Further, the drama involves a bed in which murder is eventually committed. Othello, a noble black Moor, has spent his life as a mercenary soldier and is now a general in the army, serving the republic of Venice. Why does Saheb seem unhappy while working at the tea stall according to the narrator? Shakespeare has accomplished all the requirement of a tragic hero to bring a feeling of pity and fear to the audience.Â. For instance, the treatment he gets from the senators is special such as the time when he enters a room where leaders are discussing the state matters. Othello, the protagonist of the tragedy, is a tragic figure because he is a man of great character and some virtues but brings about his own doom due to a tragic flaw. But in a more specific sense, OTHELLO fits in pretty neatly into what Elizabethans thought of as a … So, it is rightly a tragedy of intrigues which are all planned and executed by Iago. Iago cannot convince the audience in whatever he says given that the audiences have insight into his character though it is not evident to the actors. The play presents the audience with a tragic hero of colour. It is therefore; right to argue that Othello fits well in the description of a tragic hero by Aristotle since his downfall results from his hamartia or tragic flaws. The wife of Iago, Emilia cries in bitterness exclaiming Desdemona’s innocence after the Moor kills his wife “Moor she was chaste…” (Shakespeare and Opzoomer 5.2.258). Why did Saheb spend his time going through garbage dumps? Despite being a middle-class man, his tragedy is great because of his great character of heightened morals and power. The dialogue simply involves a husband, wife, and a scoundrel. However, it does not require supernatural instructions to hook the audience. Before and above all else, Othello is a soldier. What pleasure does a beautiful thing give us? The audience has a climactic moment as it discovers the truth as Herzel put it that "a special kind of double vision comes into play" (498). Moreover, sheis unperturbed by the tempest or Turks that threatened thei… Another important element of tragedy Othello is the revelation of facts related to the tragic hero or anagnorisis. Many of these errors are bound up with Iago's deception, but Michael Donkor looks at other, additional causes in the play. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The play begins with the news of them getting married, the beginning of their personal relation, the actions fall towards catastrophe with the possible destruction of it and ultimately its pitiful e… Why is beauty an invariable source of joy? The Turks were the despised enemy to Venice, and indeed to the England of Shakespeare, whom Christians fought during the crusades. However, the word Moor was also commonly used in Shakespeare’s day, to refer to any person with dark or black eyes, including black Africans. By planting the handkerchief in Casio’s house, it is an indication of a conspiracy between him and the wife (Lankey 6). It is a tragedy, as the characters we sympathize with end up dead. Upon the revelation that the Desdemona had eloped with Othello, his feeling altered abruptly. In Othello, the audience pities Othello, Iago, and Desdemona but still feels fear for the couple that was enjoying a happy marriage before the conflicts set in. The story tells of the troubled relationship between the title character and his wife Desdemona. Un Capitano Moro, means ‘a Moorish captain’. Although he is good in the military, he is bad at home. Othello appears to be an awful husband. WhileDesdemona is used to better “accommodation,” she nevertheless accompaniesher husband to Cyprus (I.iii.236). The Tragedy of Othello is a subject of deceitful; Where Iago deceives a number of the characters within the play. All the meetings were bold, contentious, and very modern. Othello is considered to be a tragedy play, Tragedy is a type of drama that generally deals with problems and conflicts of the major character, leading to … By acting as a director and producer in charge of staging the tragedy of the Othello, I would ensure the actors bring out the rhetoric of the drama. stupid’, because he romanticises the tragedy at the end For instance, in Othello's case, the audience may not feel happy and excited with the play's ending since almost all the main characters die. The drama is based on the three characters namely Othello, Iago, and Desdemona. At this moment, Othello realizes Iago’s lies and cries before ending his life since he cannot forgive himself for the crime he has committed. There is no record of Shakespeare travelling to Venice so he probably relied on books to help him construct a clear image of Venetian life. Like pretty much all tragedies, a good production gives the audience a "catharsis," that is an overwhelming sense of having experienced something real and tragic, to (hopefully?) The plot itself was drawn from a novella written in 1565 by the Italian writer Giraldi Cinthio. The audience witnesses actions that have terrible effects although the agent is not aware of it. Moreover, although Shakespeare ‘s plot was not original, his talent for dialogue, characterization, and romantic language and phrasing made the tale into something uniquely his own. Shakespeare’s play Othello is an example of such a tragedy, where the vulnerable qualities of the hero cause him to fall from power and happiness to uncontrollable rage, jealousy, and death. It can also be said, after having read the story, Othello's own insecurities were the product of his own In order to fully understand what a tragedy is one must understand the characteristics of what a tragedy and a tragic hero is according to Aristotle. The dialogue reflects the reality of a society