Tuesday, February 7, 2017

AP English: Envy vs. Jealousy in William Shakespeare's Othello

Dr. B found this fabulous photo of Othello and Iago from the Bell Shakespeare Company in Australia.

The last couple of days, we have discussed the terms envy and jealousy, using them almost interchangeably.  While it is acceptable to say that you are "envious" or "jealous" of someone when they get a new car, the two words have important distinctions.

According to Stanford University's Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Jealousy involves three parties, the subject, the rival, and the beloved" ("Envy vs. Jealousy," emphasis mine).  When a person feels jealousy, his/her "real locus of concern is the beloved, a person (or being) whose affection he is losing or fears losing." 

Envy, on the other hand, is a two-party affair, in which " the envious person’s locus of concern is the rival."

For example, let's take the story of Cinderella.  In the fairy tale, Cinderella (the subject) loves her father (the beloved) and he loves her.  One day, Cinderella's father decides to remarry, introducing the wicked step-mother (Cinderella's rival).  Cinderella fears losing the love and affection of her father to her rival, the step-mother.

Using these two definitions, please answers the questions below.

Questions:
1) Based on what we have read in William Shakespeare's play Othello, who experiences jealousy within the play? 
2) If jealousy is a "three party" event, who is "the subject," "the rival," and "the beloved?"
3) If envy is only a two-party affair, who is "the subject" and "the rival?"

12 comments:

  1. 1. Roderigo is the one who experiences jealousy, because he is jealous of Othello because he was Desdemona. Iago experiences envy, as he lusts after Cassio's position as lieutenant.

    2. For jealousy, Roderigo is the the subject, Othello is the rival, and Desdemona is the beloved.

    3. For envy, Iago is the subject and Cassio is the rival.

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    1. I like how you added Cassio into question three. I never thought about adding him into the situation when I was answering this question!

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    2. I agree with you Katrina! When discussing the definition of "envy," it's easy to see how Iago is the subject, but who he envies can be difficult. Does he envy Othello? Does he envy Cassio? Sometimes, I think Shakespeare leaves these matters uncertain for a reason. I also think Shakespeare makes Iago's envy change throughout the play.

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  2. 1) I think Roderigo experiences jealousy the most in Othello. He is jealous of Othello because Desdemona loves him instead of Roderigo.
    2) The subject is Roderigo, the rival is Othello, and the beloved is Desdemona.
    3) For envy, I think Iago experiences it the most in Othello. Iago is the subject and Cassio is the rival, because Othello chose Cassio to be his lieutenant instead of Iago.

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  3. 1) Roderigo experiences jealousy in the play. He is jealous of Othello because he is with Desdemona, the one Roderigo loves.
    2) Roderigo is "the subject," Othello is "the rival," and Desdemona is "the beloved."
    3) In the play, Iago is envious of Othello. "The subject" is Iago and "the rival" is Othello.

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  4. 1. I think Roderigo experiences jealousy in the play because Othello is with Desdemona.
    2. The subject is Roderigo in the three-party event of jealousy because he loves Desdemona but she's with Othello. The rival is Othello because has Desdemona. Finally, Desdemona, falls under the beloved category because she is married to, and loves Othello.
    3. Othello would be the subject in the two-party affair of envy because Iago, the rival, desires what Othello has. For example, his partnership with Desdemona.

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  5. 1) Based on what we have read in William Shakespeare's play Othello, who experiences jealousy within the play?
    Rodrigo experiences jealously in the play. Due to his love for Desdemona, Iago and Rodrigo make a plan in attempt to split Othello and Desdemona up.

    2) If jealousy is a "three party" event, who is "the subject," "the rival," and "the beloved?"
    The subject would be Rodrigo, the rival as Othello, and the beloved as Desdemona. Although, I would say there is two subjects, one being Rodrigo, and the other being Iago. Iago is treating everyone like puppets in order to better himself in the future.

    3) If envy is only a two-party affair, who is "the subject" and "the rival?"
    If it were a two party affair, I would still say that this situation is through Rodrigo with the rival as Othello. Although, Rodrigo has other aspects of the play as to why he makes certain decisions, and his decisions effect other characters and their decisions as well.
    Looking back and seeing that this question is on envy rather than jealousy, I got the two confused for a second... I think that the envy would have to be between Iago and Cassio, or between Iago and Othello. Iago is jealous of others positions of authority and is taking a lot of time and effort into mixing with these people's emotions.

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    1. I really like how you added that Iago and Roderigo plan to split them up, it would help someone realize exactly how jealous Rogerigo is. I think it is interesting that you said there are two subjects. Do you mean that they are two subjects in this specific affair? Or two in the books?

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  6. 1. In Othello, by William Shakespeare, there is both jealousy and envy, but it is jealousy that Roderigo experiences around Desdemona and Othello's relationship. Roderigo wants what Othello and Desdemona has but can not have it at the time.

    2. Because jealousy has a subject, a rival, and a beloved, that would make the subject would be Roderigo, the rival would be Othello and the beloved would be Desdemona.

    3. Iago experiences envy because he wishes that he had gotten the promotion rather than Cassio who became the lieutenant instead of him. This upset Iago because he felt more worthy of the promotion and not wants to get Othello back for making Cassio lieutenant instead of him.

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  7. 1) Based on what we have read in Othello, I think Rodrigo experiences jealousy because he loves Desdemona who is already married to Othello. Iago is envious of Cassio since Othello gave him the higher position.
    2) I think the subject is Desdemona, the rival is Iago and the beloved is Othello because Othello is the one who is giving out all the of the love while Iago is trying to use Desdemona to ruin her own marriage.
    3) Based on what we read I think Iago is trying to make Othello feel Envious with his plan to make him think his true love is sleeping with another man.

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  8. 1. Roderigo is jealous of Othello because Othello is married to Desdemona, who Roderigo is in love with.
    Iago also experiences jealousy, because though it isn't true, he believes Othello slept with his wife, Emilia.
    There is also envy, in which Iago is envious of Cassio, because Othello chose Cassio over Iago for a promotion.
    2. For Rodergio's jealousy, "the subject" is Roderigo, "the rival" is Othello and "the beloved" is Desdemona.
    For Iago's jealousy, "the subject" is Iago, "the rival" is again Othello, and "the beloved" is Emilia.
    3. For Iago's envy, "the subject" is Iago, and "the rival" is Cassio.

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  9. 1. Iago experiences jealousy within Othello. He is jealous because Cassio got the promotion from Othello and not him. He is also playing as an advocate to satisfy Rodriego's jealousy towards Othello and his love for Desdemona.
    2. Othello is the subject, Iago is the rival, and Desdemona is the beloved. Othello loves the idea of Desdemona and the same goes for Othello because she has fallen for his stories. Iago is is indifferent towards Desdoma; however, lusted for her in the past.
    2. Othello is the subject, Iago is the rival. Iago invests much of his time to get to everyone's head, but his main objective is the break him.

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