Being courteous is an act of being respectful and by using good manners towards people. Treating people with courtesy can show many different feelings towards the person being acted upon. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare there are many characters in the play that use and dont use acts of courtesy. The focus of this issue is the question of, do the men in the play show courtesy towards the women in the play? Othello is the main character, and Iago is a solider in his army. Iago was passed a position of lieutenant to another solider named Cassio.
This action made Iago very angry and jealous, so he would seek a sort of revenge throughout the play. In the play Othello Iago, a respected individual, shows very little respect towards women in the play. In lines 103 through 125 in Act 2 scene one Iago is very disrespectful towards the women in the play. In Iagos speeches, especially in lines 109 through 119, Iago acts in a very heavily manner towards Desdemona, and Emilia in these scenes throughout the play. In the opening acts we learn that Othello is a respected man, and a leader of an army. He lives out a long history of heroic stories and epics that make women woo over him.
He marries Desdemona, while carrying a relationship with Emilia, the wife of Iago. Iago finds out about a past relationship with Othello and Emilia and becomes jealous and seeks revenge again. Iago then thinks of a way to make Othello jealous. Iago shows no remorse towards anyone in these situations and uses not only his wife but also Desdemona to seek revenge on Othello out of jealousy. Throughout act 2 Iago talks to and about women in a very rude manner. In line 115 Iago states, ” You rise to play, and go to bed to work. This statement was primarily directed towards Desdemona and Emilia but, also includes all women at this time period.
This means that a womans main purpose is to please a man and thats it. Iago also shows little respect for the leaders of his army, like Cassio his former lieutenant. He uses Cassio to make Othello jealous and then this makes Othello angry at Cassio. Cassio also shows little some disrespect towards women as well. In act 3 tension arises between the crowd and at the end a former prostitute of Cassio approaches him and he deliberately eases her by telling her that he hasnt seen her in awhile because he is under a lot of stress lately. He then asks for help to get him out of a bind that he is in with Othello.
Using someone for ones own benefit is often done in not only plays, but in real life. Courtesy is about the way someone treats and shows respect towards one person. A jealous thought can turn the most respectful and courteous person into a real backstabber. Othello has been through the most life lived experiences throughout the play. He is understanding and forgiving, even Iago, Othellos friend, seemed to get to him and Iago messed up a kinship among people. The realization that being courteous and respectful to anyone and everyone shouldnt be taken for granted, it should be looked upon.
