The central character, or protagonist, in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, The Moor of Venice is Othello. Aristotle defined the concept of a tragic hero as the destruction of a noble person, usually with a personal flaw, and this flaw determines their fate. Othello is a tragic hero with a tragic flaw in one of Shakespeare’s most known tragedies. Shakespeare so prominently exhibits the tragic flaw Othello obtains, allowing implications and thoughts, to overrun reality and show how just the insecurity one possesses can allow a person to become powerless. Othello’s actions essentially destroy him, with the intentional help of characters such as the infamous Iago. Othello’s tragic flaw centers on his insecurity of being an African Moor in a Venetian society. The danger of mistrust, so evidently portrayed in Othello’s at first noble character, leads to eminent insecurity of himself, his race, and ultimately his own demise.
Othello, honored in Venice as both a military and political leader, is portrayed as an outsider. Janet Adelman, an English Professor from University of California said “Othello . . . the victim of the racist ideology everywhere visible in Venice, an ideology to which he is relentlessly subjected and which increasingly comes to define him as he internalizes it—“ (125). In the beginning of the play Othello’s name was not mentioned, he is only mentioned in racial slurs. Roderigo and Iago are talking in a street in Venice; it is not exactly evident what they are bantering about. When they awake Brabantio to tell him that The Moor or Othello has married his daughter, Othello is portrayed as a beast and unworthy of Brabantio’s white Venetian daughter, Desdemona:
Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul;
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...stics such as jealousy and mistrust. Not only does this cause Othello’s suicide, but the death of his wife and other characters in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, The Moor of Venice.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. “Othello, The Moor of Venice.” Literature and the Writing Process.
Backpack Edition. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan et al. Boston: Longman, 2011. 585-669 Print.
Adelman, Janet. "Iago's Alter Ego: Race As Projection In Othello." Shakespeare Quarterly 48.2 (1997): 125. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Little Jr., Arthur L. "`An Essence That's Not Seen': The Primal Scene Of Racism In Othello." Shakespeare Quarterly 44.3 (1993): 304. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Skura, Meredith Anne. "Reading Othello's Skin: Contexts And Pretexts." Philological Quarterly 87.3/4 (2008): 299-334. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Othello is also the protagonist of the play, nevertheless he was still considered the hero as well. Othello’s refusal to face reality lead to his downfall. His flaw is his insecurities as a Moor and his inability to accept the success he has earned, the importance he has places in his honour and reputation caused his ultimate downfall. Iago easily manipulated Othello because Iago knows Othello’s flaw. Othello cannot stand the thought of his reputation being marred as a general and a Moor in the Venetian army. Like a soldier, honour was what Othello hold dear to his heart. Although Othello is a highly respected general in the Venetian army, he is still a Moor. Because he has been a soldier his entire life, his way of thinking have affected his confidence in perception. As a black man in a white people’s world Othello was discriminated and considered an
Othello’s blackness, his marriage with Desdemona, and the murder of her are all three important structural elements of Othello and are a...
Texts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences can be seen through the context of the female coupled with the context of racism. The role of the female has developed from being submissive and “obedient” in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the “moor” is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s appropriation, Geoffrey sax’s Othello, reflect the context and values of their times.
Orkin, Martin. “Othello and the “plain face” Of Racism.” 2nd ed. Vol. 38. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 166-88. Shakespeare Quarterly. Folger Shakespeare Library in Association with George Washington University, Summer 1987. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. .
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The story is about Othello, who is a general in the Venetian army and is convinced by his trusted ensign, Iago that his wife is cheating on him. Eventually Othello kills his wife and when he finds out the truth he then kills himself. Most of the conflict in the play stems from Othello’s value assumption that women are not equal to men, which leads to dramatic and value irony. Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, his trust in Iago and Othello’s jealousy indicates Othello’s belief that women are not equal to men.
In the Sixteenth century, as we see clearly from Othello and other works of both Shakespeare and Cinthio's original version of Othello, race was a topic of great debate and discussion. Today, in the twenty-first century the debate retains its controversy and passion. However, attitudes towards race have taken a dramatic turn during the last century. In the developed world people are now living in an increasingly cosmopolitan society would undoubtedly be more tolerant and would reject or even be offended by racial discrimination to any person or sections of the community. Openly 'racist' people today are seen as outcasts. Taking this into account, the way a modern audience would react to race and racism in Othello is dependent upon the way in which that modern audience would interpret 'Othello'. This prompts the questions of what sort of message Shakespeare wanted to send to his audience and was Othello the moor portrayed as a tragic hero or did his character eventually come to resemble the prejudices of which he was a victim. Shakespeare also discusses the issue of race with other characters such as the hateful Iago and the prejudices hidden deep in Barbantio.
