Perception In Othello

Not All Can Truly Be Seen: An Analysis of the Impact of Blindness and Deception in Othello

Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010.

Thus Iago appears as the absolute master of the gaze, of seeing, hiding and showing things at will; in so doing, he controls the physical and mental movement of characters, as well as the audience whose vision he may aid or obscure at will. The soot he spreads over the "eye" of the camera also suggests the fact that the characters are overly blind. It also testifies to the fact that as the play progresses, night seems to spread over Cyprus (with literally a growing importance of night scenes) overshadowing all the characters, including the fair Desdemona, who becomes, in Othello's very words, "begrim'd, and black." This furthermore shows Iago as film director, and most of all as god of passageways, with the impression that he steps out of the dramatic universe.

The tragedy Othello is filled with a complex web of separate conflicts that are connected with each other. The external conflicts are very obvious, such as Iago trying to replace Cassio as lieutenant and Othello's belief in Desdemona's affair. In addition to these conflicts, however, many characters in the play also face their own internal conflicts in which they have to make a choice between two opposing forces. An excellent example of this internal conflict can be found in analyzing Roderigo. Roderigo's love for Desdemona creates conflict because he faces the choice of going back to Venice since he has no money left, or staying in Cyprus because he wants to pursue Desdemona. In more general terms, Roderigo deals with the conflict of

he is worthy of her love.It is my opinion  that Othello is a man governed by a

important scene where the play’s main themes of jealousy and doubt surface. Through Iago's way of displaying subtle but effective implications in speech patterns and mannerisms, it draws Othello's inner conflict to start and eventually take a hold of him as the play continues. The subconscious worries of Othello become known, not only through Iago's words and unsupported claims, but by filling his mind with the image of doubt envisioned as Cassio. Taking form of his worries, Iago plays the mirror reflecting Othello's inner fear and Cassio as the physical form of all his apprehensions. This scene reflects the most hidden parts of Othello in a way where his future actions become a direct result of this scenes affect and conclusion. Those that believe Iago to be the one to set up Othello's future endeavors and downfall are mistaken in the realization that Iago mirrors Othello's own self in worries and fears. The role Iago has in this scene is not one to manipulate Othello into believing what's not there but to believe what's there by Othello's own mind.

In comparison, Shakespeare uses a significant quote which foreshadows Othello’s tragic fall later in the play. When Barbantio warns Othello ‘she has deceived her father and may thee’ it shows the audience how hurt he is by her deception and warns Othello that if Desdemona can betray her father, whom she has known all her life she can easily betray Othello, This strong point foreshadows Othello’s murderous suspicion. Shakespeare also used the character of Iago to not only show how trusting Othello is but also how poor of a judgement he makes. The repetition of ‘honest Iago’ by Othello warns the audience how Othello’s poor judgements will lead him to his downfall as they first see Iago slandering against Othello, so they are warned he is duplicitous beforehand. Another way Shakespeare presents Othello’s tragic fall

Before the ability to read words, pictures can be used to communicate to babies or even the illiterate. Pictures are universal. They will be seen as the same language no matter what part of the globe you are in. A good author can create pictures through his words. A great author can create the same imagery for centuries to come. The function of imagery in the mid-sixteenth century play Othello by William Shakespeare is to add characterization and eventually define meaning in the play. The antagonist Iago is defined through various images, some being the use of poison and sleeping aids, to show his true evil nature. Othello’s character is also shaped by imagery such as the black and white, animalistic, and horse images, which indicates his

The story of Othello takes place in Venice, the famous Italian city, and Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea colonized by the Venetians at the time. The play is set during the early modern period, roughly Shakespeare's time in history. Othello centers around two conflicting character of scheming, manipulating Iago and the honorable, but also often times faithless Othello. Despite the fact that these men have completely opposite in character, Iago commands such persuasive powers that he literally starts to affect Othello's thinking, altering the figures of speech he uses and his trust and perfection of those close to him. Both Othello and Iago use many of the same literary devices and much of the same figurative language to express not

What if I told you that we are not our own? That Personal hubris is infectious and even the purest of hearts succumb to it. You might say that everything you do, you do it with a good intention but is that truly the case; Aren’t we all born with a ying yang of judgment? Good, bad, love, hate, fateful, and treacherous we all live with these ideals and more importantly we all die with these ideals. Thankfully, however, we are never alone in our human emotion and misjudgment. Caesar, Antigone, Oedipus, Othello, Macbeth, Brutus, Hamlet, Darth Vader, Twoface, and even some of the characters that you might have read before. “Then must you speak/Of one that loved not wisely but too well,/Of one not easily jealous but, being wrought,/Perplexed in the

Judging information in modern society is a challenging thing, but people make it easier by believing in what is being said to them without actually evaluating the truth. It is obvious that people see what they want to see, and similarly, they believe what they want to believe in. Misinformation can be used as a strong weapon to destroy people’s life as Iago did in the play “Othello”. Othello, the protagonist of the story believes in what Iago says rather than trusting his love, Desdemona. He doubts his beloved wife due to one wrong information given to him by Iago about his wife, Desdemona, cheating on him with Cassio.

For his own benefit, Iago chooses to frame Desdemona and Cassio. In this case, he has chosen his honor over the honesty of Othello’s

The scene from Othello my group is performing is act 5, scene 2. In this scene, Desdemona is sleeping and Othello enters her room. He intends to kill her because he is convinced that she has cheated on him. She awakes from her slumber and she and Othello converse...Othello suggests to her that he is going to kill her, but she pleads him not to and to wait because she is not guilty of any sin against him. He does not listen to her and eventually smothers her with a pillow. Emilia then enters the room and finds out what Othello did. She becomes angry at Othello and herself because Desdemona was blameless. It eventually comes to light that Iago staged the affair and Iago kills his wife Emilia and Othello kills himself.

Throughout history there has been a general understanding that appearances can be deceiving. A person may go through life without anyone understanding the true reality of their character. William Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers of all time, understood the relationship between appearance and reality and often gave characters two sides to their personality.

The play Othello, written by William Shakespeare, has many major themes. Othello shows one of these themes by showing betrayal and manipulation. Iago's traits show that he can lead Othello to his tragic downfall. This is where the theme appearance vs reality is revealed. Appearance vs reality is portrayed in Othello through Iago's two faced nature, jealousy, manipulation, and anger with the characters in the play.