Negative Emotions In Othello

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The one thing many people spend countless hours of their lives looking for is love. They search for it in every person they know, even if only for friendship. However, sadly, many people learn that finding love is one of the greatest heartaches. For with love may come the demons of jealousy, possessiveness, and anger, and not just your own. Few writers throughout the years have dared delve into what happens when these demons take control of people, and none have done so well as William Shakespeare in his drama Othello. In Othello the psychological aspect of two of the key characters, Othello the Moore and Iago, the characters themselves, and the plot all meld beautifully to create a truly stunning and timeless drama.
Why do people do what they do? What drives people to commit to actions that they might not normally do? Questions such as these, when answered, can give great insight into a person or character in a well-written work of literature. In Shakespeare’s Othello the reason for many of the character’s actions is severe emotions such as love, envy, revenge, and anger. The two prime examples of characters who exhibit this range of emotions is Iago and Othello. Iago is the prime example for what strong negative emotions will make someone do. Iago finds himself passed over for promotion by Othello, who instead promotes
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If it were not for Desdemona, Roderigo would have no reason to give Iago money or attempt to court Desdemona at Iago’s request. In the same manner, if it were not for Cassio, then Iago would not have been passed up for promotion and would not have had the deep-seated hatred for Cassio and Othello that he does. Yet while they are key characters, they’re relatively flat characters only there to serve their purpose to move the plot along by being acted upon by Iago and
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