The theme in "Othello" by William Shakespere

Essay by UifzCollege, UndergraduateA+, June 2006

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The theme of love is woven throughout the story of "Othello", in many forms. Othello's love of Desdemona, Cassio's love of Othello, Rodrigo's love for Desdemona, Iago's supposed love of his wife, but more importantly his love of his own fortune. These are but a few of the forms of love that steer and guide the reader through love's perils. All in all, though, there seems to be one theme that pervades the entire story of The Moore fighting for Venice: Blind love will be man's undoing.

The easiest proof of man's undoing at the hand of love is in the form of Othello and Desdemona. Othello, the hard hearted soldier, the cold unfeeling warrior, moved to passions he did not know how to handle allowed him to be blinded by jealousy and caused him to kill the very thing that he loved. Desdemona, fair and pure, fell in love with the harsh and cruel stories that Othello told of his battles and adventures.

Almost as a person could be entranced by the beauty of a lion, she is lured into his den and ultimately killed by the fiercer side of a man she never truly understood.

Rodrigo is another man that is easily proved to be misled and murdered by his own passion. His love for Desdemona causes him to sail from Venice to Cyprus, causes him to wrap himself up in Iago's schemes, and has him attempting murder, all so that he can orchestrate a relationship with a woman who's heart belongs to another. It's not clear if Rodrigo is even a bad person, or villain, just a man obsessed with one goal. He even said he would sell his things in order to be able to afford whatever it cost (literally and figuratively) to...