FREE ESSAY ON OTHELLO AND HAMLET COMPARIAON AND CONTRAST

OTHELLO AND HAMLET COMPARIAON AND CONTRAST

The plays Othello and Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, have many similarities and
differences. Two main characters Iago, of Othello, and Hamlet, of Hamlet, can be compared
and contrasted through characterization. Characterization is the represent
ion of characteristics or motives of a character. Both characters have different
character traits which make them truly different from one another, but their ending
resolutions are remarkably the same. 
In Othello, Iago is a very manipulative and cunning character. Iago's entire scheme
begins when Cassio is given the position that Iago wanted. Iago then comes up with
numerous ideas and plots to steal the position he feels he most deserves. Iago decei
s, steals, and kills to gain that position. Iago lies to his loved ones including his
wife and friends. Iago tricks Othello into beleiving that his own wife, Desdemona, is
having an affair, without any concrete proof. Othello is so caught up in Iago's l
s that he refuses to believe Desdemona when she denies the whole thing. Iago also manages
to steal from his own friend, Roderigo, without feeling guilty. He uses the money that
Roderigo gives him to try and win over Desdemona. When Roderigo discovers th
Iago has been using his money he screams at Iago and threatens to kill him. However, Iago
being very manipulative tells makes up a plot that involves Roderigo to capture the heart
of Desdemona. Roderigo believes Iago and forgets about Iago stealing his
oney. Iago's plan is for Roderigo to kill Cassio. At the ending of the play, Iago's plot
is given away to Othello by his own wife, Emilia. Iago realizes that his plot has been
revealed and sees his wife as an obstacle and an annoying person who has let 
t his secret, so he kills her. Iago's merciless taking of Emilia, his wife, and Roderigo,
his friend, lives is another one of Iago's characteristic of a an immoral human being
who's main concern is to protect himself. On the other hand, in Hamlet, Hamle
is the perfect example of the tragic hero. Hamlet has all the good traits needed to be a
tragic hero. He is brave and daring. One example of this is that when he went to England,
he was taking a big risk. If his plan didn't work, he would have been exec
ed. Hamlet is also loyal. His loyalty to his father, was the reason he was so angry at
Claudius and his Mother. Claudius married King Hamlet's wife shortly after King Hamlet's
death. Another trait of Hamlet was that he was intelligent. He was able to t
nk up the idea of faking insanity, in order to get more information about Claudius. But
Hamlet like all other tragic hero's had a flaw. He couldn't get around to doing anything,
because he couldn't move on. It took him a long time to stop grieving about
is father, because he didn't want to move past that part of his life. And after he
finally did, Hamlet couldn't get around to killing Claudius. He kept pretending he was
insane even after he was sure that Claudius killed his father. When Hamlet was chal
nged to a fencing match against a chosen opponent from the king Hamlet agrees. Finally,
Hamlet is in a state of peace and readiness, accepting his fate. Hamlet has been through
a lot in his lifetime. He has been deceived, lied to, and lost the ones he h
truly loved.
The plays Othello and Hamlet can be compared through their characterization of
characters. The final resolutions in both plays seemed to have the same bloody effects of
death. In Othello, Iagos' manipulative characteristic led him to death. Iago's manip
ative plot of deceit, betrayal, and turmoil led him to his downfall when his plot was
revealed. Iago's manipulative plot led to the death of many characters in the play.
Desdemona died because her husband did not believe that she was being loyal to him 
ter Iago proclaimed that she was cheating on Othello. Emilia, Iago's wife, died because
she revealed Iago's plot. Roderigo died because he was used and manipulated by Iago. And
finally Othello died because he was tricked, by Iago, into believing things 
thout any known proof. In Hamlet, Hamlet's vengenance for his father's murderer led him
to kill Laertes. Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, dies after she accidentally drinks a poisoned
glass. After Hamlet sees Gertrude has died, he forces Claudius to drink the
emaining poison. Hamlet dies after he is told by the dieing Laertas that the sword was
poisoned and Hamlet has only thirty minutes to live. In both plays each characters
motives, actions and characteristic traits had equal and similair results, death. 
In Shakespeare's plays he often creates a straight forward atmosphere in which the reader
can differentiate from good and evil. He shows this characteristic through his characters
in the way they act and their motives. For example Hamlet's actions show 
that he is a loyal and faithful person. While Claudius' actions show us that he is very
cunning and sly, only looking to gain power. A.C. Bradley was a literary critic who
criticized and analyzed many works of Shakespeare including Othello and Hamlet. 
his temperament the Elizabethans would have called melancholic.... Next, we cannot be
mistaken in attributing to [him] an exquisite sensibility to which we may give the name
'moral.'... To the very end, his soul, however sick and tortured it may be, ans
rs instantaneously when good and evil are presented to it, loving the one and hating the
other....  A.C. Bradley shows that Shakespeare often has very villainous characters and
hero type characters that allows the readers to differentiate from the vill
ns and the heroes. 
In conclusion, these two plays, Othello and Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare have
proven their comparisons and contrasting points very well. Both plays have their
similarities in their own way, but there are differences that virtually make the boo
truly unique.