Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Hamlet"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that both the protagonists Othello and Macbeth, in "Othello" and "Hamlet" respectively, are superior men, possessing great courage and outward strength, heroes in war accustomed to commanding a force of men in battle; but both go awry in their personal lives when a different morality and sensitivity is required: Othello is consumed by jealousy and Macbeth, by ambition. The author points out that a key element in Macbeth's nature is his imagination, which he lets soar ahead of his deeds; whereas, Othello is a man of action and not prone to ponder too much. The paper relates that, in their final words, the two men have completely disintegrated: Othello by taking not only Desdemona's life but also his own and Macbeth by resigning himself to go on with the fight for the crown, which even has taken the life of his wife. Many textual examples.

From the Paper:

"Macbeth is immediately shown as a man whose ambition is capable of overtaking his personality. However, the additional quality of fear is introduced in Macbeth, who has been referred to in the play's opening passages as "brave Macbeth." Whereas Othello was judicious, Macbeth's courage showed in him a rashness that sets the stage for his later actions. He is described in battle by a soldier as "Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,/ which smok'd with bloody execution, Like valour's minion,/ Carv'd out his passage till he fac'd the slave;/ And fix'd his head upon our battlements." (I,ii.19-26) He is valour personified and is so ferocious that his sword smokes, an example of hyperbole."

More papers on Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Hamlet":

• Analytical Essay # 47311 : "Shakespeare, Aristotle, and the Idea of Tragedy"
• Comparison Essay # 103028 : "Shakespeare's Villains"
• Comparison Essay # 119286 : "Hamlet and Othello as Tragic Heroes"

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