The Morally Good and Bad in Othello Essays -- Othello essays

The Morally Good and Bad in Othello William Shakespeares maneuver Othello is one concentrated contest between the forces of the morally good and the morally bad. Let us analyze this contest in detail in this essay. standing(a) out like a dark silhouette on a white background is the sinister character and master of deception in the maneuver the generals ancient. Morton W. Bloomfield and Robert C. Elliott in Great Plays Sophocles to Brecht highlight the dominant evil force in the play, Iago For critics, the chief problem in the play is the character of Iago. The palisade usually centers around whether he had sufficient motives for his cruel actions or whether, on the other hand, he is an example of motiveless malignity. The question cannot be resolved here, nor is it necessary to try to resolve it. Iago, whether because of his disappointment at not having been given Cassios position, or because of his belief that Othello had cuckolded him, or because of his love of evil for i ts own sake, is nevertheless a man who has rejected all ties of morality and idealism. (39) Totaling the lies which the ancient tells to everyone about him would require considerable effort and time. In Shakespeares Four Giants Blanche Coles comments on the lack of frankness in Iagos speech The story that Iago tells Roderigo about the promotion of Cassio over him is not true, although it has been accepted by many discriminating scholars. Careless reading all can account for this misapprehension, careless reading which for the moment dulls their alertness to one of the most essential requirements of Shakespearean character analysis. That requirement is that the reader must never accept, or must always be re... ...is final passion. From the stern general who had, as his first define, the cold Tis better as it is (1.2.6), he has traversed a excursion of known and feeling sorrow. And, it must be repeated, it will depend upon the beholder whether one judges or rejoices in the tran sfiguration of loving not wisely but too well. (66) WORKS CITED Bloomfield, Morton W. and Robert C. Elliott, ed. Great Plays Sophocles to Brecht. New York Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1965. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeares Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire Richard Smith Publisher, 1957. Jorgensen, Paul A. William Shakespeare The Tragedies. Boston Twayne Publishers, 1985. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http//www.eiu.edu/multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.