Othello and the Merchant of Venice as the Best Plays of Shakespeare - Essay Example

Compare Othello and Shylock (The Merchant of Venice) as “others to what degree does the marginal social status of each character influence his character, his decisions, and his fate? Shakespeare is marked to be one of the best playwrights of his times and his contributions to literature are exemplary. Othello and the Merchant of Venice are included amongst the best plays of Shakespeare. Othello is a tragic love story where deception and deceit lead to affect the normal and happy life of Othello and he is compelled to his kill own wife. On the other hand, The Merchant of Venice is a play which shows the goodness of people like Antonio and the play presents the successful love of Lorenzo and Jessica, Bassanio and Portia and Gratian and Merissa. Shylock is the antagonist and he faces the consequences of the wrongs that he did his entire life. The characters of Shylock and Othello are influenced by their social status and their social status lays an impact on the events in their life as well as the decisions that they take. Othello is the most important character of the play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice.” He is a very strong character. He remains strong and powerful despite of the fact that it is clearly highlighted that Othello is an outsider in Venice and he does not truly belong there. Othello uses his bravery to outstand from others in Venice and his difference from the others makes him stand out and hence he holds the position of the general of the armies of Venice. Besides securing this important position in the army, he is also allowed to promote the ranks of people and take important decisions. His strength and dedication earns him a good reputation amongst the prominent and important figures of the state of Venice which includes the Duke as well as the Senators. He is loved and admired by these people and his suggestions are considered important by all of them. Othello’s strength and reliability are recognized by important people of Venice. Desdemona is the woman who loves Othello and Othello claims that she married him after she listened to all the achievements of his life. She was impressed by his past and his bravery and she chose to marry him even against the will of her family. Othello is not a native of Venice. In the first Act, first scene of the play, the discussion between Iago and Roderigo truly labels him as an outsider. They describe him as a “Moor” and explain his physical appearance by saying that he has “thick lips.” Thus, his status was considered to be less by them in comparison to themselves. Othello is simple and young. He is true and honest and tells everything about him to Desdemona and the senators. His simplicity and bravery impresses them all. But, his fame is disliked by people like Iago and Roderigo and they plot against him. He is not aware of the tactics that they might play against him. Iago considers the decisions of Othello to be inappropriate. This may be due to jealousy of the fact that Othello, despite of being an outsider had gained such an important position and he was also able to marry the woman of his choice, Desdemona. Roderigo also dislikes Othello which may be due to the fact that despite of his marginal social status, he was able to win the heart of Desdemona. The social status of Othello might be the reason which forced him to believe in Iago and Roderigo. This is owing to the fact that Desdemona was a white woman and he might have considered that she would have cheated him for Cassio who was a native of Venice. His insecurity owing to his marginal social status could have been the reason for doubting his wife and believing in what Iago told him. This distrust makes him kill his own wife and in the end he kills himself as well. Shylock is a significant character in the play, “The Merchant of Venice.” He portrays a negative role in the play. Shylock is a Jew and he has a marginal social status in Venice owing to the fact that Jews were discriminated against in the society. Shylock may have turned into a selfish individual owing to the discrimination that he faced in his life because he continually mentions the fact that Jews are human beings and deserve proper treatment. Shylock is greedy and unhelpful to the people in Venice. He used to lend money to the people but he used to charge heavy interest charges on the loans that he gave. His social status and dislike by the locals may have been the reason for turning him into a negative individual. Shylock was not considerate and he was biased against Christians. This was a result of his marginal social status as well. Shylock’s dislike for the Christians drives him into an ego-centric individual. Owing to his attitude, his daughter Jessica had to run away to marry a Christian man, Lorenzo whom she loved. Shylock plans to avenge the discrimination against him when Antonio comes to ask him for loan. He gives him the loan but keeps a condition that if Antonio fails to return the loan, he would take a pound of flesh from him. His desire for revenge and the discrimination that he faced in the society made him fall to a level where he did not even consider the murder of Antonio to be wrong. The negative events that occurred in his life and his social status made him opt for a negative path. But owing to his lack of consideration, he had to face the consequences. Shylock was punished and he had to change his religion as well as give a fine to the Duke. Furthermore, he also had to assure of the fact that he would leave his property for his daughter and her husband. Othello and Shylock are important characters in the plays, Othello and the Merchant of Venice. Their marginal social status molds their character and lays a deep impact on their life. Shylock’s insecurity owing to his marginal social status brings about the loss of his wealth for him. On the other hand, in the case of Othello, it leads him to kill his wife and commit suicide himself. References Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York, 1910. Print. Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. London: Collector's Library, 2011. Print. Read More