Why the Battle of the Somme is Regarded as a Great Military Tragedy On 1st July 1916, General Haig prepared the battle plan for an offensive on German lines, designed to relieve the strain on French forces at Verdun and break through a strong line of German defences. While Haig would have preferred an attack further north, he was hopeful that the operation should be successful in drawing forces away from Verdun and killing as many German troops as possible as part of the “war of attrition”
Shakespeare's play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is a powerful example of a tragedy and it’s main character, Othello, is an excellent illustration of what Aristotle constitutes as a tragic hero. The play imitates life through basic human emotions such as jealousy and rage. In addition, Othello is far from being a perfect character - another quality that meets Aristotle's requirements. Othello also matches Aristotle's ideas of tragic hero because our Othello realizes the error of his ways, causing
Tragedies have played a tremendous role in literature for a very long period of time. They have been around for over 2,500 years. A Tragedy is form of drama that is treated in a serious way that dignifies terrible events that is caused by a heroic character. They mainly refer to conflict and the ways that the problem can be solved. There are many different types of Tragedies. The main types of tragedies include Greek Tragedy, Roman Tragedy, Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy, and Revenge Tragedy.
created the first definition of what a great tragedy consists of and what makes a tragic hero. The play “Othello”, by William Shakespeare, is defined as a tragedy. By an Aristotelian definition, is it accurate to define the play “Othello” as a tragedy and is it correct to define the character Othello as a tragic hero? A close analysis of the play “Othello”, reveals that William Shakespeare was likely influenced by Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy and a tragic hero. Despite this influence, it
play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice” is arguably one of the best literary tragedies of Western civilization. The play is a tragic account of Othello, a military man who climbs societal ranks through his marriage to Desdemona. This paper considers elements that qualify Othello as a tragic hero, and the entire play as an Aristotelian tragedy. To accomplish this, this paper will first consider the features of Aristotelian tragedy. Aristotle considers a tragic hero as one who: firstly, is a person of high
Cleopatra and Othello are two of many tragedies that Shakespeare crafted. They contain infamous couples that will do everything they can do be with their loved one, even if that means joining them in death. These two plays share elements of marriage or loving relationships that take the reader on journeys that begin with romance and end in tragedy created by manipulation of others. Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra and Othello expose the inevitable outcomes of a tragedy through jealousy, manipulation of
consider and agree that Othello is a dramatic tragedy. Shakespeare cleverly wove many different layers into his playwright and thus it has stood the time as a literary masterpiece. There are many different definitions of tragedy and Othello would fit into most of their definition. Aristotelian tragedy consists of many parts to meet the definition described by Aristotle. Using these requirements through definition, Othello still would qualify as a tragedy as discussed through thought, diction, tragic
What is a classical tragedy? The hero struggles against an overwhelming fate. The protagonist's death was unfortunate, but they would win a moral victory over the forces that destroyed them. The nature of a man or woman's destiny was tested. Audiences would flood the stages of theaters to savor these artistic moments, with feelings of sympathy and dismay. These classical tragedies began in Ancient Greek theater, and left an impression even on today's visual art forms. Greek playwrights depicted
Miasma and the Role of the Greek Tragedy within the Athenian Democracy Tragedy, Ruth Fainlight suggests (pg), developed as an institution in Athens simultaneously alongside Athenian democracy towards the end of the sixth century, and the start of the fifth century BC. While plays initially began as religious dramas, they rapidly evolved to take on themes of civic issues. For instance, Aeschylus’s Oresteia portrays the relationship of ‘bloodguilt’ (Fainlight, pg) and private vengeance to the rule of
Othello is a classic Greek tragedy because it abides by Aristotle's definition of great tragedies. Othello is a tragic hero whose downfall is brought by his own tragic flaw, his jealousy of his wife Desdemona. His vulnerability to the manipulation of others due to his own insecurity and lack of self-esteem, which ultimately leads to his irrational murder of Desdemona. Othello fits all of the criteria of a tragic hero that Aristotle outlined in his work, "Poetics”. We are told that a tragic hero has
