Jealousy In Othello Research Paper

In the play, Othello, jealousy and envy are prominent themes from the beginning to the end. As the play starts to unwind, you can see jealousy is the major cause of all the drama in the play. Jealousy or envy is a feeling of discontented or resentful longing by someone else’s possessions , qualities or luck. Iago becomes engulfed by jealousy and it causes him to corrupt Othello. They are two men that cause similar crimes but we sympathize for Othello and hate Iago because they have different attitudes towards their crime.

Shakespeare’s Othello is a play consistently based on jealously and the way it can destroy lives. One is quick to think this jealously is based on Othello’s lack of belief in Desdemona’s faithfulness to him or his suspensions over Desdemona’s affair with Cassio, Othello’s honorable lieutenant. Upon closer inspection of the jealously that exists throughout the play it becomes clear that his jealously is not the sole start and reason for all of the destruction that occurs. Iago, a good friend of Othello, is not who he appears to be. Iago’s own jealously of those around him pushes him over the edge. He begins to deceive all those who believe he is a true, honorable, and faithful man. Throughout Othello, Iago incites his own jealously in

In the play, evil intentions destroy what we know of a pure heart as well as trust and genuine honesty by this falsehearted deception. The agony of the tragic play is captured in a nutshell when Othello admits to Desdemona “when I love thee not/chaos is come again.” There is some misunderstanding of tragedy of love between the two characters. Trust is misplaced, honesty smeared out and finally, lives are ruined by denigrating fabrications and outright lies (Lupu, Jeffrey and Westmaas-Jones 12). The tragic cautionary of Shakespeare offers a supreme warning over jealousy which is referred as “the green eyed monster with doth mock the meat it feeds on.”

In the play, The Tragedy of Othello, judging from the relationship between Desdemona and Othello, seems to say that marriage based on an innocent romantic love is bound to fail. There is a common thread of betrayal and deceit among many characters. Othello and Desdemona being the most vividly portrayed. The two appear to love one another romantically at first, but it soon after transforms into a secular love. This comes to pass because there is no foundation for a relationship. There is no trust, no communication, and no understanding.

Othello is a soldier. A strong man. What he knows of life comes from his experiences on the battlefield. He is an honest man, who was trusting as well. He has his friends and confidants, that he holds all of his trust in; maybe too much trust. He is married to young, beautiful Dedemona. She disobeyed her father by marrying Othello, a man of another race, and another color. She has a deep and compassionate love for Othello. The story of Othello and Desdemona is not one of a story book romance. What started as a love for two people, turned out to be a marriage based on jealousy, deceit and in the end a tragic murder.

Jealousy is a powerful drug. When someone is jealous, one can only imagine how far someone would go because of it. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, there were several characters that went through different ways of processing their jealousy. Iago’s jealousy provokes his idea to get back at the people he felt was not deserving enough of the things they had or their happiness. His plans succeeds but by the end, no one wins. Iago’s jealousy forms at the beginning of the play which causes Othello’s jealousy towards the end and because of it, it results in people hurt mentally and physically.

There is a common thread of betrayal and deceit among his female characters, especially. Othello and Desdemona, as portrayed in the play, are the two greatest innocents there ever were. The two appear to love one another romantically at first, but this romantic love becomes more of a profane love, or

It is here that the audience begins seeing a different identity of Othello. Who was once regarded as so valiant and courageous, was now beginning to show signs of severe insecurities dealing with matters, most importantly, such as his lack of experience in love and marriage causing shadows of doubt over his confidence in himself and his ability to be loved by and worthy of someone like Desdemona. Desdemona, although not intentionally, seems to be the reason for all the unrest in Othello. This is an instance in the play when irony shines it's smiling face upon Shakespeare's most tragic characters. Othello feels truly happy with the presence of Desdemona in his life (Act II.1, 181-187):

Othello is a play about jealousy’s causes and effects. Each character in the play had different reasons to be jealous and each of them chose to deal with it a certain way. All three characters Iago, Othello, and Roderigo had such cases and in the end dealt with different conflicts and outcomes. It’s important to understand that their actions in dealing with their jealousies were a reflection of their characters, and persona.

