Analysis Of William Shakespeare s Othello - 1449 Words

How to Survive Your First Relationship William Shakespeare, the Elizabethan poet and playwright, wrote his plays within one of four genres: comedy, tragedy, history, or romance. These genres make his plays very different from one another; however, they all share common characteristics. Shakespeare incorporates a message for his audience to become aware that ultimately teaches a lesson. In Othello, the message Shakespeare portrays to his audience is the importance self-knowledge; which is the ability to recognize and accept one’s flaws through forgiveness and thus the ability to love oneself, others, and participate in the love of God. By comparing and contrasting their character traits, Shakespeare uses Iago and Othello to demonstrate†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, through his demonstration in the play, we can assume Othello has positive qualities because he is a military man. His status in the military implies that he is extremely brave, courageous, and self-reli ant. These qualities, though not stated directly in the play, are implied through the overall awareness of what takes to be a high-ranking military solider. Finally, Othello’s positive qualities extend to his capacity to love. He genuinely loves Desdemona; therefore, he violates social protocol by going against her father’s wish: forbidden love between the two. Othello’s feeling for Desdemona are so true that he risks being shamed publicly in order to make her his wife. On the other hand, Iago possesses both positive and negative qualities; which prove Shakespeare’s message. Throughout the play, Iago is considered intelligent due to his ability to easy persuade various characters in the play, such as Othello, Roderigo, and Cassio. This quality implies that he is also a great rhetorician because he is so easily able to sway characters. Iago tells Roderigo that even though Desdemona is married to Othello, there is still a chance he can end up with her (39). Further, Iago is very aware and understanding to human nature. He is able to understand that Othello can become jealous very easily. Also, Iago recognizes that Othello has little experience