Shakespeare's Othello is a complex tragedy full of conflicting desires, intricate schemes, and underlying symbolism. It contains several motifs, including racism, warfare, jealousy, and spouse abuse, and many of the players represent virtues or attributes found in everyday life.
Jealousy, the first theme in the play, flows throughout, creating the most memorable line in Othello, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!/ It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on”(Act 3, Scene 3). Resentment is first sought in Roderigo when he sees that Desdemona has married Othello. Much of the action in the play centers around envy as Iago uses it to manipulate Roderigo and then, by planting seeds of suspicion and despite in Othello's
Jealousy, the first theme in the play, flows throughout, creating the most memorable line in Othello, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!/ It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on”(Act 3, Scene 3). Resentment is first sought in Roderigo when he sees that Desdemona has married Othello. Much of the action in the play centers around envy as Iago uses it to manipulate Roderigo and then, by planting seeds of suspicion and despite in Othello's