Relationship Between Othello 'And Lord Of The Rings'

Journeys have a powerful impact on the traveller.

Journeys may offer life-changing experiences, which leave a powerful impact on the traveller. Whether the impact may be positive or negative, those who embark on the journey are motivated by the goals they seek. This allows the traveller to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals, allowing emotional advancement through character development and imaginative progression through the renewal and break-down of relationships. Furthermore, the physical voyage that the characters undertake is symbolic of the emotional turmoil or adversely, contentment within them. This is evident through the use of literary and visual techniques in the play Othello by William Shakespeare and Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson. In these texts, the protagonists have taken emotional, imaginative and physical journeys which have a profound impact on their emotional wellbeing and behaviour.

A positive relationship built on trust and loyalty will allow a character to be emotionally enriched as they undergo optimistic emotional development, through developing virtues of courage and confidence.
A negative relationship contains manipulative and devious behaviour, which will force a character to undergo emotional distress demonstrated by a loss of integrity and identity. This is demonstrated in Othello, as the experiences substantial character development, illustrated by his progressively deteriorating mental and physical wellbeing. His noble, loving and honourable persona is twisted and distorted into a corrupt and merciless monster, which not only results in his own demise but that of his loved ones as well. In Act 2 Scene 3, Othello remarks “Are we turned Turks? For Christian Shame, put by this barbarous brawl”. The use of alliteration slows down the reader’s pace, allowing for reflection, subsequently representing him as humble. The use of religious allusion in ‘Christian Shame’ adds credibility to his statement and conveys a high sense of morality. However, a prevailing sense of irony is created once Othello’s dialogue becomes vulgar as his mind starts to decline. The paradox of “Be sure thou prove my love a whore”. The word ‘love’ contradicts with ‘whore’, as love portrays affection and respect, while ‘whore’ has negative connotations of disrespect and impurity. This contradictory, obscene language is representative of an identity change and the degradation of
his mental stability.

This emotional instability and negative character development is furthermore demonstrated in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, through the effective use of camera shots and eerie music. As the film progresses, Frodo begins to get frustrated with Sams contant help, this can be seen in the line “go home sam” The technique of short sentence is a concise, succinct statement which bears great authority. This breakdown in relationship reveals that they have formed different identities; they identify different places as home. Another example of the emotional hardship between Frodo and Sam is conveyed through the quote “The Ring is mine” In relation to journey, the technique of the personal pronoun “mine” demonstrates Frodo’s unwillingness to sacrifice the Ring, despite the hardships and obstacles he has encountered. This illustrates the emotional development he has undergone. Futhermore, Gollum line “They cursed us. Murderer they called us. They cursed us, and drove us away. And we wept, Precious, we wept to be so alone.” The technique of repetition of the words “cursed” and “wept” reinforces an idea,emotion or thought. Gollum attempts to persuade Frodo to disassociate himself with Sam, leading to a breakdown in relationship between Frodo and Sam. This leads to hostility; as characters undergo a negative emotional journey. Subsequently, Sam feels frustrated at Frodo’s mistrust towards him and leaves.

Illogical, irrational ideas forumulate in one’s head after having undergone a negative emotional journey… these thoughts torment the character, leading to reckless behaviour and breakdown in relationships which leads to an imaginative journey.
The imaginative journey in Othello is present when Othello begins to have uneasy thoughts about Desdemona cheating on him, this is conveyed through the line “why did I marry?” the technique of a rehorical question indicates doubt about why he married her in the first place. The quote “I have a pain upon my forehead here” has the technique of stipulation and shows that Othello’s mind is filled with doubts about Desdemona and this causes him to have a headache due to Iago’s manipulation. A break-down of relationship is also portrayed in a parallel manner in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. During the overpowering scene where the One Ring possesses Frodo, we can see a close up shot where he has the One Ring in his hand and is about to put the ring on. This alternately forces Frodo to undergo an imaginative journey as he believes the Ring is part of his identity and has altered his perspective on life, as he has forgotten his former self. Eerie music is also present in the scene where Frodo has been lured into a cave with a giant spider by Gollum, The music creates suspense and an uneasy response from the viewers; it heightens Frodo’s struggle and the uncertainty if Fordo will survive or not. A long shot is also used to
illustrate Frodo’s vunribility as Frodo is secluded and is without company; after he has a conflict with Gollum, he appears vulnerable, bewildered and weak. This makes him realise that Sam was a true and loyal friend. With the imaginative jorney, we can see that the characters have not only become emotionally unstable but they have also lost their minds thus losing their personal identities.

Conclusively, the use of visual and written techniques have effectively demonstrated the emotional and imaginative journeys that the protaginists take in order to fufill their desires and aspirations. Journeys are essentially motivated by idiosyncratic objectives, which allow the traveller to adequately overcome obstacles, permitting emotional advancement through character development, as conveyed in Othello,and imaginative progression through the renewal and break-down of relationships demonstrated in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.