Foils In Othello

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The first ever black male in a Shakespearean play was the Moor of Venice, whose true name was Othello. Othello was not only the first black man to be written by William Shakespeare but he was also the first black male to take a Shakespearean title after his name, Othello, by Shakespeare. Othello plays the hero in the tragedy and is accompanied by possibly the most vile villain that Shakespeare ever created, Iago. However the title of Othello has been under controversy to whether it should have been named after the black hero. Many believe that it should be named after the villain Iago as he appears to be the main character and controls most of the story’s plot line. Even though this is a plausible idea there is no other name for the tragic …show more content…
One major foil that turns corrupted is the foil of Othello and his wife Desdemona. At the beginning of the relationship the foil is one where Othello is extremely sweet and loving towards Desdemona, “It gives me wonder great as my content/ To see you here before me. O my soul’s joy!/...If it were now to die.../ My soul hath her content so absolute’’(2.1.199-208). This sadly ends and the foil turns into one where he becomes bitter and hateful towards her after Iago informs him that Cassio has a memento, that Othello had given Desdemona to solidify their love. After learning this he believes that Desdemona is cheating on him and refers to her mostly as a whore after hearing this, “And to see how he prizes/ that foolish woman your wife! She gave it to him, and/ he hath giv’n it his whore’’ (4.1194-196). This drastic change in the foil provides the needed drama of a burning love that eventually leads to Othello strangles Desdemona to death which is a murder method that is often used in when one lover murders another. By Othello using this method, he proves that even after the sudden change in foil that Othello still loves Desdemona even after believing that she cheated on him adding more drama and tragedy to the …show more content…
This is the case with the play Othello. Without Othello there would be no play or even story. Othello provides everything in the story. If Othello was never a character, then Iago’s plan and motive would have never surfaced giving no plot to the show. The character of Desdemona would be pointless after words and would be nothing of importance in the play. Cassio may have even never been mentioned because Othello is the one responsible for his existence in the play. With Othello gone barely any of the story would remain if any would. He plays a role into everyone’s character. He plays as Iago’s rival, he plays Desdemona’s lover, he plays as Cassio’s role model, and he plays many other roles to many other characters. He even plays as his own biggest villain when his fatal flaw of trusting Iago and later committing suicide after realizing his
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