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. . That is, how I experience it as a silent reader and as a text for public performance. I allow the service to gather my personal data in the form of cookies to deliver better services and improve my experience. 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. The characters in Othello are acting like normal people pursuing everyday undertakings. Venice was at the time of writing the play one of the most influential and cosmopolitan European cities. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The play shows that Othello is always imploring for a brawl. He is … 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). However, the play is a domestic tragedy as the centre to the destruction is the marriage of Othello and Desdemona. 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. The catastrophic downfall of the noble warrior is a common phenomenon in many societies plagued by jealousy and vengeance. More in our Cookie Policy. 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. 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). 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. Othello is a tragic hero because of his tragic flaw. Anagnorisis is realized towards the play end when Othello discovers that Iago made a trap and lied to him that Desdemona is unfaithful. Decide, as you read, if the “double time scheme” of Shakespeare is successful, or whether it can be called fault in the play. This was usually depicted as heroes in the literature of the time. Numerous elements would probably catch my attention as a critic of the play. 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. The key rivals of the Venetians were the Turks, or Ottomans, who ruled a large empire extending from the eastern Persian Gulf to the western part of Hungary, including Greece and Egypt. 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. What message does the author want to convey through the story lost spring? Othello becomes the victim of a domestic calamity. The role of Sin in playing morality has been to encourage the protagonist to do something that will cause his own damnation. A tragic hero must be a man of high status and later face downfall. This may include the transformation of individuals from ignorance to knowing which may create friends or enemies (MacFarlane 367). Typically, this would be the reaction of a husband convinced that the wife has been cheating on him. 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. Moorish architecture and art can be seen throughout Spain today, particularly in the towns of Toledo, Cordoba and, and Seville. If Othello investigated the issue regarding Desmodemona he could have discovered that Iago was lying. Write the poet’s feelings when he sees a host of golden daffodils? 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. He enjoys some power and happiness especially when the play begins but later falls to become a murderer hated by people. The drama is ahead of its time. Instead, Othello is accused of abusing Desdemona. 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). 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. These were symbols of power and order. 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. 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. Othello discovers that Iago lied to him of Desdemona’s unfaithful. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Such incidents have been happening in society. Othello’s jealousy is one of his weaknesses besides believing the lies told by villain Iago that Desdemona is unfaithful to him. The main themes portrayed include intrigue, jealousy, faithfulness, remorse, death, and betrayal. He possesses a lot of knowledge and skills since he started his military career at a young age of seven years. The stage directions in the Tragedy of Othello are realistic. By the time he is a grown up man he is very experienced and capable of leading the troops to any battle. “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. The Tragedy of Othello is a subject of deceitful; Where Iago deceives a number of the characters within the play. 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 … 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. It was isolated from the colonial government. Othello play revolves around two major characters: Othello, a Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, and Iago is his disloyal ensign. Othello is certainly a tragedy by every definition of the word. The island is very symbolic of Desdemona. However, the purgation does not need to be positive as Kenedy and Gioia (857) ague. 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). Vice was a vile stock character who made known his intent Othello is a moor, a black but honorable man, in Denmark. Othello's tragedy is a product of not just Iago, but himself. Before and above all else, Othello is a soldier. / Hath made the flinty and steel couchof war / My thrice-driven bed of down” (I.iii.227–229). . As many critics have noted, Othello ‘s time scheme is rather confusing. Othello is descended from men “of royal siege” and a chosen commander in chief. The critic, Leavis, says that ‘Eloquence is a form of arrogance’. He is great as a military leader, as a man of stern morality, and he even has the gentleness of … Othello as a Tragedy. The emphasis of Othello is the center on the love association among Othello and his spouse (Shakespeare, 1903). The dialogue is made very realistic by the presence of the villain who appears to possess more lines than the disastrous hero. 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. 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. The death of his wife becomes his final blow and he realizes that he is no longer the powerful and respected man. It is a tragedy, as the characters we sympathize with end up dead. 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. The Turks were the despised enemy to Venice, and indeed to the England of Shakespeare, whom Christians fought during the crusades. 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. 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. In act 1, scene 2, Othello’s first words are quite subtly yet Eloquent ‘Tis better as it is’. The Africans who have come to England have been looked at with distrust and animosity. The anagnorisis is experienced when Othello comes to realize the evil in Iago and that his wife is innocent. The story tells of the troubled relationship between the title character and his wife Desdemona. Fromthe earliest moments in the play, his career affects his marriedlife. In deep rhetoric, Brabantio states that his house is not a grange. The play Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy with Othello as the tragic hero. 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. 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, a classic tale of love, jealousy and deceit, is considered one of the greatest dramas of Shakespeare. Othello is a tragedy that proceeds from misunderstandings and miscommunication. The play is full of suspense and contains the theme of jealousy, intrigue, suspense, and murder creating a great tragedy as per Aristotle's order. In the play, some references seem to describe Othello as a black African. In The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, many characters are unjustly victimized. Shakespeare was actually moulding Iago, the villain in Othello, after the character of Vice in the medieval morality plays. It is unbelievable that such a respectable and powerful man can behave in a manner that irritates everyone in the state. Moreover, sheis unperturbed by the tempest or Turks that threatened thei… There is a struggle to dominate her between Othello and Iago. The murder is committed on stage. The audience witnesses actions that have terrible effects although the agent is not aware of it. The drama is based on the three characters namely Othello, Iago, and Desdemona. All the meetings were bold, contentious, and very modern. 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. 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. This statement shows that he receives a lot of respect from other leaders and thus can be considered a tragic hero. grow as a result. In fact, this is founded on the fact that the daughter had eloped with a man of colour. He allowed Othello and his daughter to discuss more about him since he was mesmerized by his slave stories. In fact he is a moor who comes from the northern part of the Africa and thus a former Muslim who converted to Christianity. North Africa) and the eastern-born Arabs. He commands nobility, is confident, and very strong besides being highly respected by people of the Venice State. The dialogue sounds natural and does not involve the provocation of laughter in the audience. They may therefore identify the nature of the play as a tragedy of self-deception on Othello’s part.Immediately, Shakespeare imposes Iago’s sadistic, ruthless nature on the audience in Act One of the play, as he exhibits the villain’s swear to gain revenge against Othello for promoting Cassio above him. 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. 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 … This is only further enhanced by Iago, who keeps Othello on the outside of knowledge: Catastrophe, calamity: 5.2 Lodovico (to Iago) “Look on the tragic loading of this bed”- the aftermath of a true tragedy. 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