In 334 BCE, Alexander the Great launched his military campaigns into Asia Minor and the Middle East (141). This conquest led to the Hellenistic Age, a time in which Persian and Greek cultures blended into a grand new culture (144). This time and the time before led to theatre unlike anything the world had ever seen. Greece’s Golden Age was when drama developed into a form that is similar to modern day drama. Evidence of this is the Comedy and Tragedy Masks, an international symbol for drama today
According to Aristotle’s six ideas about tragedy, Othello is an example of a tragic hero. It is uncanny how Othello fits into Aristotle’s basic ideas regarding the tragic hero. The first idea of Aristotle is how the character is of noble stature and also has greatness. For example, when Iago talks to Othello about Brabantio’s accusations of Othello and how Othello just wants money, Othello states that he also comes from a royal and noble family (1.2.20-22) Othello’s title, the general of the Venetian
In the year 700 BC, the city-state of Athens, Greece became institutionalized. During this time Athens, gained much military power, which allowed the city-state to become significant culturally and politically. During the institutionalization of this Athens, the city-state took part in festival called Dionysia. The Dionysia festival honored the god Dionysus. Before some of the performances, goats were killed and offered up as sacrifices to Dionysus. During the Dionysia festival the central events
“Trifles light as air / Are to the jealous confirmations strong / As proofs of holy writ.” (Shakespeare I.iii. 370-372). This quote spoken by Iago, the antagonist in Shakespeare’s Aristotelian tragedy Othello, depicts the Moor’s tragic flaw of jealousy, which is displayed throughout the play. The Moor is Othello, the perceived protagonist in this story as he is the character who is the subject of Iago’s devious plans. In Othello, Othello is the honoured general of the Venetian army who promotes
different categories of drama: comedy and tragedy. Greek theater used two masks known as Thalia (comedy mask) and Melpomene (tragedy mask) to symbolize these two types. In a general sense comedy and tragedy differ only in there endings. For instance both comedies and tragedies can have moments of laughter and sadness, but comedies end happy while tragedies end very sad. While both genres of drama have greatly influenced theater as we know it today, Greek tragedy is better known as having a more important
world of "civilization," which values military butchery. The fact that they are female and associated with the natural world beyond the aristocratic oppression in the castles indicates that they are excluded others. Their equality in a female community declares their opposition to the masculine power of the militaristic society. They have no direct power, but they have become expert at manipulating or appealing to the self-destructive contradictions of their military oppressors. They can see Macbeth's
its themes of good and evil, military, politics, love and marriage, religion, racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality; but the controversy and debate surrounding Othello is “Why is Othello a qualification for a tragedy?” Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic
Shakespeare’s four pillars of great tragedies. Othello is unique in comparison to the others in that it focuses on the private lives of its primary characters. When researching the subject of Othello being an Aristotelian tragedy, there is debate among some critics and readers. Some claim that Shakespeare did not hold true to Aristotle’s model of tragedy, according to his definition in “Poetics,” which categorized Othello as a classic tragedy as opposed to traditional tragedy. Readers in the twenty-first
Othello: The (Tragic) Hero Of the 38 plays Shakespeare has produced over his lifetime, his tragedies are the most heart-wrenching, horrifying productions the theater has ever seen. In these tragedies, there are gruesome ideas such as lethal love, megalomania, and the absolute corruption of heroes that were originally considered to be wholesome. The latter theme can especially be seen in the play Othello. In this tragedy, there is an ongoing theme of corruption in a considerable amount of characters in the
Iago’s animosity towards Othello emanates from the very core of his being. Can the tragedy in Othello be explained in this way? In the play ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare, the tragedy of the play is largely a result of Iago’s animosity towards Othello. Iago’s hatred for Othello emanates from the very core of his being and is further amplified due to Othello’s status as an outsider in the ‘white’ Venetian society. This alone causes Iago to perceive Othello as a threat to society, as he goes against