Othello

In the tragedy Othello, by William Shakespeare, Othello was misled by his envious betrayer Iago to believe his wife was dishonest and was cheating on him. Othello's reactions to this setup throughout the story are controversial. Samuel Taylor Coleridge and T. S. Eliot are two writers that have read the play and given their opinion on the way Othello reacted to the thoughts of Desdemona cheating on him. Coleridge believed that in Othello's situation, any man would act as he did. He feels that if what happened to Othello happened to anyone else, they would handle the situation similar to the way Othello did through out the story. However, Eliot feels that Othello could of handled the situation differently than he did in this story. He believes that Othello was a fine example of human weakness. These two views show how difficult of a situation Othello was in.

From the Library of Congress: TITLE: Thos. W. Keen...

Illustration of Othello and Iago

Othello and Desdemona in Venice, 1850, oil on wood...

Although Othello acted out with controversial reactions to his painful emotions, it is not hard to relate to how he felt and why Othello murdered his wife.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge had a positive view on Othello's reactions to the tragic betrayal of Iago. He believed that Othello killed Desdemona "out of deeper conviction" and not because of jealousy (Coleridge, 255-67). In Coleridge's view, Iago used his superhuman art of convincing Othello that Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio. Iago setup many opportunities to make Cassio and Desdemona look guilty. Othello, in Coleridge's eyes, is a fine character. He believes that the way he handles his emotions is the way most would handle the problem Othello dealt with.

T.S. Eliot's view of Othello was of the exact opposite point of view that Coleridge shows. He feels that Othello shows a terrible exposure of human weakness and...