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The Character of Othello
The Character of Othello
The Character of Othello
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Othello: The Noble Savage
There are many opposing views to the way that Othello is defined within Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Othello. Some suggest that Othello is a savage "Moor," and at no point is he the noble "Venetian" he attempts to portray himself as. Others suggest that Othello is the noble "Venetian" he portrays himself as, and his ultimate demise stems directly from Iago being a savage. Yet some agree that Othello is both the noble "Venetian" and the savage "Moor," unable to fully interpolate himself into the "Venetian" paradigm, but becoming, rather, a "noble savage."
When the play begins, Othello is introduced as a military leader and a Christian, both characteristics of a noble "Venetian." According to Bell: " When we first meet him (Othello), he is a Christian and a `self-made man' who has overcome the handicaps of being foreign and black in the white Venetian world in which he has found his place" (2). Once Desdemona's father, Brabanzio, discovers the wedlock that has taken place, he is the first to point out that Othello is, in fact, a Moor when he states: "Here is this man, this Moor..." (1.3.71). Othello responds to this with the courtesy, modesty, and refined manners of any noble Venetian by saying: "It is most true, true I have married her/ The very head and front of my offending/ Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech/ And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace..."(1.3.79-82). In every way, Othello has portrayed himself to be equal to the most noble of "Venetians," even when faced with the accusations that he must have wooed Desdemona using potions or witchcraft. Othello asks that they let Desdemona speak for herself on how she came to love this Moor that he is. Desdemona...
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...ve been able to use this idea against him, in which case he may have maintained the noble identity he accepted for himself. Ultimately, Othello becomes a little bit of both, being able to neither cast off the savageness which he has risen above, nor to fully interpolate himself to the standards of the noble Venetian paradigm, becoming instead, a noble savage.
Works Cited
Bell, Millicent. "Shakespeare's Moor." Raritan vol. 21, no.4 (Spring 2002): The H.W.
Wilson Company, 2002. 1-14
Fitzpatrick, John, and Bryan Reynolds. "Venetian Ideology or Transversal Power?"
Performing Transversally: Re-imagining Shakespeare and the Critical Future. Ed. Bryan Reynolds. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 53-77.
Shakespeare, William. "Othello." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1997. 2100-2172.
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 is a good man but took the wrong path. He is well known in Venice even though he is a moor because of his irreplaceable honour. He is kind hearted towards most of the people he encounters because he believes in friendship.. This lead him to meet Desdemona and end up marrying her whom he showed passionate interest towards. Othello put his trust in people easily which shows that he is a very friendly character but he gave it to the wrong person, whom is Iago. He put his trust in Iago even though Iago’s intentions were purely to get him killed or arrested. Othello had honour and took account for all his foolish mistakes in which only some loyal soldiers may abide to. In the story he have shown these characteristics by killing himself after realizing the deathful mistakes he's done.
Iser, Wolfgang. Staging Politics: The Lasting Impact of Shakespeare's Histories. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.
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.
that completely destroys his life”("Othello"). Othello is shown he is a good man within the first few scenes of the play: “She wished she had not heard it; yet she wished That heaven had made her such a man” (1.3.162-163). This line in Act I spoken by Othello, is an indication that he is a good person although it may appear that he has stolen Desdemona away from her father. Othello speaks that although he has taken Desdemona as his wife without Brabantio’s consent, he is a good person for stating his reasons for his actions as well as standing his ground. After Othello’s marriage to Desdemona, the conflict is started when Iago insinuates t...
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.
Othello seems to have a really rough time finding the truth in people. The reasoning behind this is simply the way he acts around people. Although Othello is a cultural and racial outsider in Venice, his skill as a soldier and leader is nevertheless valuable and necessary. He is after all a man in high power and is respected for that simple fact. Essentially, the first impact that is made upon the reader of Othello is not one of high quality. He was called many names of which had to do mostly with his racial background some of these names include “the Moor” (I.i.57), “an old black ram” (I.i.88), and “a Barbary horse” (I.i.113). The two characters that begin the cruel introduction of Othello are two trusted comrades, one being Iago. Right from the start, Iago already begins the demise of Othello. Now since Othello made this decision to trust and simply see the good in everyone rather than the truth in everyone his life got turned upside down and started to take ...
Tragedy is an intrinsically human concept; tragic heroes are damned by what they themselves do. Othello is not so much felled by the actions of Iago, but by a quality all people possess-- human frailty. Accordingly, Othello is not a victim of consequences, but an active participant in his downfall. He is not merely a vehicle for the machinations of Iago; he had free agency. Othello's deficiencies are: an insecure grasp of Venetian social values; lack of critical intelligence, self-knowledge, and faith in his wife; and finally, insecurity-- these are the qualities that lead to his own downfall.
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
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.
Vickers, Brian. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1993.
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.
As Othello is known in the play as the Moor, he often faces discrimination that his peers did not face. When Brabantio finds out that Othello married his daughter, he claims that Othello must have “enchanted her” (1.2.64) and that his daughter “…t’incur[ed] a general mock,” (1.2.70) by “run[ning] from her guardage to the sooty bosom.” (1.2.71) In other words, Brabantio is saying that he is in disbelief as to why Desdemona would marry a Moor when her socioeconomic status was so much higher. As a result of being treated as an inferior due to skin colour, Othello puts more weight on honour and reputation. Since his high ranking position in the army set him apart from other Moors, he uses it as compensation towards many aspects of his life such as marriage. For example, Othello associates the “…services which [he] has done the seignniory” (1.2.17) to Brabantio’s criticisms about him. Othello knows that his position holds power, and he is able to confidently articulate why he is suitable candidate to marry Desdemona. Unfortunately, Othello’s confidence does not last later in the play when his honour is suddenly threatened by presumptions that Desdemona is engaged in unfaithful acts. Soon thereafter, he loses his
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.
Othello: The Moor of Venice is probably Shakespeare's most controversial play. Throughout this work, there is a clear theme of racism, a racism that has become commonplace in Venetian society which rejects the marriage of Othello and Desdemona as anathema. The text expresses racism throughout the play within the language transaction of the dialogue to question the societal ethos established by Othello, thereby making him nothing less than a cultural "other." Furthermore, the character of Desdemona is displayed as mad, or out of her wits, for marrying such an "other," and the audience sees her slip from an angelic state of purity to that of a tainted character. Also, the menacing Iago, a mastermind of deviant rhetoric, is able to play Othello and Desdemona against one another until their marriage fails, while at the same time destroying his adversary and friend, Cassio. Thus Iago has a specific agenda, not only to get back at Othello for choosing Cassio instead of him, but also to make Cassio the victim of his plan to destroy the forbidden marriage referred to by Brabantio as a "treason of the blood" (1.2.166-167). Essentially, Iago is a representative of the white race, a pre-Nazi figure who tries to inform the public of the impurity of Othello and Desdemona's marriage. He demonstrates how this miscegenation is threatening to the existing social order. Thus, through analysis of racism, the play represents the hatred possessed by mankind -- a hate so strong that society sees the mixing with an "other" to be a curse to humanity and a terrible threat to Aryan culture.