Othello by William Shakespeare

 Hello Readers, 

          There have been many writers and poets in English literature.  English literature is vast.  An important role is played by William Shakespeare.  Has given him English literature and much more.  In which works like novel, sonnet etc. are famous.  William Shakespeare was one of the best writers of his time. Going on stage he wrote a lot of plays.He has written many comedy and tragedy plays.  In which comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest etc.In triageds Antony and Cleopatr,  Coriolanus, Hamlet. Julius Caesar,  King Lear,  Macbeth, Othello,  Romeo and Juliet

From that  we will today discuss here about Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello".

Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1603.

The story revolves around two characters, Othello and Iago. Othello is a Moorish general in the Venetian army charged with the generalship of Venice on the eve of war with the Ottoman Turks over the island of Cyprus. He has just married Desdemona, a beautiful and wealthy white Venetian, much younger than him, against the wishes of her father. Iago is Othello's jealous and bitter ensign who maliciously goads his master's jealousy until the usually stoic Moor kills his beloved wife in a fit of blind rage.

Characters of "Othello"-

Othello – General in the Venetian military

Desdemona – Othello's wife; daughter of Brabantio

Iago – Othello's trusted, but jealous and traitorous ensign

Cassio – Othello's loyal and most beloved captain

Emilia – Iago's wife and Desdemona's maidservant

Bianca – Cassio's lover

Brabantio – Venetian senator and Desdemona's father (can also be called Brabanzio)

Roderigo – dissolute Venetian, in love with Desdemona

Duke of Venice

Gratiano – Brabantio's brother

Lodovico – Brabantio's kinsman and Desdemona's cousin

Montano – Othello's Venetian predecessor in the government of Cyprus

Clown – servant

Senators

Sailor

Officers, Gentlemen, Messenger, Herald, Attendants, Musicians, etc.

My point of view

Iago has a secret jealousy and resentment towards Othello because a soldier named Lieutenant Cassio has been put in front of him and also suspects that Othello has been cheating with his wife. Waiting on revenge, Iago plans a devious comeback to plant suspicions in Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been having an affair with Cassio. On one night He starts street fight with Cassio. Everybody gathers and Othello founds him in drunken state on time of duty, and is then dismissed from his post.

Desdemona takes up Cassio’s case with her husband, which only increases his suspicions that the pair are lovers. While all of this is happening Iago manages to find a treasured handkerchief from Desdemona that was given to her by Othello. He somehow gets the handkerchief on Cassio so that Othello sees it and he finally concludes that the possession is proof of the affair. Due to the jealousy, he orders Iago to murder Cassio. Then Othello decides to strangle Desdemona.

Immediately afterwards her innocence is revealed, and Iago’s treachery exposed. In a fit of grief and remorse Othello kills himself and Iago is taken into custody by the authorities.

 symbol of Handkerchief:-

One symbol that I believe is very important in Othello is the handkerchief. The handkerchief is mentioned throughout the play because it’s the cause of the tragedy of the play. This small piece of cloth is the reason why Othello’s wife Desdemona killed her self and why Othello goes on a path of betrayal. The handkerchief is important because, in the old days of the Renaissance period, a handkerchief was considered to be a powerful symbol of a women romantic favour. Giving this item to a women meant true love, honesty, commitment, and righteousness. In Othello the handkerchief has great meaning to Othello because it was passed down to him by his mother in turn he gave it to Desdemona to commit to her and his love for her. But Iago turns the handkerchief into a weapon and used it against Othello. He manipulates the handkerchief and puts it in Cassio’s possession so Othello can see that Desdemona is committing adultery. A handkerchief is a powerful tool that plays a huge role in the turning point of the play. The handkerchief is relevant throughout the whole play because of what it stands for.

Quote:

OTHELLO That is a fault.

That handkerchief

Did an Egyptian to my mother give;

She was a charmer, and could almost read

The thoughts of people: she told her, while

she kept it,

‘Twould make her amiable and subdue my father

Entirely to her love, but if she lost it 60

Or made gift of it, my father’s eye

Should hold her loathed and his spirits should hunt

After new fancies: she, dying, gave it me;

And bid me, when my fate would have me wive,

To give it her. I did so: and take heed on’t;

Make it a darling like your precious eye;

To lose’t or give’t away were such perdition

As nothing else could match.

Conclusion:

There's plenty of classic Shakespeare in this play including a punning clown and a sword fight but it is the style that makes Othello special. For example, there is the repetition and repetition and repetition of key themes like the ironic 'honest Iago' mentioned above. There is careful foreshadowing in early scenes (including where Iago warns Othello against jealousy). There is the careful structuring of the act/ scene structure: the two, heartbreakingly intense scenes set in Desdemona's bedroom are separated by a fight scene; the scene in which Iago begins to develop Othello's jealousy and talks about the handkerchief is immediately followed by Desdemona and Emilia wandering the streets, accosting a punning clown, and then talking about the handkerchief. The whole play is beautifully timed so that it starts with a bang, the turning point happens dead centre and the tension rises and rises to the end. And a number of scenes, including the very first, begin in media res.