Discusses the theme of isolation in three famous pieces of literature.
This paper compares and contrasts the theme of isolation in Shakespeare’s Othello, Homer’s “Odyssey”, and in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. The paper looks at how the theme of isolation is treated as either a corrupting influence or a positive influence by the respective authors.
“Almost all worthy pieces of literature deal with the question of isolation of the lead characters. Isolation of the hero is used for many reasons. It can be used to create a setting where the hero is questioned or tested for his moral courage. It may also be used for soliloquy where the hero uses the time for self-reflection and self-analysis. It may be seen that isolation as a theme has been used by many literary experts to aggravate the difficulties of the characters because there is a general belief that isolation increases the problem of a person. Isolation allows a person to be his natural self and so he lets down his ostentatious pomp and ceremony, which actually makes him conform to his animal desires. Isolation is also seen as a punishment that tempts men to perform acts that would not be true to their honor. However, isolation is also a tool that enhances the love between people who are distant from each other because it is seen that pure love only gets enhanced by being isolated. The pangs that one has for his love are enhanced by isolation. So it can be seen that isolation is presented both as a corrupting influence as well as positive influence by eminent authors.”