Why Does Shakespeare Refer to Jealousy as ‘the Green Eyed Monster, Begot Upon Itself, Feeds on Itself’?

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The main words in the beginning of the quote are ‘green’ and ‘monster’. In my opinion, Shakespeare refers to jealousy as ‘the green eyed monster’ because jealousy causes people to change in a bad way; it brings out the worst in people. People can become several things because of jealousy such as: impatient, paranoid, bitter, mean, selfish, angry and controlling. These traits in a person are negative, and you don’t really want to be around people who have these traits, therefore the usage of the word ‘monster’. Also, the word ‘monster’ is used because a monster destroys things and people. No one wants to be around a monster and no one wants to be around jealousy. Shakespeare puts ‘the green eyed’ before monster because the colour green is connected with jealousy and envy. ‘Green has connotations with: poison, toxic and bitterness. This is also another reason for why jealousy is related to the colour green. ‘Begot upon itself’. ‘Begot’ means give rise to; bring about. In other words, Shakespeare is saying jealousy brings itself around; it rises by its own, just like a beastly monster that comes around by itself. ‘Feeds on itself’ means that jealousy eats itself, makes itself worse. If a person becomes jealous, they metaphorically become a monster that brings itself around town and no one or nothing makes the monster worse but the feeling itself. What is a cuckold? 1815 French satire on cuckoldry, which shows both men and women wearing horns. This caricature makes full use of the traditional European folkloric metaphor that the husband of a sexually unfaithful wife has horns on his head. In fact, all the individuals shown (except Infidelity herself, her servant cupid, and the fifth person from the right) are wearing horns -- and there's a basket of extra horns to the left of the throne, and the canopy above the throne is decorated with smaller horns. 1815 French

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