The Role of Jealousy in Othello

Jealousy utterly leads to the corruption of their lives as it causes Lago to portray his true character. In turn, Othello is triggered to undergo complete conversion causing a destruction of the lives of his friends. The home, environment as well as historical influences too have greatly affected and influenced the writings of Shakespeare. The paper thus seeks to unveil how jealousy plays a destructive role in the lives of the three main characters of Othello namely; Othello, Lago, and Desdemona. Othello Jealousy results in the destruction of great treasures such as love. “Ha, I like not that”, remarks Lago. In addition, he goes on to add that Cassio is not making a departure but rather stealing away in a guilty manner (Shakespeare et al.

The words that Lago uses are typically suggestive with a pretense that does not believe whatever is in his eyesight. During this entire period, Jealousy had been introduced in the sub-consciousness of Othello thus influencing his way of thinking. Othello goes in denial as a result of jealousy thus making him even vulnerable. Othello plots to poison his wife but Lago suggests that he should strangle her in bed which she had caused dishonor. They make an agreement that Othello will kill Desdemona while Lago is to kill Cassio. Jealousy that has been gradually planted in the mind of Othello turn him into a beast that plans murder as a result of a decline in his morality. Lago Lago’s actual self is uncovered by jealousy.

In the eyes of his fellows, Lago appears as the most honest person while in the real sense he is actually the opposite. In addition, Cassio, who is held as the person Desdemona is having an affair with, suffers death because of Othello's jealousy. Shakespeare’s life and career The writings of Shakespeare have been influenced by numerous elements such as his home, environment as well as historical influences of his time. In addition, several scholars have had different understanding and interpretation of this writings. Although very few writings offer information on how the professional life of Shakespeare molded his writings, during his entire twenty years of playwriting, his plays captured a wide range of both human emotions as well as conflict.

The play Othello, the characters that Shakespeare uses is a presentation of very vivid impressions of individual temperaments which are not only timeless but also universal. The writings of Shakespeare are seen to be influenced by his feeling of love and marriage. Even though little is known concerning his wife, we are aware that Shakespeare and his wife Anne married in a hurry because Anne was pregnant. During his era, people considered it indecent for an unmarried woman to become pregnant. Shakespeare is seen as an individual who resented forced marriages. As a result of this incident, Shakespeare presents the themes of love and marriage in a number of his plays as tragedies and selfish desires. Lago and Othello’s major characters are a clear depiction of the theme of jealousy and how they are affected by it.