Othello is one of Shakespeare’s four pillars of great tragedies. Othello is unique in comparison to the others in that it focuses on the private lives of its primary characters. When researching the subject of Othello being an Aristotelian tragedy, there is debate among some critics and readers. Some claim that Shakespeare did not hold true to Aristotle’s model of tragedy, according to his definition in “Poetics,” which categorized Othello as a classic tragedy as opposed to traditional tragedy. Readers in the twenty-first century would regard Othello a psychological thriller; it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat creating the emotions of terror, heart break, and sympathy. This paper will focus on what Shakespeare actually intended regarding “Othello” and its Aristotelian influences.
Aristotle’s concept of the tragic hero and that a hero must meet the following definition, (1) must be a noble man, prince, or person of high estate, (2) have a tragic flaw or a weakness in judgment and (3) fall from high to low estate. When Shakespeare wrote about Othello, he envisioned an exotic figure, a North African man, well-educated and although raised in the Muslim faith he converted to Christianity as an adult. Reference to Othello as a “Valiant Hero” (I.iii.49) by the majority of other characters makes his nobility indisputable Regardless of his nobility, seniority, wealth, and accomplishments; Othello was an outsider in Venice. Before the reader is introduced to Othello, he is obscurely referred to as he or him and is also called “the Moor” (I.i.57), “the thick-lips” (I.i.66); which are all names implying that Othello is dark skinned. He was admired and valued for his military genius, yet his “distinction’ evoked curiosity,...
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... a lowly one. In Aristotelian tragedies because of “peripeteia” (reversal of fortune, for better or for worse) the hero gets what he wants, but what he wants results in his destruction. Othello has allowed Iago to poison his ear with the green-eyed monster rearing its ugly head like Godzilla. The seeds that Iago planted took root and grew. ‘Iago flamed the flame of jealousy, which was already imbedded in Othello’s personality’ (Enoch, 191, p.38). Any evidence presented was circumstantial, not solid. Othello’s mental state had become compromised, resulting in a psychotic episode. The result was the death of an innocent, his wife Desdemona. In his last speech, Othello justifies his murder of Desdemona by claiming that he is not easily jealous and he loved too much (V. ii.). Before committing suicide, Othello fiercely endeavors to maintain his idealized image.
In William Shaspeare play Othello, Iago make Othello believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. He does by taking advantage of any situation to make of Othello doubt. Iago make Othello thing a lot of crazy thing on his head, Othello got so jelous leading him to kill his own wife, Desdemona, satisfying iago obseccion for revenge.
In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, the role of women is deeply emphasized; the significant characters of the play Othello, Iago, and Casio, each have a lady that stands behind him. These women each have commitment to remain faithful and respect their husband's needs, especially Desdemona and Emilia.
Shakespearian tales always leave us with a plethora to ponder about the Elizabethan age and Shakespeare himself. “Othello” is no break in this mold, leaving us to ponder the roll of Iago within the harsh tale of love and murder. Iago is the one to tell Othello of his wife’s betrayal with Cassio, hence making up a story that will work to his favor yet betray those around him. Iago betrays his wife, Emilia, but not only her as he drags Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio into the mix of lies and the hatred he is spreading to improve his rank with Othello. But were Iago’s acts unjust and done for the sake of it? Is he a heartless man who’s only happiness is to bring sorrow upon others? No, Iago has a just reason for what he does, even though he causes the deaths of Cassio, Emilia, and Desdemona in his search for revenge; Iago is not a heartless fiend, just a man wronged.
The play, Othello was written by William Shakespeare in the later years of his career. Giraldi Cinthios, Tale of a Moor, based Othello on a story that was a mellow Drama, about a moor and his doubts about his wife’s fidelity. In Shakespeare’s play the Moor (Othello) convinced by his jealous aid (Iago) that his wife (Desdemona) is not Being faithful. Iago’s jealousy is motivated by his anger when he learns that Cassio of Florentine has been appointed Governor of Cyprus. He felt that he deserved this promotion and vowed to seek revenge against Othello.
Aristotle continued to express a tragedy arouses both pity and fear, pity for the doomed hero and fear for all humans who are subject to the same forces and weakness. It would not be difficult to discover that Othello demonstrate weakness and fear in the play, and Shak...
