In Shakespeare’s play “Othello” the main characters Othello and Desdemona suffer a tragic fate due to their actions and unforeseen circumstances. A majority of Desdemona’s suffering is down to Iago’s manipulation. However, it could also be argued that Iago is not completely to blame for the misfortune of Desdemona. We as the readers can see evidence of this at certain points in the play where Iago has planted the seeds of despair and Desdemona and Othello have fallen for his plans. In this essay, I will look at key moments in the play where Desdemona is presented as a tragic victim by the writer and justify why she is a tragic victim using quotes from the play.
A victim can become tragic in a variety of ways. First, the person could be a victim of other person’s actions. If a victim has submissive characteristic and can be easily manipulated, horrible characters will see this flaw and exploit the person for their own gain. In Act three Scene three, we see the bride Desdemona helping her friend Cassio get his job back after being fired for being drunk and starting a fight amongst ...
Shakespeare’s Othello illustrates the story of one man’s, Othello’s, self-destructive journey through vicious lies and slander surrounding his loved ones. Who is to blame for this? While the play focuses heavily on “Honest” Iago’s devious acts, Brabantio becomes the catalyst by warning Othello about Desdemona: “Look to her Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. / She has deceived her father, and may thee” (I. iii. 294-295).
Though her world was fall apart with Iago creating false images of an affair between her and Cassio to Othello, Desdemona strangely remains kind, innocent, and willing to grant grace. When Cassio approaches her for help, she quickly agrees to help her old friend. While she discusses relationships with Emilia, she rejects all thoughts of infidelity. She had every reason to fight Othello when Othello carries out her murder, yet she resist only a little, She responses, “The Lord have mercy on me…[and] mercy on you too” to Othello’s “Thou diest” (Othello 5.2.50; 71-74). When she is briefly revived and quested by Emilia as to who her murderer is, Desdemona only replies, “I myself” (Othello 5.2.152).
Northrop Frye once said, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Othello is the pillar of tragic heros, first playing the part of a loving husband with a beautiful wife, then being manipulated into believing his wife was cheating on him and killing her. Throughout the play, he played the part of the protagonist, everyone hoping he would figure out Iago was lying to him. Othello being the protagonist made the fact he was also a villain bittersweet. His apparent love for his wife Desdemona, his ‘just’ reasoning for killing her, and Iago’s deserving end all contribute to the tragic work as a whole.
Othello's Responsibility for Desdemona's Death. Othello is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. Its controversial issues and passionate characters excite audiences around the world. In the United States, the first ever on-stage kiss between a "black" man.
In the play Othello by William Shakespeare the role Desdemona plays has been greatly argued. Several critics say that Desdemona is a pawn, that she is submissive and may even be responsible for her own death. However; even if Desdemona appears to be fragile at the end of the play when Othello becomes aggressive and later when he kills her, Desdemona proves that she is much smarter, stronger, and even has a certain power over those who around her, than the women in the time period that Shakespeare wrote Othello. With further investigation of Desdemona’s character considering the role of women in the Renaissance age in England, Desdemona more than surpasses the expectation and the authority that women were allowed at that time.
There is nothing more grieving than the death of an innocent person who did not deserve their death. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello, two main characters fall in love and get married; Othello and Desdemona. Due to the jealousy of Iago over Othello, the lives of many innocent characters come in between. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, the evil schemes and cruel lies told by Iago, lead characters to die, unaware of the truth of what is going on around them. Thus, in the tragic play of Othello by William Shakespeare, the characters called Desdemona, Roderigo and Emilia die innocently due to their blindness towards the truth.
The tone of the story is tragic and serious. Meanwhile, there isn't any point of view because this is a play and a play doesn't normally have a narrator. Shakespeare lets the reader make up his/her own imagination with the characters' words and behavior. Since Othello is the protagonist, he is explained in more detail. Although Othello is a brave warrior, he is a jealous person; his jealousy also prevails over his good sense. The whole play depicts the fact that jealousy causes corruption. There are many conflicts found in Othello, and person vs. person is one of them. An example is when Iago seeks revenge against Othello and Cassio because of his anger and jealousy. Person vs. society appears when Desdemona's father Brabantio, disapproves her marriage to Othello because he is several years older than Desdemona, from a different class, and a different race. An internal conflict of person vs. himself is found when Othello is in a dilemma about whether or not should he believe that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him. Othello loves and trusts Desdemona until his jealousy is aroused by the cruel manipulations of Iago. Iago's intention was to persuade Othello to believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. As Iago succeeds in convincing Othello that Desdemona is guilty of adultery, it leads to the climax of the play. And so Othello must face emotions he can't deal with. His jealousy drives him insane, and his judgment is replaced with anger and hate. At this time, the reader notices that the death of Desdemona is inevitable. Othello smothers her, and he eventually kills himself when he knows that Iago falsely accused Desdemona. This also represents the tragedy of the play.
