About Othello Book
Othello was published in 1623 but written in 1603-1604 by Shakespeare. Like other Shakespeare writings, it’s a play comprised of five acts. Shakespeare revised it when it got published and made a few additions.
The play revolves around the story of a Venetian military commander defending Cyprus from the Ottoman invasion. Othello is a military commander married to wealthy, much younger Venetian lady Desdemona; she loves Othello despite his age and color.
But Othello was deceived by his junior lieutenant Iago who maliciously stoked his master’s jealousy, which makes Othello kill his wife, Desdemona. She was innocent and didn’t know any plot conspired against her; later, Othello came to know about the truth and killed himself to remember a man who loved too well. Othello’s essay highlights the dark sides of human nature.
Book Summary:
The play’s first act starts with Othello, a brave black ethnic general of the Venetian army, appointing Cassio as his chief lieutenant rather than choosing Iago. Iago plots against his chief out of jealousy of his success, not appointing him his chief lieutenant and envying Cassio. Iago planted a story of a love affair between Desdemona wife of Othello, and Cassio, with the help of his wife Emilia and Roderigo, who share the same thoughts.
Iago uses a handkerchief belonging to Desdemona that his wife Emilia picked when unintentionally dropped by Othello. Iago tries to persuade his chief and make him believe that Desdemona gave the handkerchief to Cassio as a love token.
To ensure his plan’s success, Iago induces Othello to listen to the conversion between Iago and Cassio, which is really about Cassio Bianca’s mistress. This eavesdropping strengthens Othello’s doubts and makes him believe Cassio and Desdemona’s infatuation.
The planted proofs sowed in the heart of Othello against his wife by Iago start to take over his mind. He starts to believe in the false information that his wife loses her interest in him, and filled with jealousy and anger, he kills his wife, these turning points of a story can be Othello’s essay topics. Later, when he learns from Iago’s wife Emilia that Desdemona is innocent and blameless, he kills himself too and asks to be remembered as love not wisely but too well.
Othello Quotes:
Jealousy in Othello essay is clearly described by the quotes or referring to the conversions between Othello and Iago; below are some of the famous quotes from this book:
- “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.”
- “The robb’d that smiles steals something from the thief; He robs himself that spends a bootless grief.”
- “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
- “This is ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens to the which our wills are gardeners.”
- “Excellent, wretch! Perdition catches my soul, But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, Chaos comes again.
- “O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!” – Cassio
Essay Structure on Othello:
Writing an Othello analysis essay becomes easy once you follow the structure requirements of the essay and implement them in your essay. The first step to writing a good Othello essay is to outline; it helps you draft a good piece of writing.
The outline includes all the information in a sequence or priority order; it contains all the information needed in the essay. Remember to stay close to the topic, add relevant information, and use external resources with proper referencing to strengthen and support your argument.
Introduction:
The introduction reflects the overview and a glimpse of the writer’s thinking and how he managed to make the essay close to readers and get their attention. A good starting includes different phrases, an essay brief, and the essay’s main theme. It sets up the base of different Othello essay questions later described in the essay. It is further breakdown into:
- The start of the introduction must be compelling and attract the reader’s attention; it engages them through hook statements and keeps it impactful to develop the reader’s interest in the essay.
- The next part of the introduction includes a brief explanation of the topic; you can write your thoughts about its significance.
- Generally, the essay introduction ends with a thesis statement, but before that, properly draft the statement by stating your essay’s facts and main theme so that the readers can understand what you are going to write.
Body:
The body of the Othello themes essay contains all the details, information, and explanation of your essay theme. Note that all the information must be curated carefully and include outside information, don’t back your facts without doing proper research, and keep the information in paragraphs connected.
Conclusion:
You can describe the essay’s main theme when initiating the Conclusion for Othello essay. There is no need to include new information, only a back thesis statement with your findings, whether it goes with it or differs from it. Provide the audience with food for their thought process.
