Paragraph Style

The purpose of the paragraph is to explain Emilia and her role as a feminist in Othello.

Women in history have been mistreated, undermined, and abused by sexist ideals. These misplaced beliefs are commonly reflected in literature. In Shakespeare’s, Othello, the issues between men and women are emphasized through their different thinking processes and their use of language. One woman in the play, Emilia, uses varying degrees of feminist and antifeminist rhetoric in order to establish herself as a powerful woman. She becomes a tragic hero, helping and hindering Iago in his scheming, supplying him with the handkerchief but then outing his plan to Othello after the death of Desdemona. Her strong love for Desdemona adds to her complex character by her conflict of wanting to help her friend while remaining a loyal wife. Emilia’s ever changing rhetoric throughout the play is a direct result of whom she is with at the time. Emilia uses her knowledge of the world and of language to establish strong relationships with multiple people, achieving a greater connection with those around her with each change in diction. Her knowledge of language and the world indicates her intelligence, even surpassing the intellect of the men in the play. In Carol Thomas Neely’s essay, Women and Men in Othello: “what should such a fool / Do with so good a women”, she emphasizes the contrast of the thinking between the women and the men in the play, separating their rationale into categories of clear and rash thinking. Emilia demonstrates clear thinking throughout the play when attempting to help her mistress, Desdemona, although she is sometimes blinded by the love for her husband. Her rational thinking surpasses that of the men’s, conveying the insightful intelligence of women, and therefore battles the sexist ideals that continue to plague the world today.

Rewritten:

Women in history have been mistreated, undermined, and abused by sexist ideals. These misplaced beliefs are commonly reflected in literature. In Shakespeare’s, Othello, the issues between men and women are emphasized through their different thinking processes and their use of language. Emilia, one of the main women of Othello, uses varying degrees of feminist and antifeminist rhetoric in order to establish herself as a powerful woman. She becomes a tragic hero, helping and hindering Iago in his scheming, supplying him with the handkerchief but then outing his plan to Othello after the death of Desdemona. Her strong love for Desdemona adds to her complex character by her conflict of wanting to help her friend while remaining a loyal wife. Emilia’s ever changing rhetoric throughout the play is a direct result of whom she is with at the time. Emilia uses her knowledge of the world and of language to establish strong relationships with multiple people, achieving a greater connection with those around her with each change in diction. Her knowledge of language and the world indicates her intelligence, even surpassing the intellect of the men in the play. In Carol Thomas Neely’s essay, Women and Men in Othello: “what should such a fool / Do with so good a women”, she emphasizes the contrast of the thinking between the women and the men in the play, separating their rationale into categories of clear and rash thinking. Emilia demonstrates clear thinking throughout the play when attempting to help her mistress, Desdemona, although she is sometimes blinded by the love for her husband. Her rational thinking surpasses that of the men’s, conveying the insightful intelligence of women, and therefore battles the sexist ideals that continue to plague the world today.

Topic Position	Stress Position
Women in history…	…have been mistreated, undermined, and abused by sexist ideals.
These misplaced beliefs…	…are commonly reflected in literature.
In Shakespeare’s, Othello…	…the issues between men and women are emphasized through their different thinking processes and their use of language.
Emilia, one of the main women of Othello…	…uses varying degrees of feminist and antifeminist rhetoric in order to establish herself as a powerful woman.
She becomes a tragic hero…	…helping and hindering Iago in his scheming, supplying him with the handkerchief but then outing his plan to Othello after the death of Desdemona.
Her strong love for Desdemona adds to her complex character…	… by her conflict of wanting to help her friend while remaining a loyal wife.
Emilia’s ever-changing rhetoric throughout the play…	…is a direct result of whom she is with at the time.
Emilia…	…uses her knowledge of the world and of language to establish strong relationships with multiple people, achieving a greater connection with those around her with each change in diction.
Her knowledge of language and the world…	… indicates her intelligence, even surpassing the intellect of the men in the play.
In Carol Thomas Neely’s essay, Women and Men in Othello: “what should such a fool / Do with so good a women”…	…she emphasizes the contrast of the thinking between the women and the men in the play, separating their rationale into categories of clear and rash thinking.
Emilia demonstrates clear thinking throughout the play when attempting to help her mistress, Desdemona…	… although she is sometimes blinded by the love for her husband.
Her rational thinking…	…surpasses that of the men’s, conveying the insightful intelligence of women, and therefore battles the sexist ideals that continue to plague the world today.

Revised first sentence:

Throughout history, women have been mistreated, undermined, and abused by bigoted sexist ideals.