in society. Othello has to retell the story of his redemption, and this aspect accentuates the fact that Othello is the Moor. Thus, he is the ‘other.’ Shakespeare is inclined to use pathos to attract the audience’s attention to the role the racial identity for Othello’s vision of himself, but these proclamations seem to be hidden behind the accentuation of Othello’s behaviour (Braxton 7-8).

This aspect can be discussed as supporting the idea that the role of race in Shakespeare’s Othello is significant, but this overall meaning of the racial identity is rather hidden. The same indirect focus on the role of the race for the work’s idea is presented in Welty’s “A Worn Path.”

Welty states that the main character of the short story is a Negro in the first lines of the work, but this statement seems to be insignificant about the story’s plot even though the author provides a lot of symbols and metaphors to accentuate the role of the race. Welty’s main character is Phoenix Jackson, the old female who starts the journey to find the medicine for the grandson.

The first symbol used by the author is the female character’s name ‘Phoenix,’ which means that the woman can cope with all the difficulties at her path while recreating herself (Orr 69). The race is also accentuated indirectly while Welty depicts the environments around Phoenix. Thus, Phoenix is portrayed while being surrounded with “big dead trees, like black men with one arm” and with “dozens of little black children” (Welty 457-459).

The symbolic persons and objects are as black as Phoenix herself, thus, the race plays a role in Welty’s short story, but this role is rather subtle and unique. Discussing the role of the race as blackness in Welty’s short story, Moberly states that Phoenix’s race “serves no other purpose than to symbolize that she is closer to nature” (Moberly 108).

That is why, Welty does not use the race as the main theme to attract the readers’ attention, but this topic serves as the background to accentuate the atmosphere of the short story and its hidden meanings.

On the one hand such works as William Shakespeare’s Othello, Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” and Langston Hughes’s “Negro” are rather different about their themes, important messages, and used literary devices. However, these three authors discuss the theme of race in their works. The role of race in Shakespeare’s Othello, Welty’s “A Worn Path,” and Hughes’s “Negro” depends on the author’s discussion of the identity.

In Othello, Shakespeare is inclined to use the idea of race to provide the background for the character’s actions and thoughts. Welty uses the concept of race to accentuate the symbolic character of her short story and the connection of the black people with nature. On the contrary, Hughes makes the theme of race main in his poem while discussing the role of the black race for the world’s history.

Works Cited

Braxton, Phyllis Natalie. “Othello: The Moor and the Metaphor”. South Atlantic Review 55.4 (1990): 1-17. Print.

Culp, Mary Beth. “Religion in the Poetry of Langston Hughes”. Phylon 48.3 (1987): 240-245. Print.

Hughes, Langston. “Negro”. Literature: Craft and Voice. Ed. Nicholas Delbanco and Alan Cheuse. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 363. Print.

Jackson, Richard. “The Shared Vision of Langston Hughes and Black Hispanic Writers”. Black American Literature Forum 15.3 (1981): 89-92. Print.

Moberly, Kevin. “Toward the North Star: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” and the Slave Narrative Tradition”. Mississippi Quarterly 59.1 (2006): 107-127. Print.

Orr, Elaine. “Unsettling Every Definition of Otherness”: Another Reading of Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path”. South Atlantic Review 57.2 (1992): 57-72. Print.

Shakespeare, William. “Othello”. Literature: Craft and Voice. Ed. Nicholas Delbanco and Alan Cheuse. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 1023-1065. Print.

Skura, Meredith Anne. “Reading Othello’s Skin: Contexts and Pretexts”. Philological Quarterly 87.3 (2008): 299-334. Print.

Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path”. Literature: Craft and Voice. Ed. Nicholas Delbanco and Alan Cheuse. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 457-468. Print.