example essay on othello

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Richard Marriott English

English Lecturing and Tutoring

Othello Sample Essay

This sample essay shows how to meet the assessment objectives at the highest level.

What intimations of tragedy have you found in Othello so far?

The presence of a Machiavellian villain in the false Iago, a hero in the ‘Noble Moor’, and a tragic setting, Christendom under siege, are the first intimations of tragedy in Othello. There are as well signs that the play is not a tragedy:  it flouts the Aristotle’s unity of time and the neo-classical ‘unity of place’ that is frequently attributed to Aristotle. There are even signs of comedy: an old man deceived by a sexually active daughter suggests the pantalon of the commedia dell’arte. The cuckold is an archetypal comic figure in Elizabethan drama and the idea that Othello may think  himself a comic and be none is a further comic development on male sexual anxiety. The play has been read by Michael Bristol as a charivari , not a tragedy at all, but a savage carnival in which the black man who dares transgress the marriage conventions of white society is mocked – and then beaten for his outrage.

The duplicity of Iago, hell-bent upon the destruction of his unwitting master, Othello, intimates tragedy. Shakespeare reveals heroic potential in Othello from the outset in the nobility of character which others comment on and in the words and action he utters himself. His potential for tragedy is evident in his obliviousness to the treachery of Iago, a man he insists on calling honest. He is not alone: Iago’s treachery glides through the play unobserved, revealed only in his private moments with Roderigo and his soliloquies to the audience. More than that, Shakespeare presents Othello as a hero is a man upon whom Shakespeare shows the fate of nations to depend. If Churchill was the only man who could save England from German National Socialism, then Othello seems the only man capable of shoring up Cyprus that far Christian outpost against the terrifying onslaught of Islamic aggression. If Othello falls, then Christian Europe may fall with it. Othello is that Aristotelian great man upon whom the fate of many hangs. His fall, bringing others down with him, will be tragic.

Shakespeare gives us the tragic villain in advance of the hero. He is a villain in Machiavellian style. Although Machiavelli’s treatise, Il Principe , did not appear in English until Edward Dacres’ 1636 translation, the ideas were part of the intellectual milieu of sixteenth century Europe. In essence, Machiavelli offers the princes of catholic Europe licence to waive the inhibiting precepts of their faith and pursue whatever moral course is necessary to keep power; the assumption being that political stability is of higher value than personal morality. The duplicity he recommends formed the subject of much debate and theatrical representation in the sixteenth century. Shakespeare has already offered us Machiavellian villains in Don John in Much Ado About Nothing and more especially Claudius in Hamlet : the fratricidal traitor to the King who disinherits the rightful prince and marries his brother’s queen, might, from a Machiavellian point of view have simply been attempting to secure the safety of Denmark from the threat of Norwegian invasion.

Machiavelli’s advice to Princes in Chapter XVIII offers a guide to the key notes of Iago’s character; “it is necessary to know well how to disguise  . . .  to be a great pretender and dissembler; and men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.” Necessary ‘to disguise’ says Machiavelli; “trimmed in forms and visages of duty”, I i 50, says Iago. To ‘trim’ is to adorn, to decorate, as a milliner might decorate a hat. So Iago adjusts his appearance to disguise his true nature. Likewise he assumes the ‘visages’ the facial expressions of the dutiful servant. His boasting continues: he is one who throws out “shows of service”: a show is an appearance, a representation, a simulacrum, not the thing itself. He does all this for his “peculiar end”, his private purposes, private even against Roderigo.

