Commentaries on Act 4 and 5 of Shakespeares Othello, in relation to the theme of LOVE and VENGEANCE, with examples from the acts.
This has to be informal in the sense that it can be small bullet points and may be very short. Below is a sample of what is required.
” In the final acts of Othello, we see Iago’s plan running its course. Everything goes according to plan, with a couple of interventions from Iago
himself. These acts show how dangerous jealousy and vengeance can truly be, especially when someone like Iago is causing these undertakings from behind the
curtain. He is the perfect example of a person that is incapable of caring about anyone but himself. However, this lack of emotion, in my opinion, wasn’t
developed by itself, but rather through the lack of respect and recognition that scarred him throughout his previous years. During the play, we notice that
Iago was never really needed unless ordered to fetch something or someone for Othello, or one of his companions, for he was a knave. Furthermore, in the play
it is suggested that Emilia, was not a faithful wife, but rather one that his “friends” had shared with him as well. Thus, he was trapped with no one to be
able to rely on or share his emotions with, while all that goes through his mind is hate, anger, and desperation. The outcome of this isolation was the
twisted immoral hidden personality that Iago displays.
I extracted two themes from my reading of Othello. The first is that through jealousy, even the wisest men can become blinded through hate and commit the
most irrational acts, a perfect example of that would be Othello choking Desdemona to death, which was the effect of rumors and easily misleading evidence
that cannot stand as proof of her unfaithfulness. Another is that nothing good can happen through secrecy and slyness; that being reflected by all
characters. I say this because without all of this secrecy none of these events would have taken place, then again, Othello wouldn’t have been an
interesting play to begin with.”
