Monday, April 13, 2020

Othello Analysis Othello is a story of jealousy an Essays - Fiction

Othello Analysis Othello is a story of jealousy and manipulation. The story of a man who believes that he deserves to have everything he wants. If anything gets in the way he may ridicule, manipulate or even fight to move it. Othello uses several different types of elements in the drama. Symbolism, Irony and Conflict are all elements that can be found in Othello. We will discuss each in detail later in the essay. The audience views characters in Othello in many different ways especially when dramatic irony causes the reader/audience to view a character differently than what another character in the drama may thing of them. Othello is very diverse play in which is holds many different elements but also gives the audience a chance interpret the story. First lets discuss the elements that are found in this drama. Symbolism is used a couple different times in the drama. One is the word honesty. The word honesty presents itself through out the play meaning different things at each time. Some examples are the honesty of women, honesty to self, speaking the truth and an honest and loving friend. Honest may mean one thing but depending on which part of the drama you're reading may depend exactly what is being discussed when it comes to honesty. Another symbol was the handkerchief that was given to Desdemona from Othello. Desdemona thought of the handkerchief as Othello's love for her. Last symbol was the song "Willow" that Desdemona sang when preparing for bed. The song was about a woman who was betrayed by her lover suggesting that men are unfaithful. Desdemona felt that she was being alienated from Othello's affections and that if he was going crazy like she assumed he was he would leave her. Another element that was used in the dram a was Irony. Irony was used in when Iago used personal dishonesty such as lies and deceit to convince Othello that his wife Desdemona was cheating on him. While Iago lead Othello to believe this, Iago was acting as if he was looking out for him as his friend. What Othello didn't know was that Iago was out to get him and gain his power from him. This was the Dramatic Iron in the drama. We the audience knew that Desdemona was innocent and did not cheat on Othello and that Iago were out to rob everyone. The conflict of the drama was that Othello and Desdemona were married, living a life together despite any differences until Iago came along and let greed get into his way so that he would convince Othello that Desdemona was unfaithful. The Theme of the drama was jealousy, hatred, loyalty, manipulation and power. Loyal means two different things. Iago was loyal to self so that he would accomplish what he wanted but another example was that men were loyal to women or Iago's men were loyal to him. The characters in this drama were pretty complex and trying to analyze each one tended to be more difficult than usual. First lets talk about Othello who was the protagonist and hero. He was the most powerful figure but at sometimes he seemed to be the most vulnerable. He was well respected but had serious insecurities because of his age and race. Desdemona was Othello's wife. She was determined to get what she wanted to a certain extent. She was self driven and would have defended her marriage at any given point in time. Next is Iago who was the villain. He was envious of Othello and wanted everything he had. Iago was mind driven by his emotions in which he let get the best of him. He let Greed get in the way of things, which took him over and made him crazy which ended in death. Othello was a complex drama with many different elements used which serious portrayal. I wouldn't necessarily say it was a feminist piece but did hold some traits of feminism. As for emotions and feeling being hidden, no. I do believe that things tended to be written out on how characters felt and even how the audience should feel. There is power struggle between Othello and Iago as characters.