Jealousy in Othello essay

William Shakespeare demonstrates jealousy in his work in different forms, ranging from professional competitions to sexual suspicion. Consequently, destruction of relationships takes the center stage. Several characters have been used in this play to describe jealousy. This paper aims at analyzing how some characters’ jealousy is fuelled by other characters. Jealousy As Demonstrated By Lago Lago is very much involved with jealousy in the play. He takes an advantage of the fact that everyone believes he is an honest man. Cruelty is what Lago manifests; driven by jealousy. He targets the close people around him, he doesn’t feel sorry for his victims. Everyone around him becomes confused and enraged but Lago keeps playing innocent proving how much of a psychopath he is.

He actually makes a remark that Cassio’s daily beauty in life makes him ugly. Othello’s doubt is sparked off by a warning from Brabantio as he tells him of how much Desdemona has deceived her father (Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 1). This earlier doubt is what is what enhanced Lagos' play on Othello's jealousy. Although he continuously denies being jealous, the fact remains that his paranoid nature is as a result of the thought that Desdemona is cheating on him. He tells Lago that he will first have to prove before he believes (Shakespeare Act 3 scene 1). His belief that the wife is unfaithful is enough to show that he is full of jealousy. My thinking is that Othello was a good man only misled by his gullible nature.

He was easily deceived into believing that his wife was cheating on him with Cassio. If only he had asked for more proof because of the love he had for Desdemona, he would not have murdered her. I admire the fact that after finding out the whole truth, he could not rest his mind thus choosing to commit suicide. Jealousy As Demonstrated By Other Characters Brabantio, father to Desdemona also shows a bitter and vindictive form of jealousy in the play. Unfortunately, they are all wrong as it is later identified. Sexual jealousy turns Lago into a villain whose aim was to make Cassio and Othello suffer. Contrary to Othello’s decision, Lago is calm and as e acts on the suspicions, he does his calculations right (Stein 1411).

Othello and Bianca respond to sexual jealousy because of the genuine love they had for their partners whom they claimed to be unfaithful. A statement by Brabantio is what prompted Othello’s sexual jealousy. He states that Cassio is bound to destruction because of his life's daily beauty that continues to make him ugly. There is also an element of professional jealousy in the manner in which Lago treats Othello. He aims at destroying Othello's reputation in the military, along with his married life. Conclusion By studying the play Othello, our attention is focused on the importance of understanding other people’s emotions. Jealousy and loyalty in relationships took the center stage of the discussion. " Journal of Literature and Art Studies 8.