Castration Anxiety and the Mirror Stage: A Psychoanalytic Reading of Shakespeare's Othello (original) (raw)
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PSYCHOANALYSIS OF OTHELLO: SHAKESPEARE'S APPROACH REVISITED
SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES)
Shakespeare has been studied by philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, psychoanalysts and many other specialists ...............................................................................................................................
American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR), 2020
This article concentrates on the character, Othello, who is driven mad in William Shakespeare's Othello, and endeavours to reveal the ins and outs behind his destruction by Iago. He becomes successful in making Othello doubt and murder his chaste wife Desdemona. Hence, Iago tries to poison Othello's mind by providing false information about Desdemona. For instance, the plot of the handkerchief and his reference about Cassio that he dreamt where he had talked about his emotions for Desdemona. Unfortunately, Othello somewhat believes Iago's words. Nonetheless, it must also be stated that Iago is the one who is entirely responsible for igniting the spark of jealousy in Othello's mind. The Moor would not lose his sanity and murder Desdemona and take his own life away if Iago did not deceive him so cunningly. As Iago is the main cause of Othello's downfall, he can also be regarded as a 'killer' because Iago himself leads Othello and Desdemona towards the path of devastation.
Two Parts of a Single Motive: Identification and Recognition in the Tragedy of Othello
Studies in English Language and Literature 21, 2013
It is not my intention in this paper to argue that Iago and Othello are conflicting parts of a single psyche, nor does the term “consubstantiality” imply psychological interpretations of that sort, although there is inevitably a psychological element at play in the dialectical tension between the “unity” and “separateness” of the involved parties. The focus of Burke’s rhetorical definition of “consubstantiality,” however, is on the mutual identification of a common, human, interest. I argue that we can better understand what happens in the play if we follow the method of Machiavelli and "go back to the origins" to see if we can discover a prior mutual identification of interests in the beginnings of the relationship between Othello and Iago.
The Mad Othello: A Psychological Perspective
General Othello's trustworthy companion and advisor Iago makes the Moor 'mad' in William Shakespeare's "Othello". He causes the ruin of quite a few characters in the play because of his uncontrollable jealousy and a feeling of revenge. Iago takes the help of his ally named Roderigo in order to translate his own destructive dreams into reality. Once Othello is in Cyprus, Iago decides to work on his central plan. He wants to make Othello believe that his wife is in an adulterous relationship with the new lieutenant, Michael Cassio. Iago keeps on playing with Othello's mind through the process of having Othello listen to Cassio speak generously about his mistress, Bianca, even as Othello thinks that the mistress must be Desdemona. Othello blindly sees coincidences as evidences. It is true that the fire of jealousy in Othello's heart and his unjust trust in Iago lead him towards insanity and ultimate tragedy where he is found murdering Desdemona and committing suicide.
Othello’s Verbal Defence: Distorting Reality in Shakespeare’s Othello
IJOLTL: Indonesian Journal of Language Teaching and Linguistics
The study describes Othello’s verbal defences by means of Perry London’s Verbal Defences theory as reflected in William Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice. The study was a content analysis whose primary data were words, phrases, sentences and dialogues in the play. The secondary data were articles discussing the Othello, the Moor of Venice. Data were analyzed through determining Othello’s arguments on ego verbal defence mechanisms using Perry London’s Verbal Defences theory. This study revealed that three elements of verbal defences, namely, emotional insulation, intellectualization, and rationalization are experienced by Othello. They operate unconsciously and these mechanisms neutralize the upsetting impact of threatening ideas by distorting reality. In distorting reality, ego takes some extreme ways. One of those ways is “talking away” the anxiety stimuli as well as by the other means of obscuring and retreating from reality.
Anxiety That Conveying Tragedy in Othello Drama by Shakespeare
JURNAL BASIS
Humans are always in touch with the needs in this life. In order to survive, one of the most important examples is the need for safety needs. The phenomenal drama Othello by Shakespeare was chosen as the main data source in this research. This research aimed to analyze the unfulfilled of safety needs in the form of anxiety and its impact on the main character in Shakespeare's drama "Othello". This drama was set in 1603 with a tragedy and was written by the world-famous playwright William Shakespeare. The story that ended in tragedy is inseparable from the anxiety used by others to overthrow power and the Othello family. With these problems, the researchers explored the anxiety factor by using Maslow's psychological theory about the hierarchy of needs, especially at the level of safety needs. This research used qualitative descriptive method because the data collection technique used is to describe the analysis through words and sentences that exist in the data sour...
Othello: A Review of Its Faults and Problems
2016
William Shakespeare’s Othello is indubitably one of his most popular and successful plays.Nevertheless, like his other great works, it suffers from some literary and stylistic faults and problems. Several eminent critics such as Thomas Rymer, Samuel Johnson, A. C. Bradley, Harley Granville Barker, and J. Dover Wilson have dealt with this issue. Some of the most important faults they have found in this play include the question of time, the improbability of the events, the inconsistency of characterization, moral defects, and the absence of poetic justice. In some cases, the faults attributed to this great play are the result of misguided and wrongheaded criticism; in others, however, they are real deficiencies resulted from Shakespeare’s carelessness or his concern over the success of his play in performance rather than its plausibility and critical correctness as aliterary text. In the present article, these problems are discussed, and it is explained whether they are serious probl...
Othello Syndrome in Shakespearean Tragedy of Othello
DISCRIMINATION IS EVIL: Essays on Literary Masterpieces, 2020
Jealousy and Regret Human nature is unalike, and one should be more careful about factors that affect their emotions. Shakespeare states that we should suppress our negative feelings and shape our lives accordingly. Shakespeare created a spectacular work by his strong writing skills and reflected the weaknesses of human beings through the charisma of Othello, the deceit of Iago, and the relationship between love and hate. For instance, Iago's personality in Othello is a sick person's psychology who has come to harm humanity. Shakespeare has chosen the theme of jealousy for this *
LOVE, BETRAYAL AND VIOLENCE: A FEMALE SUBJUGATION IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY OTHELLO
Abstract: Women across historical, social and religious boundaries have been pitted against the asphyxiating patriarchal norms and rigid cultural constructs which bestow power, dominance and freedom on man, and push her into the margins of both, society and domestic space. The current paper attempts to explore the mechanics of domestic violence, and its treatment in William Shakespeare’s Othello. The aim is to ascertain how the playwright addresses the issue of crime against women within the familial and social world of his times. Based on the theme of power politics within domestic hierarchy, the play not only lays bare a grim picture of domestic abuse and violence against women in matrimony, but also offers an insight into the psyche of abusers. The dialectics of power struggle in the play written in the 16th century is a reflection of the playwright’s sensitivity towards the existential reality of women of his times and his negation of male hegemony and criminal violence in conjugal relations. . Vishal Bhardwaj adopted Othello to make the film Omkara in 2006. Bringing the 17th century Elizabethan society in the 21st century Indian setting, Bhardwaj deftly pointed out the present scenario. There are numerous cases of a father’s restriction on daughter’s freedom of choice, brother’s threat to the sister for not to disgrace their family apart from ‘honour killing’. This continues even in the household of her ‘soul mate’ for whom she dares to defy every challenge. The predicament of modern Desdemona’s in the hand of Othello bears the testimony of Shakespeare’s immortal creation and its never ending relevance. The universality of Shakespeare is still rejoiced due to his experiment on the core region of the human psyche which fails to alter even with high-tech service or ‘progressive’ education. Key Word: power politics,violence matrimony, domestic heirarchy, male hegemony