Othello's Tragic Flaw

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Othello's Tragic Flaw

The extravagant language and literary techniques used in Shakespeare's

Othello enhance the settings, characters, and themes. Othello, an

intricate tragedy about good versus evil, loyalty, love, sexual

jealousy, and appearance versus reality, is told in a first person

point of view. The play is entitled Othello and the plot and action

encompasses him, thus supporting his position of protagonist.

The play takes place during the Renaissance in Venice, Italy and in

Cyprus over three days. The opening scene of Othello is very dramatic

as it begins in the middle of a disagreement or argument between two

of the characters, Iago and Roderigo. Iago is a corrupt individualist

who bitterly despises Othello, and his villainous scheme for revenge

results in the deaths of Othello, Desdemona, his own wife and

Roderigo, a suitor of Desdemona.

There is suspense as Iago and Roderigo talk of two men. One who is

named and another who is referred to as ‘he’ or ‘him’. This creates an

enigma or feeling of suspense as the audience wonder who ‘he’ is. The

reason being that Iago presents ‘him’ in a negative way, “…he, as

loving his own pride and purposes…”. This shows Othello or ‘he’ to be

boastful and perhaps even egotistical and full of pride. The enigma

continues when Iago says, “I follow to serve my turn upon him”. The

audience find this chilling, and wonder how this storyline will

develop and how Iago will take revenge on Othello.

In the time this play was written, even the Queen was xenophobic,

“(banishing) the great number of niggers and black moors which are

crept into this realm…who are fostered and relieved here to the...

... middle of paper ...

...lf to say the word

“whore”, that Othello has accused her of being. “Such as she said my

lord did say I was”. Othello kills this naïve, innocent, good woman

who he still loves passionately. “This sorrow’s heavenly; It strikes

were it doth love.”

The ending of the play highlights the fact that Iago’s destruction of

Othello and Desdemona was so totally pointless. He never gave a real

intention, only vague suspicions that “twixt my sheets he’s

(Othello’s) done my office” and because Othello promoted Cassio above

him. Iago does not seem to get any pleasure from the outcome of his

plan, although this may be because he has been found out. The death of

these two noble, basically good people, and Emilia, seem by the end to

have been for no reason at all, Othello demands one but Iago only

replies “What you know, you know”.

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