StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

William Shakespeare's Othello - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Othello is one of the four famous tragedies by William Shakespeare written in 1603. The play has been considered Shakespeare’s most tightly constructed tragedy. [Othello – A tragic Hero. Othello is one of the four famous tragedies by William Shakespeare written in 1603…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.8% of users find it useful
William Shakespeares Othello
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "William Shakespeare's Othello"

Number] Othello – A tragic Hero Othello is one of the four famous tragedies by William Shakespeare written in 1603. The play has been considered Shakespeare’s most tightly constructed tragedy. In this play Shakespeare has made proficient use of different literary devices that well complemented the tragic theme of the play and supported the construction of the central character Othello as a tragic hero. He used literary devices including dramatic, situational and verbal irony, metaphor, climax and symbolism in the play.

The blended use of these literary devices well contributes towards adding the essence of tragedy in the play as well as in its main character Othello. Shakespeare has largely used the literary devise of irony in the play. The use of irony has played an important role in the play because it has added the essence of suspense in the play and also added tragedy to the Othello role by keeping him unaware of some important facts about her wife and Lago. There are three types of irony used in different scenes and situations of the play including dramatic, situational and verbal irony.

There are many dialogues and situation affirming the use of irony in the play. For instance, the comments of Othello about Lago depicts the verbal irony because he speaks opposite to what he actually was like "O, thou art wise! 'Tis certain"(IV.I.87),  "Honest Iago . . . "(V.II.88), "I know, Iago, Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter"(II.III.251-52). These words talks about the opposite things about lago and depict the use of verbal irony in the play. Lago also tells many leis to Othello like My Lord, you know I love you (III.III.136) whereas in real he didn’t love Othello and was intended to make his life miserable.

Shakespeare created situation irony at many scenes. For instance, Lago wanted to see Cassio dead but in the end of the play he was the only one to remain alive and all the other people were dead. Othello and Lago treated their wives horribly and killed them because of the misunderstanding that their wives were cheating them. However, in real the wives were not cheating but Othello remained unaware of the fact till the end of the play. The most important example of dramatic irony is the play is the fact that Desdemona was innocent and the audience knew this fact but the characters of the play were unaware of this.

The audience also know that that Lago is crooked and deceitful person but Othello didn’t came to know the truth about him and he continued to lie and scheming with him. Shakespeare also coined the metaphor of jealousy through a green eyed monster about which Lago warned Othello. O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!  It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on"(III.III.192). These lines not only tell about the metaphor but also about the verbal irony and show the tragic side of Othello character that he was warned by a person about jealousy who himself was jealous of him but Othello didn’t knew about it.

The play also used the literary device of climax. In the play the climax occurs at several places. Othello was convinced in the third scene of the first act that Desdemona was unfaithful. Othello becomes jealous and loses the self-control. His mind and judgement senses were also occupied with the jealousy thinking and he starts making wrong decisions about Desdemona. He overreacts and expresses his anger without sensibly analysing the trust behind the situation. Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her, damn her!

Come go with me part.  I will withdraw To furnish me with some swift means of death.  For the fair devil.  Now are the my lieutenant (III.III. 475). Later climax occurs again when he killed Desdemona and realized his mistake. He also killed his wife and in the end he has nothing but the feelings of regret and compunction. It is too late.' `O Lord, O Lord, Lord!' he smothers her"(III.IV.168). He then committed suicide due to his imprudent acts that he took after falling in the trap of lago.

These scenes and dialogues reflect the essence of climax used in the play that added interest and attractiveness to the play and make the audience get involved with the play. At the same time, the climax also affirms the tragic end of the play and the main character who has nothing with him in the end but regret and reluctance. There are several objects used in the play as a symbol like handkerchief and the willow song. The handkerchief was used to symbolize different things to different characters of the play.

For Desdemona, the handkerchief was symbol of love of Othello whereas Othello viewed it as symbol of faith and chastity of Desdemona. Lago manipulated the handkerchief and convinced her wife to steal it and then Othello thought that his wife was unfaithful and infidel because he viewed the handkerchief as symbol of holiness and virginity. Trifles light as air Are to the jealous confirmations strong As proofs of holy writ (III.III.15).The song willow sung by Desdemona while preparing for bed also symbolizes the worried of a women betrayed by her lover that appears to be crazy person.

