Essay about Revenge: Othello and Characters

Submitted By Ahed-Alsoufi
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Ahed Alsoufi
Ms. Buckley
12a
Revenge
The theme of revenge is shown in both Othello and Hamlet through dialogue, plans for revenge, and flaws of characters. Revenge plays a major role in many of Shakespeare’s plays. It can cloud someone’s judgment and ability to thin straight which can be a very dangerous thing. Shakespeare shows how revenge can change someone’s actions very quickly and lead them to do things based and there intense feelings of vengeance. Othello, Hamlet, and many other characters from these two plays had there lives change in an instant simply from wanting revenge. One of the similarities between Hamlet and Othello is their plans for revenge. “Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge,” (Hamlet, I.V.29-31). Although Hamlet has no idea yet that Claudius was the one to have killed his father. He seems eager for revenge and will later on kill Claudius in a very tragic ending. Hamlet’s act for revenge is similar to that of Othello’s. Othello wanted to kill his beloved wife, Desdemona, because of the stories that Iago tricked him into believing about her being unfaithful. “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men. Put out the light, and then put out the light,” (Othello, V.ii.10). Once Othello turns off the light of the candle, he can relight it if he pleases but once he kills Desdemona, she will no longer be able to breathe life again. Both of these points are crucial to the thesis because it just comes to show you how revenge plays a role in both of these plays. Othello and Hamlet went out of their ways to plan a murder for the main purpose of seeking revenge which they believe is justice in their own eyes. Another theme of revenge that is shown in both plays is dialogue. The dialogue in both plays shows the lies and deceptions that are being traded between characters. The twist to this is that the dialogue shows that the characters can lie and deceive other characters when plotting things. “This above all: to thine ownself be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man,” (Polonius, I.iii.3). Although Polonius seems like a good man, he’s actually a spy for Claudius. He spies on his children and Hamlet then reports back to Claudius in order to curry favor. “Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated,” (Iago, IV.i.38). Here Iago is telling Othello how to kill Desdemona, but what Othello doesn’t know is that this is all part of Iago’s plan to ruin him. Both Iago and Polonius have a close relationship with their targets and use there lies and deceptions to portray them self as non threat when really they are the threat. As well as dialogue, there was also the characters experience in flaw. In both plays, the characters let their emotions get the best of them. In Othello, Iago explains to Roderigo that he’ll never allow his outward actions to show what’s really going on inside of him because that would leave him vulnerable. “But
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