"Beware my lord of jealousy, it is the green - eyed monster." Discuss this warning in relation to Shakespeare's play Othello

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“Beware my lord of jealousy, it is the green – eyed monster.” Discuss this warning in relation to Shakespeare’s play Othello

In the play Othello, jealousy and envy are prominent themes from the beginning to the end. As the play slowly unfolds it is evident that jealousy is the cause of most of the dramatic actions which take place in the duration of the play. It is described as the “green – eyed monster.” “Green” representing the colour o envy, and “monster” shows how destructive and how vicious it can be. This quotation is said by a character named Iago. Iago has a strong manipulative mind. He is the first of all the characters in the play to be attacked by the “green – eyed monster.” This is very ironic, Iago is warning Othello to be aware of jealousy, however what Othello does not know is that Iago is the one that is building up the resentment within him. As the play opens we see that Iago is already feeling jealous as he says “That never set a squadron in the field, nor the division of a battle knows” this portrays Iago’s bitterness and towards Cassio.  The reason for this is, Cassio has just been promoted to lieutenant and Iago thinks that he is the wrong man for the job. Iago thinks that he deserved it more than Cassio. This quotation states that Cassio is not an experienced or practical soldier and should not have the job.

However the main character that is affected by the venom of the “green – eyed monster” is the main character in the play, Othello. In Othello’s situation, the poison of the jealousy grows slowly as the play proceeds. Unlike Iago whose jealousy fires up as soon as he hears about Cassio’s promotion. The jealousy that Othello experiences changes his whole character. Othello has a transformation because of resentment and it is very easily noticeable. His personality is also affected by this and is almost the opposite of how he started off at the beginning of the play. There are other characters that are affected by jealousy and resentment in the play as well as Othello.  There is a character called Roderigo who also suffers from jealousy. He is very eager to be with Desdemona, who is Othello’s wife.  He refers to Othello as “thick lips” as he is black. This is a racist comment and also shows how much Roderigo envy’s Othello as Desdemona loves him and not Roderigo.

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As mentioned previously, Othello is not affected by the jealousy instantly. It is apparent that his love for Desdemona is true. Although people have doubted if their love is true for each other. Brabantio refers to Othello’s love for Desdemona as “if she in chains of magic were not bound” this shows that Brabantio is also feeling jealousy. Brabantio’s relation to Desdemona is her father and he thinks that Desdemona is showing Othello more love than she is showing to him.  He is saying that Othello has used some sort of “magic” to make his daughter fall in love ...

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