Machiavelli goes on to state that “a prince, especially a new one, cannot observe all those things for which men are esteemed, being often forced, in order to maintain the state, to act contrary to fidelity,  friendship, humanity, and religion.” Iago flouts all those precepts: he is disloyal to the man he has fought with, unfriendly to the man who treats him as a friend and inhuman in his revenge. His hatred is boundless, disproportionate to any cause for vengeance and lies beyond the purview of his master. Machiavelli reiterates the instruction: “appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.” Iago evinces all those opposite qualities. Shakespeare presents him as the character who might be the hero: he is named Iago. The name recalls the contemporary patron saint of Spain: Iago Matamoros. The name, Kim Hall observes, means Iago the Moor-Slayer. (Hall uses the emotive, fairy-tale word, ‘slayer’ – a more literal, prosaic translation would give us ‘killer’.) He ought, by his name to be the European hero who slays the evil dragon that Othello would represent. Not only that but Shakespeare presents a man who appears honest and trustworthy. He proclaims a ‘conscience’, an internal sense of right and wrong, talking to Othello before the Sagitarry, I ii 2 which prohibits premeditated violence. He swears , or professes, friendship to Roderigo and a bond that is powerful, visible and tangible of ‘cables of perdurable toughness’ – yet all the while cynically takes his money in a courtship cause that is already lost. He is similarly cynical as he bemocks his own honesty in an aside to the audience, swearing by it even as he embarks on a dishonest act , “I’ll set down the pegs that make this music/As honest as I am”, ii I 195. The music metaphor has far-reaching implications: musical harmony is divine in its source. The ultimate harmony is the music of the spheres: the music of the planets in their divine and majestic progress around the earth, as it was believed at the time. If music is an image of divine order, then Iago’s threat is a diabolical threat of disorder.  And this is the man to whom Othello entrusts his wife, taking him at face value as a man ‘of honesty and trust’! (I iii 281)  Most clearly he flouts his religion, allying himself with the forces of Hell:

I have’t. It is engender’d. Hell and night Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.

                                                                    I iii 403-4

His plan is ‘engender’d’ the metaphor is of conception and birth. The forces of Hell and darkness then are the midwives to his diabolical treachery. Typical of Iago, he will have someone, something do this dirty work for him. The word, ‘monstrous’, suggests an unnatural birth that is as contrary to nature as hell is to heaven. In Oliver Parker’s film a horizontal camera shoots Kenneth Branagh’s face, as Iago, staring through the pieces of a chessboard with flames rising behind him. An image that suggests the flames of Hell. The Machiavellian villain, the prince licensed to defy his faith, becomes an agent of Hell. The consequences for the unwitting Othello and the Venetian state depending on him have indeed tragic potential.

Returning to my first reference to Machiavelli, quoted above, “he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.” The phrase ‘allow himself’ to be deceived is interesting: even in these early stages, Roderigo is deceived by Iago, so too Cassio and of course Othello. Indeed neither Duke nor Senate question Iago’s character when Othello proclaims him a man of ‘honesty and trust’ – so much honesty and trust that he entrusts to him that which above all things is most precious: his wife, Desdemona.

Iago then is the tragic villain, of a Machiavellian stamp, who will be at least ‘partly responsible for the hero’s demise’. His ‘peculiar end’ is not clear. What revenge does he want: in Suzman’s production, Richard Haines as Iago stands triumphant astride the arms of the Duke’s throne. By implication he seems himself engaged in ‘a contest of power’, more than this he uses his arms to mime a giant penis. He seems to be seeking both constitutional power through his usurpation of the throne and sexual power or at least to recover a sense of his manhood. 

The tragic villain must have a hero to bring down. Othello qualifies for the role. Iago who is at least clear sighted recognises his “constant, loving, noble nature”, II i 287. The words bear examination: constant means ‘faithful’, the quality Machiavelli eschews in princes; loving implies at the least ‘friendship’, again to be eschewed in friendship. ‘Noble’ is an interesting word. Nobility in the sixteenth century is an attribute of birth. Like royalty, one is born noble – or not. Shakespeare is not the first to challenge the idea. And Othello is anyhow royal-born, fetching his “life and being/ From men of royal siege”, I ii 20. It is his nature, though, not his birth that Iago is observing: Shakespeare creates in Othello a noble man – fit for heroism, whose fall we can justly pity.

Aristotle observed in his Poetics that great tragedies have common elements, chief among them the tragic hero: “He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous- a personage like Oedipus”, Othello is has such high renown and prosperity. When Iago names him to Brabantio as ‘the Moor’, it is clear he knows which Moor he is talking about: there is only one. He is famed by the First Senator as ‘the valiant Moor’. His prosperity is evident in his marriage to Desdemona – he has prospered in love as he appears to have done in love, reaching the rank of General. Aristotle’s examples of heroes of ‘high renown’ princes of royal blood, kings or heirs to the throne: Oedipus, Creon Aegisthus. Their fall has consequences for their royal house and for the people they rule. Othello, as a mere General, would seem to be an exception to this rule, except that Shakespeare presents him as the last bulwark against Ottoman invasion: if Othello falls, Cyprus, Christendom even, may fall to the Turk.

