A Literary Analysis of the Jealousy in Othello by William Shakespeare - Essay Example

Later on, Othello discovers the falseness of the accusations that his wife, Desdemona, had been faithful, and full of guilt, Othello ends his life. In the book, jealousy is seen to bring the downfall of various characters, including Iago, Roderigo, and Othello. Below is a literary analysis of the jealousy in Othello by William Shakespeare, the different actions the characters do, and the consequences that follow due to jealousy. First off, Roderigo portrays acts of jealousy throughout the text before he finally meets his end when he is murdered by Iago.

Before Iago kills him, Roderigo is seen to accept the request for help in plotting Othello's downfall, and it is revealed that it was because he harbored ill feelings to Othello, after Desdemona turned him down as a suitor, in favor of Othello. That made Roderigo willing to serve Iago to carry out the plot against Othello. Consequently, jealousy makes this man proceed to aid Iago with his plots by revealing Desdemona’s and Othello's secret marriage to Brabantio. In the text, Roderigo is seen to wake up Brabantio in the dead of night, shouting, ‘what, ho, Brabantio!

Signior Brabantio, ho!” (1.1.78). Soon after, he also lends him another helping hand by causing a brawl that sees Cassio injure another person. The characters are quite cunning and conquered by jealousy in many scenes. Consequently, Othello discharges Cassio from his duty. Iago further asks Roderigo to kill Casio by promising that Desdemona will spend the night with him if he achieves the task. Full of selfishness, jealousy, and lust, Roderigo attempts to murdering Cassio, but he fails, for the mail shirt helps save Cassio.

In the attempted murder, Roderigo becomes mortally wounded, and Iago is later seen to come and finalize the job by ending his life. Among the characters, Roderigo is among the first victims of his jealousy, and he is not the last one either. Othello is also seen to succumb to jealousy in the play when he is told of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness. Othello is quick to let emotions get the better of him, and he falls into Iago's trap with ease. From the book, it’s noted that Othello placed a high level of trust in Iago, and this is the reason why he is quick to be convinced of the accusation leveled against his spouse despite the unbelievable proof given.

This circumstantial evidence pushes Othello into a destructive rage, which ends with him deciding that his wife must die. In his rage, Othello does not even ponder giving his wife the benefit of the doubt or think of giving Desdemona a chance to explain herself. Instead, Othello calls for Iago to fetch him some poison for the night should not end without him having gotten rid of Desdemona. Jealousy conquers Othello's consciousness and his actions, and in the books, he is seen to state: “I will chop her into Messes!

Cuckold me!” (4.1.182). While Othello does realize the error of his ways soon after, he does so a bit too late, after already killing his wife. In his grief, he proceeds to end his life, too, hoping to meet his Desdemona in heaven. In the book, the most jealous of the characters is, without a doubt, Iago, not Cassio. His actions are all driven by jealousy and envy, and consequently, his hand can be discovered to play a key role in the demise of nearly every character. For example, Iago is overwhelmed with anger and jealousy when Othello decides to promote another individual and overlook him for the position.

To indulge in his revenge, Iago recruits Roderigo manipulating the man to plant false proof by revealing to Brabantio that his daughter was married to Othello in secret. Iago's jealousy has no limits as he never holds back from harming innocent people to reach his aim. Later, Iago approaches Othello and proceeds to share the information of his wife’s purported infidelity. Iago's plan starts to unfold when Othello gets filled with rage, and in his jealously, he begins to plot his wife’s death.

To further cement his false claim, Iago puts Desdemona’s handkerchief in place, belonging to Cassio. It is Othellos strong jealously that brings Iago's plot to life so well despite the flimsy bit of evidence presented. For Lagos plot to succeed, Desdemona needed to die as a revenge to Othello. Cassio and Roderigo were mere accessories to the crime and also needed to cover it up. However, despite all these deaths coming to pass, Iago soon pays for his actions. Iago undergoes torture to death after he kills his wife.

Jealousy is prominently featured in Othello. It dictates the actions of most of the characters in the text, including Cassio, and as a result, their doom itself is a consequence of jealousy. Roderigo becomes jealous, which makes mortally wounded, and ultimately leads to his death as a consequence of the negative emotion. Othello kills his wife and himself later. For his selfishness and grand jealously, Iago is rewarded with demise by means of suffering. Sadly, despite the death of many of the villains in the story, for instance, Iago, a lot of innocent lives are also lost due to jealously, a prime example of this being the death of Desdemona.