Shakespeare’s play Othello demonstrates the weakness of human judgement. Discuss 

Whether it be through the weak judgement of certain prejudices within the play, Othello’s completely devoted entrustment of his perpetrator or, Desdemona’s flawed perception of her husband’s loyal and noble qualities, it is evident that Shakespeare clearly demonstrates the weakness of human judgement. The audience witness several cases of misunderstanding as well as complete delusion and as a result David Scott Katsan’s belief that Shakespearean tragedies are an intense treatment of old age question: whether the flaws go human weakness lie in human flaws, divine retribution or merely arbitrary fate are left resonating in one’s mind. While a highly superstitious Elizabethan audience who held the belief that their fate depended upon some supernatural deity would argue that the weakness of human judgement in Othello could be attributed to some from of divine retribution, a modern audience would be more inclined to agree with Katsan’s suggestion that the weakness of human judgement lies within an individual’s own innate flaws. 

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Answered by Ciara B. English Literature tutor

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