How does Act 1 Scene1 of "Othello" prepare the audience for the rest of the play?
Y10 Coursework How does Act 1 Scene1 of "Othello" prepare the audience for the rest of the play? Shakespeare uses many amazing devices to show the themes of the play. In the first scene, themes are introduced to the audience theses are expressed through the characters and there actions. Iago is the first character we see, a very important character. The first impressions of the play are expressed from Iago and Roderigo. They use phrases and curses associated with conflict, hatred and jealousy. Othello is referred to as "fat lips" which expresses hatred and jealousy. There impression of Othello is slowly built by two villains who are evil. Iago then reveals that he is jealous of Cassio because of his higher rank. He then talks of hatred for Othello for promoting Cassio instead of himself. So in the first scene Othello's portrayal is being built, tinted by evil. The audience is being prepared for jealousy and hatred when Iago says "unless the bookish theoric" and "mere prattle without practice". These explain his reasons for his hatred and jealousy for Cassio. He is saying he maybe good in front of a book but not well trained on a battlefield like himself. Hatred and jealousy are entitled are entitled in evil and prepare the audience for later in the play. Evil is expressed again when Iago and Rogerigo awake brabraintio. Iago uses a metaphor, which grips the
'The Country Wife' - by William Wycherly
'The Country Wife' - by William Wycherly "Horner is the nasty agent of a higher satirist" " We smile at Horner's involvement rather than fell shock at his success; his intrigue is indeed a comic one for all concerned" Explore the implications of these two assertions in relation to your response, as well as other interesting responses to Horner "The Country Wife" was Wycherly's third comedy, and many critics consider it to be the best one he wrote, due to all of the controversial ideas it incorporates. Wycherly makes us form opinions on womanising, adultery, betrayal, and lies. This play explores many of the topics that are still an issue in our modern society, more than 320 years after it was written. There are three main themes that run through the play - female hypocrisy, true and false masculinity, and human folly in general. Many critics disagree on what the play is really about, but they generally agree that although all three themes are present, none of them are absolutely central. In order to decide what kind of person Horner really is, we need to look at what Wycherly's motives for creating him were, and what the character could be thinking as he exploits his friends. 'Is he the satire's hero and vehicle, or its villain and target?'(James Ogden, 1973). Some critics believe that Wycherly is a sadistic and destructive man. They claim that Horner is Wycherly's way
Othello Act 2, Scene 2 - How does Shakespeare create a manipulative villain?
Othello Essay Act 2, Scene 2. How does Shakespeare create a manipulative villain? Shakespeare creates a manipulative villain in Iago by showing Iago's slyness and making him take advantage of other character's weaknesses. At the start of the scene peace is announced in Cyprus and Othello opens all of the kitchens for eating, drinking and celebrating-"All offices are open." Taking advantage of Othello's generosity Iago sets out to disrupt the peace. Othello appoints Cassio in charge of keeping the celebrations under control but Cassio is confident that "honest" Iago is reliable and capable enough to take on the job In this scene he takes advantage of Cassio's weakness-getting drunk very easily as he has "very poor and unhappy brains for drinking." Deceitful Iago makes the most of this when he "fasten[s] but one cup upon him." Cassio thinks that Iago is his friend and that he just wants to have a good time but Iago wants to get Cassio drunk and for him to lose his position as Lieutenant: "Am I to put Cassio in some action that may offend the isle." Iago is extremely sly and knows that if Othello (who has gone to bed with his wife Desdemona) is interrupted then he will be extremely cross, so he plots for Cassio to cause a disturbance, with the help of Roderigo. Iago likes to make everyone think that he is good, trustworthy and honest so that no one suspects him. This is why
Iago - The Character so far
Iago - The Character so far From the start of the play we know straight away how Iago feels about Othello promoting Cassio over him when he says, "I know my price, I am worth no worse a place". Through characterisation Shakespeare shows Iago's displeasure at being overlooked for promotion and this sets the scene for Iago's character to really come out. We know at this stage that Iago is good at manipulating people and that he creates lies to get people on his side in order to use them to his advantage. "Thus do I make my fool my purse" adequately brings us to the realisation that Iago is using Roderigo to get what he wants. This quote show how Iago plans to make full use of Roderigo and other different characters in Othello, in order to get his way. He shows how he has almost complete control at the beginning of Act 2 when he says so Rederigo "Pish! Bus, sir, be you ruled by me." This completely shows how Iago has managed to manipulate Roderigo and bring him over to his side. Iago also manages to manipulate Othello in this play. We know that he plans to influence him or defiantly make him think Iago's way when he says in Act 1 Scene 3 "...abuse Othello's ear". It means he is going to fill Othello's mind with lies and stories to make him believe Iago. Another aspect of Iago's personality is that he always believes the worst and actively looks for excuses to destroy people
How does Shakespeare make Act 5 Scene 2 Dramatic?
