Othello's Doubt example essay topic

"Othello", by William Shakespeare, is a story of jealousy's potential to manipulate thoughts and eventually lead to ultimate demise. The key to extremely detrimental jealousy lies within one's ability to recognize it or deny it. It seems that the important theme of "Othello" is that if jealousy is not recognized and immediately dealt with, it receives a head start to commence the process of rotting away all normal human reason. Othello's speech in Act scene beginning with line 178 is the first and most important indicator of the trouble ominously looming on Othello's horizon. His immediate response to Iago's accusations is that of total denial.

By depriving himself of that initial venting process, Othello gives his jealousy the perfect culture on which his jealousy can turn cancerous and grow out of control. Othello does not spit out the seed that Iago has planted within himself soon enough and thus lets Iago water it with smooth speech until its roots spread and cannot be uprooted. The only way to appropriately illustrate this point is through an in depth analysis of specific text from the play. Othello's speech that begins on line 178 of act Scene is absolutely central to the meaning of the scene as well as to the meaning of the entire play.

Beginning with out right denial, Othello's speech ends up working its way through all possible outcomes until he is left with only confusion and doubt regarding Desdimona's fidelity. He goes from saying "Not from my weak merits will I draw the smallest fear or doubt of her revolt" to saying "Away at once with love or jealousy". He goes from one end to the other and back again. One must ask them self how Othello could possibly go between such extreme views. He does this as an overview of the entire act.

Doubting himself in the beginning, Desdimona in the middle, and both in the end. Through this speech, he also allows us to see the magnitude of the mental stress that Othello is undergoing, which is essential in qualifying Othello as a tragic tale and not just that of an imbecile. Without understanding the inner mechanics of Othello's mind, one could never hope to fully understand the level of stress that he underwent. Following is the essential connection between this speech, the act, and the whole of the play: Othello finds something out, doubts Desdimona, doubts the information, and then finally coming to rest at a place that is just slightly more confused than the position in which he began. As a rule, Iago tells Othello some juicy little tidbit.

Othello then becomes unimaginably stressed and vents his rage. Luckily, Iago is always present to comfort him with the intent to not get beaten up while further increasing Othello's doubt. Once he has calmed Othello down externally, he drops another bomb on him further pushing him to the edge of reason. It is a vicious cycle that produces intensifying degrees of fear, doubt, and confusion with each loop. Even the times during which Iago has Othello calmed at the surface, the scale of doubt is always being slightly tipped in favor of Iago's accusations.

This is done by such a gradual and subversive method, that Othello cannot even understand that his doubt has increased until it is far to late. In the end, Iago's constant brainwashing campaign comes to a point at the death of Desdemona. In his main speech, Othello posses the main question, to choose love or jealousy. He chooses jealousy only because Iago keeps him from feeling love, which is the only thing capable of pushing out the doubt. Othello was driven to his actions through the actions of others.

He was kept in a dual cycle of doubt. He was always kept angry, on the verge of snapping, slowly driving him to insanity.