The Beast in Shakespeare’s “Othello” "What is left when honor is lost?" This question‚ asked by Publilius Syrus‚ a known writer of the Ancient Rome during the times of Caesar‚ serves as a basis for the struggle between Othello and Iago. Both men are engaged in a battle over Othello’s honor. Iago is intent on destroying Othello’s sense of honor and reducing him to a bestial state. Iago views Othello as a beast masquerading in warrior’s dress. He wants to return Othello to what he believes to be his
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Othello is the protagonist of the play; he is a highly respected general of the Venetian army. Othello is not a Venetian though; he is a moor‚ which means he is from North Africa. This puts Othello in a very unusual position; he is one of the most important people in the Venetian army and very respected but is also an outsider because he is a black man. I perceive Othello’s character at this point in the play to be Naïve‚ honorable and honest; he really has nothing to hide. His naïveté’s will cause
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Hegemonic masculinity as one of the structure of gender relations and also a typical type of masculinity is formed and developed by society over time. ‘Hegemonic masculinity is not a fixed character type‚ always and everywhere the same. It is‚ rather‚ the masculinity that occupies the hegemonic position in a given pattern of gender relations…’ (Whitehead‚ S. 2001) Hegemonic masculinity also refers to the cultural and gender relationship between men and women‚ and thus men is on a leading position
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eyes to see:/She has deceived her father‚ and may thee" (1.3.292-293). This early seed of doubt allows Iago to play on Othello’s jealous nature‚ and concoct a plan to take advantage of Othello. Iago slowly leaks his poison into Othello and soon has the result he desires‚ Othello is overcome with jealousy. Othello continuously denies his jealousy‚ but it is apparent that he is losing his mind with the thought of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness. He speaks to Iago saying "No Iago;/I’ll see before I doubt;
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In Shakespeares Othello the characters are as much a victim of their own weakness as they are of Iagos plotting. Do power dynamics in Othello support this? Iago‚ whos charisma and intellect make him more powerful than Othello and Desdemona‚ proves that powerplay amongst the characters supports the fact that characters‚ specifically Othello and Desdemona‚ are equally victims of their own weakness as they are of Iagos plottings. Othello and Desdemonas weaknesses are race and gender respectively which
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The Dimensions of Othello the Tragic Hero How does one define a “tragic hero?” Aristotle illustrates such a character as an overall great person with very noble traits‚ but one who is not perfect. Many will look up to these tragic heroes; however each hero will have a specific flaw. This “tragic flaw” will ultimately lead to that character’s downfall. Also‚ these characters will often have the abilities to both recognize their tragic flaws in the end and also connect with the audience in some way
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gender identity outlines how male herosexuality is presented via the manner in which men talk to each other. Western masculinity is characterized as being associated with strength‚ aggression‚ dominance‚ and sexual prowess‚ among other traits (McGarry 2017‚ Sully 2012). Heterosexuality‚ the attraction to the opposite gender‚ comes into play with traditional views of masculinity as the two are often tied together‚ to the point in which they are interchangeable; to be a man is to be heterosexual‚
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Othello is a play which contains many conflicts between the characters. The main conflicts in ‘Othello’ are between friends and foes. Othello’s inner conflict‚ cultural and racial differences which lead to racial judgement and discrimination‚ to express these conflicts; Shakespeare uses many techniques such as soliloquies‚ dramatic irony‚ imagery foreshadowing and symbolism. Amongst the main characters there are many conflicts‚ however the main reason for most of the conflict if Iago and Shakespeare
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racism provides the background for Othello’s first appearance. For Iago Othello is "an old black ram" (I.i.88)‚ "the devil" (I.i.91)‚ and a "Barbary horse" (I.i.lll); the consum-mation of his marriage is a making of "the beast with two backs" (I.i.115-16). Roderigo‚ who shares Iago’s disgust‚ speaks of Desde-mona’s "gross
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Violence in Othello In William Shakespeare’s Othello violence can be found in several different ways. Violence can be expressed physically‚ mentally‚ and verbally. This tragic play shows how jealousy and envy can overpower a person’s mind and lead them to wreak havoc on others. Not only does this story give many different examples of violence‚ it displays how mental violence can promote physical violence‚ and continues on in that cycle. Mental promotes physical which ultimately leads back to
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