How does Shakespeare make Act 5 Scene 2 Dramatic? William Shakespeare wrote many plays in the late 16th and early 17th century. During this period he wrote the play Othello. This period, in which Shakespeare wrote many of his plays, was Elizabethan England. At this time England was a horrible place to live. The vast majority of the population of London were white which made Elizabethan England into a very racist society with the majority of the population thinking themselves as the superior race. In the play Othello, Othello is a black man whereas Iago is a white man. Shakespeare may have used this as part of the reason for why Iago manipulated Othello throughout the play, showing Iago as an extreme racist. However, if the play had really been set in Venice, this would not have been a problem as Venice, at the time, was a very important trading link and therefore had many different races living within the city. This suggests that Shakespeare had not visited Venice before he wrote this play. When Shakespeare incorporates racism into the play it dramatises the performance as the Elizabethan audiences would have been racist. Racism could be the first cause or the only cause of what Iago does to him but Othello's death is made even more tragic as Iago refuses to tell him why he has done these things. "Demand that demi-devil why he hath thus ensnared my soul and body?" Iago then
Iago has been described as the most malevolent character in EnglishLiterature. Discuss your response to him andthe part he plays in Othello’s downfall in the light of this statement.
Jason Goodwill 11P English Coursework: Othello Question 1: Iago has been described as the most malevolent character in English Literature. Discuss your response to him and the part he plays in Othello's downfall in the light of this statement. A malevolent character wishes harm without motive and I believe that Iago's actions against Othello are the major cause of the Moor's downfall. Iago has many reasons for acting the way he does, his reasons may not be or logical but he believes in them so strongly that he is willing to kill and destroy peoples lives in the process of completing them. His entire motives stem from one thing, jealousy, all of Iago's actions are due to this single feeling. His revenge comes from wanting to overthrow the people he is jealous of. He is jealous of both Othello and Cassio. He is jealous of Othello because he is a black and has a high position in the army when a white man should because they are better, in Iago's view. Due to the lifestyle of people at the time this play is set this seems to be an acceptable view and Iago seems to have a right to feel the way he does. However, his actions which stem from this aren't acceptable and are going too far. He is also jealous of Cassio because he was made lieutenant ahead of Iago. Iago believes he should have been promoted because he has far more battle experience. He seems to elaborate on
Othello's Love turning to hate.
Othello's Love turning to hate In William Shakespeare's Othello we are told the story of how our main character Othello is entangled into a web of deceit, dishonesty and with the intervention of his "honest" Ensign Iago, eventually his own downfall. In the very beginning of the play, we are introduced to Othello's character: a man of gentle dignity, courage, modesty and respectfulness. As the play progresses, especially in the last few scenes of Act three and throughout Act four, we are shown different ways in which Othello- " the moor" is corrupted and manipulated by Iago and how this affects his speech and actions and how his general behaviour takes a conflicting turn as he responds to those around him Interestingly the title character is not introduced in person or even by name in this initial converse, the reason for which is perhaps to create a sense of unpredictability, especially as the single reference to the target of Iago's plot is 'his Moorship'. An Elizabethan audience would generally have expected the moor (foreigner) to be the villain of the play; even in other Shakespeare plays black is closely associated with evil, including in reference to skin colour. Shakespeare would have needed to use this technique both to intrigue the audience and to develop the characters away from the clarity of distinction between villain and hero previously seen, if the audience
How Does Shakespeare Present The Theme Of The Outsider In Othello(TM) Act 1?
