Othello: The Destruction of Honor :: GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Othello

Othello The Destruction of Honor In The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the noble Moor whose honor and innocence bring virtually his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this lend Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othellos embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding with stunned any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal. He makes Othello believe that his new wife, the innocent Desdemona, is committing adultery with his newly promoted officer Michael Cassio. After this seed of jealousy has been planted, Othellos mind takes its course in determining the certain outcome, with a little more nudging from Iago. The course of action he proce eds to follow is one that not only ends his own heart, but also the life of his wife and others. In Shakespeares Tragedy of Othello, Othello is a man who is still truly honorable, despite the course of action he takes to resolve his perceived problem. end-to-end the novel, up until his insanity, Othello is described as a temperate man whose honor does not allow him to believe assumptions unless he has been shown proof. Firstly, when the men of Brabantio, Desdemonas father, confront Othellos men, Othello calmly says, Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them. (10). Othello is confronted on the matter of his elopement with Desdemona with force and with words. Not only is he very cool closely his dealings with violence, but also when he is asked to tell the story of how he had Desdemona fall in love with him he states the truth, and he doesnt leave out any details of how he accomplished it. He openly admits that had any other man told his story, that man also would hav e won her heart. Only a truly honorable man can admit that it was a story, and not his personality that truly won the womans heart. Othellos honor is shown by his trust in the people he knows and loves. When Iago tells Othello that he believes Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair, Othello does not believe Iago initially.