Othello Essay Outline

Othello Essay Outline

Thesis: Desdemona and Iago display characteristics that completely contrasts the other’s, which serves to heighten the tragedy of Othello’s downfall. 

Desdemona is a character comprised of goodness, loyalty, and forgiveness, which emphasizes the corruption of Othello by Iago when Othello kills Desdemona. 

• She sees beyond Othello’s skin and treats him the same as if he was white.
• “Therefore be merry, Cassio,/ For thy solicitor shall rather die/ Than give thy cause away” (III. iii. 24-6). She is willing to help out a friend in need and will do whatever it takes to do so.
• “’Tis as i should entreat you wear your gloves,/ Or feed on nourishing dishes, or keep you warm,/ Or sue to you to do a peculiar profit/ To your own person” (III. iii. 76-9). she wants Othello to forgive Cassio because it is beneficial to Othello himself, and as a wife she feels that it is her duty to convince her husband to do things he may not want to do even though they are beneficial to him. 
• Othello hits her, but she “turns the other cheek”  instead of backlashing against him, which is the Christian thing to do.
• “Sing all a green willow must be my garland./ Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve” (IV. iii. 47-8). When Desdemona sings a song about the sorrows a false love, she misremembers a line and sings about forgiving her husband.
• “Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away/ Richer than all his tribe” (V. ii. 346-7). Othello killed Desdemona, not realizing she was virtuous, and compares this to Judas, the only Judean disciple, betraying Jesus, meaning Othello thinks of Desdemona as someone as wholesome as Jesus.

Iago is a character of evil, cruelty, and manipulation, which emphasizes the tragicness of the fate that befalls the virtuous characters.

• “I have ’t! It is engendered! Hell and night/ Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” (I. iii. 395-6). Iago’s plan for everyone’s downfall will be brought forth through the symbolic union of Hell and night. 
• “Come, come; good wine is a good, familiar creature, if/ it be well used” II. iii. 293-4). After Cassio scorns alcohol because its effect on him led to his fall out with Othello, Iago, who urged Cassio to drink in the first place, calls wine a familiar. The context of the sentence implies that the wine is kindred and harmless, however a familiar can also mean a spirit or demon that serves a higher power. In this case, the wine, which is the familiar, has served Iago, the devil, because he used it to disgrace Cassio. 
• “How am I then the villain/ To counsel Cassio to this parallel course,/ Directly to his good? Divinity of Hell!” (II. iii. 330-3). Iago gives a speech asking how he is a villain when everything he plans is not exactly evil, just has evil intentions. He then declares that he is not merely a villain; he is the devil. At the same time, he explains how his target has expanded from merely Cassio to Othello and Desdemona as well. 
• “By Heaven, thous echo’s me/ As if there were some monster in thy thought/ Too hideous to be shown. Thou dost mean something” (III. iii. 109-11). Iago plants the thought of an affair between Cassio and Desdemona in Othello’s mind by making seemingly innocent comments and questions, which makes Othello more open to observing an affair. 
• “Would you, the supervisor, grossly gape on?/ Behold her topped?” (III. iii. 399-400)
• “Yield up, O love, thy crown and hearted throne/ To tyrannous hate!” (III. iii. 452-3). Iago has manipulated Othello to the point where he no longer loves Desdemona or Cassio and instead plans their deaths. 
• “O Spartan dog,/ More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea,/ Look on the tragic loading of this bed./ This is thy work” (V. ii. 360-3). Iago is responsible for all the deaths in the play, either because he killed them himself or he manipulated them, leading to their deaths. 

