Othello #5 Themes

I think the themes of Othello are jealousy, revenge, and racism. Each of theses themes play a huge role in furthering the plot and adding to the dramatic experience. The villain, Iago, is portrayed as a brilliant, but horrible and devious man who runs the whole show in my opinion. He is plagued by all of the themes, but especially revenge. The themes add to the dramatic experience by adding a reason for the chaos that occurs and leads the audience to the action. It increases the pleasure of the theatrical experience because it adds mystery and suspense to the story, as well as giving the audience a tragic hero to root for and a vengeful villain to despise. In human concerns, it is didactic because even though the villain "wins" since the hero dies, the play portrays the anguish and pain that revenge and jealousy can provide. Also, it is didactic in the racism theme because it shows how much an honorable man like Othello can be hated for his color and how much harm that prejudice can cause. Therefore, the play is didactic because it plays out the harmful circumstances that can arise from jealousy, revenge, and racism.