Iago, the perpetrator in the play, misuses his position and power to satisfy his own needs, leading to the imbalance of society and his own demise. The audience begins to uncover his motives, through Shakespeare’s use of language, and writing techniques, which questions the ethical basis of authoritative figures, which leads their depravity. Through Shakespeare’s play, he explores the traditional belief that the exploitation of power for personal gain leads to the destruction of the community and the individual. This concept has been seen throughout history and continues to keep Shakespeare relevant to modern audiences. “Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true.” (Hoffer, E, 2009) Power as its own entity is unsoiled but when a man is given the chance to hold great power, his innermost desires impinge on his decisions and judgments, causing him to become engrossed with his own supremacy.
Because Iago’s career path is blocked by a mere lack of paper qualification he first begins to start developing feelings of revenge on Cassio who stole his job. It is also quickly established that Iago is the master of masks. He appears to be “honest Iago” to his fellow citizens but at the end of his soliloquy in Act 1, he himself confesses, “I am not what I am” (1.1.66). Iago appears to be nice, friendly and the perfect citizen but in reality he is the master who likes to pull all the strings and he quickly establishes a net of intrigues and lies around him and his environment in order to satisfy the craving of power. Tied in with the jealousy he feels towards Cassio is the racial hatred towards Othello.
Othello doesn’t complete this fall alone however, he is faced with external pressure from the Machiavellian villain Iago who manipulates him allowing this fall to occur. Despite this transformation it is still possible to suggest that Othello actually remains noble throughout the entirety of the play. This has been a controversial topic on which critics seem to be divided, half suggest Othello was merely a victim to Iago and in his mind was doing the noble thing, the other half stating that his actions were entirely his own fault and thus he is not noble. Critical to this debate is what the definition of nobility actually is; nobility is described by B. Lewis as being the presence of “superior moral qualities and an exalted mind, character, or spirit that scorns the petty, base, or dishonourable”; this is therefore must be the basis by which Othello’s nobility is determined. However this nobility that is constantly present in Othello takes on various forms at distinct stages throughout the play.
Who do you consider is most responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet? Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet all ends in a terrible tragedy, however there has to be someone to blame for this, but who? I strongly believe that Friar Lawrence is responsible for the tragedy. The main reasons why I think he is to blame is because he married Romeo and Juliet without anyone’s permission; he also helped them to have a secret night together; gave Juliet a dangerous potion; faked her funeral breaking the hearts of her family and he continued abusing the use of confession throughout the play. The most disgraceful thing is that he is a man of god and he committed all of these horrendous sins!
Probably the most interesting thing about this interchange is Teiresias's attitude towards the art of prophecy. Oedipus has good reason to be angry at him. King Oedipus has in front of him a man with the knowledge needed to save Thebes, but Teiresias won't reveal the necessary information. Instead he tells Oedipus that there's no point in revealing the truth, because everything that's going to happen is just going to happen anyway. Really?
Caesar honestly thinks that he is too good to be attacked. Caesar thinks that people who threaten him won’t actually do anything because they are afraid of him. The last example where Caesar shows his hubris is when he refuses to accept Artemidorus’ letter. Artemidorus was trying to help Caesar by warning him about the Conspiracy, but Caesar once again believes that he has to act noble and prestigious. Caesar tells Artemidorus, “What touches us ourself shall be last served” (JC.
He has no sense for the repercusions of his actions, he couldn't even tell that he would die if he did that. Lennie can't be blamed for his ideas cause he doesn't realize the problems that will follow. Another
It is the type of irony you notice almost as soon as you read it. The first example of verbal irony in Oedipus Rex Act _ Scene _ is when Oedipus demands that the evil man who murdered King Laius be cruelly punished without realizing that the man who murdered him is none other than himself. This is verbal irony because Oedipus does not realize that he has actually condemned himself. Another example of verbal irony is when Oedipus accuses Creon of framing him for the murder of Laius so that Creon would become king. Creon states that he is not interested in being king as he is contented with his present position of wealth and power.
In addition, Oedipus’ role as the antagonist is concretized by his having caused the conflict: he is guilty of the murder of Laïos and is therefore the bringer of the curse. Oedipus is earnest in his search for the man who caused the curse. He pursues knowledge from many sources including the oracle at Delphi, the seer Teiresias, a man who was with Laios when he died, and a messenger from Corinth. He also insists on the assistance of the people of Thebes, placing a curse on any man that withholds information concerning the murder of Laios. When Oedipus speaks with Teiresias, as when he speaks with the shepherd, he is forceful in gaining his knowledge.
Romeo decides that whatever happens is up to fate and it’s completely out of his control. Also, after killing Tybalt, he calls himself “Fortune’s fool” and realizes he will be punished severely (3.1.142). Romeo is basically says he is a subject to the whims of fate. He thinks fate is playing around with him and not taking responsibility for what he himself did. However when he hears of Juliet’s “death” Romeo tries to “defy the stars” and kills himself (5.1.25).