Six tips to consider while writing an Essay about Othello:
Essays on plays like Othello require a lot of effort, reading the book, covering, and understanding all the aspects. Start your essay writing process by making an essay outline. Write all the information or things you know about the topic and then rearrange them according to their order. For essay tips, read below:
Read the book thoroughly:
It is considered the first and most fundamental step of your writing process; reading the book covering it all unfolds its different aspects, broadens your thought process, and helps you in including minor details when needed. If you read it extensively, it reflects your writing, makes a good impression on the reader, and enhances their interest.
Find a Compelling Topic:
Reading the book makes it easier for you to find a compelling topic for your essay. When finding the topic, think like a reader or audience about what appeals to them. There are many ways to create a topic that interests the audience.
- When writing an essay from start to end, it describes and suggests what topic will suit it best; you can also try that method, start writing and finishes it; upon proofreading, it will reveal the topic.
- Your essay’s main theme, argument, or thesis statement can also comprise a good topic.
- The topic can be comprised of phrases or short words, it all depends on what describes your essay best, and there is no restriction on the word length of an essay topic.
Create the Outline:
Outlining your Work splits your task into smaller and more manageable ones. You can start with putting all the information and then pick the more relevant and crucial ones. Although it requires brainstorming at the start, it saves your time later, helps prioritize the information, and arranges it according to its relevance. Once create an outline, it will be easy for you to write a good piece of writing.
Creating the outline saves time and focuses your attention on writing a well-structured essay, omitting irrelevant details, and placing facts and figures in the right places.
Write the Thesis Statement:
The thesis statement of Othello may differ according to one perception and thought process, but it serves the same purpose of mentioning the main theme or argument of your essay. Briefly describes the main theme of your essay topic.
Othello unwraps different folds of human nature and traits, shows how destructive they can be, and one’s ability to manipulate things can ruin people’s lives. The play has a lot to offer in explaining and highlighting the emotional side of humans.
Include a Lesson or Moral:
Othello explains and highlights strong emotional feelings and human intentions. Humans do things to ruin or hurt others for their gains and mental satisfaction; they forget that their actions have consequences and have to suffer one way or other.
Othello, a general in Venetian Army, was a professionally sound individual who made his way up to the rank of military commander through courage, bravery, strategy, and Hard Work. But his subordinate Iago neglected all this when he was not appointed as lieutenant chief. Filled with jealousy and anger, he conspires and accuses Othello’s wife of having an affair.
Iago made different scenario’s to make Othello believes in the accusations. He killed his wife, but later, when he came to know about her innocence, he killed himself too, and the Iiago, who did this out of jealousy and to take revenge, suffers in the end but remains mysterious.
Conclusion: Proofread your Work:
Reassessing your essay by proofreading helps you remove any errors or grammatical mistakes; these small yet impactful things change the overall credibility of your essay. In the end, it all makes your essay perfect and worth reading.
The conclusion of Othello includes the arguments or thesis statement and the writer’s point of view about human nature and its effect on others. It shows how greed, jealousy, and revenge overcomes all other emotions and produces long-term adverse effects.
FAQs:
How to Play Othello?
Othello is played on eight by eight checkered box with 64 double-sided black and white discs, it’s easy to learn, and it involves different strategies to win it; once you start playing, things start getting clear to you.
Why Does Iago Hate Othello?
One reason behind Iago’s hate for Othello is selecting Cassio as his chief lieutenant rather than Iago. Another possible reason is Iago’s suspicion about an affair between his wife, Emilia, and Othello.
Who Is Bianca In Othello?
Bianca’s a lover of Cassio and out of her jealousy, she plays a role in Iago’s scheme of making Othello believe about his wife Desdemona’s affair with Cassio.
How Does Othello Kill Desdemona?
Desdemona, a loving human being, was killed by Othello using a pillow and suffocating her to death, although she was innocent, and Othello finds it later about her innocence.
