5196295
Description
Mind Map by Chelsey Swann, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Chelsey Swann
over 8 years ago
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Othello Themes
- Jealousy
- Othello is the most famous literary work that focuses on the dangers of jealousy. The play is a
study of how jealousy can be fueled by mere circumstantial evidence and can destroy lives. (In
Othello, the hero succumbs to jealousy when Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been an
unfaithful wife – in the end, Othello murders his wife and then kills himself.) It is interesting that
Iago uses jealousy against Othello, yet jealousy is likely the source of Iago's hatred in the first
place. In Othello, jealousy takes many forms, from sexual suspicion to professional competition,
but it is, in all cases, destructive.
- Othello is the most famous literary work that focuses on the dangers of jealousy. The play is a
study of how jealousy can be fueled by mere circumstantial evidence and can destroy lives. (In
Othello, the hero succumbs to jealousy when Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been an
unfaithful wife – in the end, Othello murders his wife and then kills himself.) It is interesting that
Iago uses jealousy against Othello, yet jealousy is likely the source of Iago's hatred in the first
place. In Othello, jealousy takes many forms, from sexual suspicion to professional competition,
but it is, in all cases, destructive.
- Race
- Othello is one of the first black heroes
in English literature. A military
general, he has risen to a position of
power and influence. At the same
time, his status as a black-skinned
foreigner in Venice marks him as an
outsider and exposes him to some
pretty overt racism, especially by his
wife's father, who believes his
daughter's interracial marriage can
only be the result of Othello's
trickery. Because the play portrays
the uber-racist fear of miscegenation
(the mixing of races via marriage
and/or sex), it's nearly impossible to
talk about race in Othello without
also discussing gender and sexuality.
- Othello is one of the first black heroes
in English literature. A military
general, he has risen to a position of
power and influence. At the same
time, his status as a black-skinned
foreigner in Venice marks him as an
outsider and exposes him to some
pretty overt racism, especially by his
wife's father, who believes his
daughter's interracial marriage can
only be the result of Othello's
trickery. Because the play portrays
the uber-racist fear of miscegenation
(the mixing of races via marriage
and/or sex), it's nearly impossible to
talk about race in Othello without
also discussing gender and sexuality.
- Gender
- Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in Othello.
Unmarried women are regarded as their fathers' property
and the play's two marriages are marked by male jealousy
and cruelty (both wives are murdered by their own
husbands). Most male characters in Othello assume that all
Venetian women are inherently promiscuous, which explains
why female sexuality is a huge threat to men in the play.
Othello is easily convinced his wife is cheating on him and
feels emasculated and humiliated as a result. We should also
note that it's impossible to discuss gender and sexuality
without considering race: Several characters in the play,
including Othello, believe that black men sexually
contaminate white women, which may partially explain why
Othello sees his wife as soiled. See also our discussions of
"Race" and "Sex" for more on this topic.
- Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in Othello.
Unmarried women are regarded as their fathers' property
and the play's two marriages are marked by male jealousy
and cruelty (both wives are murdered by their own
husbands). Most male characters in Othello assume that all
Venetian women are inherently promiscuous, which explains
why female sexuality is a huge threat to men in the play.
Othello is easily convinced his wife is cheating on him and
feels emasculated and humiliated as a result. We should also
note that it's impossible to discuss gender and sexuality
without considering race: Several characters in the play,
including Othello, believe that black men sexually
contaminate white women, which may partially explain why
Othello sees his wife as soiled. See also our discussions of
"Race" and "Sex" for more on this topic.
- Sex
- Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in
Othello. Unmarried women are regarded
as their fathers' property and the play's
two marriages are marked by male
jealousy and cruelty (both wives are
murdered by their own husbands). Most
male characters in Othello assume that all
Venetian women are inherently
promiscuous, which explains why female
sexuality is a huge threat to men in the
play. Othello is easily convinced his wife is
cheating on him and feels emasculated
and humiliated as a result. We should also
note that it's impossible to discuss gender
and sexuality without considering race:
Several characters in the play, including
Othello, believe that black men sexually
contaminate white women, which may
partially explain why Othello sees his wife
as soiled. See also our discussions of
"Race" and "Sex" for more on this topic.
- Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in
Othello. Unmarried women are regarded
as their fathers' property and the play's
two marriages are marked by male
jealousy and cruelty (both wives are
murdered by their own husbands). Most
male characters in Othello assume that all
Venetian women are inherently
promiscuous, which explains why female
sexuality is a huge threat to men in the
play. Othello is easily convinced his wife is
cheating on him and feels emasculated
and humiliated as a result. We should also
note that it's impossible to discuss gender
and sexuality without considering race:
Several characters in the play, including
Othello, believe that black men sexually
contaminate white women, which may
partially explain why Othello sees his wife
as soiled. See also our discussions of
"Race" and "Sex" for more on this topic.