that is under pressure from the usual hassles of life. The role of Sin in playing morality has been to encourage the protagonist to do something that will cause his own damnation. The other one is catharsis in which the emotions of the audience change in a manner that makes them learn a lesson from the drama. Ania Loomba quote on Othello’s misogyny ‘Othello becomes a victim of racist beliefs precisely because he becomes an agent of misogynistic ones’ Hazlitt quote on Iago being an amateur ‘Iago is an amateur of tragedy’ F.R Leavis calls Othello ‘ferociously…. In the most basic and commonplace sense, it is the story of terrible events, ending in violent death. In fact he is a moor who comes from the northern part of the Africa and thus a former Muslim who converted to Christianity. He is … However, the core of these problems and his main tragic flaw is his insecurities. Thus, this appears as the main theme of incompatibility in the armed forces of heroism and love in the drama. At this point, he is very weak and cannot control his actions and his life ends tragically. I allow the service to gather my personal data in the form of cookies to deliver better services and improve my experience. Again, he is a man with an African stature that commands respect from the people and senators of Venice since he is described as tall and dark. Othello represents the third location called Turks. In the opening scene for example, Iago displays characteristics that will show his pivotal role in the tragedy of Othello. Learn how your comment data is processed. Venice was at the time of writing the play one of the most influential and cosmopolitan European cities. Certainly. In this case, Othello's anagnorisis as the play ends is quite poignant. Therefore, when Shakespeare wrote about “The Moor of Venice,” he envisioned a well-educated and uplifted North African man in the Muslim faith (although baptized Christian as an adult). This emerged upon considering that the location was only mentioned as a war zone with the other two characters. The Senate and the Duke ran the city. This is a short critical analysis examining the play from multiple perspectives. Deceit and jealousy contribute to his tragic failure, the death of the couple, and Iago's punishment. These were symbols of power and order. Just like Simpson, he murders the wife after being informed that she has been cheating on him. The Africans who have come to England have been looked at with distrust and animosity. There some things that the audience is aware of but the characters such as Othello do not know until at the end of the drama. What increases continuously in a thing of beauty? Given that the play had no subplot, the play directions tend to budge in terms of place, time, and action once the theme is shifted to Cyprus. Though Iago may appear to be the primary cause of Othello's downfall, based on how manipulative, evil, and deceptive Iago was throughout the story. In fact, he turns out to be a chauvinist and protective. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The geographical symbolism represented by the two locations of the play would be important. The emphasis of Othello is the center on the love association among Othello and his spouse (Shakespeare, 1903). Shakespeare was possibly following the pattern of the Greek dramatist Aristotle in using a brief time span, who urged playwrights to keep the action of a tragedy “within one revolution of the sun.” Shakespeare probably realized that his story couldn’t take place in such a short time, but was trying to limit the time span as much as possible. He commands nobility, is confident, and very strong besides being highly respected by people of the Venice State. The play tells the story of a powerful general of the Venetian army, Othello, whose life and marriage are ruined by a conniving, deceitful, and envious soldier, Iago. Othello, a classic tale of love, jealousy and deceit, is considered one of the greatest dramas of Shakespeare. As a North African man in Venice, Othello is isolated from the start. Othello, apart from Act I in Venice, is located entirely within the fortress at Cyprus. The Ottoman Empire and Venice had been in continuous conflict. The dialogue sounds natural and does not involve the provocation of laughter in the audience. / Hath made the flinty and steel couchof war / My thrice-driven bed of down” (I.iii.227–229). The stage directions are the realistic forms of domestic tragedy. 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The tragic hero in Othello experiences this at the end of the play by knowing the real character of his wife and Iago, but it is too late. I would insist that the actors should bring out the rhetoric clearly to sensitize the audience about racism. The island is very symbolic of Desdemona. In addition, his demonstration of confident reaction especially when Barbantio accuses him of engaging in witchcraft activities is proof that he is the hero of the land as defined by Aristotle. In fact, this is founded on the fact that the daughter had eloped with a man of colour. This should not be called plagiarism; it was usual for playwrights in Shakespeare’s day to borrow themes and plots from other plays and then adapt them for the stage. “Considering this environment, it is very shocking that Shakespeare would have written a play in which the hero was an African and a rather noble character. William Shakespeare’s work titled The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is thought to have been based on an Italian short story Un Capitano Moro (Jones 2). In addition, an actual tragedy according to Aristotle contains a purgation, which can leave the audience with a feeling of justification and uplift at the end. William