THEME: Jealousy

Question 1

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy: It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on”

Answer 1

• IAGO 3:3:168-170
• Metaphor: jealousy is a monstrous thing, yet is inherently human. Iago manipulates this human trait in order to exploit Othello. Does Shakespeare portray Othello as a tragic hero, worthy of sympathy, or a weak character who cannot maintain his authority in his marriage?
• Not only does jealousy cause a person to suffer, it fills that person with shame and humiliation, which Iago is able to easily exploit due to Othello’s insecurities about his race, his age, and his speech. This makes jealousy a particularly cruel emotion; the person has no choice but to feel it, but it makes them ashamed of having it.
• Iago couples together humanity with inbuilt evil, alluding to Adam and Eve and original sin.
• Plays on Othello’s hubris; alludes to the seven deadly sins. Ironic, as Iago harbours these sins, including jealousy.
• Iago’s use of the rhetoric; his ‘warning’ to Othello only worsens his jealousy, as it is said with false earnestness.
• Gustatory imagery; humans are consumed by their emotions. In shakespearean times, those who were governed by their emotions were disregarded as almost bestial.

Question 2

“At least into a jealousy so strong/ that love cannot cure.”

Answer 2

• IAGO 2:1:290-291
• “Cure” - presents jealousy as a disease that infects Othello. Presenting jealousy as more than simply an emotion but a disease accentuates the danger and influence it has and foreshadows Othello’s downfall. Also, this use of medical imagery is continued with “work on my medicine”.
• “Love” - compared to medicine in a way or at least a remedy? This suggests when Othello realises he is “without love”, he has his downfall as he no longer has his medicine for all of his misgivings such as his hamartia (whatever that may be).