Othello

Othello KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS SETTING Othello is not confined to a single place. Act I of the play takes place in Venice. Act II moves on to Cyprus, where the rest of the action takes place. There is also a violation of the unity of atmosphere because Venice symbolizes civilized behavior, law and order, while Cyprus symbolizes the reverse. CONFLICT Protagonist Othello is the protagonist of the play. His fatal flaw is his jealousy, which is ignited by Iago, the villain of the play. This noble man meets with tragedy by falling prey to Iago’s temptations and believing that his wife is unfaithful to him. Antagonist Iago, Othello’s ensign, is the antagonist of the play. He exploits Othello’s weakness, bringing out his fatal flaw of jealousy and making him believe that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. During the course of the play, Iago kills Roderigo and Emilia, his wife; and he stabs Cassio, wounding his leg. His evil scheming leads to the deaths of Desdemona and Othello. Climax The climax of the play occurs when Othello, whose mind has been totally poisoned by Iago, openly accuses his wife of infidelity and refuses to listen to her pleas of innocence. othello, iago, desdemona, play, cassio, love, jealousy, iago’s, wife, othello’s, theme, roderigo, because, evil, about, himself, tragedy, through, own, emilia, easily, tragic, romantic, characters, reality, one, life, husband, been, time, plot, others, mind, kills, general