Betrayal In Othello

Has there ever been a time you betrayed someone so close to you for a selfish reason? For many this eventually occurs and especially in relationships when people cheat or break up with each other. In Shakespeare`s Othello and Aphra Behn`s Oroonoko we see a central theme of betrayal in both of their plays. Shakespeare and Behn`s make their characters mischievous, and the language they use represents each character well. Shakespeare chooses to make his antagonist cause the downfall of the antagonist and Behn`s makes the protagonist have a complete betrayal against his love, however each author`s series of events lead to some downfall and theme of betrayal. In Othello Shakespeare creates Iago, who is one of the characters that does bad things in order to achieve his goal of causing Othello to go mad. Iago is different from the rest of the characters since one he is the antagonist who is called honest Iago by Othello; which is ironic since he is far from that. Shakespeare lays Iago`s reason, “One Michael Cassio, a florentine, A fellow almost damned in a fair wife, That never set a squadron in the field, Nor the division of a battle knows More than a spinster-unless the bookish theoric, Wherein the {toged} consuls can propose As masterly as he. Mere prattle without practice Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had th’ election; And I, of …show more content…
These lines foreshadow and drive the whole play, and Iago stays up Othello`s ass in order for his plan to work. Iago begins manipulating Othello by going to Barbantio to tell him that his daughter Desdemona has been sleeping with Othello. “Call up her father. Rouse him. Make after him, poison his delight, Proclaim him in the streets.” (Shakespeare Act 1, scene 1, lines 74-80)h Shakespeare starts to use the language of poison and plague, making Iago suggest that Othello poisoned Desdemona, which is why she loves