Othello and the human conditio
Othello is a play written by William Shakespeare about the tragedy of a black army general who is fatally flawed by jealousy. This human quality, this condition, is expressed through Othello; his character clearly highlights how someone morally good can also experience dark emotions. He felt guilty about resorting to ugly, barbaric means to his end despite the fact that anyone else in his position would have done the same. The main human condition in Othello is this feeling of guilt. Another aspect of this is there is a difference in the mannerism of a modern Venetian (Iago) and a primitive Moor (Othello). The difference is that to survive as a Moor, Othello has to be honest and trustworthy. This is because he needs his people to support him due to his inability to survive in any another way than resorting to primitive means. Iago, on the other hand, has no need for others to trust him. Instead, he takes advantage of other people like Roderigo to make himself rich. At the start of the play Iago debates on why Cassio was chosen over him by Othello. Here Othello is unknown to the audience, and Iago appears to be justified in his argument. His justification comes from the fact that he has battled by Othello's side for years, wher
Iago is manipulative, as we see here, and back then it would have seemed odd to an English audience. Shakespeare's plays, and most definitely Othello is a fine example of the human condition as well as slightly altering a few archetypes in the process. Archetypes that Shakespeare used in his tragic plays are still used today in childhood rhymes and the like. Mere prattle without practice is all his soldiership" (Iago - Act1, Scene1). At one point Iago tells Cassio, "Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost deserving" (Iago - Act2, Scene3), but then he tells Othello the exact opposite in the following "Good name in man and woman my lord / Is the immediate jewel of their souls / Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something / nothing, / 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands: / But he that filches from me my good name / Robs me of that which not enriches him / And makes me poor indeed. This subconscious risk calculation is what makes us two sided, as in a case where you have been wronged you feel it is justified for you to do something wrong in return ("an eye for an eye. Once someone else does something, and it is accepted it becomes far easier to do it yourself, as nearly all doubt has been vanquished. It is also an example of how he treats everyone degradingly, or in a cheeky manner. " (Iago - Act 1, Scene1), whereas in front of Othello he is far more respectable; "Those are the raised father and his friends; / You were best go in" (Iago - Act1, Scene2). The honesty of him to Emilia was part of his honour, but also partly because he knew everyone would wonder why Desdemona had killed herself. Roderigo falls for this simple ploy, and trusts Iago right up until the time when Iago stabs him, just as he told Othello; ".
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