The song symbolizes the unfaithfulness of men and women for each other and also tells about the women deserted by their lovers. A poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all the green willow, Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow (IV. III. 3) The above examples clearly indicate that Shakespeare has used several literary devices in the play Othello. The use of these devices has effectively worked towards making the play a great tragedy. The use of literary devices like irony, climax and metaphor has also contributed towards making Othello a great tragic hero because due to irony he remained unaware of certain important facts and at the climax of the play he reached a tragic end having regret and distress due to his own wrong decisions, flawed thinking and misunderstanding.

Work Cited The Pelican Shakespeare – Othello, Edited by Russ McDonald, Penguin Paperbacks, 2003

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“William Shakespeare's Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1422217-william-shakespeare-s-othello
(William Shakespeare'S Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1422217-william-shakespeare-s-othello.
“William Shakespeare'S Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1422217-william-shakespeare-s-othello.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF William Shakespeare's Othello

William Shakespeares Othello, the Moor of Venice as a Tragedy

This paper will shed light upon othello and how the tragic hero suffers excessively in the tragedy.... othello is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.... othello is a masterpiece written by Shakespeare and this paper will shed more light upon this tragedy.... othello- The Tragic Hero The role of jealousy is crucial in othello, human beings have all been gifted with very powerful emotions and jealousy is one really strong emotion which can have a lasting impact in a relationship, it can completely destroy a beautiful relationship and the same happens in othello....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Shakespeares Play Othello

This report "Shakespeare's Play othello" discusses a story of how various characters manipulate racial consciousness for a wicked reason.... Shakespeare portrays othello as a positive character who thrived in a white-dominated society.... othello is one of his popular plays written in the late sixteenth century at a time when Venice and Turkey were at war with one another (Shakespeare & Gayle 25).... Shakespeare's play othello is set in Venice and Cyprus and involves a general named othello, a person of black descent living among the whites....
7 Pages (1750 words) Book Report/Review

Iago, in William Shakespeare's Othello, as a Devil(Satanic) Figure

This review discusses the hero Iago, in william shakespeare's "Othello".... One part of othello that gives credence to the idea of Iago as the devil is that the character constantly seems to refer both the devil and hell as an excuse and even a catalyst for what he is doing.... The manner in which he moves othello from declaring his love for Desdemona to declaring that he will "chop her all into messes" is stunning because it is so believable....
4 Pages (1000 words) Literature review

William Shakespeare's Othello

shakespeare's othello on the other hand is trusting, straight and impulsive, which causes his natural judgment to fail in his personal life.... Two of the greatest tragic heroes are Oedipus, created by Sophocles, and othello, created by Shakespeare thousands of years later, are the subject of our examination, and they both do arouse pity.... But when the stories of Oedipus and othello are examined, we see that though both had defective understanding, their lack of insight lay in different circumstances and character traits....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Compare Emilia and Desdemona

When she makes her first entrance, Desdemona steadfastly affirms her love for othello at the court in Venice and while tendering her respects to filial duty, nevertheless manages to express the allegiance she owes to her new husband.... esdemona's resolute profession of her love shows us the practical nature and the intensity of her affections: "My downright violence and storm of fortunes/May trumpet to the world: my heart's subdued/ Even to the very quality of my lord:/I saw othello's visage in his mind,/And to his honor and his valiant parts/ Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate"....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

A Study of William Shakespeare's Othello

A study of William Shakespeare's Othello “Othello” is a ical play written by the famous William Shakespeare.... On the other hand, the supporting… This paper presents a study of william shakespeare's “Othello”. Different characters in the play display how their intentions are strikingly driven by passion instead of reason.... This paper presents a study of william shakespeare's “Othello”.... The main characters in the play are othello; the play is named after him, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia and Cassio....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

William Shakespeare's Othello

A famous line 7 from Act V, Scene 2 of Shakespeares othello, which is said by othello himself before he killed his wife, Desdemona, comprises two parts.... The first one could be treated literally, while the second one is likely to be a metaphor ("Put out the light, then put out… othello was speaking to himself articulating his plan, according to which putting out the light meant to put out the candle and bring darkness into Desdemonas room....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

How The William Shakespeare's Othello Relates to The Real Life

An author of this assignment aims to analyze the play "othello" by William Shakespeare for the purpose of identifying the underlying advice for the audience that corresponds to real life.... othello is a particular play by William Shakespeare that is not only the closest to real-life but also indicates several unfortunate facts of the real world.... othello does not take the audiences into an imaginary planet controlled by witches, spirits or magicians nor are there any witches making prophecies to people....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us