Othello’s Odyssey

There are similarities between Othello and Odysseus from The Odyssey. The characters are each talked about in a way that portrays them as great warriors and legends. Odysseus fought valiantly in the Trojan War and was one of the best fighters there was. This is similar to Othello because Othello is called upon to lead ships to Cyprus to meet the turkish fleet that was sailing for Cyprus. Othello was picked because he was a great leader and a brilliant militant. As the Duke says in Act 1 Scene 3 Lines 47-8 “Othello we must straight employ you / Against the general enemy Ottoman.” There were also some differences between Othello and Odysseus. In The Odyssey, Odysseus sets sail for the Trojan War without his wife, but in Othello, when Othello is chosen as the leader to sail to Cyprus, his wife Desdemona comes with him to Cyprus. Odysseus was smarter because bringing his wife with him to Cyprus was Othello’s downfall. Odysseus would have needed to worry about his wife while on his adventure and it would have most certainly gotten him killed because it would have caused him to worry about two people rather than just himself. I also drew a connection between Othello and Odysseus because they are both jealous. Othello believes his wife slept with another man so he gets somebody to try and kill the man, and strangles his wife to sleep himself. Odysseus comes home from his many year absence, to a large number of suitors for him wife, in his home and slaughters them all.