Othello 4 Blog

Act three, scenes three and four of Othello show Iago at his most duplicitous point so far into the play. These scenes feature Iago and Othello discussing Desdemona and Cassio as Iago manages to convince Othello that the two are having an affair. Throughout the two scenes, Iago acts as though he is trying to help Othello, but he is actually furthering his plan for destruction. He starts by simply asking questions about Cassio that caught Othello’s attention: “Did Michael Cassio, when you wooed my lady, know of your love?” (III.iii. 94-94). When Othello questions Iago’s curiosity, Iago at first refuses to describe his inner thoughts. Iago claims that he does not wish to revel his thoughts because he fears they might be incorrect and cause trouble: “Utter my thoughts? Why, say they are vile and false, as where’s that place whereinto foul things sometimes intrude not?” (III.iii. 140-142). Eventually, Iago gives in and tells Othello about his theory about Desdemona and Cassio. Iago continually stresses that it is just an idea, and he has no proof, while also emphasizing his love for both Othello and Cassio. His “attempts” at lessening Othello’s suspicions  only fuel them more and more as Othello becomes convinced that his wife and former lieutenant are having an affair. Later, after Desdemona drops the handkerchief that Othello gave her, Emilia picks it up and gives it to Iago, who plans to use it to incriminate Cassio and Desdemona. When he returns to Othello, Iago begins to give more “evidence" of the affair: “In sleep I heard him say ‘Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary: let us hide our loves’” (III.iii. 422-423). Othello, trusting Iago, becomes completely convinced of this lie and orders Iago, his new lieutenant, to kill Cassio. When Iago is with Desdemona, Cassio, and Emilia later, he tells them that Desdemona must continue to approach Othello about restoring Cassio’s lieutenancy and friendship, but this is actually more “evidence” of the affair to Othello, since Iago told him that this would happen if there was an affair: “Note if your lady strain his entertainment with any strong or vehement importunity. Much will be seen in that” (III.iii. 256-258). Throughout scene four, Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio grow farther apart as Othello’s mistrust in them grows. At the end of this scene, it is revealed that Iago has left Desdemona’s handkerchief in Cassio’s chambers. These two scenes show Iago at his most duplicitous point so far because he is constantly acting as though he is trying to help Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio, but he is really just growing the seeds of doubt in Othello’s mind and intentionally giving Cassio and Desdemona bad advice. 

AP Free Response Question

The father and young man in this passage from Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun are very close, which can be seen from the details and syntax.

Trumbo uses details to show the significance of the things that bring the father and son together. He starts the passage with a detailed description of the campsite where the father and son go to every year: “Each summer they came to this place which was nine thousand feet high and covered with pine trees and dotted with lakes. They fished in the lakes and when they slept at night the roar of water from the streams which connected the lakes sounded in their ears all night long.” The attention to detail shows that the characters know this campsite very well, meaning that they have indeed come here often. If the father and son were not close, they would not come here so often that they can remember minor details about this location. However, they clearly do remember these details, showing that they are close enough to want to come back to this specific place every year. Trumbo then describes the father’s fishing rod in detail: “It had amber leaders and beautiful silk windings. Each spring his father sent the rod away to a man in Colorado Springs who was an expert on rods.” Trumbo takes the time to describe this rod because it is special to the father, and the details emphasize how much he values it. Since the rod gets almost an entire paragraph dedicated to it, the son realizes that receiving the rod is a special gift from the father and should not been taken lightly due to its importance to the father. Giving the rod to the son after using many details to stress its importance and value is an example of the father caring deeply for the young man because he feels so close to his son that he is willing to part with the “only extravagance” he has known. Trumbo’s use of details highlights the bonds that connect the two men.

Trumbo uses the syntax to demonstrate the closeness between the father and the son. During the third and fourth paragraphs, Trumbo describes a conversation between the two. However, the dialogue is completely missing quotation marks: “And then a little later his father said has Bill Harper got a rod? He told his father no Bill hasn't got a rod. Well said his father why don’t you take my rod and let Bill use yours?” The lack of quotation marks is significant because it demonstrates an easiness in speaking between the two. The conversation flows and is uninterrupted or stalled by punctuation, indicating that they can speak very casually with each other, even though it is a conversation that the son was initially unwilling to start. An easiness like this one is difficult to have unless the two conversing are very close to each other. In addition, the lack of quotation marks creates a sense of unity because the father and son are not separated by as much punctuation as they grammatically should be. Their conversation just goes back and fourth naturally without interruptions and shows that they get along well because their conversation almost replicates the internal thoughts of a single person. Trumbo’s omission helps to demonstrate a  closeness and easiness between the father and son.

