Jealousy and the destructive nature of love in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, and Ian McEwen’s ‘Atonement’. Summer Jade Dolan 12th Grade

Compare and contrast the representation of jealousy and the destructive nature of love in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, and Ian McEwen’s ‘Atonement’.

When comparing themes of jealousy and the destructive nature of love within literature, the canonical works of Shakespeare’s Othello, Miller’s The Crucible, and McEwen’s Atonement must be considered. The texts offer differing representations based on numerous key factors. Primarily, recognition that the texts were written almost four hundred years apart and as such are evidently influenced by the differing social cultures of their times, is important. Furthermore, they’re influenced by diverse literary trends of different ages; Othello was written during the renaissance and therefore uses conventions of renaissance literature, The Crucible was written during a politically turbulent period and consequently utilises standards of political pieces, and Atonement, written in 2001, reflects the precepts of post-modernism. Despite these conflicting literary styles, the same base ideas regarding the representation of jealousy and the destructive nature of love exist within all three writings, providing numerous areas in which the pieces can be compared with...