Critical approaches to Othello - The British Library.
Essays and academic papers that offer in-depth analyses of Othello too have been highly popular among students of literature and theatre. The play’s protagonist and hero is a celebrated black general who commands the Venetian army and has secretly married the beautiful Desdemona, daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio.While Othello is barraged by racism, he manages to resist its pull for some time. But in Act IV, he crumbles. Othello discusses his race throughout the play—usually in response to something a white Venetian says—but here he makes his first negative reference to it, suggesting that perhaps his blackness is to blame for his lack of conversational ability.William Shakespeare's Othello is a remarkable tale of trust, deceitfulness, lust and the most destructive of human emotions: vengeance and hatred. Iago better known as Othello's antagonist embodies vengeance and hatred to move an agenda to squash all who oppose Iago's plans.
Critical Essays Major Themes Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello. Themes are central to understanding Othello as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary. In Othello, the major themes reflect the values and the motivations of characters.Shakespeare’s play of Othello is largely driven by a grand love story, and filled with jealousy. Through the juxtaposition of Othello’s credulous nature and Iago’s pernicious villainy, the image of jealousy is truly personified as an all-consuming “green-eyed monster”.
Othello ascends to the rank of the Venetian military, a city - much like Elizabethan England when the play was written - rife with racism. A general in the army, Othello holds a distinguished place in the Duke's court due to his victories in battle, but not an equal one.