In this passage from Dalton Trumbo’s novel Johnny Got His Gun, Trumbo relies on his use of details and syntax to demonstrate a close relationship between a father and son because the details emphasize the bonds the two have created over things such as camping and fishing and the lack of quotation marks show an easiness and unity in their conversations.

Othello Act 1 blog

Iago is bitter about Othello’s decision to make Cassio his lieutenant. He states that Cassio does not deserve this position because he specializes in numbers, whereas Iago specializes with actual combat. He claims that Cassio therefore only received the position of lieutenant based on his friendship with Othello: “This countercaster,/ He, in good time, must his lieutenant be,/ And I, God bless the mark, his Moorship’s ancient” (Act I, scene i). Iago is fond of making strong oaths (“‘Sblood” and “Zounds” (Act I, scene i)), which shows that he can be a bit dramatic at times. He is also fond of derogatory racial slurs, such as using the term “moor” and comparing Othello to an animal, thus demonstrating his disrespect for Othello. Iago is cunning, and this is seen when he speaks to Roderigo because he uses diction and rhetoric to get Roderigo to agree with him about the lieutenancy, thus making him willing to speak with Brabantio about Othello and Desdemona, before Iago quickly leaves claiming he cannot be seen acting against Othello despite his speech. Later, Iago shows that he is two-faced because when he meets up with Othello, he claims that Roderigo spoke out against Othello without any provocation form Iago: “but he prated/ And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms/ Against your Honor,/ That with the little godliness I have/ I did full hard forbear him” (Act II, scene i). Soon after, Roderigo and Brabantio arrive, and Iago acts as though he would attack Roderigo in Othello’s defense. Later, Iago reveals that he hates Othello because he believes Othello had an affair with Iago’s wife. Therefore, Iago intends to break up Othello’s marriage to Desdemona using Cassio. 

Merchant of Venice Prompt

Critics often applaud works that can produce in a reader a “healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude.” Select a work from your readings that produces this healthy confusion. Be sure to show how readers can be entertained and troubled be the particular literary work. 

Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice produces in the reader a confusion of pleasure and disquietude due largely to the characters of the play. Many of these characters have traits that contradict their other traits. For example, the protagonists have unfavorable traits, such as prejudice and greed, while sympathy can be felt for the antagonist. This creates mixed feelings for characters because, whether the character is “good” or “bad,” they can display characteristic common of both archetypes. The play focuses on friends Antonio and Bassanio. Antonio agrees to borrow from the Jewish money-lender Shylock for Bassanio so that Bassanio can court wealthy heiress Portia. 

Antonio has many admirable characteristics. Some of his most prominent ones are his generosity and selflessness. After Bassanio wastes all his money by living too extravagantly, Antonio agrees to lend him money: “My purse, my, person, my extremest, means/ Lie all unlocked to your occasions” (Act I, scene i). However, as a merchant, all his income is overseas on his trading ships. He is therefore forced to enter an agreement with his rival Shylock, a Jewish money-lender, in order to obtain the money Bassanio needs. This agreement states that if Antonio cannot repay Shylock on the set date, Shylock can cut off a pound of Antonio’s flesh from his chest. Regardless of the risk of physical injury and possibly even death, Antonio agrees to these conditions. As the play progresses, it is rumored that all of Antonio’s ships have crashed, leaving him broke and unable to repay Shylock. As Shylock is about to take Antonio’s flesh, Antonio stresses to Bassanio that “all debts are cleared between/ You and I” (Act III, scene ii). Antonio does not want Bassanio to feel guilty about his death because Antonio always knew the risk and agreed to the deal anyway because he wanted to help his friend. Despite his generosity and selflessness, Antonio also posses the terrible characteristic of prejudice. Throughout the play, Antonio’s verbal and physical abuse of Shylock for being Jewish is emphasized repeatedly. When Shylock states that Antonio has called him a dog and spat on him, Antonio says, “I am like to call thee so again,/ To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too” (Act I, scene iii). Despite the fact that Shylock is willing to lend Antonio money, Antonio does not apologize for his past actions and even states that he will continue to abuse Shylock. Antonio have many admirable traits, but he also has terrible ones that cause him problems with other people. 