In the first Act, Shakespeare sketches in a life journey that is in itself heroic, fetching ‘his life and being / From men of royal siege’ I ii 22, Othello carries princely blood. He  hails from one of those ‘few families only’ whose members may, ‘furnish the subjects of tragedy’. He has been ‘sold to slavery’, won redemption, travelled to remote lands and been a soldier from the age of seven (I iii 83). The vicissitudes of his life: prince to slave, soldier to lover, global traveller, have a heroic scale. And Shakespeare shows this man who has risen so high, so nearly attained a place in the ruling classes of the most civilized state in Europe, this man of such ability, on whom so many depend, on the brink of a fall, a fall that could only be tragic.

From the first he appears noble and heroic. At his first entrance in I ii, when Iago would have him hide from Brabantio and his vigilante party bent on revenge, “You were best go in.”, Shakespeare gives him the reply: “Not I; I must be found.”. The two utterances comprise a line shared between the actors: Iago’s urgent trochee (the stress seems to be on ‘You’, ‘best’ and ‘in’) is interrupted by the resounding rebuttal, in which every syllable seems to be stressed. The ‘Not I’ is proudly spondaic; the caesura shows a man in no hurry; the power of the words is allowed to sink in. The line concludes with the powerful assertion, “I must be found.” in which every syllable could conceivably be stressed in performance. The repeated ‘I’ offers a proud assertion of ego and ‘found’ provides a resonant, bass echo resonating  at the end of the line. Fechter’s Othello closes the door and pockets the key: making escape impossible. Julie Hankey (Shakespeare in Prodcution, Othello , Cambridge) comments on the entrances of various Othellos to the stage in this scene. Kingsley, she says, is ‘Ghandi-like’ a dazzling figure robed in white enters a dark stage with everyone on it wearing black, a ‘grave’ and ‘grey-bearded ancient’. His difference is palpable, qualitative, not simply a matter of race or colour. Salvini is a ‘bronzed’ and ‘towering figure’. Other Othello’s are not so immediately heroic: Fechter enters leaning on his ensign’s shoulder. By the end of the scene however, his conduct is unequivocal: ‘Keep up your bright swords’, ‘Hold your hands’: Shakespeare’s imperatives, (‘Keep’, ‘Hold’) reveal a figure comfortable and assured in authority. Furthermore Aristotle specifies the relationship between hero and villain: ‘the tragic incident occurs between those who are near or dear to one another- if, for example, a brother kills, or intends to kill, a brother.’ Othello and Iago are near and ostensibly dear to one another. Iago recounts a long campaigning history in Rhodes and Cyprus and ‘other grounds/Christian and heathen’: they are brothers in arms.

Most important of all the tragic hero must have his hamartia , his tragic flaw.  He must be a ‘man like ourselves . . . whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty’. If Shakespeare gives Othello a frailty, a flaw it seems to be his judgement. Was he wrong to overlook Iago for promotion and perhaps provoke revenge. Or was he instinctively right to keep down this unstable, vengeful character. Was he wrong to promote the smooth-tongued Cassio, impressed perhaps by his polished manners despite his lack of military experience? Or does Shakespeare show a brilliant strategist who has complementary qualities in his closest officers: the theoretician and the battle-hardened war veteran. Shakespeare makes his greatest error his marriage to Desdemona. He does not, as Romeo, does have youthful infatuation to excuse his deceit. Perhaps he has instead the innocence of a man unused to city, to Venetian ways, a man who, for all his military experience, is unused to the ways of the world.

By end of II i however his heroic military cause is lost and he is  locked in a battle with himself instigated by Iago over his wife’s fidelity he is filled with comic potential.

It is probably a mark of genius in an artist in any medium to challenge or re-invent the boundaries of form. Shakespeare arguably does this in Othello in two ways: first of all he flouts the Aristotelian unities of time and place and secondly, he perhaps writes in the comic tradition of the charivari . In distinguishing epic and tragic poetry, Aristotle observes, ‘Tragedy endeavours, as far as possible, to confine itself to a single revolution of the sun’. Clearly with the sea voyage to Cyprus and two nights of brawling (in the streets of Venice and then Cyprus) the action occupies more than a single day. And yet Aristotle is concerned that the story be, ‘concisely told’, and not seem ‘weak and watery’. I might argue that the compression of three actions in one night create the same intensity that might be achieved by a play confining itself to a ‘single revolution of the sun’. The street scene culminating at Brabantio’s house, the council scene, the Sagittary scene all serve to reveal a different aspect of Othello’s character. The continuity of time – we follow the clock round  – and the compression of action provide the intensity of that ‘single revolution.’

