The Comedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice Disappointment is absolutely crushing in a manner that a simple sad story cannot be, so it follows that The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, is that much more tragic because initially it does not appear to be a tragedy at all. Until the moment Othello murders Desdemona, the play, though commonly thought of as one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies, is structured more like those in what the First Folio would categorize as a comedy or what more modern scholars would call a romance. Othello is framed as a hero, his relationship with Desdemona is shown to be one that can stand up to just about anything and they travel to a new land, Cyprus, that is different than that which initially questioned …show more content…
Many of Shakespeare’s comedies, from Twelfth Night to The Comedy of Errors to The Two Gentlemen of Verona to Much Ado About Nothing, involve deception as a main aspect of the plot. Much Ado About Nothing even has deception around a woman’s rumored infidelity as part of the plot just like Othello but differs in that it ends as a comedy. In Othello, Iago plants seeds of doubt about Desdemona’s fidelity in Othello’s mind and eventually provides him with “the ocular proof” (III, iii, 370) of the affair in the absence and later reemergence of the handkerchief. This theatrical device of seeing something on stage without actually understanding what is going on, though a character may think they have because they witnessed it, is used again and again throughout Shakespearean comedy. Although infidelity is a serious matter especially in this time period, it is not strictly a plot device in tragedy but also can be used in comedy if the rumor of the affair is nothing more than hearsay. This accusation carries great weight and can be used to heighten the drama of a comedy, making the resolution that much happier that this peril has been avoided. In the case of Othello the affair is indeed only a rumor and so until the play’s dramatic conclusion in a murder-suicide, there is the potential for it all to still be resolved. The fact that there is this deceiving villainous figure of Iago may cause some to automatically think this must be a tragedy, but comedy has its villains in the form of the character vice, who often coax the hero into sin. The turning point for whether this play ends up being a comedy or a tragedy lies in the unraveling of this deception, and when it
Act iii, scene iii, lines 108-131 of William Shakespeare’s “Othello” unquestionably shows Iago’s trickery and deceptiveness which is masked through his reputation for honesty, reliability and direct speaking. This section not only shows Iago’s slow but powerful act of deception, but also shows the jealousy and insecurities slowly depriving Othello’s inner peace and balance.
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).
How Othello Follows the Rules of Tragedy Tragedy is not just simply one sad event, in ancient Greek plays and in Shakespeare's tragedies it usually follows a number of common ingredients or rules. Firstly it involves a conspicuous or exceptional personality. For example in the occurrence of Princess Diana's death she was the exceptional character. She was a woman who had done an astonishing amount of work for charities and a Princess. The second rule of tragedy is that it must be unexpected and constructed with previous happiness or glory.
In The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the “noble Moor” whose honor and innocence bring about his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this play Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othello’s embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding without any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal. He makes Othello believe that his new wife, the innocent Desdemona, is committing adultery with his newly promoted officer Michael Cassio. After this seed of jealousy has been planted, Othello’s mind takes its course in determining the true outcome, with a little more nudging from Iago. The course of action he proceeds to follow is one that not only ends his own life, but also the life of his wife and others. In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, Othello is a man who is still truly honorable, despite the course of action he takes to resolve his perceived problem.
Language and imagination are among the most dangerous weapons Iago has at his disposal in Othello. Jealous and angered by Othello’s - his commanding officer - passing over him for a promotion, Iago develops a fierce, antagonistic perspective the aforementioned character; this sentiment quickly corrupts his volition, and he subsequently concocts a plot bent on destroying Othello. He renders this revenge scheme credible by concealing his true feelings behind a facade of loyalty and trustworthiness, and fabricating a fictitious story concerning the infidelity of Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Until the play concludes, Iago utilizes purposeful rhetoric to drive his agenda, and also a mastery of deception to mislead the minds of his targets.
Othello as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare's famous tragedy "Othello, the Moor of Venice" (c.1604, as reprinted in Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Literature: Structure Sound and Sense, 6th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993]1060-1148) is arguably one of the finest, if not the finest, tragedies in the literary history of Western civilization. This paper discusses Othello as a "tragic hero" and compares him to the great Aristotle's concept of what a "tragic hero" actually is. First, we need to understand the characteristics of a so-called "tragic hero" as defined by the Greek critic, Aristotle. He indicates that a tragic hero must have these characteristics: (1) Be a nobleman, prince, or person of high estate; (2) Have a tragic flaw, and a weakness in judgment; and (3) Fall from high to low estate. (Hubele). Using the Aristotle criteria, we can easily classify Othello, the Moor, as a tragic hero. At the time, it was common practice for the Italian city-states to have a foreigner, with proven military capabilities, serving as the head of their Army. Othello, an African Moor of noble birth, is just such a character and held the highest ranking military position as Governor-General of Cyprus. The city of Cyprus was a city-state in the great state of Venice. His title alone, Governor-General, exudes an air of nobility, confidence, and strength. It defines someone who is held in tremendously high esteem by the people of Venice. During Act 1, Scene 3, the Duke and a few Senators are discussing issues around a table when Othello enters the room.
The Tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, is a play about a Moor of Venice and his downfall by deception and love. The themes of two-facedness, narcissism, and honor are all prominent in this play; the theme overarching these, however, is loyalty. Similar to a satirist, Shakespeare shows that the true nature of a person’s loyalty is not always as it appears. Othello’s loyalty to his own honor exposes his false loyalty to his wife. Iago, the antagonist, is deceptive in portraying himself as honest and committed to those he supposedly loves, but at the same time he plans their downfall. Honor, narcissism, and deception are each concepts Shakespeare uses to convey the ambiguity of loyalty in people.
From a young age, we are taught that lying is something unacceptable. Although we have this value instilled in us, most of us begin lying from a young age. Whether it be lying about who ate the last cookie or who broke the vase, lying is inevitable. Once we are a bit older, we become more inclined to lie when we face certain situations. One might lie to protect themselves or another’s feelings. All of this points to the inescapable truth; lying is a part of human nature. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago spins a web of lies in order to carry out revenge against Othello. He does this by planting a series of lies amongst characters in the play that lead Othello to kill his wife, Desdemona, and ultimately, himself. A personal agenda based
Othello is the tragedy, and, incidentally, the name of a Moor who serves as a general in the Italian military. He spends the first act of Shakespeare’s play in Venice, but is ordered shortly to Cyprus to fight the Turkish invasion. His journey isn’t officially noticeable at all in the play. One moment he’s defending himself in the Senate of Venice, the next he’s in Cyprus, taking credit for being victorious in a battle the storms fought for him against the Turks. The story unravels from there. His soon-to-be-lieutenant, Iago, whispers in his ear about his wife, Desdemona, and the unforgivable crime of adultery, throwing Othello’s orderly world to the winds of fate.
play, “Othello”, honesty has a very ironic pat. The theme of this play is basically all about
The Tragedy of Othello William Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, from the sixteenth century is an excellent example of Renaissance humanism. “A poet of unparalleled genius, Shakespeare emerged during the golden age of England under the rule of Elizabeth I.”(Fiero 3:98) He produced comedies, tragedies, romances and histories. According to Webster’s pocket dictionary, a tragedy is defined as a form of drama in which the protagonist comes to a disaster, as through a flaw in character, and in which the ending is usually marked by pity or sorrow. I would like to concentrate on the character Iago and the theme of deceit.
Of Shakespeare’s five greatest tragedies, Othello is by far the most passionate and gripping. It is a tale of love, deception, evil, honesty, and virtue. Othello himself is set apart from other Shakespearean tragic heroes by the absolute feeling of affection the audience feels for him even unto the very end of the play. Any discerning reader painfully recognizes the virtue and goodness of Othello throughout the entire play, in contrast to the general degeneration of character so typical of a tragic hero. It is this complete pity that makes the death of Othello so tragic as the audience lends their full support to the inevitable and unavoidable fall.
The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the tragic protagonist allows himself to become swept away with his emotions putting aside his responsibility to maintain a level head as a general in the Venetian army while under the influence of a malicious villain disguised as a trustworthy confidant. In this play, Shakespeare utilizes Iago’s immorality and premeditated actions to emphasize the way in which Othello’s fatal flaws prevented him from seeing the veracity of the situation.
The construction of characters in literary texts plays a powerful role in conveying texts values. In Shakespeare’s ‘The tragedy of Othello, the moor of Venice’, or later known as Othello, there are many characters to discuss but Othello, the noble general, and Iago, the honest but jealous ‘Ancient’ are going to be discussed because of the fact that they are the main protagonist and antagonist of the play, the roles of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. In plays and scripts the audience can only really know anything about the characters is from what they have said, the audience isn’t told what they are thinking, like in novels, and the only way we get a glimpse is when the only character performs a soliloquy. How they speak or what they do is solely based on