Desdemona is a victim of both Othello’s jealousy (the ‘green-eyed monster’) and Iago’s malevolence. However, as a literary construct, she is unable to prevent herself from falling victim to the hamartia of Othello and his hubris, an essential flaw in the tragic hero according to Aristotle. His pride is wounded by the idea that society would consider him emasculate due to having been cuckolded – in this sense, her fate was inevitable. Another of Aristotle’s theories purports that catharsis (often experienced following the death of the tragic victim) is a vital component of tragedy; as a great tragedy, catharsis must certainly be felt by the audience of Othello. However, the purging of emotions should surely only be felt towards characters which are genuinely liked, demonstrating the intricate link between pity and likability and highlighting the paradox in Auden’s statement: the audience must like Desdemona to some extent for her death to have a dramatic effect. Regardless of personal opinions on Desdemona, it is an upsetting final thought for the audience that there seems to be little hope for their own lives if evil can prevail over someone so good and taint something as beautiful as Othello and Desdemona’s love.
The play ?Othello? is an epiphany of the ultimate battle between appearance versus reality in the respect that Iago is the complete opposite from what he appears to be. Everyone involved with him separately thinks that he is doing them favors, when actually he is a backstabbing, conniving person who is the essence of evil and is often referred to as half-man, half-devil. Contrary to Iago, Othello is often referred to as a God-like figure, innocent in every way: trusting and naïve. Unfortunately for Othello, this serves as his eventual downfall helping Iago play Othello like a harp, which results in Desdemona?s death. Iago?s two-sided face and the other characters? readiness to believe him before thinking twice is the driving force of the play and its plot.
The Role of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello. In Othello’s society, only men make decisions. Thus, in Othello, the title character and other male characters drive the plot, leaving the women to deal with the consequences. Desdemona’s role in the play shows the way the male-dominated society treats women.
Consequently Othello is furious, as seen in 4.2, Othello questions Emilia about the actions of Desdemona. Emilia swears to him that Desdemona has been true to him and has loved him since. Othello is full of rage and jealousy that nothing calms him down. “As Othello himself recognizes, he is not quick to anger but, once angered, his natural passion takes over.” (Foster, “Othello”). Othello orders Emilia to call upon Desdemona. Once Emilia bring Desdemona he orders her to go. As Desdemona looks at Othello she tell Othello; “Upon my knee, what doth your speech import? I understand a fury in your words, but not the words.” (4.2.33-35). Desdemona understands that Othello is furious but she doesn’t know why he is acting this way. They used to be
Shakespeare’s Othello consists of the themes betrayal, love and dishonesty. At the centre of this play is the tragic downfall of Othello at the hands of his so called friend Iago. In this essay I will be discussing the reasons for and against Othello being responsible for his downfall through looking at critical interpretations of his character and actions.
The Relationship Between Othello and Desdemona We first learn of there being a relationship between Othello and Desdemona when Iago and Roderigo are telling Roderigo (Desdemona's). Father, that ''an old black ram is tupping your white ewe''. This is referring to Othello and Desdemona having sexual intercourse, and. Shortly after hearing this, we became informed that Desdemona is "Tying" her duty, Beauty, Wit, and Fortunes In an extravagant and wheeling. stranger''.
Everybody communicates for a reason to understand feelings especially inside groups and in relationships so that no one will get hurt. Desdemona's & Othello relationship has crumbled due to the lack of communication and which ability to understand one another the poor resource of information instead of talking to one another poor communication can lead to terrible situations especially in a relationship or with a loved one. If you don't get an understanding of what the person is trying to say it can cause trust issues and no respect to one another. Othello’s resource of lies was not with his wife to see if thoughts words were true which could have prevented this hole senaryo of despair and death. In a chapter of a Othello there was a part
Ophelia and Desdemona play the role of the "innocent lady" in Shakespeare's Hamlet and Othello. The roles of these characters provide a sense of completeness, faithfulness, and obedience to the leading male figures. In both plays, these innocent ladies end up dying. These deaths are both due to a false rejection of love. Othello kills Desdemona because he believes her love is false, and Ophelia dies ultimately because she reads Hamlet's mask of madness as rejection. These deaths exemplify the pattern of harmony turning to chaos in both of these plays, and provide proof of the decay that is spreading to everyone in Venice and Denmark.