Analyse the Way in Which Evil Conquers Good in Shakespeare’s Play Othello Through the Themes in the Tragedy.
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- Category: English: Shakespeare
- Date Submitted: 03/27/2016 05:26 PM
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“Evil ultimately conquers good in Shakespeare’s play Othello” is a true statement, shown through the themes of jealousy, love and revenge in the play. These themes are great factors contributing to the play, and cause the downfall of Othello and his relationship with Desdemona; these themes also show that even the strongest of people and relationships can be ravaged by such a small thing as jealousy. The evil in this tragedy is shown through; jealousy, manipulation, betrayal and revenge – this defeats the good, the love, and the goodwill some of the characters’ show. This in due time decides the fate of the characters.
Evil conquers good in Othello by Iago manipulating characters throughout the play to get what he wants – particularly Othello and Cassio. Iago ruins Othello’s trust in Desdemona by manipulating him into thinking Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio. Iago takes Othello’s fear and enforces them with lies. “Ha! I like not that…” in act scene 3 (line 45) is an example of Iago planting suspicions and doubt in Othello’s head which causes him to question Desdemona’s fidelity, manipulating his mindset and driving him to extreme lengths, resulting in Othello killing her. Iago’s deception shows that words can ruin people’s frame of mind, causing them to things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. On top of Iago manipulating Othello, Cassio also falls into his trap of evil and deceit, Iago gets Cassio drunk and involved in a brawl on the street which results in him losing his position as Othello’s lieutenant. A case of Iago manipulating Cassio is in act 2 scene 3 (lines 40 and 41) “If I can fasten but one cup upon him, /with that which he hath drunk tonight already…” Iago knows Cassio loves wine and has a weakness for it, so he uses this weakness to his advantage – to use him and get what he wants. Iago also knows that Cassio will go to Desdemona for help to get his job back, further confirming Othello’s suspicions of Desdemona. Iago manipulates the...
Evil conquers good in Othello by Iago manipulating characters throughout the play to get what he wants – particularly Othello and Cassio. Iago ruins Othello’s trust in Desdemona by manipulating him into thinking Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio. Iago takes Othello’s fear and enforces them with lies. “Ha! I like not that…” in act scene 3 (line 45) is an example of Iago planting suspicions and doubt in Othello’s head which causes him to question Desdemona’s fidelity, manipulating his mindset and driving him to extreme lengths, resulting in Othello killing her. Iago’s deception shows that words can ruin people’s frame of mind, causing them to things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. On top of Iago manipulating Othello, Cassio also falls into his trap of evil and deceit, Iago gets Cassio drunk and involved in a brawl on the street which results in him losing his position as Othello’s lieutenant. A case of Iago manipulating Cassio is in act 2 scene 3 (lines 40 and 41) “If I can fasten but one cup upon him, /with that which he hath drunk tonight already…” Iago knows Cassio loves wine and has a weakness for it, so he uses this weakness to his advantage – to use him and get what he wants. Iago also knows that Cassio will go to Desdemona for help to get his job back, further confirming Othello’s suspicions of Desdemona. Iago manipulates the...