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Othello and Justice
Like many of Shakespeare's plays, Othello demonstrates how emotion and a strict personal ethic can lead to tragedy. The play is filled with intrigue, mainly on the part of Iago, another trait of Shakespeare's plays, and the characters seem to twist around their own insecurities. Linking this play to a central theme is difficult because there are so many threads that could be taken as the primary driver behind the story. But, justice, especially Othello's sense of that trait, seems to be the one thing that shapes the events of the play. In this paper, the play and its characters are examined from the perspective of justice, as it is developed in the play, and a determination is made as to who was the character most wronged.
Othello is a foreign general in the army of Venice. In the play, he is seen as somewhat insecure, even having the high position he occupies, because of his differences from the rest of the society. Early, it is possible to see the justice he believes in when it is explained why he chose to promote Cassio over Iago. Even though Othello himself may not know the reasons it seems that he sees something in Iago that disqualifies him as a more responsible leader. Othello is seen as someone who takes his honor and...
Desdemona and Othello seem to rise above it as both remain true to their characters throughout the play, but Rodrigo, Cassio, Iago, and Barbantio (to name a few) are all bent on some sort of destructive action. Barbantio believes that his daughter has married beneath herself and due to witchcraft (a very serious charge back then), Iago has been wronged in the selection of Cassio as lieutenant over himself, Rodrigo was in love with Desdemona, and Cassio is just one of the pawns in Iago's machinations.
Othello's sense of justice can be seen in several events that take place through the narrative. Most of these happen at the end of the play after the reader/watcher has been given a glimpse of each of the major players and their faults and/or virtues. Cassio is found to have cavorted with a young prostitute and to have taken part in some of Iago's schemes (which, at the time, are not known to have involved Iago), and he is removed from his office. Othello…
Othello as Tragic Hero While Othello is not Greek and Shakespeare is not a Greek playwright, Othello embodies many characteristics of a tragic hero as outlined by Aristotle. What is a tragic hero? Person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice, nor someone who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather, one who succumbs through some miscalculation. Othello is manipulated by Iago to murder Desdemona Iago uses Othello's trusting nature against him Hero
Othello as Tragic Hero Othello, the Moor of Venice is a Shakespearean tragedy that focuses on the great war hero Othello and the lengths to which Iago goes to in order to strip Othello of his power. Iago's thirst for power commences when he is passed up for promotion and Michael Cassio is instead award the position of lieutenant. Although it would appear to be more logical that Iago target Cassio,
Othello: The Moor of Venice is a tragedy that was written by William Shakespeare in the early years of the seventeenth century. Essentially, the play is about a Moor, named Othello, who elopes with the fair and beautiful and white Desdemona, and he leaves Venice for Cyprus, where he is to be in command of the Venetian Army. His wife, and his lieutenant Cassio accompany Othello on this journey. The
Iago notices this flaw at once and plots to exploit it almost immediately. This is evident when he tells Roderigo: The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by th' nose As asses are. (Shakespeare I.iii.393-6) Here we see that Iago intends on using Othello's open nature against him by allowing him to believe that Desdemona is
It is as if his sense of male control and dominance prescribed by the norms of the society is blinding him to her true nature. He judges her in terms of the norms of assumed female weakness. This aspect is summarized in the following quotation. Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in Othello. Unmarried women are regarded as their fathers' property and the play's two marriages are marked by male jealousy
He had sent all the servants for a leave with an excuse that it was carnival time, though his intention was to conceal his action (Rawls 54). He managed to convince Fortunato to put on a cloak so that nobody would recognize him on the way and this was another way of concealing the intended action. Some of the remarks that Fortunate made on the way hurt Montresor making him