Othello, who is the protagonist of its story, outrages emotion with jealousy when he thinks that another man(Iago) had sex with Desdemona. “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on; (act3.3). Iago tells Othello not to be jealous of him but it completely breaks the heart of Othello. This heartbreaking story all happened when jealousy showed up. Othello ends up killing his wife because obviously, he was jealous of her.

In Shakespeare’s play “The Tragedy of Othello” he introduces the theme of jealousy. This theme is introduced in Act 1 and Act 3 of the play by the character Iago. In Act 1 and Act 3 there are three instances where the characters make poor decisions because of jealousy. Whether it is through job rankings or through love, these characters do not trust each other. This theme appears in three unusual ways.

Othello and Iago love emotions shows throughout the play that they have certain different view on their wives. Othello is so in love with Desdemona that he can’t imagine the thought of her being unfaithful to him. The aspect of him and his unbreakable love for Desdemona can be seen in these lines: “But that I love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition, Put into circumscription and confine” (Othello 561;lines 25-28). Othello and Desdemona shows a healthy and genuine love for each other. Othello shows his affection for Desdemona despite their racial differences. Throughout the play Othello reassures us about their love and no one else’s thought can break it.

Love, jealousy and obsession is a consistent and relevant theme in most tragedies. In tragedy, the initial love that the protagonist feels for another character is often organically surpassed by stronger emotions of jealousy and obsession when the individual lacks a fundamental sense of identity. This motif in the convention of tragedy leads to the downfall of a hero or, modernly, a regular person. Othello introduces this theme in the first scenes of the text. Othello weds Desdemona and this event creates a conflict between Brabantio and Othello, to which Brabantio warns Othello: “Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:/She has deceiv’d her father and may thee.” (A1:S3) This rhyming couplet instills in Othello a mistrust towards Desdemona,

During the course of the play Othello, the reader delves deep into the history and social setting of Venice. After some time passes, the reader can see that a young and lovely girl by the name of Desdemona, falls deeply and madly in love with the moor, and general of the Venetian army, Othello. From this we can begin to dissect the nature of Desdemona’s love and how it portrays the true nature of her character as a woman and wife. It is often argued by many that Desdemona is not truly in love with Othello. It is clear that this was intended to be perceived by Shakespeare, as he even shows her father, Brabantio, pleading to the courts men of Venice, stating that surely she must be “corrupted by spells, and medicines, bought of mountebanks” (Shakespeare, I. iii. 75-9.), as he could not believe that this love might have blossomed naturally from the passion and respect found in her heart. Many critics also adore the idea that she is simply a young brainless girl that does not see the consequence of her actions as related to the loving and marrying of Othello. This angle of the argument, which shows Desdemona as a foolish girl who is not capable of making her own decisions, is very common with some of Shakespeare’s other masterpieces, most notably in Romeo and Juliet. If one chooses to argue her love for Othello from this angle, they may run into many road blocks. As the play

Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes, particularly those of betrayal, love, and death. These themes are present in Othello. However, the most dynamic of themes in this play is jealousy. White describes jealousy as a “complex of thoughts, feelings, and actions which follow threats to self-esteem and/or threats to the existence or quality of a relationship” (qtd in UK essays par 1). Two types of jealousy are presented to the audience in Othello; the kind of jealousy that is fear of losing what one has, and the kind that is envious of what others have. Jealousy is a prevalent theme in Othello; it is rooted by love and hope, and it leads to betrayal and death. Because of the evil nature of jealousy, the play unfolds under the authority of Iago, who uses jealousy to drive the characters’ actions, and ultimately concludes in the downfall of a noble man (UK Essays par 1). The audience is presented with examples of both forms of jealousy as themes in Othello. The two themes of jealousy differ, but are also quite similar.