Reputation In Othello Essay
The Tragedy of Othello (1622) is a play written by William Shakespeare and it portrays the story of Othello, a general who is a Moor. William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. Like many of Shakespeare’s characters, he has a tragic flaw. Othello was confronted with many betrayals that lead him in killing his beautiful wife, Desdemona. Though Othello was a great warrior, however Othello was bound by fate to succumb to evil. The importance of reputation plays a big part in Shakespeare’s play. Iago uses his reputation as the honest man, to deceive Othello and everyone else. Cassio’s reputation as well plays a big part throughout the play. In this
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response, I will show the level of importance of reputation in Othello by William Shakespeare through military ranking and trust.
Othello's reputation was that of a strict military general, taking his job very seriously. His military position partly influences Desdemona's death. Othello’s jealousy of his wife over whelms him, he never really thought for a moment to ask his wife her opinion, he just assumed she was cheating. Because of how he thinks of her, he finds more trust with Iago. He becomes disappointed and enraged when he hears from Iago that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. He becomes angry and wants to kill her. He is surprised and astonished that she would go behind his back and do this. His position as an upstanding respected general prevents him from assessing the situation and calmly talking to his wife to find the truth. This is evident when he says, "For nought I did in hate, but all in honour."(Act V Scene 2). Othello is not just a general but a leader amongst his men and for something like his wife to be found heating and be known amongst people would cause his mend and the higher ups to loose respect for him. If he is found out that he was cuckhold as Shakespeare put it this will surely damage his reputation as leader and especially as a moor.
The level of trust that Othello has between everyone affects the outcome of the play.
Reputation meant a lot to Cassio, but once demoted he couldn't face Othello. Iago's thought of as an honest man. Iago is able to convince Othello and everyone else that he is an honest and trustworthy man and with this he manages to convince Othello to put much of his trust in him as a result he uses this to his advantage. Iago gets Cassio drunk and seizes the opportunity to make Cassio look bad in front of Othello. As a result Othello demotes Cassio and strips him of his ranking amongst his officers. Iago convinces Cassio to try and plead with Desdemona, to ask Othello to forgive him but it only makes things worse. Though risky Iago tells Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him. In that kind society just the thought of Iago saying something so rude Othello could have had him killed him for that, but Iago’s reputation as an honest trustworthy man prevents this. Nobody suspected that Iago was truly evil and sought to destroy Othello through Desdemona and Cassio. Iago manipulates Othello and the construct of his plan begins to take form. This deceitful tactics brings about the death of many people within the
play.
The level of importance of reputation in Othello by William Shakespeare is shown through military ranking and trust. Reputation is an important thing. It provides a framework when assessing and judging a person’s character. The reputations of these three characters played big roles in the outcome of the play. The ending would have been different had Iago not been deceived everyone with his false reputation as an honest man. As a result of this Othello and Cassio's positions and reputation as military men of class and high status were damaged. Reputation can be very influential when it comes to believing someone or not. Shakespeare’s play shows the repercussions that it can have.
response, I will show the level of importance of reputation in Othello by William Shakespeare through military ranking and trust.
Othello's reputation was that of a strict military general, taking his job very seriously. His military position partly influences Desdemona's death. Othello’s jealousy of his wife over whelms him, he never really thought for a moment to ask his wife her opinion, he just assumed she was cheating. Because of how he thinks of her, he finds more trust with Iago. He becomes disappointed and enraged when he hears from Iago that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. He becomes angry and wants to kill her. He is surprised and astonished that she would go behind his back and do this. His position as an upstanding respected general prevents him from assessing the situation and calmly talking to his wife to find the truth. This is evident when he says, "For nought I did in hate, but all in honour."(Act V Scene 2). Othello is not just a general but a leader amongst his men and for something like his wife to be found heating and be known amongst people would cause his mend and the higher ups to loose respect for him. If he is found out that he was cuckhold as Shakespeare put it this will surely damage his reputation as leader and especially as a moor.
The level of trust that Othello has between everyone affects the outcome of the play.
Reputation meant a lot to Cassio, but once demoted he couldn't face Othello. Iago's thought of as an honest man. Iago is able to convince Othello and everyone else that he is an honest and trustworthy man and with this he manages to convince Othello to put much of his trust in him as a result he uses this to his advantage. Iago gets Cassio drunk and seizes the opportunity to make Cassio look bad in front of Othello. As a result Othello demotes Cassio and strips him of his ranking amongst his officers. Iago convinces Cassio to try and plead with Desdemona, to ask Othello to forgive him but it only makes things worse. Though risky Iago tells Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him. In that kind society just the thought of Iago saying something so rude Othello could have had him killed him for that, but Iago’s reputation as an honest trustworthy man prevents this. Nobody suspected that Iago was truly evil and sought to destroy Othello through Desdemona and Cassio. Iago manipulates Othello and the construct of his plan begins to take form. This deceitful tactics brings about the death of many people within the
play.
The level of importance of reputation in Othello by William Shakespeare is shown through military ranking and trust. Reputation is an important thing. It provides a framework when assessing and judging a person’s character. The reputations of these three characters played big roles in the outcome of the play. The ending would have been different had Iago not been deceived everyone with his false reputation as an honest man. As a result of this Othello and Cassio's positions and reputation as military men of class and high status were damaged. Reputation can be very influential when it comes to believing someone or not. Shakespeare’s play shows the repercussions that it can have.