Othello - William Shakespeare

Othello - William Shakespeare 

About Author: 

Othello is one of the best tragedies written by William Shakespeare. I have read Ben Johnson's famous lines in some material that, "And though thou hadst small Latin and less Greek" have created the impression that he was unlettered. 
Thr fact is that Shakespeare was naturally learned. His mind was vigorous and active. 

"His plays are extraordinarily rich in floating debris of popular literature Scraps and tags and broken ends of whole world of songs and ballads and romances and proverbs." 

Shakespeare was great humanist, tolerant of all views and all manners of Man. He was whole man and he revealed the whole of his complex personality in his work.  

Ben Johnson called him,

"Not of an age, but of all ages, not of one country, but of all counties." 

About Play: 

The Play 'Othello' is borrowed from the novel ' The Moor of Venice' written by the novelist, Giraldi Cinthio. Though Shakespeare has followed original work, he had handled correct freedom and add new characters, too. 

Othello is the domestic tragedy. 
'Othello' differs from the other great tragedies in a number of other ways. The theme is universal enough on its own and the character of the play is dicated by its passionate intensity, its relentless exclusiveness, and by Iago's need for Swift advance lest his fabrications be revealed. Soliloquies are more powerful in the play. 

Othello is very brave and firmly says that, 

"My abilities, my positions and my innocence will best show me what I am." 

Othello loves Desdemona. Though Othello is moore, she loves him only for his good qualities. Othello marries Desdemona against her father -Brabantio. Iago imagines that Othello loves Desdemona "not out of absolute lust."  Othello can do anything for her and confesses that,

"He loved her because she was so full of sympathy for me . This is the only magic."

Iago wants to be lieutenant but he can't. Iago hates Othello too much but he never sees his jealousy against him and behaves with him very friendly. Othello often says,  "Honest Iago!"

Where as Iago describes his feeling towards Othello in soliloquy, 

"I do hate him as I do hell pains." 

Only because of his much intellectual thoughts and actions, plot go ahead very well. He possesses no conscience and no moral purpose of action. Iago is nothing, if not intellectual. Iago is a Machiavelian villain in the play. He is cynic and hypocrite. His motives are always hunting. He wants to take revenge  on the basis of two reasons,

(i) Othello gives the position of lieutenant to Cassio instead of Iago

(ii) Iago is suspecting that Othello has done something to his wife -Emilia. 

Iago succeeds to creat the jealousy in Othello's mind. Gradually, Othello  suspects about Cassio and Desdemona's relationship. As evidence Iago shows him his handkerchief which is given to Desdemona by him. Seeing handkerchief, his beliefs become more stronger. 

Othello have lost his thinking power and begins quarrel saying that, 

"I wish you had not been born." 

Though Othello loves Desdemona, he kills Desdemona being more jealous. Nobody is there to save Desdemona or to prove Desdemona's loyalty to Othello. When Emilia reveals the truth and Emilia gives her evidence it is too late to Desdemona as Holy-girl. She also informs that Iago has told her to steal the handkerchief for him and then whole secret is revealed. Cassio and Desdemona are innocent. They even don't know about this. Iago takes his revenge. Othello repents for what he has done but now nothing can be changed. 

Thus, the villain Iago is intellectuallly a giant but heartless. 

Thus, Othello' s "action without thinking" leads to him at his own tragic end. He himself destroys everything.