Author: j.matysiak1

Iago is the most intriguing character of “Othello” because he drives the whole play. He is an evil person who gets satisfaction from making others’ lives unhappy and miserable. Besides the fact that he is a morally bad person who lacks love and compassion, there are some motivations that drive him to do all these bad things toward others, especially Othello and his wife Desdemona. One of the reasons that Iago becomes furious with Othello is because he wasn’t promoted to the rank of lieutenant. This fact makes him seek revenge on Othello. Furthermore, Iago is convinced that Othello slept with Emilia, Iago’s wife. To make matters worse, Iago’s marriage lacks mutual love and respect. There are some other possible reasons behind Iago’s behavior that may explain some of his cruel acts, but certainly being unfulfilled, unhappy, and bad in nature make him who he is. Iago is one of the darkest characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays. By creating a character as nasty as Iago, Shakespeare was able to keep the audience interested and thrilled throughout  the whole play. Iago’s monologue is one way in which Shakespeare reveals Iago’s true thoughts to the reader before any other character in the play knows, that makes the reader more involved. 

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare is about love, a good and true love. The love the author describes is a perfect state between two people, that everyone dreams about, because it is strong and constant. The line number five ” O no! it is an ever-foxed mark” means that true and perfect love is never-changing. Even when something bad happens, it won’t influence this love, because it is unchangeable. In the last couplet, Shakespeare questions himself about whether his view on this perfect love is correct. He says that if not, he would have to renounce all his previous work about love.

The role of the gods and the goddesses in the Aeneid is very important. Certainly, without them the whole story would take a different course. One of the most significant goddesses is Venus, Aeneas’ mother. She protects him throughout his adventures by advising him and helping him in certain extreme situations when an angry Juno tries to destroy him. One very important example is when Venus obtains new weapons for Aeneas’ army because she is afraid of Juno. Juno is another goddess who plays a vital role here. She hates Trojans therefore she helps Turnus in the hope that he will finally wins over his enemy, Aeneas. Juno observes Trojans very carefully, and as soon as she catches the best moment to attack them, she immediately informs Turnus.  She also gives him her advice how to approach them. Both, Juno and Venus, use their divine power to control and direct the events in accordance with their feelings/moods. Without their ‘providence’, neither Aeneas nor Turnus would survive up to the point they did.

I think that cunning and prudence are the most essential skills in Homer’s world. Those who possess these skills, as Odysseus does, are able to achieve most of their goals. Homer shows the importance of these attributes through the hero Odysseus. Through cunning, which is Odysseus’ great strength, he is able to overcome many obstacles, such as monsters. For instance, when he was trapped in Polyphemos’ cave he wisely planned how to make him drunk, and then how to blind him, in order to escape his cave with his men. Throughout the whole book, Homer shows many evidence that Odysseus’ intelligence helps him make smart decisions on his long way back home. Odysseus is renowned for many good deeds, and at the end that was the most important for Ancient Greeks.