Paste your essay in here…From the early fourteenth century onwards, Europeans began to deviate from the custom of tradition writing and the emerging literature began to question humankind’s relationship to God. Renaissance humanity refers to the paradigm of cultural, social and educational values that were reformed by scholars, artists and political leaders during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This focus on humanism, which was an intellectual movement, involved the study of classical texts to update contemporary ideas. These ideas would affect how the world was viewed, as during the Middle Ages many people blindly followed a religious path. The will of God was therefore much less important during the Renaissance than during the Medieval period. As a result, this newfound individualism of thought generated freedom for artists, writers and philosophers to explore their curiosity about how the world works, and they believed God had given humanity the potential and options to be able to do so. Humanists during the Renaissance believed that it was their duty to do their best and to use their knowledge and passion of the past in order to make a positive change for the future, as it is what God expected them to do. Although born towards the end of the Renaissance, Shakespeare was one of the first to bring the core values of the Renaissance era to life, and he did so using theatre. Shakespeare is considered to be a quintessential figure of Renaissance humanity. Throughout his plays, he portrays his characters as those grounded in Renaissance humanity, as they are individuals of great knowledge, and mental aptitude who are capable of self-expression and practice individual freedom.
Shakespeare revolutionized theatre as he created characters that were psychologically complex, well-rounded and more believable, as opposed to the simple and two-dimensional characters from the previous time periods. He was able to explore the diversity of humankind as he brought characters to life that are so different from each other in their depth of personality and appearances, but yet similar in their humanity and in their aspiration to attain power. Othello is a play that embodies the core values of the Renaissance era. The drama is set in the civilized city-state of Venice and Cyprus, and begins with an atmosphere of war, as well as of political expansion. While the war itself is not a major element in the theme of the play, Shakespeare’s addition of this component to the background of the storyline allows the audience to relate to the feel of the Renaissance era. Throughout the play, each character is given a rank of some sort. For example, the characters in Othello are ranked by social class and by military rank. Another indirectly used ranking system, called the Great Chain of Being, ranks every living being by their closeness to God. As humans, we are prone to assume that we are superior to all other living beings because we are intelligent and we are able to communicate with each other. At the top of this scale is God, followed by sacred angels, and then by humanity. At the bottom of the scale are animals, and plants followed by nothingness. Iago is an interesting character in Othello as he compares other characters in the play to animals, thereby dehumanizing them and stating that these characters are inferior to him. Iago believes that he is superior to all other characters, and is particularly distraught when Cassio, who he thinks is inferior to him in experience and in qualification, is given an opportunity to step out of that position and attain a superior role. Othello is referred to as “The Moor” by Iago and by every other character in the play. This word is used to degrade Othello as he is Muslim and he is black. By using this term, Iago and other characters are revealing their racist feelings towards Othello. Iago never directly refers to Othello by this term, while other characters in the play directly address him as such, as his plan is to stay close to Otello. The saying “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer” is very representative of why Iago displays respect towards Othello. He knows that it is essential for him to stay close to Othello in order to be able to deceive him. Further, Iago makes a reference to Othello by calling him “an old black ram.” By referencing Othello as an animal, Iago is symbolizing that he is an impurity and at the bottom of the Great Chain of Being. Iago also describes Desdemona, Othello’s white wife, as a “white ewe,” signifying her purity and innocence. However, as both Othello and Desdemona are being compared to animals, Iago is portraying his superiority and revealing his thoughts that he is above them in the Great Chain of Being. Iago continues to reference Othello as an animal when he refers to him as “a Barbary horse” when speaking with Brabantio that his daughter has been with Othello. In Act I, Scene III, Iago speaks about the human body being a garden, and of human will as the gardener. He then states that “either to have it sterile, with idleness, or manured with industry, why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills.” With this expression, Iago is stating that our will is in control of our bodies and in the decisions that we make as humans. By bringing this to attention, Iago seems to be telling the other characters that they are not thinking about the consequences of their actions, and are therefore having to deal with the chaos that comes with these actions. Othello and Desdemona are having to face the chaos caused by their elopement, without Brabantio’s knowledge, as their actions have casted doubt and jealousy. Furthermore, Iago is planning to act as Othello’s gardener by manipulating him and thereby causing his downfall. In Act III, Scene III, Iago describes how Othello has changed with his ”poison,” displaying how Iago’s manipulation has manifested in Othello’s thinking and beliefs. Throughout the play, Iago uses references of other characters, and particularly of Othello, to animals and to plants in order to show his superiority. As he does not have superiority in rank, either in social class or in military rank