William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Othello” shows how a manipulative villain can create chaos within a society. The play was written around the year 1603 and takes place in Venice Italy before it is repositioned to Cyprus. This Shakespearean tragedy shows the effects of jealousy, love, desire, betrayal and passion in a society with an imbalance of power in a race, gender, and social position.
The people in Venice replace the awareness of Othello’s race with the great respect that they have for him, which shows how Othello’s capabilities far surpass any racist stereotypes. Even Othello’s false ensign, Iago, says that he cannot appear to hate Othello, because it would do nothing to get rid of him. Afterwards, the duke also says that his “opinion…throws a more safer voice on [Othello]”(i.iii.223) than others at Cyprus. Othello is not a vile black-devil in his professional setting. Instead, he is the lord to Iago, the able-bodied general, and the duke even states that Othello, “is far more fair than black” (I.iii.286). The duke is still aware of Othello’s color, black, but both Iago and the duke take into account the physical strength and virtue of Othello that makes both of those titles void, at least in being able to harm Othello’s position as general.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, unspoken fears of being an outsider and concerns about his public image contribute to the downfall of a tragic hero named Othello. Othello, a general in the Venetian army’s, final monologue reflects the importance of reputation and the conformity needed to fit his surroundings. He is seen as an outsider of the Venetian culture; he is frequently referred to as “the Moor” and is called an abundance of racial slurs by the Venice born natives. Although Othello never voices his internal struggle to feel accepted by the people around him, his image and physical appearance are some of major issues he faces. Even in the moments before he stabs himself, Othello is more concerned with the legacy he is leaving behind than with the death of his wife, Desdemona. Shakespeare uses Othello’s transformation from a heroic military soldier to a tragic figure to warn of the dangers of obsessing over one’s reputation and the need to feel accepted by society.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55)
Little, Arthur L. “’An Essence that's Not Seen’: The Primal Scene of Racism in Othello.” Shakespeare Quarterly 44.3 (1993): 304-24. JSTOR. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
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 hopeful support until the inevitable and unavoidable fall. The evil side of Othello’s tragic flaw came from without, in the form of Iago. The internal flaw exists only in his heartrendingly unshakable goodness and honor.
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 character of Iago uses racial stereotypes both to disparage Othello and to plant the seeds of jealousy in him. Iago calls to Brabantio "an old black ram / is tupping your white ewe." (I,i,96-7) He uses this image to enrage the old man and to denigrate Othello. Later in the scene, Iago refers to Othello as a "Barbary horse," indicating his North African heritage and at the same time conveying a sense of inferiority. (I,i,124) He continues this insulting metaphor by referring to Othello and Desdemona’s future progeny as "gennets," a term for Spanish horses. (I,i,126) This opening scene sets the stage for not only Iago’s hatred of Othello, but for his prejudice against him. In his consolation of Roderigo, Iago calls Othello "an / erring barbarian" whom Desdemona will leave when she is tired of him. (I,iii,377-8) Again to Roderigo, Iago queries "what delight shall" Desdemona "have to look upon the devil?" (II,i,258) While drinking with the men of the watch in Cyprus, Iago raises a toast "to the health of black Othello." (II,iii,30) These remarks eventually are turned on Othello himself as Iago suggests that Desdemona would not love a Moor. Iago claims that all Venetian women are prone to infidelity in his speech:
When one hears the word tragedy, one can assume that the human emotions are responsible for the collapse of an individual. To the Greek philosopher Aristotle, however, a tragedy is “an imitation of an action of high importance…in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties…[or] by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (Kennedy & Gioia, 945). He defined a tragic hero as having three common characteristics: hamartia, or the tragic flaw in the character which coupled with hubris (pride which results in overconfidence) causes his downfall and demise; katharsis, the purgation of the audience’s emotions, which causes the audience to feel “not depressed, but somehow elated”; and anagnorisis, or the recognition of some fact not previously realized by the true identity of the main character (Kennedy & Gioia, 946). Therefore, as defined by Aristotle’s concept of tragedy, William Shakespeare’s Othello could be classified as a tragic hero. Shakespeare’s play includes jealousy and intrigue, which intertwined with pride and suspense create the finest of Aristotelian tragedies. Othello complies with the requirements for a tragic hero as Aristotle began with the premise that the hero must be of “high estate,” as if he were the member of a royal family; however, he yet falls from a hierarchy of power to one of abashment. He has married the daughter of a Venetian nobleman. He starts out well, but his end is one of drama. Moreover, Shakespeare’s plot develops as Othello’s katharsis is revealed through the climax and conclusion of the play, while the anagnorisis with the recognition that Iago was a traitor and Desdemona his innocent victim.