Judgement in Othello

             The idea, use, and misuse of judgement in William Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, plays an important role in establishing and exploring many of the main ideas of the play, as well as providing key weaknesses that are essential to the plot. The way the characters judge each other's characters and motives, and their own situations, is an important catalyst in the action of Othello.
             The "hierarchy of proper judgment" can illustrate a universal idea that was popular in the renaissance period that Shakespeare wrote and set Othello in. The basic idea is that governing all is reason, which includes understanding and will. Below reason are common sense, memory, and imagination. Finally, at the bottom are the five senses, emotions, and passions. In order to judge properly, it was believed that reason had to govern all else. Proper judgment could never occur if only one item was relied upon to make the decision. The plot of Othello belongs to Iago, who manipulates characters by suggesting falsehoods that encourage them to abuse this concept, and by doing so demonstrates how proper judgement occurs and the consequences when it does not.
             Judgement is the factor that provides the first original conflict and continues right through till the end of the text, playing a major role in the final destruction. In the first scene of the first act Iago tells Rodgerigo how he hates Othello for passing him over for promotion in favour of Cassio, who has not had the experience or demonstrated the loyalty in battle that he himself has, "I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof/ At Rhoades, at Cyprus, and on other grounds/ Christian and heathen, must be lee'd and calm'd/ By debitor and creditor." Othello has seen Iago prove himself as a soldier, but didn't promote him, and as a result Iago finds himself at the mercy of people whom he owes money.
             The two major characters in Shakespeare's Othello, Iago an...

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Judgement in Othello. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 00:32, July 02, 2025, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/501.html