Venice was to Elizabethans a pinnacle of cultural achievement and commercial prosperity, and a centre of Christianity. Shakespeare presents a city in crisis: the consequences should it fall would be tragic.

The play opens at night. It opens on the Venetian streets. The first Act gives us in quick succession three snapshots of Venetian life: the street scene, the War Council – and the vivid report of the gondolier-borne, father-disobeying Desdemona gliding to her marriage (as Jessica disobeyed Shylock in the earlier Venetian play).  Night-time becomes a metaphor for the dark-side, the savage side of human nature; it is the time of drunken street disturbance, of brawling, of plotting and family breakdown. Venice represents cold political calculation: a night meeting of the war cabinet reveals an intellectual out-manoeuvring of the enemy and an amused condescension to the feelings of the human heart. This is a city where a daughter is not loved but stolen. This is a city comfortable with its institutionalised racism towards outsiders, comfortable in buying the services of a freed slave and a mercenary to fight its wars. When Brabantio exclaims indignantly, ‘This is Venice’, it is as if he has to remind himself (and inform the audience) of where he is. What we have seen does not conform to our impressions of this city of light and culture at all: it is city of darkness and savagery: a tragic transformation.

But Shakespeare profoundly confounds expectations in this play. Iago, named after the Spanish patron saint, Iago Matamoros, ought as the moorslayer to be the hero – not the villain he turns out to be. Othello, whose black skin suggests Muslim incursor and whose secret marriage tramples on convention ought to be the villain.  And Michael Bristol would persuade us that this is indeed the case.

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

For more information, read the Privacy page

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Essays About Othello: Top 5 Great Examples and 6 Prompts

Othello is regarded as one of the most significant works of literature from the Elizabethan Period; Here are writing prompts on essays about Othello . 

Othello (1603) is a tragic tale of love, war, jealousy, and revenge. Set in the 1500s during the Ottoman-Venetian War, the play follows General Othello, his wife Desdemona, and Iago, one of his soldiers. Lago is bitter after being overlooked for a promotion; he takes his revenge on his general, Othello, by deceiving him into thinking that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful. This leads Othello to kill her, then ultimately kill himself. 

The themes that Othello embodies are enduring and relatable, as we still see the issues that the play’s characters experience. As a result, the story has been adapted countless times and is considered one of the greatest plays of all time. 

To write insightful essays about Othello, you can start by reading these examples. 

1. Enduring Value – Othello by Brett Horton

2. othello and reputation by joe richards, 3. othello gullible by ross vasquez.

• 4.  Why Is Othello Black? By Isaac Butler
• 5. ​​A Reflection on Shakespeare’s Othello by Myers McKinney

1. Why Is Othello A Classic

2. what is othello’s tragic flaw, 3. othello and un capitano moro, 4. racial prejudice in othello, 5. jealousy in othello, 6. why is othello timeless.

“Shakespeare’s portrayal of Othello as being an outsider, and being ‘othered’ by the Venetian society due to his different race, reflects traditional Elizabethan values and principles concerning racial prejudice and inequality. These repeating problems, of social intolerance and racial bias are common concerns in our modern society. Shakespeare’s expresses the nature of villainy through his antagonist, ago, as he explores problems of betrayal and deceit.”

Horton writes about Othello ’s value due to its profound exploration of intrinsic human traits. In particular, prejudice is still prevalent, and Horton briefly explains how the play displays this theme. In conjunction, he writes about how in contrast with the prejudice against his complexion, Othello is all too trusting, which does not allow him to see Iago’s betrayal. 

“Without Iago’s honest reputation, he would have never been able to convince Othello that Desdemona was committing adultery. In addition Cassio’s diminished reputation fuelled Iago’s lie about Desdemona, making it easier for Othello to believe lago. Finally, Othello’s high rank in the military restricted him from confronting Desdemona about the possibility of an affair, which prevents the truth from emerging.”

In his essay, Richards discusses the effects of the characters’ reputations on the play’s events. Iago uses his reputation as an honest, virtuous soldier to make his plan successful, manipulating the other characters to serve his needs. On the other hand, Othello’s reputation prevents him from confronting Desdemona about a supposed affair, which was unacceptable during this time. 

“He trusts Iago too much and totally relies on ago therefore making him really vulnerable to Iago’s evilish schemes. Othello’s gullibility causes him to be jealous. He let’s his jealousy take over, he looses control of himself and acts on his jealous emotions, he let’s his jealousy clutter his mind and good judgment.”