Shakespeare masterfully crafted Othello, the Moor of Venice as an Aristotelian tragedy play. It is lago who catches Othello in his net of fraud and destroys him. Othello is a tragic hero since he fulfills all the three requirements offered by Aristotle since he is initially a person possessing noble status but later falls to a shameful one. Outline Introduction The play Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy with Othello as the tragic hero. Compared with these strict rules, Shakespeare's tragedy is a more relaxed genre, but Othello much more than, for example, the sprawling Hamlet, observes the spirit of Aristotle. Othello is a Tragic Hero: A tragic hero has to be a virtuous and “a morally blameless man”. Do we experience things of beauty only for short? grow as a result. Othello is the tragic hero since the play satisfies all the qualifications for tragedy as defined by Aristotle. In fact, one member of the sitting senators exclaims, “here comes the Barantio and the Valiant Moor (Shakespeare and Opzoomer Act 1 Scene 3). Seated in a lagoon on the Adriatic Sea, Venice was a large trade port with control over Mediterranean strategic points such as the Crete and Cyprus islands. . He enjoys some power and happiness especially when the play begins but later falls to become a murderer hated by people. It is unbelievable that such a respectable and powerful man can behave in a manner that irritates everyone in the state. This happens because he has the quality of hamartia leading him to suffer shame at the end of the drama. The murder is committed on stage. If Othello investigated the issue regarding Desmodemona he could have discovered that Iago was lying. The killing of Desdemona is evidence of the frustration that Othello is going through after being cheated and convinced by Iago to trust that his wife was cheating on him. However, the play is a domestic tragedy as the centre to the destruction is the marriage of Othello and Desdemona. All these have been depicted fully in Shakespeare's play that highlights the rise and downfall of Othello. This statement shows that he receives a lot of respect from other leaders and thus can be considered a tragic hero. Write the poet’s feelings when he sees a host of golden daffodils? Again, Othello’s plot has catharsis experience at the climax of the drama as the play ends. He is very powerful at first, and no one thinks that his life can end tragically, as it happens during the conclusion. The main protagonist of the play, Othello, is the perfect example of a tragic hero. The dialogue is made very realistic by the presence of the villain who appears to possess more lines than the disastrous hero. What is Saheb’s complete name and why is it ironical? Vice was a vile stock character who made known his intent Queen Elizabeth, I issued an edict against these unfortunate foreigners in 1596, reading as follows: “Her Majesty understands that several blackamoors have recently been brought into this realm, of which there are already too many people here. The worst fears come when Othello kills his wife, but the audience still has pity on Othello after he realizes his wife is innocent, stabs himself, and dies. Considering all the happenings in the play especially to its main character, Othello, the moor of Venice qualifies to be a tragic drama. The drama teaches the audience to be careful when handling difficult situations especially after receiving devastating news. He finds it hard to adjust to the marital existence having been in the armed forces for long. However, they may feel justified by the punishment in the villain thus the play transforms the emotions of the audience at it ends. The features of tragic dramas include hamartia, catharsis, and anagnorisis. Thus, Shakespeare creates the illusion that more time has passed, even as the group has been in Cyprus only for two days when we examine the scenes. Instead, Othello is accused of abusing Desdemona. An early example is Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy; probably the most famous example is Shakespeare's Hamlet.Although ideas about tragedy and other forms of drama originally came from Ancient Greece, Greek was not widely understood and it was the works of the Roman dramatist Seneca that popularised tragedy … He is highly respected by the senators of Venice State and the citizens, He has heroic qualities such as courage, dignity, religious ties, sound judgment, and practice of self-control, Another distinct quality of a tragic hero according to Aristotle is that the cause of the downfall must result from flaws of his character, Othello’s jealousy is one of his weaknesses, Othello kills his wife, but the audience still has pity on Othello after he realizes his wife is innocent. Africans were strange and foreign enemies of Christianity to the English of Shakespeare’s time, given to heathen practices such as witchcraft and voodoo. The language used to give directions to the audience is natural and restrained. The events seem to take place in just a few days, but there are references throughout the play which suggest that much more time has passed. Iago uses Othello’s jealousy and Desdemona’s innocence to break and separate their love. There are many undesirable traits in Othello, like his jealousy and gullibility. Aristotle indicates that in order to be … There is a struggle to dominate her between Othello and Iago. In The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, many characters are unjustly victimized. William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the Moor of Venice concerns the downfall of Othello who was a Moorish General and can be considered a tragedy. Iago at times hilariously expresses his intentions for the murderous abhorrence of