- Marriage
- Shakespeare's portrayal of marriage
is pretty bleak in Othello. The play
begins with a conflict between
Desdemona's husband and her
father, who sees his daughter's
elopement as a kind of theft of his
personal property. The play's two
wives (Desdemona and Emilia) are
both unfairly accused of infidelity,
and both wives are murdered by
their abusive husbands. More
famously, perhaps, is the way
Shakespeare examines
sixteenth-century anxieties about
interracial couplings – in Othello, the
marriage of a black man and a white
woman allows Shakespeare to
explore attitudes about race and
gender.
- Shakespeare's portrayal of marriage
is pretty bleak in Othello. The play
begins with a conflict between
Desdemona's husband and her
father, who sees his daughter's
elopement as a kind of theft of his
personal property. The play's two
wives (Desdemona and Emilia) are
both unfairly accused of infidelity,
and both wives are murdered by
their abusive husbands. More
famously, perhaps, is the way
Shakespeare examines
sixteenth-century anxieties about
interracial couplings – in Othello, the
marriage of a black man and a white
woman allows Shakespeare to
explore attitudes about race and
gender.
- Manipulation
- Othello's villain, Iago, may be
literature's most impressive
master of deception. Iago
plots with consummate
sophistication, carefully
manipulating Othello
(without any real proof) into
believing that Desdemona
has been unfaithful. His
understanding of the human
psyche is phenomenal, as is
his ability to orchestrate a
complicated interweaving of
pre-planned scenarios. Iago's
deception is potent because
of his patience, his
cleverness, and what seems
to be his intrinsic love of
elegant manipulation.
- Othello's villain, Iago, may be
literature's most impressive
master of deception. Iago
plots with consummate
sophistication, carefully
manipulating Othello
(without any real proof) into
believing that Desdemona
has been unfaithful. His
understanding of the human
psyche is phenomenal, as is
his ability to orchestrate a
complicated interweaving of
pre-planned scenarios. Iago's
deception is potent because
of his patience, his
cleverness, and what seems
to be his intrinsic love of
elegant manipulation.
- Warfare
- Since the play's protagonist is a military general, war is always hovering in
the background in Othello. But the only actual battle the play promises is
avoided, thanks to bad weather. The real battleground of the play, it turns
out, is the mind. Many critics read Othello as an extended war allegory: it is
possible to see Iago's machinations as the strategic planning of a general,
individual victories as minor battles, and the three resulting deaths the
casualties of psychological combat. The play also dwells on the relationship
between masculine identity, war, and sexuality.
- Since the play's protagonist is a military general, war is always hovering in
the background in Othello. But the only actual battle the play promises is
avoided, thanks to bad weather. The real battleground of the play, it turns
out, is the mind. Many critics read Othello as an extended war allegory: it is
possible to see Iago's machinations as the strategic planning of a general,
individual victories as minor battles, and the three resulting deaths the
casualties of psychological combat. The play also dwells on the relationship
between masculine identity, war, and sexuality.
- Hate
- Hatred is supposed to have a cause, some concrete event or insult that inspires a
lasting rage. But in Othello, the play's villain is motivated by a hatred that seems
to elude any reasonable definition. Iago's hatred and his determination to
destroy his boss, Othello, seems out of proportion with the reasons he gives for
it: anger that Othello did not promote him or jealousy that Othello might have
slept with Iago's wife. Iago's loathing has been famously called a "motiveless
malignity" that redefines our understanding of hatred, making it seem a
self-propelling passion rather than the consequence of any particular action.
- Hatred is supposed to have a cause, some concrete event or insult that inspires a
lasting rage. But in Othello, the play's villain is motivated by a hatred that seems
to elude any reasonable definition. Iago's hatred and his determination to
destroy his boss, Othello, seems out of proportion with the reasons he gives for
it: anger that Othello did not promote him or jealousy that Othello might have
slept with Iago's wife. Iago's loathing has been famously called a "motiveless
malignity" that redefines our understanding of hatred, making it seem a
self-propelling passion rather than the consequence of any particular action.
- Identity
- In Othello, Shakespeare explores factors that play an important role in the formations of one's identity –
race, gender, social status, family relationships, military service, etc. Othello is also concerned with how an
individual's sense of identity (which can break down and be manipulated by others) shapes his or her
actions.
- In Othello, Shakespeare explores factors that play an important role in the formations of one's identity –
race, gender, social status, family relationships, military service, etc. Othello is also concerned with how an
individual's sense of identity (which can break down and be manipulated by others) shapes his or her
actions.
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