Othello is a Shakespearean tragedy laced with themes such as prejudice, love, jealousy, manipulation, and deception. Othello is the protagonist of the play. He is portrayed as a strong man with love as his weakness and jealousy, his ultimate downfall. Therefore, Othello’s coat of arms is composed of three symbols depicting three themes in the play: love, jealousy and Deception. Red rose for love, green ivy for jealousy (the green eyes monster), and a dagger to symbolize deception.
Love is one of the main themes in Shakespeare’s play Othello. We see it plentiful between the protagonist, Othello, and his wife, Desdemona. Even though their marriage is frowned upon in act 1 scene 2 with Othello being accused of using black magic to marry Desdemona,…show more content… Othello himself is not a deceiving character but one who is deceived and manipulated extensively to the point of his tragic death, by his Captain, Iago. Iago spins a web of lies to manipulate and deceive Othello starting by making Othello think that Iago is his loving and loyal friend. In act 3, scene 3, lines 224 and 225, Iago says to Othello “I am glad of this, for now I shall have reason to show the love and duty that I bear you…” Iago tells him this right before he deceives Othello into believing that his wife Desdemona is sleeping with his cherished friend Michael Cassio. Iago manipulates Michael Cassio into approaching Desdemona for help in terms of getting Othello to reinstate Michael Cassio as his Lieutenant. In the meantime he tells Othello to closely watch his wife with his best friend, while sowing the seeds of jealousy and putting the idea, that his wife may not be as faithful as he thinks, in Othello’s mind. In act 3, scene 3, lines 228 and 229, Iago says to Othello, “Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio; wear your eyes thus, not jealous nor secure.” By doing this Iago sets the stage for Othello’s downfall. This point in the play marks the beginning of the end. Othello’s jealousy is fuelled by Iago’s deceptions leading Othello to kill his own wife Desdemona only to find out that he…show more content… These are the themes symbolized in the coat of arms for the protagonist in Othello. Love is symbolized using a red rose since red is the color associated with love and romance, and rose is the flower that denotes love. Therefore the red rose is the representation of love and devotion that Othello and Desdemona hold for each other. Jealousy is represent by green ivy. Green is the color often associated with jealousy and ivy is a plant that represents the same emotion. Since jealousy spreads chaotically just as green ivy, it makes green ivy an appropriate metaphor for jealousy. In the play Othello loves Desdemona so much that Iago manages to manipulate Othello’s feelings and make him jealous and once the seeds of jealousy are sown, Othello’s downfall begins. As Othello’s jealousy spreads, taking over his emotions, he becomes more and more out of control until he can’t think rationally anymore and decides to murder the love of his life, Desdemona, his wife. All of this is made possible by Iago’s deceptive wed of lies spun to ensure Othello’s jealous outburst, which is represented by the dagger adjoining the red rose and green ivy in the middle. Iago was supposed to be Othello’s loyal friend but he deceives him continuously through out the play leading to Othello’s tragic death making the dagger fitting of symbolizing
