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Shakespearean dramas are often studies of human frailty. Use Othello to focus a discussion on the extent to which this is true. You may confine your discussion to Othello or include other Shakespearean plays you have studied. Shakespeare’s dramas are frequently concerned with human frailty, but perhaps none to the extent of the drama Othello. In Othello, all major storylines depend upon the frailty of the human characters involved – beginning with the frailty of the characters in failing to see through the façade of ‘honest Iago’, to the frailty of Othello in being easily manipulated by the deceitful Iago, and finally, the death of the beautiful but fragile Desdemona at the hands of her husband, and her inability to defend herself. Fantastic introduction clearly signposts your points. Only thing missing would perhaps be an explanation of your definition of human frailty? Iago’s behaviour throughout this play has bee described as “motiveless maglicancy” make sure you spell this correctly! by critic Coleridge– that is, he purposely caused suffering and pain to other characters throughout the play, with no true motive. Iago does toy with some minor reasons for his behaviour, such as the promotion of Michael Cassio over himself “I have already chose my officer. / And what was he? / Forsooth, a great arithmetician, /One Michael Cassio”. In reality, however, the extent of the suffering he causes is immeasurable compared to the motives. The most significant part of the behaviour in regards to impact it has on the story line is the inability of all characters in the novel play! to see through it. Iago is constantly referred to as “honest Iago”, and is considered a wonderful friend and comrade. This reflects human frailty – the characters are unable to see the cause of their misery even though it is blatantly obvious to the viewer of the play. This frailty lasts right up until Act 5 Scene II, where the actions of Iago are finally revealed by the realisations of Emilia, Iago’s wife. This reflects how frail the human characters in the play truly are – the actions of Iago had to be made blatantly clear to all characters before they would realise – they did not pick up on the subtle signs of Iago’s behaviour, as this is a typical part of the frailty of humans – they do not notice things until it is too late.interesting discussion – needs a couple of specific examples of the ‘frail’ characters who don’t see through him. And ‘blatantly’ is a bit chatty for a formal essay! Iago’s behaviour leads on to another example of human frailty in Othello – the jealousy of Othello caused by the manipulation by Iago leads to the gradual mental deterioration of Othello to the point where he becomes an entirely different husband to Desdemona and a complete contrast to the Othello at the beginning of the play (there is foreshadowing of this in Act II – he says to Desdemona “But I do love thee; and when I love thee not, /Chaos is come again” – this chaos is the insanity that he is undergoing due to the frailty of his mind)why is this point in brackets – if it’s a good point worth making, don’t hide it in parenthesis!. The frailty begins to show in Act III scene iii, as the formally strong, rational, and powerful Othello states “I have a pain upon my forehead, here”. This physical pain is symbolic of the mental deterioration he is undergoing, due to the mind games of Iagogood point – Iago states one thing, yet done another. His prime intention is to make Othello as jealous as possible, yet warns Othello of the dangers of jealousy “O! Beware, my lord, of jealousy; / It is the greeney'd monster /which doth mock/ the meat it feeds on”. This behavior contributes to the mental decline of Othello – no matter how strong and powerful he is, as a human, he is just as vulnerable to the manipulation of Iago as any other character in the play.well written Desdemona is the frailest character in the play – she is a tender, gentle, kind woman, who is ruled over by her husband in this patriarchal society. She must obey him without questioning his authority – she calls him “my Lord”, which reflects the status he holds over her. Her weakness and frailty in this society is obvious. However, combined with the fragility of other characters, such as the inability of most characters to see through Iago’s façade, and Othello’s frailty in regards to the jealousy caused by Iago, results in Desdemona’s murder. In summary, Iago’s unnoticed behaviour drives Othello to such severe jealousy that it results in the murder of Desdemona. Desdemona is unable to defend herself – when Emilia asks who has murdered her, Desdemona even replies “I, myself”, reflecting that as a wife she is so frail that she cannot even accuse her husband publically of murder. The fact a feather pillow is used to suffocate Desdemona is also symbolic of her frailty – the soft pillow could cause Desdemona’s death, because she as a person was even softer, and more fragile. Well done Shakespeare appears to have an interest in human frailty and its consequence. Society itself appears to be frail in order to not be able to see through Iago’s façade, Othello is mentally fragile in order to be driven to madness by jealousy, and Desdemona’s frailness as a female victim of a patriarchal society. The idea of frailty is so significant in this play, that each of these events are linked to form the major plotline of the play. A thorough discussion of the play’s theme and characters, well done. Just be careful to always express your points clearly and to include specific examples and quotations where needed to support your points. Well done.