A* Essay Plan: Jealousy in Othello

‭Explore‬‭how‬‭Shakespeare‬‭presents‬‭the‬‭theme‬‭of‬‭jealousy‬‭in‬‭‘Othello’‬

‭ HESIS:‬‭Jealousy‬‭=‬‭universal‬‭tragic‬‭flaw;‬‭leads‬‭to‬‭everyone's‬‭undoing‬‭-‬‭but‬‭does‬‭not‬‭develop‬‭in‬
T
‭isolation;‬‭it‬‭is‬‭the‬‭symptom‬‭of‬‭society‬‭and‬‭institutions‬‭around‬‭us‬

‭PARA‬‭1:‬‭Beginning‬‭with‬‭animalistic‬‭imagery‬‭-‬‭we‬‭understand‬‭the‬‭power‬
‭●‬ ‭Iago:‬‭Beware‬‭of‬‭jealousy‬‭-‬‭“it‬‭is‬‭the‬‭green-eyed‬‭monster‬‭which‬‭doth‬‭mock‬‭the‬‭meat‬‭it‬
‭feeds‬‭on”‬
‭○‬ ‭Anthropomorphised‬‭-‬‭all‬‭consuming,‬‭malevolent‬‭force‬
‭○‬ ‭use‬‭of‬‭the‬‭colour‬‭green‬‭stems‬‭from‬‭a‬‭Renaissance‬‭belief‬‭that‬‭green‬‭was‬‭a‬
‭“bilious‬‭hue,”‬‭linked‬‭to‬‭an‬‭imbalance‬‭of‬‭the‬‭humours‬‭that‬‭caused‬‭fear‬‭and‬
‭jealousy.‬
‭●‬ ‭Emilia:‬ ‭“‭I‬ t‬‭is‬‭a‬‭monster‬‭–‬‭Begot‬‭upon‬‭itself,‬‭born‬‭on‬‭itself‬‭.”‬
‭○‬ ‭jealousy‬‭as‬‭a‬‭monster‬‭that‬‭gives‬‭birth‬‭to‬‭itself.‬‭Emilia’s‬‭image‬‭recalls‬‭Iago’s‬
‭“green-eyed‬‭monster.”‬‭It‬‭also‬‭recalls‬‭the‬‭ancient‬‭symbol‬‭of‬‭the‬‭ouroboros,‬‭which‬
‭depicts‬‭a‬‭snake‬‭swallowing‬‭its‬‭own‬‭tail‬‭and‬‭therefore‬‭stuck‬‭in‬‭a‬‭self-perpetuating‬
‭loop.‬‭→‬‭jealousy‬‭is‬‭an‬‭all-consuming‬‭force‬



‭PARA‬‭2:‬‭But,‬‭jealousy‬‭it‬‭is‬‭rooted‬‭in‬‭wider‬‭social‬‭forces‬‭-‬‭firstly‬‭RACE‬

‭○‬ P ‭ laying‬‭into‬‭stereotypes‬‭of‬‭beast-like,‬‭uncivilised‬‭moor‬‭-‬‭when‬‭he‬‭is‬‭overcome‬‭by‬
‭jealousy,‬‭he‬‭becomes‬‭beast-like‬‭and‬‭violent‬‭-‬‭stereotype‬‭that‬‭African‬‭men‬‭are‬
‭inherently‬‭+‬‭extremely‬‭jealous‬
‭■‬ ‭AO3‬‭-‬‭Renaissance‬‭-‬‭geohumoralism‬‭-‬‭racialist,‬‭pseudo-scientific‬‭concept‬
‭that‬‭linked‬‭psychology‬‭to‬‭the‬‭climate;‬‭Africans‬‭were‬‭not‬‭naturally‬‭jealous,‬
‭but‬‭if‬‭provoked‬‭they‬‭would‬‭respond‬‭violently‬
‭●‬ ‭Most‬‭characters‬‭see‬‭his‬‭jealousy‬‭as‬‭linked‬‭to‬‭racial‬‭origin:‬
‭○‬ ‭“‭W ‬ ho‬‭he?‬‭I‬‭think‬‭the‬‭sun‬‭where‬‭he‬‭was‬‭born‬‭/‬‭Drew‬‭all‬
‭such‬‭humor’s‬‭from‬‭him‬‭”‬‭(Act‬‭3,‬‭Scene‬‭4)‬‭-‬‭Desdemona‬‭to‬
‭Emilia‬‭about‬‭Othello’s‬‭jealousy‬‭-‬‭not‬‭someone‬‭who‬‭is‬
‭jealous‬
‭○‬ ‭Othello‬‭recognises‬‭this;‬‭“‬‭one‬‭not‬‭easily‬‭jealous‬‭but‬‭being‬
‭wrought,‬‭/‬‭Perplexed‬‭in‬‭the‬‭extreme”‬
‭○‬ ‭But‬‭the‬‭point‬‭of‬‭peripeteia‬‭in‬‭the‬‭play‬‭is‬‭when‬‭Othello‬
‭himself‬‭internalises‬‭this:‬‭“‭h ‬ aply‬‭for‬‭I‬‭am‬‭black,‬‭And‬‭have‬
‭not‬‭those‬‭soft‬‭parts‬‭of‬‭conversation‬‭”‬‭→blackness‬
‭presupposes‬‭him‬‭to‬‭rage‬
‭○‬ ‭Jealousy‬‭blinds‬‭him‬‭-‬‭demands‬‭“‭o ‬ cular‬‭proof‬‭”‬‭but‬‭the‬‭fanciful,‬‭circumstantial‬
‭handkerchief‬‭evidence‬‭is‬‭accepted‬‭-‬‭“‬‭see‬‭Cassio‬‭wipe‬‭his‬‭beard‬‭with‬‭it”‬‭-‬
‭somewhat‬‭humorous‬‭in‬‭its‬‭innocuity‬‭(Honigmann:‬‭Iago‬‭=‬‭“play’s‬‭chief‬‭humorist”)‬