“Jealousy in the play is not confined to Othello”. How far and in what ways do you agree with this statement?
Jealousy is a theme presented in many ways throughout Shakespeare’s “Othello”. However is it solely confined to the character of Othello himself or can it be seen in other characters and other forms? This essay will explore “Jealousy” through Othello to discover whether it is confined to the main character himself of whether it’s explored in different ways.
The main character of Othello is undoubtedly a true image of the effects of jealousy. His character shows the destruction that jealousy can cause. As the play unfolds we see his calm nature digress and turn him into an angry monster. Emilia comments to Desdemona that “They are not jealous for the cause,/But jealous because they are jealous” in a warning that Othello’s temper will not be tamed once he is consumed by jealousy because he believes Desdemona to have been unfaithful to him which as we later in the play see is true. Othello’s jealousy “will not be answered” because he refuses to believe Desdemona’s plea’s of innocence which later leads to his murder of her and his own suicide. Othello also shows the connections between jealousy and madness. When Othello is over come by his jealousy he falls down in a fit of rage and Iago observes how “he foams at the mouth and...Breaks out into savage madness,” the connotations of “foam at the mouth” is that of being a rabid dog therefore dehumanising Othello and suggesting his has regressed to a state that is lower than human in the chain of being.
Despite this, Othello’s jealousy can be blamed on the jealousies of Iago, his Ancient and later Lieutenant of Othello’s. Iago’s initial jealous is of being passed over for a promotion in favour of Cassio, “He in good time must his Lieutenant be, and I-God bless the mark!-His Moorship’s Ancient” Iago use of sarcasm in his reference of “God bless the mark” show his discontent for the position he’s in. This professional jealousy from Iago sets the snowball of events and jealousies later in the play as his hate for
The main character of Othello is undoubtedly a true image of the effects of jealousy. His character shows the destruction that jealousy can cause. As the play unfolds we see his calm nature digress and turn him into an angry monster. Emilia comments to Desdemona that “They are not jealous for the cause,/But jealous because they are jealous” in a warning that Othello’s temper will not be tamed once he is consumed by jealousy because he believes Desdemona to have been unfaithful to him which as we later in the play see is true. Othello’s jealousy “will not be answered” because he refuses to believe Desdemona’s plea’s of innocence which later leads to his murder of her and his own suicide. Othello also shows the connections between jealousy and madness. When Othello is over come by his jealousy he falls down in a fit of rage and Iago observes how “he foams at the mouth and...Breaks out into savage madness,” the connotations of “foam at the mouth” is that of being a rabid dog therefore dehumanising Othello and suggesting his has regressed to a state that is lower than human in the chain of being.
Despite this, Othello’s jealousy can be blamed on the jealousies of Iago, his Ancient and later Lieutenant of Othello’s. Iago’s initial jealous is of being passed over for a promotion in favour of Cassio, “He in good time must his Lieutenant be, and I-God bless the mark!-His Moorship’s Ancient” Iago use of sarcasm in his reference of “God bless the mark” show his discontent for the position he’s in. This professional jealousy from Iago sets the snowball of events and jealousies later in the play as his hate for