Vasquez analyzes the character of Othello and focuses on a key trait that allows the play to transpire as it does: his gullibility. He is far too trusting and believes his “loyal” soldiers, such as Iago, without any doubt. This, in turn, leads him to listen to Iago’s lies, making him jealous and turning him against his wife. Vasquez’s message is clear, concise, and logical: Othello is greatly flawed, and his flaw leads to his unfortunate end. 

Looking for more? You might also be interested in these essays about Hamlet .

4.   Why Is Othello Black? By Isaac Butler

“Othello could be talking about Desdemona as the abused Venetian or, according to Sisneros, ‘he could be even referring to himself. He killed the good part of himself, thus ‘traducing’ the Venetian state.’ Either way, it’s hard to escape the sense that Othello is explicitly saying he has ‘turned Turk’ by the end of the play. It could also be that Othello’s blackness provided Shakespeare a new way to explore questions that consumed his playwriting at this time in his career: What is identity, and how is it formed? What is a man? What is an Englishman?”

Butler puts Othello’s race at the forefront of this essay, in which he speculates on any hidden meanings behind Othello’s dark complexion. In particular, he presents a theory by which the character’s blackness represents his true essence; as the play goes on, Othello’s mannerisms change to more stereotypically “uncivilized” behaviors. Shakespeare may have used Othello’s character to reflect many people’s belief at the time that black converts to Christianity could not completely change.  

5. ​​ A Reflection on Shakespeare’s Othello by Myers McKinney

“Ensnared in Iago’s half-truths and innuendos, Othello lives in a false world instead of the true one. By failing to question Iago and his motives, Othello instead questions Desdemona and Cassio and their motives. To use the phrase of the revolutionary, Friedrich Engels, we could say that Othello falls into a state of ‘false consciousness’ because of the counsel of Iago. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, Othello allowed what Van Til called a ‘false ideal of knowledge’ to become ultimate and authoritative in his interpretation of reality.”

As its title suggests, McKinney’s essay reflects on Othello’s fall from a respected military general to a disgraced murderer. Iago’s deception in the form of “half-truths” combined with Othello’s willingness to believe and trust his subordinates allows the story to play out as it does. McKinney discusses the importance of sometimes questioning things rather than always taking them at face value. 

Top 6 Writing Prompts on Essays About Othello

Based on your understanding of the story, write about the importance of the play and why others should at least look into reading them. Briefly discuss the plot, characters, and themes, and try to convince others to read Othello . Of course, this topic would be much more suitable if you have already read or watched the play. In this essay, you can discuss the main themes of the play and why it had such an impact on society.

As a tragedy, Othello’s eponymous protagonist has a central flaw in his character that leads to his downfall. While a few flaws can be identified, which do you believe is the main issue that allows the story to transpire as it does? First, identify it, discuss it and give examples of instances in which it is seen. Finally, analyze how these situations lead to Othello’s downfall and discuss if this could have been prevented. 

As with many of Shakespeare’s other dramas, Othello is based on earlier literature, in this case, Cinthio’s short story Un Capitano Moro . Read the source text and compare and contrast it with Shakespeare’s version. Discuss how these two written works are similar and how they are different. Compare the main themes of each and decide whether or not you believe these two texts are similar.  

In your essay, you can discuss the prevalent theme of race, and racial prejudice, to be exact. Ask yourself: does Othello’s race impact the play? Delve into this question for an interesting argumentative essay. Discuss the hypotheticals, such as: would the story’s events play out differently if he were like the other characters? Remember the period in which the characters lived- times were very different back then. Be sure to cite text evidence to support your arguments.

Another central theme of Othello is jealousy. In your essay, discuss how jealousy is shown throughout the play. You can highlight this theme by quoting dialogue that shows a jealous tone in a character’s voice or actions. In this essay, make sure to include multiple quotations from the play to provide supporting details.  

You might also enjoy these essays about To Kill A Mockingbird and essays about Romeo And Juliet .

The story of Othello has been adapted and referenced repeatedly, whether in film, television, music, art, or even games. What is it about the play that makes other creators and artists keep coming back to it? Why is it still performed today? You can include some aspects of the play that make it “relatable” to us humans, even in such a different time.  

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .

