Jealousy In Shakespeare's Othello

To me, Shakespeare’s “Othello” presents a plethora of themes and techniques which coincide and therefore create an excellent play. But there are three major themes which have made “Othello” great. These themes include jealousy, deceit and of course… love. I personally believe that jealousy is the most influential theme of the play as it provides the backbone or structure of the play and creates tragedy which is what Shakespeare is synonymous for writing. It is with the combination of these three themes and their techniques which provide mysterious, backstabbing tragedy which is “Othello”.

Firstly, jealousy is an important theme featured in “Othello” as it becomes a common characteristic among the main characters throughout the text. Jealousy is
An example of jealousy is in act 3 scene 3 when Iago states “It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on”. This quote is significant because Iago is directly targeting Othello’s major weakness which is jealousy. It also adds dramatic irony to the play because Iago’s motive for his actions is his own jealousy of Cassio. The metaphor relating to the ‘’green eyed monster’’ is a metaphor which is still used today. The colour green often represents jealousy in many cultures around the world. The theme of jealousy in Othello becomes overly prevalent as Iago’s intents become clearer through the soliloquies and aside remarks which he makes in each act planning his approach to becoming lieutenant to Othello. Iago states in his soliloquy in act 3 “ But as his jealousy of Othello becomes greater, Iago wants to become the Governor of Cyprus. However, it is important to recognise that Iago is not the only jealous character in the text, Othello is also someone who is overwhelmed by the amount of jealousy he accumulates in the