The Various Kinds of Chaos in Othello and Macbeth
Use your understanding of the context in which these plays were written, compare and contrast the ways in which Shakespeare presents various kinds of chaos in Othello and Macbeth? “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, Chaos is come again.”
These words said by Othello in Act 3, Scene 3 suggests that either way he will be hurt by loving Desdemona; Othello will suffer if he does not love Desdemona or if he does love Desdemona he is at the risk of experiencing pain. This ambiguity places Othello into a moral dilemma where he must pick the lesser of the two evils. Othello concludes with the philosophic meaning that “chaos is come again” which implies that without the love of Desdemona his life would fall into chaos, which relates with the basic outlook that love maintains the structure of the universe. The dictionary definition of chaos is, complete disorder and confusion. It is also defined as the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe. Relating this to what Othello says in Act 3, Scene 3 after Desdemona’s passionate speech on the behalf of Cassio, Othello begins to suspect basic reasons for her support for Cassio. Of course this helps Iago with his malicious plan as Othello is being mentally persuaded on negative thoughts upon his own wife. Many Elizabethans believed that at the end of the world all things would return to the state of chaos that existed before creation. This all relates to how William Shakespeare creates chaos throughout the play embedding an apprehensive mood between the audience and the characters.
Othello begins on a street in Venice, in the middle of an argument at night between Roderigo and Iago. This has an impact on the audience
These words said by Othello in Act 3, Scene 3 suggests that either way he will be hurt by loving Desdemona; Othello will suffer if he does not love Desdemona or if he does love Desdemona he is at the risk of experiencing pain. This ambiguity places Othello into a moral dilemma where he must pick the lesser of the two evils. Othello concludes with the philosophic meaning that “chaos is come again” which implies that without the love of Desdemona his life would fall into chaos, which relates with the basic outlook that love maintains the structure of the universe. The dictionary definition of chaos is, complete disorder and confusion. It is also defined as the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe. Relating this to what Othello says in Act 3, Scene 3 after Desdemona’s passionate speech on the behalf of Cassio, Othello begins to suspect basic reasons for her support for Cassio. Of course this helps Iago with his malicious plan as Othello is being mentally persuaded on negative thoughts upon his own wife. Many Elizabethans believed that at the end of the world all things would return to the state of chaos that existed before creation. This all relates to how William Shakespeare creates chaos throughout the play embedding an apprehensive mood between the audience and the characters.
Othello begins on a street in Venice, in the middle of an argument at night between Roderigo and Iago. This has an impact on the audience