Othello: The Moor of Venice is a tragedy that was written by William Shakespeare in the early years of the seventeenth century. Essentially, the play is about a Moor, named Othello, who elopes with the fair and beautiful and white Desdemona, and he leaves Venice for Cyprus, where he is to be in command of the Venetian Army. His wife, and his lieutenant Cassio accompany Othello on this journey. The twist in the play comes at this stage, when the treacherous and traitorous Iago, who is a standard bearer, plants Desdemona's handkerchief on Cassio, and Othello, when he sees this, becomes convinced that his new wife has been unfaithful to him. Being an extremely jealous and possessive man, Othello does not hesitate to kill Desdemona in a fit of temper. It is only after this event occurs that Iago's wife reveals the truth, that it was her husband's traitorous action, wherein he had planted the handkerchief on Cassio, that had led to Othello's slaying of Desdemona. Iago kills his own wife after this revelation, and finally, Othello kills himself out of grief, (Othello: Wikipedia) and achieves a status as one of the greatest 'Tragic Heroes' of all time. The paper is an attempt to describe the unfolding of the character of Othello in the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello, and show how the character develops into a hero, and become transformed, because of his various tragic flaws and his insecurities, and a basic naivete and innocence, into bestiality, which in turn leads him to murder his own wife and then himself.
Discussion:
A 'Tragic Hero', ever since he was initially described by Aristotle in the early years of 250 BC, the medium of tragedy, and the development of a character as a tragic hero has been prominent, and has been the hallmark of some of the greatest works in literature ever since that time. A common characteristic of the tragic hero is that he is a person of high standing, but with a '
The tragic flaw in his personality causes him to take such a drastic step. Othello is essentially a naive and innocent person, who trusts his companions completely, and this trait is his undoing, as he puts too much trust in Iago. As the play progresses, one can see that Othello is being reshaped by his innate jealousy, and he finally turns into a murderer, but the reader does feel some pity for the character, because, it was only because of the tragic flaw in his character that Othello did what he did, and one can forgive him for his actions. This is where Shakespeare's genius becomes evident, while in the beginning; Othello is seen as a nobleman, who loves his new wife Desdemona with purity and innocence, the character of Iago is introduced, and this person, with villainy, starts to adversely influence Othello, until the point where he is forced, because of his jealousy, to kill his beloved wife, and then finally kill himself. (Othello as a Tragic Hero)
Othello is seen as a generally very even tempered and patient man, and he dose not let the villainous Iago influence his thinking in the beginning, for example, when Iago attempts to persuade Othello to get angry with Roderigo. Even at this point, the reader becomes well aware of the tragic flaw within Othello, wherein he is able to put his full faith and trust in the "Janus faced and dishonest" Iago. He even quotes: " ... A man he is of honesty and trust. To this conveyance I assign my wife." (Othello as a Tragic Hero) Othello is being deceived at this stage, wherein Iago has already started to plot against his master. Shakespeare wastes no time in transforming Othello from a loving husband into a wife murderer, and at the same time keeps the reader aware of the fact that the hero is up against the most treacherous character in literature, and Iago dose whatever he can to heighten the reader's awareness of this tragic flaw that would ultimately lead to the hero's demise, and as the play progresses, the hero is more and more tainted by Iago's designs, and…
Othello Costumes Designing costumes for Othello, in whatever form -- play, ballet or opera, presents a few problems from the outset. First, of course, is the necessity for the costume to enhance the feeling of paranoia of Othello, a Moor in a Caucasian society. Second, Iago needs to be malevolent without being evil personified; he is, perhaps, simply overly worldly and overly ambitious, as is his wife, Emily. And third, Desdemona
Thesis Statement Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragic hero according to the definition of Aristotle. First, he is a man of noble stature. Second, he is good—but not perfect—and his fall is directly attributable to his own guilty actions. Third, his fall is tragic—the combination of his greatness and his own responsibility in causing his own fall. Fourth, the misfortune Othello suffers is enormous and due to the fact that he himself
Othello, The Moor of Venice There are a number of very specific literary conventions that a dramatic work must have to adhere to Aristotle's multi-faceted definition of a tragedy. One of the principle components of this definition is that a tragedy chronicles the downfall of a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are well-renowned individual with a wonderful set of virtues descended from decidedly noble lineages who are plagued by one (and only
Othello as Tragic Hero While Othello is not Greek and Shakespeare is not a Greek playwright, Othello embodies many characteristics of a tragic hero as outlined by Aristotle. What is a tragic hero? Person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice, nor someone who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather, one who succumbs through some miscalculation. Othello is manipulated by Iago to murder Desdemona Iago uses Othello's trusting nature against him Hero
Othello: The Tragedy of Internalized Racism William Shakespeare's tragedy of the Moor Othello is the only major drama of the great playwright in which race plays a major role. The title character begins the play a great and esteemed general, despite the fact that he is a member of an 'othered,' despised race against which some whites have great prejudice. Othello's apparent nobleness, his military prowess, and his eloquence (despite his
Othello as Tragic Hero Othello, the Moor of Venice is a Shakespearean tragedy that focuses on the great war hero Othello and the lengths to which Iago goes to in order to strip Othello of his power. Iago's thirst for power commences when he is passed up for promotion and Michael Cassio is instead award the position of lieutenant. Although it would appear to be more logical that Iago target Cassio,
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