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a short note on othello as a shakespearean tragedy
Racism in literature
a short note on othello as a shakespearean tragedy
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Othello in William Shakespeare's Play Most of the characters in "Othello" perceive Othello as unclean and
inhuman using words like "Moor"; from this Shakespeare shows the
issues of society some are subtext to limit any argument.
This play portrays racist characters, but in no way supports racism.
The two characters whose dislikes of Othello are simply racist,
Rodrigo and Brabantio, are shown to be foolish. The play is full of
references to Othello's colour and appearance, which make it quite
clear he is a black African. Rodrigo's racist description "thick lips"
weapons. He has to use race as an excuse as he knows that Othello is
As part of my coursework, I intend to analyze Act 3 scene 3 of the
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.
although it is only at the end of the first act that we see the extent
In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, the character Othello is portrayed as a fairly good man. By some, he may be known as a bad person but he has become greatly beneficial to the growth of Venice and the state of Cyprus. Othello is a good man even if he committed murder to his wife because he is a great war general and contributed to Cyprus in time of need.
After reading Othello by Shakespeare over about 3 times, I came to feel sorry for a man that I can easily say was gulled into tragedy by his own purity. I can see Othello as a man that could sit at the ‘Round Table” with King Arthur and rank among those wonderous knights of chivalry. At his end, he had nothing. The Duke calls Othello ‘Valiant Othello’ (1057) Othello also stands ready to face Brabantio, Iago tells him to run. Othello - ‘Not I; I must be found. My parts, my title and my perfect soul Shall manifest me rightly. (1054) As grand as his internal characteristics are, he also stumbles with his own susceptibility to become betrayed.
"Othello" is a good example of Aristotelian drama. It is simple play and the focus is on a very small cast of characters. It has few distractions from the main plot and concentrates on just a few themes, such a jealousy, prejudice, pride and honesty. Jealousy is the emotion that drives the action of Othello. It has the classical unities of time, place (setting is in Venice in the first act and Cyprus thereafter) and action. Othello's cast is made up of "ordinary" people of moderate rank, and not of heroic stature and the dramatic action is interpersonal rather than universal.
Shakespeare's Othello is not simply a play which embodies the conflict between insider and outsider. The paradigm of otherness presented in this play is more complicated than the conclusion, "Othello is different; therefore, he is bad." Othello's character is to be revered. He is a champion among warriors; an advisor among councilmen; a Moor among Venetians. Yes, Othello is a Moor, but within the initial configuration of the play, this fact is almost irrelevant. His difference is not constructed as “otherness.” Othello, by his nature, is not an “otherized” character. Besides being the dark-skinned Moor, Othello varies in no real way from the other characters in the play. Further, Othello and Iago can be seen as two sides of the same destructive coin. With Iago as a foil and subversive adversary, Othello is not faulted for the indiscretions he commits. It is the invention and projection of otherness by various characters in the play, especially Iago, which set the stage for the tragedy of dissimilarity which is to ensue.
It is clear that the race of Othello is a factor in his downfall. A
Act 3 Scene 3 as the Turning Point of the Play Othello by William Shakespeare
Nick Potter states: “Othello is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level of intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello comes to understand himself or anyone else.” Within Shakespeare’s Othello, no character fully understands themselves of one another. This is especially true in human dealings, where the intentions of characters and how others interpret them are often misaligned. Conflict, and eventually, tragedy arises in Othello due to the incomprehension between characters, as well as within the characters themselves. From the reader’s perspective, it is tragic to understand the reality behind all the incomprehension, since the characters are oblivious to what the readers are aware of.
Criss Jami is a personal favorite poet of mine states “Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.” Iago is a craftsman of destruction, and a wolf in lamb's skin. The article “Honesty” by John F Ahearne researches what honestly truly is and the forms, as well as dishonesty. "People Often Trust Eloquence More Than Honesty." by Rogers, Todd, and Michael I. Norton discusses how people will an individual who eloquently dodges a direct question then the truth given in unrefined way. Honesty is not the best policy in my point of view. The truth can hinder an individual from getting what they desire. If only the truth is told, it can be used against the everyone. If everyone was completely honest society could not function properly. Therefore, honesty is not the best policy.
Shakespeare explores the mechanisms of evil as well as ideas held by the Jacobean society in the play Othello. Analysing the play exposes it 's changing views towards dominant ideas of the society in which it was produced. Early in the play the derogatory black stereotype of the time and patriarchy are challenged. The play later contrasts this and endorses patriarchy and the black stereotype. Othello supports the belief of Christianity through the repetition of Heaven and Hell and Eurocentric idea through its structure. The development, dialogue and actions of Iago, Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Cassio influence the play 's attitude towards the dominant ideas.
Iago cannot bear Othello's being a superior figure. Iago comments on Othello's going to war as "Another of his fathom they have none/ To lead their business." (lines 153-154) Iago insults Othello's skin color profusely behind his back. As the first part of his plan, Iago seeks to arouse Brabantio to the fact that the Moor has "robbed" (line 88) him of his daughter. Iago refers to Othello as an "old black ram/ tupping your white ewe." This tasteless reference pictures Othello's ugly black skin with Desdemona's beautiful white skin. Iago convinces Brabantio that he must rescue his daughter from "the devil," another racial reference to Othello's black skin. Iago never identifies Othello except with remarks such as "the Barbary horse" mounting Desdemona. Brabantio's cousins, Iago rages "will be jennets," (line 14) black Spanish horses. The racism and hatred behind Iago is only worsened by Othello's high position and high popularity with the people; far higher than Iago will ever reach. Thus, Iago hatches a plot, not out of sheer malice or insanity, but out of a pathological jealousy beyond comprehension.
In his play Othello, William Shakespeare depicts themes of flattery, deceit, mistrust, and manipulation. Iago, the main antagonist, exudes and exemplifies all these traits simply out of spite for Othello because Othello gave a promotion to Cassio instead of Iago. This festering jealousy will continue to breed and grow inside of Iago and will eventually dictate his actions that cause him to exude traits of deceitfulness and dishonesty. Iago will make any attempt to preserve his so called “honesty” in order to manipulate anyone he chooses. By the end of Othello, Iago clearly shows no remorse and proves himself to be fully depraved.