Morality In Othello And Macbeth

In the Shakespearean plays Othello and Macbeth, many of the characters face moral issues in their attempts to achieve their aspirations. Some handle the issues with poise and understand their limitations, while most seek their desires with cold ambition. However, through these examples, there is a recurring theme suggesting that if one pursues their desires without regard to the morality of their actions, they will destroy themselves and those around them in their pursuit for love, retribution, and power. Firstly, when one pursues love without recourse to morality, they will destroy themselves. Roderigo from Othello embodies this theme, as he is madly in love with Desdemona, driving him to commit terrible acts. He allows himself to be deceived …show more content…
So, when Desdemona leaves her handkerchief behind, Emilia recalls how “[Her] wayward husband hath a hundred times/ Wooed [her] to steal it,” and picks it up without hesitation despite the unethical nature of theft (Othello 3. 3. 301-302). However, upon presenting the handkerchief to Iago, Emilia catalyzes a torrent of events that lead to the deaths of her mistress and eventually herself. In the play Macbeth, this same idea is displayed in the characters Macbeth and Macduff. To begin, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, have had a constant and loving relationship, revealed through their interactions at the beginning of the play. Macbeth obviously values her opinion and follows her advice on matters religiously. However, when his wife weaves a plot to kill the king that is so evil that she begs for spirits to “fill [her] from the crown to the toe topfull/ Of direst cruelty,” Macbeth does not disagree for fear that it would cause strife in their relationship (Macbeth 1. 5. 40-41). As a result of the actions of the couple, King Duncan is murdered and Macbeth ascends to an unstable throne. However, their tenuous position leads to their downfall, as during a battle for the throne, Macbeth is murdered and …show more content…
This is exemplified through the character Iago, who constantly chases power in his plots to destroy Othello. Iago wishes not only to wreak havoc and revenge, but also to inherit power through Othello’s destruction. However, due to his insincerity and cruelty, Iago is discovered and supposedly punished after his pawns become self-aware. His involvement in this plot strips him of his reputation as “Honest Iago,” and his position in society is destroyed (Othello 2. 3. 175). A second example from Othello is exhibited in the character Brabantio. Due to the social hierarchy of the time, Brabantio was able to expect full control over his daughter Desdemona, and seeks to enforce this right by rigidly controlling her relationships. However when Desdemona marries Othello, a high-ranking general for the military and friend to Brabantio, Brabantio seeks to destroy their marriage despite the lack of rational incentive for doing so. His negativity is based solely on Othello’s race claiming that Desdemona could never “fall in love with what she feared to look on” and lacks any real concern for his daughter, thus exhibiting immorality (Othello 1. 3. 99). As is the case with any parent, by destroying his relationship with Desdemona, Brabantio also destroyed a crucial part of himself. Therefore, because of his unjust reasoning, Brabantio exemplifies destroying oneself through the pursuit of power