Nick Condry
Professor Mehdizadeh
East Meets West
4 May 2014
To Mold Or Be Molded: The Identities of Tamburlaine, Othello, and Roland
In Tamburlaine the Great, the Song of Roland, and Othello, the protagonists face a myriad of external trials to test them, yet some of their most challenging struggles relate to the clash between their self-perceived and externally recognized identities. Each of these characters must reconcile their own self-perception with their projected image recognized by the world at large. For Tamburlaine, his outward projections of divinity played counter to his ever growing, driving awareness of his own essential mortality. For Othello, the composed and confident demeanor he presented would crumble and shatter under to reveal the fragile core that lay within. For Roland, the circumstances of his birth consigned him to a live of vassalage, and imposed boundaries on his achievements that he could never break through, though he was never tempted to. In the end, the trials and tribulations facing these protagonists are manifestations of these internal battles, defining not only the experiences of the characters but also their essential being. These veiled conflicts compose the heart of these stories, from which the rest of the narrative flows. In each of these tales the reader’s are given glimpses of these hidden sides only through constant observation, but it is especially these brief windows of vulnerability that offer us true understanding of the characters portrayed.
Tamburlaine has retained the fascination of audiences over the centuries due to his ability to hold his self-perception nearly constant through a meteoric rise to regional and then global power. What makes this possible, and which might contribut...
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...st everything. Like Tamburlaine, Roland sought greatness, yet never once did it occur to him to move past the barriers inherent in his vassalage. He carried the burden of having the broad strokes of his life defined by the mere circumstances of his birth, his identity intrinsically tied to servitude. Though he served his position well, he was always the vassal, never the lord.
The ways in which these mythical men viewed themselves were vital to the arc of their tales. In each case, their struggles to reconcile themselves with the world they inhabit form the primary drivers of their ascensions and falls. Tamburlaine chose to mold the world, Othello to be molded by it, and Roland to unquestionably serve in his place. For each character in these tales, as in the lives of every human, there came a choice: to mold, or be molded – they made their decisions, what is yours?
The central figures in these three works are all undoubtedly flawed, each one in a very different way. They may have responded to their positions in life, or the circumstances in which they find themselves may have brought out traits that already existed. Whichever applies to each individual, or the peculiar combination of the two that is specific to them, it effects the outcome of their lives. Their reaction to these defects, and the control or lack of it that they apply to these qualities, is also central to the narrative that drives these texts. The exploration of the characters of these men and their particular idiosyncrasies is the thread that runs throughout all of the works.
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, Othello is first seen as a man who has gone through many hardships. He worked his way up from being a captured and enslaved prince, t...
Beyond the battle scenes, Roland is true to the era in its portrayal of vassalage between a lord and his liegeman. In her introduction, Dorothy L. Sayers defines vassalage as "a personal bond of mutual service and protection between a lord (seigneur) and his dependant, and was affirmed by an oath and the rite of "homage"." The Song of Roland undeniably represents the bond between lord and vassal. For instance, when Roland agrees to lead the rearguard, although his place is usually with the vanguard, he does because of his bond of fealty to his Uncle Charlemagne. When Charlemagne offers him half the army, Roland refuses because it is more appropriate, for the ...
This paper contains 237 words of teacher’s comments. What one perceives is influenced by one’s environment. The setting and commentary surrounding events changes our perception of them. Any innocent gesture can be perceived in the wrong way with enough persuading from someone else. Even if someone has total faith in another person's innocence, they can be persuaded to doubt them through the twisting of events. Once just a small amount of doubt has been planted, it influences the way everything else is seen. This occurs throughout the play, Othello. In this play, Iago influences Othello's perception of events through speeches and lies, making him doubt Desdemona's fidelity. Iago uses his talent of manipulating events to exact his revenge on Othello. Iago's twisting of events in Othello's mind leads to the downfall of Othello as planned, but because he fails to twist Emilia's perception as well, he facilitates his own eventual downfall.
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.
In Act three, Scene three, Desdemona agrees to speak to Othello in Cassio’s behalf) As Desdemona and Cassio discuss Cassio’s loss of rank and trust in Othello’s eyes. Iago brings to Othello’s attention the discussion taking place between Cassio and Desdemona. Iago knowing full well why the discussion is happening. Iago hints the pair seems to be spending a lot of time together. Iago plants the seed of doubt in Othello’s mind Othello begins to ponder the idea of whether Iago suspicions are true.
Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.
Watkinson, A. "Othello: The Ironic Interdependence of Othello and Iago." Novels for Students. 5 November 2004. http://www.enotes.com/othello/743/print
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.
One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers. From the beginning Othello is noble, quick to act, judicious, trusting, and gives much weight to the importance of duty. These are all traits that serve to make him great at the beginning of the play, and later, ironically become key elements in his downfall. These aspects can be considered the internal causes of Othello’s tragic flaw. “Othello's nature is all of one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute…. Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood.” Othello is pure an...
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello there are numerous instances of obvious sexism aimed at the three women in the drama -- Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca – and aimed at womankind generally. Let us delve into this subject in this paper.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
In our own time more genteel, but also more intellectualized versions of Rymer’s disfavour have been voiced by T.S. Eliot and F.R. Leavis, who both consider and reject the personality that Othello presents to the outside world, pointing out that he is not so much deceived as a self-deceiver, a man presented by Shakespeare as constitutionally incapable of seeing the truth about himself. So the detached, ironic view of the creator contrasts with the tragical and romantic view taken of himself by the created being. (201)
Shakespeare’s famous play Othello is a play of love that has turned bad by the unfounded jealousy of the protagonist character Othello. Arguably the contribution of Othello’s susceptibility to manipulation, his weaknesses and the manipulation of other characters tactics such as Iago each contribute to the downfall of Othello. However, to the extent of which each is more significant varies and this is what will be analysed in this essay.
Finally, Tamburlaine fails to fit into the definition the tragic hero. He is merely a low classed man who rises by illegitimate means and then naturally goes back to his lowliness. The maximal point of interaction between the audience and the tragedy is when Catharsis is provoked, a point that Tamburlaine fails to meet. Well, the historical background of the play tells us that Tamburlaine the Great, Part II did not reap much of the audience's admiration; again this is theoretically attributed to the fact that Tamburlaine mismatches the definition of tragic heroes.