Bassanio’s main characteristics are greed but also his caring nature. Most of Bassanio’s role in the play revolves around money. In the first scene, he states that he has gone broke due to his extravagant lifestyle, he wants to marry a wealthy heiress, and he needs money from Antonio to do so. Antonio agrees to help his friend, and Bassanio allows him to enter a dangerous deal with Shylock, though he is reluctant do to his feelings of friendship for Antonio: “You shall not seal to such a bond for me!/ I’ll rather dwell in my necessity” (Act I, scene iii). Later, he marries the heiress and obtains her money. However, he soon learns that Antonio has gone broke and cannot repay Shylock, resulting in Shylock taking Antonio’s flesh. Fearing his death, Antonio asks to see Bassanio before he dies, and Bassanio immediately leaves his wife to be with Antonio. He offers to pay multiple times the debt, but Shylock will not allow it. Bassanio then offers to trade places with Antonio, but Shylock still will not allow it. Powerless to stop Shylock, Bassanio begins to mourn for Antonio by telling him how treaty he cares for his friend: “Antonio, I am married to a wife/ Which is as dear to me as life itself;/ But life, my wife, and all the world/ Are not with me esteemed above thy life” (Act IV, scene i). Antonio is then saved by a gentleman, who is actually Bassanio’s disguised wife, in court and urges Bassanio to give his wedding ring to the gentleman. Bassanio resists at first but eventually hands over the ring because he is truly grateful to the man who saved his friend’s life. Bassanio can often be seen as greedy but is also selfless at times due to his deep feelings for his friend. 

Shylock is shown mostly as a greedy and malicious character. As a money-lender, his career revolves around money, leading him to become a greedy man. When his daughter leaves him to elope, one of his first concerns is the money and jewels she has stolen from him. He even states that he would rather her dead: “I would my daughter were dead/ At my foot, and the jewels in her ear. Would she were/ Hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin!” (Act III, scene i). In addition to him being greedy, he is also malicious. In his deal with Antonio, they decide that if Antonio does not repay Shylock, Shylock can take his flesh. Shylock admits that the flesh is basically worthless, but he wants it anyway. As the time to take the flesh approaches, he is clearly eager to cut Antonio: “Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?” (Act IV, scene i). Despite these terrible words and actions, the reader can feel pity and sympathy for him because every other character, especially Antonio, abuses him greatly for merely being Jewish. He is often insulted and mocked about this. At one point, Shylock states that he was spat upon by Antonio, who unapologetically states that he would do it again. Although Shylock has some horrible traits, the reader can understand them to a certain degree due to Shylock’s career and treatment by the others, making him a character that one has mixed feelings about. 

Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice produces in the reader a confusion of pleasure and disquietude due largely to the characters of the play. Many of these characters have traits that contradict their other traits. Antonio is selfless yet prejudice, Bassanio is greedy yet caring, and Shylock is greedy and malicious yet pitiable. These contrasting traits within characters creates mixed feelings for the characters because, whether the character is “good” or “bad,” they can display characteristic common of both archetypes. These mixed feelings for characters causes the reader to experience a confusion of pleasure and disquietude.