Love Is Dangerous In Shakespearean Plays

2671 Words11 Pages
Outline Thesis Statement: Love is the dangerous cause of all the tragedies in both of the plays. A. The meaning of love for individuals a. Desdemona’s evil destiny b. Romeo and Juliet B. Analyzing the effect of love on social basis a. Social structure of Venice b. Social structure of Verona C. Analyzing the tragic effect of love a. Othello and Desdemona b. Romeo and Juliet time, c. Overview of the Romantic tragedies Love is a word that has many connotations. In heterosexual love, we see variations in the intensity of the feelings between the lovers, which is due to many factors, including the life experiences and the true nature of love in the romantically engaged couple. The kind of love that Shakespeare explores in Othello and Romeo and Juliet is of a peculiar but a common type. Othello killed himself at the end not because he wanted to be with Desdemona, but rather because of keeping his honor. Furthermore, he feared facing the despiteful changes in the moods of Venice Senators against him. We observe a similar trend in Romeo and Juliet when Romeo killed himself possibly fearing to be arrested for killing Paris. Although typically love does not cause tragedies, as in these plays, regret and sorrow can be the ending of any relationship that is not based on logic, and parental blessings. Love is the dangerous cause of all the tragedies in both of the plays. The effect of love is very profound in Othello in the sense that Desdemona escaped her father’s house to marry a back Moor called Othello in the beginning of the play. Shakespeare’s image of Desdemona is not as clear as Othello’s throughout the play. All we know about Desdemona (whose name speaks of her evil destiny) is that she falls in love with a Venetian general of African descent. Othello says in I.3: “she loved me for the dangers I
Open Document