Since ancient times, philosophers have considered the dilemma of balancing reason and passion. Myths like the fall of Icarus tell of the calamities that occur when one takes precedence over the other— in this example, when passion supersedes reason. In his play Othello, Shakespeare illustrates this same predicament in an altogether different fashion. Three characters—Roderigo, Othello, and Iago—let passion override reason, with disastrous results.
Roderigo’s infatuation with Desdemona prevails over his common sense. At the onset of the play, Roderigo is a wealthy young Venetian who had previously failed to woo Desdemona. When he learns of her marriage to Othello, Roderigo is heartbroken, and he irrationally threatens to “incontinently drown [himself] (I.iii.305)”. Taking advantage of this weakened state, Iago, under the premise of assisting in the wooing of Desdemona, extorts larges sums of money from Roderigo and convinces the boy to kill an enemy of his, Cassio. So......

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Title: Passion And Reason In Othello
Approximate Word Count: 622
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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