If you’re still stuck, check out our available resource of essay writing topics .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

View all posts

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Othello — Deceit And Betrayal In Shakespeare’s Othello

Deceit and Betrayal in Shakespeare’s Othello

• Categories: Othello William Shakespeare

About this sample

Words: 871 |

Published: Dec 16, 2021

Words: 871 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited

• Shakespeare, W. (2008). Othello. Signet Classic.
• Bloom, H. (Ed.). (2010). William Shakespeare's Othello (Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations). Infobase Publishing.
• Loomba, A. (2018). Shakespeare, Race, and Colonialism. Oxford University Press.
• Neely, C. T. (1996). Broken Nuptials in Shakespeare's Plays. Yale University Press.
• Vanita, R. (2017). Love's Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West. Springer.
• Greenblatt, S. (2018). Shakespeare's Othello: The Moor of Venice. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Jorgensen, P. (2013). Shakespeare's Military Language: A Dictionary. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
• Thomas, D. L. (2005). Shakespeare, Race, and Ethnicity. Cambridge University Press.
• Erickson, P. (1995). Patriarchal Structures in Shakespeare's Drama. University of California Press.
• Kolin, P. C. (2006). Othello: New Critical Essays. Routledge.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof. Kifaru

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

4 pages / 1733 words

1 pages / 512 words

3 pages / 1246 words

7 pages / 3216 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Othello

In William Shakespeare's play Othello, the character of Iago is one of the most intriguing and complex villains in literature. His deep-seated hatred and jealousy towards the protagonist, Othello, drive the tragic events that [...]

Othello is a play that delves deep into the themes of jealousy, manipulation, and betrayal. However, one significant aspect of the play is the exploration of race relations in the early 17th century. Othello, the protagonist, is [...]

Othello, one of William Shakespeare's classical literary masterpieces, tells the tragic story of a mighty warrior whose life is ultimately destroyed by suspicion and jealousy. The main catalyst for the events in the play is [...]

Jealousy is a powerful emotion that can drive individuals to extreme actions, as seen in William Shakespeare's play Othello. In this essay, we will explore quotes on jealousy in Othello, examining their significance and the [...]

Shakespeare's Othello (Shakespeare, 1604) is a tragedy that unfolds based on the actions and language of one character: Iago. As a result, the plot is linear, yet the play manages to maintain a multidimensional effect. [...]

The first scene of Othello’s fifth act, unlike those before it, is dominated by physical violence, with Iago at the centre playing the “puppet master”. This scene reminds the audience of the capabilities Iago possesses in [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

William Shakespeare’s Othello Summary | Essay Example

Introduction, othello characters, othello: plot summary, othello analysis: the plot.

Othello is a literary play that was written by William Shakespeare in 1603. The play is a tragedy revolving around four main characters that include Othello, Desdemona, Iago and Cassio. The four main characters have different roles in the play that complement each other in this tragic play.

Othello is the lead character who plays the role of an army commander in the Venetian army. Cassio and Iago are junior military officers who work under Othello. Desdemona plays the role of Othello’s wife and the daughter of a senator. The play begins with a conversation between a rich gentleman known as Roderigo and Iago.

Roderigo complains about Othello’s secret marriage to Desdemona and demonstrates his intense passion for her. Roderigo expected Iago to inform him of this development because of their friendship. Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and his previous efforts to marry her had not succeeded. Iago is not happy with the fact that Othello had promoted Cassio ahead of him despite his inexperience. Roderigo decides to report Othello to senator Brabantio who is Desdemona’s father.

Desdemona’s father goes out to look for Othello but they unexpectedly bump into each other in a security meeting where Othello has been summoned to advise senators on the impending attack on Cyprus by the Turkish troops. There is a very uncomfortable encounter between Othello and Brabantio after the meeting.

Desdemona’s father accuses him of using witchcraft to marry his daughter but Othello manages to defend himself. Brabantio warns Othello that his daughter would betray him. As a general in the Venetian army, Othello leads the army troops to fight against the Turkish troops. Othello leaves Venice in the company of his wife, Iago and Cassio and Desdemona’s attendant known as Emilia.

The Venetian army under the leadership of Othello calls for a celebration after the fall of the Turkish troops. In this celebration, Iago and Roderigo plan a conspiracy to completely destroy Cassio. In their plan, they were going to entice Cassio to drink excessively so that he would cause a commotion at the party.

Othello gets disappointed with this development and decides to punish Cassio for causing a disturbance at the party. The next step for Iago is to harm Cassio through Roderigo. Iago creates a scenario to make things appear as if Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair so that Roderigo would attack Cassio. Iago also tricks Othello into believing that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio.

