If the fool would persist his folly, would it make him wise? – William Blake
Most of the characters in Othello are fools and they enable Iago to carry out his plans because they are blind idiots.
Do you agree with this statement?
Discuss the following characters: Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo and Emilia. Explain your views on whether or not they are foolish.
25 Mark Rubric
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Memorandum – Task 6
Othello Essay
In Othello, the mastermind Iago is the perfect villain. To the outside world, he seems completely harmless; an honest, loyal person who only has the best intentions. But in reality, he doesn’t care about anyone but himself. The following questions can be addressed: Is Iago’s manipulating so effective because of his ingenious villainy, or due to the fact that most of the characters are blind, ignorant fools.
Roderigo, a gentleman madly in love with Desdemona, is the biggest fool of all. He trusts, believes and obeys Iago regardless, even though it is clear that he is just using him. This is illustrated by Roderigo giving all his jewels and money to Iago in spite of the fact that Iago’s promises and strategies to win Desdemona over, haven’t provided any results. Blinded by his infatuation for her, he will believe anything Iago says.
Emilia can be seen as foolish because she does not stand up to her husband, but allows him to treat her disrespectfully. When Iago encourages her to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief, she obeys without questioning his motives. Because of her silence, Iago is allowed to carry out a huge part of his destructive plan.
Desdemona is the least foolish. She is young, innocent and inexperienced. Her naivety is her downfall. She trusts too easily. Because she loves Othello she tries to salvage his relationship with Cassio. She listens to Iago’s advice in this regard without realising that it might make Othello jealous.
Cassio is not that much of a fool, but due to his good, trusting nature, he is convinced too easily. He lets Iago talk him into drinking and he believes in Iago’s good intentions when Iago recommends he talk to Desdemona. Another of his foolish mistakes is that he decides to keep quiet after the fight, instead of defending himself.
Othello is trustworthy, has a strong sense of duty and what led to his downfall was his pride. Othello suffers from a sense of inferiority because he is older, black and not part of the Venetian society. He feels he has to prove himself and therefore easily falls in the trap of becoming jealous and believing Iago’s every word. This makes him lose all sense of judgement and logic.
Iago is a mastermind villain. His deceptive methods are so extremely effective.
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