Appearance vs reality
Throughout the history of human beings there has been a general understanding that appearance may not always signify reality, essentially meaning in other words "looks can be deceiving". Both Shakespeare and Tim Nelson understand the relationship between appearance and reality and have hence embodied this concept within their plays Othello and "O" respectively. Both composers illustrate how a single manipulative character who embodies the concept of appearance vs reality can essentially be potentially destructive and cause harm to people within their surroundings through the art of deception. Despite the fact that appearance vs reality is practiced by almost every single human being on a daily basis it is truly emphasized by some character who tend to have a motive to achieve. Appearance vs reality is practiced in Othello and "O" by two characters Iago and Hugo, both these characters are driven by jealousy and have a motive to achieve and hence have turned to deception in order to achieve this motive.
Appearance vs reality in Othello
In Shakespeare's play Othello appearance vs reality is practiced by Iago who is driven by his jealousy to achieve his evil motives. Throughout the play he aims to manipulate multiple characters in order to reach his goal. He appears to be helping everyone but in reality he is aiming to sabotage everyone, his deceptive nature ultimately leads to the execution of the tragedy and hence the death of many of his so called friends. Shakespeare displays Iago's manipulative ways to the audience through dramatic irony whereby the audience can see his reality however the characters cannot this is clearly seen through the constant portrayal of Iago as "honest Iago" which indeed strongly contradicts his true nature. Iago's deceptive plan is to turn Othello on his wife by manipulating him to think that his best friend is having an affair with his wife. Iago utilities many characters to achieve his goal and essentially his plans lead to the tragedy of Othello. Shakespeare's portrayal of appearance vs reality is part of a deeper message which is to never be deceived by anyone and never take anyone at face value.
appearance vs reality is witnessed in Othello through Iago's deceptive nature which is illustrated by the following quotes and examples:
technique
dialogue
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quote/ example
" I follow him to serve my turn upon him"
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explanation
This is stating that Iago is going to make it look like he is so loyal to Othello, so that Othello thinks he is a good servant, so when the opportunity arises for Iago, Othello will not suspect him of anything, and surely have a good eye for Iago.
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foreshadowing
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"I am not what I am"
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In this scene Iago is essentially foreshadowing who he truly is he is basically telling the audience that he is not what he appears to be and in this case he appears to be a loyal to Othello however he plans to sabotage Othello
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dramatic irony
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" so please your grace, my ancient: A man he is of honesty and trust. "
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This is a quote said by Othello which contains dramatic irony as the audience knows that Iago is disloyal however Othello has been deceived to believe that Iago is a man full of honesty and trust, this ultimately highlights the deceptive nature of humanity.
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dialogue
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" I hate the moor. My cause is hearted; thine hath no less reason. Let us be conjunctive in our revenge against him. "
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In this instance Iago is very clear cut and blunt to Rodrigo where he says that he hates the moor who is Othello and he wishes to destroy him this signifies Iago reality however in front of Othello Iago seems to be loyal and trustworthy.
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context and underlying meaning
Shakespeare's theme of appearance vs reality has remained to be a dominant theme within Shakespeare's plays due to the simple fact that it is till practiced today by many people. Appearance vs reality is indeed a universally significant theme as it relates heavily to our human anatomy as it is present within every single human. During Venetian society respect, loyalty and honesty was highly valued and if someone appeared to have these qualities he could potentially manipulate many people. This was the case with Iago who appeared to be loyal and honest however in reality he was deceitful and rotten. Shakespeare is essentially warning humanity of the people who may appear to be good at face value however in reality they are evil.
appearance vs reality in "O"
similarly Shakespeare's theme of appearance vs reality has been creatively explored by Tim Nelson in his film "O" where Hugo appears to be a loyal and honest character where in reality he is deceitful and cunning. Hugo's manipulative nature has lead him to convince Odin that Desi his girlfriend has been sleeping with mike his best friend this essentially leads to the tragedy being carried out whereby Hugo's friend die in an emotional ending and hence the tragedy is formed.
the following quotes and examples highlight the appearance vs reality portrayed in the film "O":
technique
dialogue
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quote/ example
cassio:"but odin wont even talk to me"
hugo:"the girl can keep a secret...look at the way she played her father" |
explanation
In this scene Hugo convinces Casio to go ahead and speak to Desi in order to get Odin on his side once more. Casio becomes convinced that Hugo is trying to help him and therefore he sees Hugo as honorable but in reality Hugo is doing this act in order to spark controversy and hence cause more tension.
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Nelson is aiming to explore Shakespeare's claim that there is a fine line between appearance and reality. All is never as it seems and it is through Hugo's deception that we are able to visualize how effortless it is to convince people of things with no concrete evidence. The central message of this theme is human inability to judge true from false.
Othello and "O"
Both Shakespeare and Tim Nelson understand the relationship between appearance and reality and have hence embodied this concept within their plays Othello and "O" respectively. both composers illustrate how a single manipulative character who embodies the concept of appearance vs reality can essentially be potentially destructive and cause harm to people within their surroundings through the art of deception. these manipulative characters are Iago and Hugo respectively. the central message which this theme implies is that it is a human trait which is found within all contexts and hence in becomes universally significant. Both composers aim to highlight humanity's inability to judge true from false as well as to highlight humanities deceptive nature and potentially warn humanity of deceptive individuals.