What are the main themes in Othello?

Some of the major themes in this play include racial prejudice, manipulation, and jealousy. Specifically, Othello is regarded as a beast by other characters because he is black. Iago is jealous of Cassio because Othello promotes him to a higher military position.

Why Othello is a tragic hero?

Othello is a tragic hero because he is noble, he suffers from a fatal tragic flaw and he goes through a tragic downfall. All these traits that Othello exhibits lead him to be known as one of the most well-known tragic heroes in all of literature.

How do you analyze Othello?

Character Analysis Othello. Othello is a combination of greatness and weakness, in his own words “an honourable murderer” (V. 2, 295). He is a general in the Venetian defense forces, and, although a foreigner from Africa, he has won this post by excellence in the field of war.

What is the background of Othello?

Othello is a brave and competent soldier of advanced years and Moorish background in the service of the Venetian Republic. He elopes with Desdemona, the beautiful daughter of a respected Venetian senator.

What is the moral lesson of Othello?

“Othello” is a cautionary tale. It prompts us to check our reflexive feelings and to be fairer and more generous toward those whom we might dismiss or pigeonhole. It also encourages us to be more forgiving of others’ trespasses.

What is the deeper meaning of Othello?

The play Othello is a tale of jealousy, revenge, and deception. Iago, a disgruntled military officer, in a quest for revenge against Othello, lies, cheats, and bullys everyone around in order to get what he wants.

What is Othello’s fatal flaw?

Some say that Othello’s tragic flaw was jealousy which flared at suspicion and rushed into action unchecked by calm common sense. A more modern interpretation would say that Othello’s tragic flaw was that he had internalized, that is taken into himself, the prejudices of those who surrounded him.

How did Othello end?

Iago is arrested and sent to trial after Othello wounds him (he doesn’t even die). Othello, facing the inevitability of his own trial, uses a hidden weapon to commit suicide. The play ends with Cassio reinstated and placed in command as Governor of Cyprus.

What is Shakespeare’s point in Othello?

Othello is a play about sexual jealousy, and how one man can convince another man, who loves his wife dearly, that she has been unfaithful to him when she hasn’t. But Shakespeare does several very interesting, and artistically quite bold, things with this basic plot, and the characters he uses to tell the story.

What is Othello’s tragic flaw?

What is the summary of Othello?

The play is set in motion when Othello, a heroic black general in the service of Venice, appoints Cassio and not Iago as his chief lieutenant. Jealous of Othello’s success and envious of Cassio, Iago plots Othello’s downfall by falsely implicating Othello’s wife, Desdemona, and Cassio in a love affair.

Why is Othello black?

Othello himself would have been played by an actor who had darkened his skin with soot or coal, a common technique used to indicate a character’s Moorish or Turkish roots. But audiences would also have understood that Othello’s dark skin was emblematic of his dark or evil nature.

What is the tragic flaw of Othello?

Is Othello a hero or villain?

Othello is generally considered to be the protagonist of the play Othello, but throughout the story, he doesn’t always play the role of “hero.” His life, just like his characterization, is far more complicated than that.

What type of tragedy is Othello?

Othello is also a domestic tragedy: the tragedy of marriage. Othello and Desdemona have a passionate love which could be seen as a threat to the rules established by patriarchal order: their intense, emotionally charged and equal marriage challenges ideas about class, race and the conformity of women.

What are Othello’s last words?

‘Soft you, a word or two before you go’: so begins Othello’s last major speech before he stabs himself. His last words, famously, are ‘I kiss’d thee ere I kill’d thee’.

Is Othello based on a true story?

That Othello and Desdemona, whose real name was Palma, really existed, is clearly proved. Even the mad jealousy of Othello is historical.

Who is the hero in Othello?

Iago as the Hero of Shakespeare’s Othello He is boisterous, egotistical, sometimes witty, and all too eager to seek revenge. In William Shakespeare Othello, Iago is the well-liked, trusted, and brave ensign of the great Venetian general Othello, or so it appears.