Othello and Desdemona vs. Romeo and Juliet free essay sample

Othello and Desdemona vs. Romeo and Juliet Othello and Desdemona are similar and different from Romeo and Juliet in several ways, both as couples, and as individuals. The circumstances they face and the nature of their characters share similarities, and so do the choices they make, but the other characters in the respective plays, and the key differences in Othello and Romeos dispositions cause them to go down separate roads, even if the end stage is the same. Desdemona and Juliet are interesting, not because they are portrayed as intrinsically interesting, because they aren’t, but because of the way that they respond to the pressure created by the clash of family and love in their lives. Neither Desdemona nor Juliet suffer from deep moral flaws, conflicted personalities or any of the other characteristics that make many of the other characters interesting, but they share the simple dilemma of having to choose between family and love. We will write a custom essay sample on Othello and Desdemona vs. Romeo and Juliet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Juliet is caught on one side of the Capulet Montague feud, and her lover, Romeo, on the other. She is initially torn between the two, correct in thinking that she can only choose one, but she, of course, soon chooses Romeo. Desdemona faces the same choice; when asked to testify against Othello in front of the Duke of Venice on lines 182-191, she declares her allegiance to Othello rather than to her father Brabantio, though she â€Å"perceive(s) here a divided duty† (Shakespeare I. iii. 183). In doing so she alienates her father, causing him to begrudge her rather than Othello, and stating â€Å"I am glad at soul I have no other child† (Shakespeare I. iii. 198). As Juliet betrays her whole family in loving an enemy, Desdemona betrays her father and his innate racism by marrying a moor. Othello and Romeo share far fewer similarities than do Desdemona and Juliet. In fact, Romeo, the sentimental lover boy is almost the perfect opposite to the stiff, warlike Othello. While Romeo has no problem professing his love, and is very confident in an intimate setting, Othello is more accustomed the military social sphere, and takes pride and comfort in his military accomplishments, rather than his ability as a lover. This plays out in each character’s relationship with their love interest. Romeo and Juliet have a trusting relationship; they blame their marriage troubles on their feuding families and on outside factors, rather than directing anger or blame at each other. Othello, on the other hand, is so insecure about his relationship with Desdemona that he allows himself to be convinced of her infidelity quite easily by Iago. He pounces on the opportunity to reinforce his fears and blame his insecurity on Desdemona, instead of trusting her the way Romeo trusts Juliet, and finally accuses her of sleeping with Cassio on line 72 of Act 4 Scene 2 (Shakespeare). The most obvious similarity between Othello and Desdemona, and Romeo in Juliet, is the tragic end both couples meet. Romeo and Juliet have a rather complicated series of misunderstandings that lead both of them to commit suicide. The melodramatic reasoning behind this self-murder is that neither Romeo nor Juliet can live without the other, and would rather join them in death. Othello makes the same decision when he realizes that Desdemona was, in fact not unfaithful. This is not as interesting as his reasoning behind killing her in the first place. When he first becomes convinced of Desdemona’s disloyalty, he decides to kill her, not only as revenge, but also to preserve his honor, and hers. By killing her, he erases her sins restores her to purity; â€Å"If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,/ I can again thy former light restore† (Shakespeare V. ii. 8). Both couples meet their tragic end as a result of extreme passion; it is simply that in Othello this passion is turned to jealousy and anger. Othello and Desdemona, and Romeo and Juliet share all the characteristics of a couple in a tragic love story, especially one written by Shakespeare, but the influences of the other characters in these plays, and the key differences between the Othello and Romeo, cause the plot twists that take these two couples to their predictable demise to be sufficiently different. Works Cited Shakespeare, William, and Alvin B. Kernan. The tragedy of Othello; the Moor of Venice.. New York: New American Library, 1963. Print.