What is the play about? Othello themes include: * Jealousy (the sexual jealousy of Othello‚ and Iago’s professional envy of Cassio * Appearance versus reality (including honesty/dishonesty‚ loyalty/disloyalty) * Reputation * Public versus private concerns * Racism (including notions of alienation and belonging) Cultural materialist – Argues the play offers a subversive critique of the social and political beliefs of Shakespeare’s time e.g. racism and sexism seen as
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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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In literature‚ blindness serves a general significant meaning of the absence of knowledge and insight. It serves this same purpose in Sophocles’ classic tragedy‚ Oedipus Rex. In this piece‚ blindness manifests itself in three ways: intellectual blindness‚ which is the refusal or inability to accept knowledge; physical blindness‚ which is being without the physical sense of sight; and metaphorical blindness‚ which is what blindness symbolizes or means for each character affected by it. In all aspects
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Shakespeare’s play‚ ’Othello’ and in Mike Nichols film‚ ’Primary Colours‚ present the Art of Deception through the characters of Iago and Jack Stanton. The era in which both texts are presented gives off a different reason why both characters use deception to gain what they are looking for‚ thus context plays an important role in how deception is presented‚ and affects both the meaning and values of each text. Whilst both texts portray deception as the driving force in their plots‚ the motives‚ methods
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Two tragedies from two different time period‚ Medea and Othello show similarities and differences in their characters‚ story plots and settings. Euripedes’ Medea written in the classical period and Shakespeare’s Othello written in the romantic era‚ the two tragedies shows different feel of what tragedies are. First of all‚ the most obvious difference between these two play is how Medea shows unities (time‚ place and action) whilst Othello has none. It’s clearly shown in the first scene‚ as soon
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“Othello” is the most famous literary work by Shakespeare that focuses on the dangers of jealousy. The tragedy "Othello is a story based upon the revenge of two characters‚ Shakespeare’s Othello is a play with unique characters. One such character is the one for which Shakespeare names his play. Using‚ Othello as the main character discussed he poses some strengths and weaknesses. Othello’s strength that was seen within this play was that Othello is a masterful general and very skilled and is very
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the downfall of Oedipus as a result from his blindness to the truth. Even though many of the characters in this play are physically able to see‚ their fates are certain by their lack of physiological sight. The blind prophet Teiresias shows‚ one does not need vision to see the truth. The many examples of blindness that Sophocles gives his characters are some of the greatest aspects in determining the outcome of this play. The first time Oedipus’ blindness is seen is when he denounces the murder of
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The function of imagery in the mid-sixteenth century play Othello by William Shakespeare is to aid characterisation and define meaning in the play. The antagonist Iago is defined through many different images‚ Some being the use of poison and soporifics‚ sleeping agents‚ to show his true evil and sadistic nature. Othello’s character is also shaped by much imagery such as the animalistic‚ black and white‚ and horse images which indicates his lustful‚ sexual nature. Characterisation of women is heavily
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The tragedy Othello is filled with a complex web of separate conflicts that are connected with each other. The external conflicts are very obvious‚ such as Iago trying to replace Cassio as lieutenant and Othello’s belief in Desdemona’s affair. In addition to these conflicts‚ however‚ many characters in the play also face their own internal conflicts in which they have to make a choice between two opposing forces. An excellent example of this internal conflict can be found in analyzing Roderigo. Roderigo’s
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Shakespeare’s representation of Iago as central to an understanding of the text Othello. Othello by William Shakespeare is a tragedy that depicts the fall of an honourable man through the deliberate deception and manipulation of a dishonourable man. The play describes the protagonist Othello’s disintegration and the tragic consequences of his moral deterioration. In the tragedy Othello‚ Shakespeare develops themes of trust and betrayal and employs dramatic conventions such as irony‚ the fatal
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