William Shakespeare s Othello - Light And Darkness

Light and darkness have both been constant re-appearing themes within stories since the early stages of history. In the story of Othello, Shakespeare consistently uses these themes in order to help portray his characters. Particularly, using them to highlight race issues during the 1600s, as well acknowledging the racial association with good and bad. He uses these aspects of light and dark carefully to symbolize transitions of characters an their actions. Shakespeare also uses light and dark to interconnect with biblical representations of characters and their doings. Many racial slurs are slung throughout the story in relation to the color of Othello as he is of a black descent. In this story, Iago is a devilish character who stirs a†¦show more content†¦In the beginning of the story the star struck couple get married and have intense love and feelings for one another. However, their love is tested and pushed beyond boundaries where good and evil begin to contaminate each other due to Iago’s evil plans. From Othello explaining â€Å"The heavens forbid†¦but that our loves and comforts should increase†(Shakespeare, 2.1.210-211). As one can see, Othello is infatuated with Desdemona and has high hopes for their marriage, ultimately believing they are un-separable. Nevertheless, from the lies and set-ups caused by Iago fueled by Rodrigo’s love for Desdemona and his hate of Othello’s status, this allowed the darkness of Iago to spill into Othello’s mind which poisoned the relationship with his jealousy. This is shown towards the end of the story where Othello states â€Å"She’s like a liar†¦twas I that killed her†(Shakespeare,5.2.160). These star-struck lovers are miscegenation characters, that allowed their relationship to turn sour and vindictive . This scene shows the transition of good to evil and so the projected imagery of light to darkness can also be compared biblically. Adam and Eve were t he supposed light that God put upon the earth which was pure. Yet the devil/snake whom can be represented by Iago, lead Othello, who could represent Adam and Eve to believe the decietful lies they shouldn’t and become manipulated by Iago/Satan which resulted in actions thatShow MoreRelatedOthello : Racism And The Moor1013 Words   |  5 Pages Othello: Racism and the Moor William Shakespeare’s Othello uses the racial tensions of the period to enhance the execution of the play subtly. At the time of his writing, ethnic minorities were so disregarded, almost to the point of being ignored, yet Shakespeare chooses to make the protagonist a black male who rises to power. Repeatedly throughout the play, the contrast of black and white as opposites permeates almost every plotline. 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