Shakespeare presents these through the complexity of the characters and the language and plot antitheses. Black and white is a binary opposition that Shakespeare develops throughout the play. The most obvious evidence of this is in the characters. Othello is characterized as a black man and it is this aspect of his persona that evokes the sense that Othello is an outsider. Desdemona is a privileged, white lady and it is this colouring that symbolises her innocence and angelic nature.
In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, many characters display prejudice towards one another - society to Othello, Othello to Cassio, Othello to Desdemona and Iago to everything and everyone. These feelings of prejudice cause conflict between the characters, making the air sticky with tension throughout. It is this prejudice that pushes Othello over the edge and drives him to commit the tragic act of Desdemona's murder. Racial prejudice is the most fundamental form of prejudice shown throughout Othello. Othello is often subject to slanderous comments and racial jeers.
Research Paper 2nd draft Eng 1020 “There are a million theories to Iago's motivations, but I believed that Iago was once a good soldier, a great man's man to have around, a bit of a laugh, who feels betrayed, gets jealous of his friend, wants to mess it up for him, enjoys causing him pain, makes a choice to channel all his creative energy into the destruction of this human being, and becomes completely addicted to the power he wields over him. I didn't want to play him as initially malevolent. He's not the Devil. He's you or me feeling jealous and not being able to control our feelings.” This quote is from Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic, by Andy Serkis. He played Iago in 2002 at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England.
‘CONFLICT IS AT THE HEART OF MACBETH’ Choose two examples of conflict within the play, Macbeth, and explore how each is used to develop Shakespeare’s purpose. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, conflict is definitely at the heart of the main character Macbeth. This is portrayed though the conflicting dynamics of the play, such as ambition, gender, corruption and deception, appearance vs. reality and duality. Shakespeare has implemented a broad array of language conventions, characterisation and structures in order to enhance these ideas. Firstly, ambition is a major internal conflicted … within Macbeth.
Macbeth’s’ tragic character flaw is his ambition. His greed for power leaves him in an unsatisfactory situation. Macbeth wanting to be king, wanting everyone to worship him and staying as king forever is all because of his ambitious character and is what leads him to his downfall and thus death. Due to Macbeth’s ambition to want more than he already has, he finds himself wanting to fulfill the witches’ last prophecy without fully understanding what their motives are. Macbeth says to himself, “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/ Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/ And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,/ Against the use of nature?” (1.3.135-138).
Chantelle Driver English 12-1B Ms.Turner 15 December 2011 A Tragic Hero Named Macbeth Sometimes a tragic hero is created, not through his own villainy, but rather through the flaws in him. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth is our main example of our common tragic hero who possesses a tragic flaw, but what is a tragic flaw? A tragic flaw is a flaw in a character that brings about the downfall of the hero of a tragedy. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to show the terrible effects that ambition and guilt can have on a man who lacks strength of character. Ambition, moral weakness and selective perception, would be the major flaws of our character, Macbeth.
William Shakespeare often writes about tragedy in a unique way. A great example of this is his play Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, many characters are to blame for the deaths because of their character flaws and harsh decisions. Some of the characters to blame are Tybalt, Friar Lawrence, Romeo, Juliet, and Mercutio. In the play there is this ongoing war between the Motagues and the Capulets.
Spook came about in the United States around the early 1940s. Racism between the whites and blacks was quite prevalent around the time this term appeared and was used in reference to African Americans. This particular slur is very self-explanatory. It refers to blacks being so dark that in the night time you could not see them. Since the skin color of African Americans could be really dark for some this gave a ghostly affect.
Denise Joy U. Cheng ENG 125 081N Professor Paul Fauteux April 11, 2013 Othello Experienced Racism People discriminate other people because of fear, jealousy, and ignorance. Othello is a true hero, a great general, a great man with integrity, and a noble guy. He is a black man and named as ‘The Moor’. Moor represents a dark-skinned people like an African, Ethiopian, ‘Negro’, and Indian. They are described as vague, uncultured, unskillful, coarse, and people who have a cruel background.
Question: “Macbeth” has all the ingredients of a compelling drama. Write a response to this statement commenting on one or more of the ingredients, which, in your opinion make Macbeth compelling. The play Macbeth is indeed a compelling one, featuring many of the key ingredients which so often make Shakespeare’s plays the greats that they are known as today. It features many different themes, the theme of evil, the supernatural, of war and the ever corrupting nature of power. These components are further brought together by the overhanging sense of mystery in the play.