The first rule that is met in Shakespeare’s play is that Othello is considered tragic hero, which every tragedy must contain. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must be a man in a position of power who is a good person and makes a mistake during the timeline of the play due to a tragic flaw. Othello’s major flaw can be seen as jealousy: “Othello has often been described as a tragedy of character, as the play’s protagonist swiftly descends into a rage of jealousy
Nick Potter states: “Othello is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level of intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello comes to understand himself or anyone else.” Within Shakespeare’s Othello, no character fully understands themselves of one another. This is especially true in human dealings, where the intentions of characters and how others interpret them are often misaligned. Conflict, and eventually, tragedy arises in Othello due to the incomprehension between characters, as well as within the characters themselves. From the reader’s perspective, it is tragic to understand the reality behind all the incomprehension, since the characters are oblivious to what the readers are aware of.
The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play we see his dramatic flaw sink him deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his love of his life but also himself.
Essential to the success of Othello is the fact that the issues and themes explored in this tragedy, written by Shakespeare in about 1604, are still relevant to the modern audience. The interest of an audience is held by themes that are fundamental to the human condition, as these reflect our world and examine human nature. Othello explores the issues of racism, gender, domestic violence, the supernatural and the pathology of the entirely evil person, which are all remarkably relevant to our time. Thus the interest of the audience is held, as issues that affect the viewers and readers of the play spark individual opinions, reflection and thought.
Tragedy is an intrinsically human concept; tragic heroes are damned by what they themselves do. Othello is not so much felled by the actions of Iago, but by a quality all people possess-- human frailty. Accordingly, Othello is not a victim of consequences, but an active participant in his downfall. He is not merely a vehicle for the machinations of Iago; he had free agency. Othello's deficiencies are: an insecure grasp of Venetian social values; lack of critical intelligence, self-knowledge, and faith in his wife; and finally, insecurity-- these are the qualities that lead to his own downfall.
Desdemona is one of the protagonists of the play contributes to the play and also fleshes out certain aspects of characterisation mainly where Othello and Iago are concerned. Thus her relevance is highlighted consistently throughout Othello, since without her ppresence, Iago would not have succeeded in manipulating Othello, and Othello's drastic transformation would not have been made evident.
Othello is one who believes in justice and fairness and will make no exception, even for the love of his life. Ultimately, he murders her because he is, “One that loved not wisely but too well.” (V, ii, 398) This, above all, gives the play its powerful end. Othello’s true flaw is not vile, destructive jealousy, but rather pure and prevailing love.
In some ways you could say that Othello was highly responsible for his own downfall as he was easily manipulated by Iago showing him to be gullible and naïve. Iago manipulates Othello by making him suspicious through inference,
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, dramatic intensity is and dramatic tension is felt throughout the entire drama from the first scene to the last. As you read Othello you get a feeling as if you are in the play from all of the dramatic intensity and conflict that is presented to the reader throughout the drama. We are introduced to some of that dramatic intensity you feel as we read act I scene III 128 - 220. This is one off the many great dramatic points of this play letting us see the true feelings of Othello toward Desdemona, and how it gives Iagos a plot to plan against Othello to bring him down. This drama we see that the internal drama tension is from mainly Iago without him there would be no conflicts really throughout the play. We see inside of Iagos dastardly plan in Act II, Scene I, and Lines 211 – 292 were he is planning with Roderigo to get Desdemona away from Othello so that Roderigo could court her. We then from this scene see that at the end when Roderigo leaves that this is just a big plot to bring down Othello and get back at Cassio out of pure jealousy of him for being named by Othello his military understudy. Iago plotting the way he does in this part of the drama it’s only a mere prelude to the intensity and tension felt throughout the play. It makes us realize that the problem isn’t anything to do with Desdemona and Othello’s conflict of being together as in act I scene III lines 128 - 220. Iago in act II scene I lines 211 – 292 sets the entire plot and scheme of the drama out for us to see, and showing us that Othello’s and Desdemona’s confess to love in act I scene III lines 128 - 220 is no longer the dramatic conflict.