Othello. The imagination of the audience is captured by the fact that the drama involves interracial marriage that was unfathomable in those days. Shakespeare possibly wrote The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice in 1603 or 1604, as we know it was first performed on November 1, 1604, at court. The tragedy of Othello has four main characters. In the play, some references seem to describe Othello as a black African. The members of Shakespeare’s audience probably shared these same sentiments toward Africans. This may include the transformation of individuals from ignorance to knowing which may create friends or enemies (MacFarlane 367). For instance, in Shakespeare and Opzoomer Act 1 scene 2, the governor of Cyprus named Montano awaits for Othello's ship to arrive after an intense storm in the Sea. What is the message of the poem prayer of the woods? The play asks us to examine which man is the true enemy of civilization, the Christian European Iago or the Muslim-born, ““barbarian”” foreigner Othello. One source he almost certainly used was the Government of the Commonwealth of Venice (De magistratibus et Republica Venetorum), written by Italian author Gasparo Contarini in 1543, and Othello, a classic tale of love, jealousy and deceit, is considered one of the greatest dramas of Shakespeare. He pretends to be morally upright so that his intention of ensuring the downfall of Othello is well covered. Another distinct quality of a tragic hero according to Aristotle is that the cause of the downfall must result from flaws of his character and his way of making judgment leading to failure. The stage directions in the Tragedy of Othello are realistic. One critic has criticised the statement that Othello is presented as a tragic hero because ‘Othello is overly aware of his nobility’ (2). That s, it involves the risk of isolation. The anagnorisis is experienced when Othello comes to realize the evil in Iago and that his wife is innocent. The play’s first act is set in Venice, a city-state in northern Italy, and the next four acts in Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. “Tragedy of Othello” is a “tragedy of character” in which the seeming protagonist Othello belongs to the upper-class of the society by being a general in the army. What message does the author want to convey through the story lost spring? This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. . Othello who is a Moor completely fits the definition given by Aristotle of a tragic hero. Vice was a villainous stock character, who kept the viewer conscious of his purpose by asides and soliloquies. He did only that for his own pleasure and no other reason. One primary purpose of a tragedy is dramatizing the weaknesses, failure, and the despair of human beings and how they can improve their character through character analysis. The Moors conquered Spain in the eighth century and brought it under Islamic rule, taking their immense knowledge of literature, architecture, medicine to Western Europe; And technology, much of which they had learned from ancient Greeks and Arabs. Such incidents have been happening in society. However, the rhetoric does not come out clearly even when he is called a thief in the street. This incident is probably inspired by a real battle which occurred in 1571. Translated into English in 1599 by Lewis Lewkenor. Othello is a play that is a mainstream Shakespearean tragedy and therefore is an obvious text for Paper 1. Iago is aware of the moor's weaknesses and uses them to cause his downfall as he states "The Moor is of a free and open nature… And will as tenderly be led by the nose / As asses are" (Shakespeare and Opzoomer 1.3. The critic, Leavis, says that ‘Eloquence is a form of arrogance’. “Othello” is a great example of a revenge tragedy because no one knows that they are victims, and no one suspected Iago to be behind the whole thing. North Africa) and the eastern-born Arabs. The Turks have, however, been successful in capturing Cyprus in real life, although they are being held off by a storm in the story. Shakespeare may have been divided between two objectives: in the one side, by making the events take place in a brief time period, raising the dramatic suspense, while on the other, requiring ample time to pass such that the storyline can be plausible. That is, how I experience it as a silent reader and as a text for public performance. The main themes portrayed include intrigue, jealousy, faithfulness, remorse, death, and betrayal. Fromthe earliest moments in the play, his career affects his marriedlife. Anagnorisis is realized towards the play end when Othello discovers that Iago made a trap and lied to him that Desdemona is unfaithful. Asking “fit disposition” for his wife after being orderedto Cyprus (I.iii.234), Othello notes that“the tyrant custom . When he realizes that he acted with haste and that Desdemona is innocent, he commits suicide and the play ends in a sad mood. Besides, it is an armed forces premeditated target for both Turks and Venetians. For instance, Venice is represented by Lago while Cyprus represented by Desdemona. This meant that he does not keep horses. Othello is a tragic hero because of his tragic flaw. Othello: A Short Synopsis. As editor Michael Neill observes, ‘to talk about race in Othello is inevitably to fall into some degree of anachronism, while to ignore it is to efface something fundamental to the tragedy.’ [3] As a result, Shakespeare’s Othello has been appropriated worldwide as a vehicle for the exploration of racial and ethnic tensions. However, before the action of the drama, Brabantion had been kind to the Moor (Horman 112). His behavior that seems quite impulsive makes him react violently instead of trying to find out whether the stories told about his wife are true or not. However, it is unclear whether Shakespeare meant that we saw Othello in appearance as a black man or as one more Arab. Hence, Her Majesty’s pleasure is that these men should be removed from the country. Moorish architecture and art can be seen throughout Spain today, particularly in the towns of Toledo, Cordoba and, and Seville. Othello is a tragic hero since he is a respected man at the begging enjoying power and honor but later faces downfall when he murders his wife suspecting her of being unfaithful. Today, Venice is a part of modern Italy, but in the 1500s it was a powerful maritime empire ruled by a duke, or doge, and a council of nobles. He calls him brave Othello a character that commands complete respect and honor from leaders and citizens of the state (38). By using the criteria suggested by Aristotle, it is possible to determine whether Othello, the Moor acts as a tragic hero or not. Desdemona as a victim in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is widely known for his famous plays, sonnets, and other works including the tragedy. The characters in Othello are acting like normal people pursuing everyday undertakings. For one to qualify he must possess qualities such as being a person of a high state, face downfall and become unhappy, and his downfall must be contributed by his tragic flaws (Kennedy & Gioia, 856).  In the play, Othello is a Moor from Africa of noble birth who serves at the highest rank in the military as the Cyprus Governor-General. The Venetians were Christians, and the Muslims were Turks. The revenge tragedy was very popular during the Elizabethan and Jacobean period. The play shows that Othello is always imploring for a brawl. The audience is aware of Desdemona's innocence yet her husband is not. It is a play capable of arousing deep emotions in audiences, exciting feelings of pity and terror (feelings that according to Plato ought to be kept in check). A tragic hero according to the Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, must be a person occupying a prestigious estate, Prince, or nobleman, possess a tragic flaw besides having some judgmental skills, and falls from a high state to a low one (Dewar‐Watson 12). The play Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy with Othello as the tragic hero. Compared to Europeans, the Moors of Barbary were dark-skinned people but not black. Therefore, it is right to argue that Othello is a tragic drama considering the changing life of the main character from a highly regarded man to a shameful one. In act 1, scene 2, Othello’s first words are quite subtly yet Eloquent ‘Tis better as it is’. Othello play revolves around two major characters: Othello, a Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, and Iago is his disloyal ensign. The Moors were a Muslim people living on the African northern coast, an area called Barbary by the Europeans. He possesses a lot of knowledge and skills since he started his military career at a young age of seven years. Othello is a man that commands high honor from everybody including soldiers and his people that call him "captain" a word that refers to a commander or a soldier of troops. Othello's tragedy is a product of not just Iago, but himself. Othello is a moor, a black but honorable man, in Denmark. This one quality makes him feel great and enjoy privileges although they do not last long due to his weakness of reacting with rage.  The other characteristics that earn him high honor include courage, dignity, religious ties, sound judgment, and practice of self-control according to the play (Bradley 66).  However, towards the play end Othello loses his self-control qualities when he commits a terrible murder crime that irritates everybody. The great tragedy of Shakespeare starts under the night cover in the city of Venice, a city-state renowned for its military strength and as a hub of trade. According to Aristotle, a play must have the capability to arouse the audience feelings of fear and pity and later give them a conclusion, which satisfies them. Othello’s nobility is quite evident, however, he does have traits that can be viewed as tragic flaws. Typically, this would be the reaction of a husband convinced that the wife has been cheating on him. Othello is a tragic drama and the main character, Othello is the tragic hero since the play satisfies all the qualifications for tragedy as defined by Aristotle. This was usually depicted as heroes in the literature of the time. On the contrary, Cyprus is very unpredictable and natural. Othello is the one at fault for the terrible events in the play. Why does the poet ask people not to speak? However, the directions are based on the modest approach to a drama that is located in two diverse worlds known as the Venice and Cyprus. It is domestic, because the locus of the tragic events is the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. Critical Analysis of The Tragedy Of Othello, Setting: Venice, Cyprus, and the Ottoman Empire, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window). It tells the tale of Othello, a general from Moorish (North Africa) who marries a Venetian lady and then is cruelly fooled into thinking that his wife is unfaithful. The visual plainness displayed on the stage according to the stage directions focuses directly on the actors and a fascinating account of retaliation, gullibility, and jealousy. But no matter what the exact colour of his face, the crucial point is that Othello was a stranger in Venice, an alien character who, though being respected and appreciated for his military prowess, aroused frequently intrigue, distrust and even hate.
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