Villains, Sin, and Sex in Shakespeares Othello and King...

Villains, Sin, and Sex in Othello and King Lear Many of Shakespeare plays are littered with crude and graphic sexual references, jests, and insults. But there is one type of character present throughout Shakespeares plays that twist the sexual imagery and repartee, and that is the villain. There is a deeply rooted combination between sex and evil. This essay will develop this idea in depth by focusing on Iago of Othello and Edmund of King Lear. Iago is probably viewed as one of Shakespeares greatest villains. Hes calm, cool, collected, and simply put: brilliant. He manipulates Othello, the moors lieutenant Cassio, Desdemonas scorned suitor Roderigo, her father Brabantio, and his own wife Emilia with such†¦show more content†¦While Roderigo is a gentleman, and polite, Iago is crude. Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise! Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise, I say! (AI, SI, L 88-92) This blatantly graphic imagery is used to not only grab the senators attention, but set the tone of Iagos tactics. When Roderigos pleas with Brabantio begin to flag, once again we are treated to the villains eloquent tongue. ...youll have your daughter coverd with a Barbary horse, youll have your nephews neigh to you; youll have coursers for cousins, and gennets for germans. (AI, SI, L 111-113) This particular quote sets up the worst p ossible thoughts of sexual deviancy that Iago can come up with. His tactless and disturbing words about intercourse with animals are purposely flung at the senator to enrage him, even though he does not fully grasp what has happened. When Brabantio learns of his daughters betrayal, the evilness of these words strike home, and he seeks out Othello, fully armed. But this instance is just one of the little clusters of icing on Iagos cake, for he furnishes his grand scheme with another sexual attack, this time in the form of unfaithfulness. Being the moors confidant, he begins to subtlety hint that Desdemona has betrayed him with Cassio, which enflames Othellos jealousy, causing him to wrongfully analyze every move made between his wife and lieutenant.Show MoreRelatedThe Significance of Death and Sex to William Shakespeare1482 Words   |  6 PagesThe Significance of Death and Sex to William Shakespeare In this essay, I will consider Death and Sin in Shakespearean drama and I would like to look at three of Shakespeares tragic plays: Hamlet, Othello and King Lear. Shakespeare uses many themes in all his play that attract audiences throughout history. The things he wrote about are as relevant now as they were in his time. Death and Sin were issues that are always around. In his plays, Shakespeare could comment on these things andRead MoreDuchess Of Malf Open Learn10864 Words   |  44 Pagesout textual analysis recognise some of the historical contexts of the play. Background John Webster (c.1580–c.1634) was Shakespeare’s contemporary, though sixteen years younger. He makes a brief appearance in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love as a boy who tortures mice, spies on Shakespeare’s love-making, and feels inspired to take up the pen himself after seeing Shakespeare’s blood-soaked revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus. ‘Plenty of blood. That’s the only writing’, he asserts. This affectionate