How Does Shakespeare Present The Theme Of The Outsider In 'Othello' Act 1? 'Othello' is one of Shakespeare's most well known tragedies. It is a story of black versus white. Shakespeare has put a twist within this play, as there is a battle between good and evil, good being represented as a black man while evil being represented as a white man. We are not sure whether it is an accident of irony or Shakespeare trying to speak out to the public and make a statement about equality amongst races. Othello is a highly regarded General employed by the Venetian state to protect them against the Turks. This alone is quite bizarre, as a black man would not normally have any authority outside his homeland so he is often depicted as being a true hero and someone to look up to. However, he is flawed, as he is honest and tends to see the good in most people he fail to notice that Iago uses him in deceitful ways. In the era this play was written the black man would normally be used to portray the evil as the colour black is usually considered tinted and impure while the white man would normally portray the good as white is considered to be pure. Othello is quite unusual in Venice because he is a foreigner as he is a Moor, a black man from North Africa. He falls from the honour in which he is held by allowing himself to be deceived by Iago about the faithfulness of his wife Desdemona.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago character stays the same throughout but Othello’s does not. How and why does this happen?
In Shakespeare's Othello, Iago character stays the same throughout but Othello's does not. How and why does this happen? Othello's character undergoes a dramatic transformation, the man of calm integrity seen at the beginning of the play deteriorates into a man infected with ideas of revenge and death. This essay will focus on the attitudes and relationships between the central characters and the mistrust that is apparent as the play progresses. Othello is the protagonist of this tragedy who can be solely described as the tragic hero of the play. Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a person who moves from the highest point to the lowest. Othello was once referred to as the saviour of the Venetian state but later appeared to be a mentally disturbed murderer whose mistrust and jealousy for Desdemona brought about his downfall. A common finale in Shakespeare's plays is having the central character killed in a bloody and violent fashion. In plays such as Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet a death occurs early on in the play which triggers off conflict between the central characters. The death at the beginning of Othello is that of principles and trust, the kind, loving soldier within Othello dies and a new violent man is born. Othello's race is a source of tension in the play, in Act 1 Scene 1 Roderigo and Iago discuss 'The Moor' and all references to him appear derogatory. They
Discuss the significance of Act III sc. iii with particular reference to how Shakespeare creates dramatic tension
Othello coursework Discuss the significance of Act III sc. iii with particular reference to how Shakespeare creates dramatic tension Act III sc. iii is one of the most important acts in the play because in one scene, Othello goes from being a happily married man, at the start, to being, by the end, a man who isn't in control and is getting confused and doesn't know what's going on. In this scene we also witness a devastating display of manipulation of Othello by Iago and the downfall of Cassio. One of the ways in which Shakespeare creates dramatic tension is by Othello using very short questions such as "What dost thou say?" and "What dost thou think?" and "What dost thou mean?" which indicate that is he slowly becoming more and dependent on Iago and relying on what he is thinking as he has no previous experience of Venetian society-this is shown where Iago says "In Venice, they do let God see the pranks they dare not show their husbands" which is a reference that Venetian women go behind their husband's backs a lot and their husbands don't know about it. Othello also uses a lot of short sentences such as "O misery" and "Ha?" and could indicate anger and also that he is not thinking clearly and that, because he is black and a 'moor', not fluent with the language and feels ill at ease and he can't fit in with the rest of society and feels an 'outcast' and so might be more
