A Summary of Shakespeares Othello Essay - 852 Words

Desdemona is a stunning, youthful, white, Venetian debutante. She is her fathers pride and joy, but she refuses to marry any of the rich, handsome Venetian men that her surroundings expects her to spend the rest of her life with. Instead, she elopes with Othello – an older black man, an outsider to Venetian society. Turns out, this is a pretty intrepid move – Desdemona not only defies her fathers expectations (that she marry a white man of his choosing), she also thumbs her nose at a society that largely disapproves of interracial marriages. In this way, Desdemonas relationship with Othello speaks to the plays concerns with Sixteenth Century attitudes about sex, gender, and race. Desdemona withholds many attributes to the play Othello†¦show more content†¦When Desdemona asks Emilia if there are really women who would cheat on their husbands, she puts her lack of worldly experience on display for all to see. Her ignorance of how the world works, and her supposed ly trusting husbands belief in false statements, eventually leads her to the ultimate betrayal. Desdemona had practically depended on her husband to love her undoubtedly, but not in such a way that he had to do everything for her. Desdemona, as a character, remains the same throughout the novel. She never undergoes change relating to her state of mind, but rather to her well-being. She never withheld any interesting characteristics, unless you could say she was married to a King. Even the other characters from the play view Desdemona as neither a virtuous woman nor a whore, and nowhere in between. When Desdemona is first mentioned by her father, Brabantio, he refers to her as â€Å"A maiden never bold; Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion Blushed at herself† (Act 1, Scene 3). Throughout the play, Desdemona remains a very sweet, loyal woman to her Beattie 3 husband. No characters had necessarily effected her attitude, until closer to the end. Desdemona undergoes drastic change when she gets strangled by her husband, but to the audience’s surprise, she blamed no one but herself. As mentioned earlier, Desdemona was a very understanding woman, and she remained this way even until the day she died. DesdemonaShow MoreRelatedTragic Hero in Othelo by William Shakespeare996 Words   |  4 PagesConventions of Othello Shakespeare has been a part of the American Society for many years. Compared to other Authors, he has a different style of writing but within his own writings, they are all very much alike. He has written many plays including Othello and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare was a man who wrote plays that followed the same literary conventions. These conventions included tragic hero, fallacy, irony, and also suspense. A tragic hero is a male figure who is high in society and one whoRead MoreFrom Valiancy to Vengeance in Shakespeare ´s Othello794 Words   |  4 PagesHatred, in Shakespeare’s Othello, destroyed the lives of so many innocent people, creating an atmosphere of fear and mayhem. Jealousy turned into a deep hatred, and liberated the beast in man (Blooms major dramatists).This mayhem caused a substantial amount of destruction and led to the demise of many. Hatred in Othello starts with Brabantio, who claims Othello is a noble, respectable man. However, Brabantio hates dark skin and foreign roots, two attributes Othello possesses. Brabantio’s hatredRead MoreOthello: A Covert Discussion on Racism Essay1625 Words   |  7 Pagesset, and was trying in this creative way that the mind set of the people was not correct even for that time. How and why did Shakespeare purposely portray Othello the Moor as a tragic hero, like Hamlet or King Lear, or did this character redevelop over time, as society’s view on racism changed. This issue of race is not signaler to Othello alone but through out the play with all the other characters, such as the main antagonist Iago, and the prejudice Barbantio. I will also attempt to exploreRead MoreAp Lit- Othello Prompt-1979 Essay628 Words   |  3 Pagesmore sympathetically than we might otherwise think.   Avoid plot summary. A man falls into a violent epileptic shock from sheer anger and jealousy. Othello is an aspiring man, who under delusional rage, allows revenge to blind him and so he betrays the trust of friendship and marriage. Actions alone can merit the characterization of evil simply because some deeds are too purely vicious and malignant, however William Shakespeare’s Othello creates a character of far greater intricacy than sole action-Read MoreCharacterization For Disdemona And Desdemona By William Shakespeare845 Words   |  4 PagesUnfaithfulness of Husbands and Wives, Story Seven, an ideal woman was said to be faithful and a faithful woman would rather commit suicide than to commit adultery (Cinthio 32), while in Shakespeare’s Othello, an ideal woman is said to breastfeed and inquire about useless matters (2.1.159). Cinthio’s and Shakespeare’s use of characterization for Disdemona and Desdemona, respectively, demonstrates that the wives of men in the sixteenth century were to be gentle servants. Cinthio focuses more on the commonRead MoreMusic in Othello1633 Words   |  7 PagesMusic in Othello In Cyprus, observing the joyous reunion of Othello and Desdemona, Iago says to himself that he will wreck the lovers harmony: O, you are well tuned now! / But Ill set down the pegs that make this music, / As honest as I am (2.1.199-201). The pegs to which he refers are the tuning pegs on a stringed instrument. Their love is the instrument on which Iago is planning to loosen (set down) the pegs until the harmony is turned into discord. [Scene Summary] Because no one likeRead MoreEssay on Act One Of Othello2439 Words   |  10 Pages What Is Shakespeare’s Achievement In Act I Of Othello? Shakespeare’s own personal aim was not to write a social and political reflection of his era, as many contemporary readers believe, it was; purely and simply, to entertain his audience. This does not mean that there can be no social and political reflections within Othello, it means that the reflections are there, not for the sake of social and political commentary, but for the sake of entertainment and pleasure. Aristotle explained in â€Å"Poetics†Read MoreOthello And Ayad Akhtars Disgraced1116 Words   |  5 PagesGender issues are a prominent area of debate today, but it was just as controversial four centuries ago. A comparison of William Shakespeare’s Othello and Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced shows that even though these societies appear very different, they share similarities in ideas of masculinity. While the rights of women have advanced over the last four centuries, the parallel between Amir’s treatment of Emily and Othello’s treatment of Desdemona illustrates that societal notions of masculine dominanceRead MoreThe Development of Othellos Character in William Shakespeares Play1169 Words   |  5 PagesThe Development of Othellos Character in William Shakespeares Play At the start of the play Othello is presented as a very confident character. He is a high ranking general in the Venetian army. However during the course of the play Othello is betrayed and manipulated by Iago, and the audience observes the unravelling of his tragic flawRead MoreExposing Racism in William Shakespeare’s Othello Essay2036 Words   |  9 Pagesfear unnatural a racist’s hate plagues a vulnerable community of black slaves, with religion and war corrupting diverse cultures in the attempts to purify the existence of sin. This enlightening argument of what inspires William Shakespeare’s to compose the play Othello contaminates romantic relationships, Before the integration of black-skinned people into Elizabethan culture, Christian ideology coalesce Satan’s appearance with babies born black, with such manifestations supported by centuries