Othello feels betrayed by these events and resolves to kill his wife and Cassio. He sends Iago to kill Cassio and decides to confront his wife on the issue. The end of this play is characterized by a series of murders. Iago kills Roderigo to prevent him from revealing their plot and exonerates himself from an attempt to kill Cassio by implicating Cassio’s girlfriend known as Bianca.

Othello kills Desdemona in a confrontation and tries to justify his action by claiming that his wife had committed adultery. The only evidence he has is Desdemona’s handkerchief that was found in Cassio’s lodging. In Othello’s explanation, Emilia discovers Iago’s plot and reveals it to Othello. Othello regrets his action after discovering that his wife was actually innocent.

Iago kills Emilia for exposing his evil intentions. Othello stabs Iago with an intention of making him feel pain in his entire life and later commits suicide when he discovers that the authorities are about to arrest him for murder. The authorities arrest Iago and execute him for his actions. A Venetian nobleman known as Lodovico makes a declaration that Graziona would be Othello’s heir.

It is evident from the play that Othello’s life changes from good to bad in many instances. In the beginning of the play, Othello is a very successful army commander at the top of his career. This changes drastically when he murders his wife and later commits suicide. It is a shame for a top army commander to die under such circumstances.

Othello’s happy marriage with his wife Desdemona is eventually destroyed by Iago’s conspiracy. Iago succeeds in breaking Othello’s marriage through his evil plot. Othello’s Cyprus mission had a significant influence on his downfall. His rival Roderigo got a perfect opportunity to separate him from his beloved wife. Othello had complete trust in Iago who later betrayed him because of his selfish intentions.

Othello’s weaknesses and flaws are responsible for his demise in this play. Othello’s love for Desdemona is a major weakness that leads to his downfall. Iago exploits this weakness to advance his selfish plots. Iago realizes that Othello is a very jealous man in fear of losing his wife to a Venetian gentleman.

Iago goes ahead to use this weakness to convince Othello that his wife is unfaithful. Othello reacts by killing his wife and this leads to his eventual demise. Othello completely believes in the military system and does not question any information that Iago brings to him. It is this weakness that makes him to believe everything that Iago tells him without careful consideration. It is this flaw that leads to his eventual downfall.

• Play’s Plot Explored
• Act 1 Scene 1
• Act 1 Scene 2
• Act 1 Scene 3
• Act 2 Scenes 1-2
• Act 2 Scene 3
• Act‌ ‌3‌ ‌Scenes‌ ‌1-2
• Act‌ ‌3‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌3
• Act 3 Scene 4
• Act‌ ‌4‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌1
• Act 4 Scene 2
• Act‌ ‌4‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌3
• Act‌ ‌5‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌1
• Act 5 Scene 2
• Characters Analysis
• Important Quotes
• Essay Samples
• Topics‌ for‌ ‌Essay‌
• William Shakespeare
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, October 30). William Shakespeare's Othello Summary | Essay Example. https://ivypanda.com/essays/summary-about-shakespeares-othello/

"William Shakespeare's Othello Summary | Essay Example." IvyPanda , 30 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/summary-about-shakespeares-othello/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'William Shakespeare's Othello Summary | Essay Example'. 30 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "William Shakespeare's Othello Summary | Essay Example." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/summary-about-shakespeares-othello/.

1. IvyPanda . "William Shakespeare's Othello Summary | Essay Example." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/summary-about-shakespeares-othello/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "William Shakespeare's Othello Summary | Essay Example." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/summary-about-shakespeares-othello/.

• The Tragedy of Othello
• Anti-Racism in Shakespeare’s Othello
• Racism in Play "Othello" by William Shakespeare
• Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice
• Iago the Gardener`s Behavior in “Othello” by Shakespeare
• Character of Iago in "Othello" by Shakespeare Analysis
• Theme of Jealousy in Othello by Shakespeare
• Jealousy in "Othello" by W.Shakespear
• Female Characters in Shakespeare's “Othello”: A Feminist Critique
• Shakespeare’s, Milton’s and Marlowe’s Views on Villains
• Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Heart of Darkness
• Tragic Error in the "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles
• Trifles by Susan Glaspell
• “The Revenger’s Tragedy” a Play by Brain Gibbons
• The Play "Hamlet Prince of Denmark" by W.Shakespeare