They will go to far to hire a mercenary like Iago to pursue their goal for them. There are Othellos today as there was a shining one in Shakespeare's fiction or time. Military heroes like him have secret vulnerabilities, which reveal themselves in unguarded or trying moments. As a self-claimed victim of a foreign culture, Othello's cry of discrimination resounds in contemporary society despite his accomplishments. Contentment in life is everyone's universal pursuit. That pursuit takes on what the present culture makes available and is most suitable at the moment. Othello perceives that his contentment goes beyond acclaim and military power. It includes having a dutiful and beautiful wife in Desdemona. He pours his weakest on him and on a scheming subordinate, Iago. Othello's credulousness is not confined to Shakespeare's time....
Credulousness is universal. People living and thriving in a country with a different culture must invest in trust or credulousness in order to survive or succeed. They cannot have their way in a country or environment, which considers them separate. Globalization has erased boundaries. Races mix bur racism remains. It seems stubborn within people. No one knows what it will take for all men to regard everyone as an equal rather than as an intruder and a foe. If and when this happens, people like Iago will not have a place. Leaders like Othello need not trust in people like Iago, lose a valuable friend like Cassio or destroy a wife like Desdemona. But who knows when this can be.
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
Othello Aristotle's Poetics is the most informative piece of work on the nature of art. It is in the Poetics that Aristotle defines the fundamental nature of tragedy. For Aristotle, what defines tragedy (and all art, in general) is in the way that it is imitation (Golden 142). Every form of art (qua imitation) can be compared in terms of the artistic means, object, and manner used in their creation. In
Othello: Fool & Hero Every Shakespearean hero has his own unique qualities, whether those be virtue or savagery of the soul, a tragic turn to the character or a humorous nature. To some degree this may be altered and shaped by the play-actors. Othello, as a character, is a prime example of this. He may be seen, in differing productions, as a villainous and barbarous fellow and as a savage, or
Simultaneously, he forces a man long upheld as honest in the highest Venetian circles into scheming and manipulations; these are roles which Iago takes on too readily, suggesting a certain familiarity, but it must be preserved that no earlier instance is ever presented to suggest that the notables of Venice were in any way wrong to uphold Iago as honest and true. In fact, those same notables are those
Othello as a Tragic Hero Thesis: Othello fits Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero because he meets all four of the philosopher’s conditions: 1) he is great, 2) he demonstrates nobility or manly valor, 3) his character is authentic and true to real life, and 4) he is consistent. The play also fits Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy as it effects pity and fear in the audience. Outline I. Introduction a. Aristotle’s definition of
Othello and Justice Like many of Shakespeare's plays, Othello demonstrates how emotion and a strict personal ethic can lead to tragedy. The play is filled with intrigue, mainly on the part of Iago, another trait of Shakespeare's plays, and the characters seem to twist around their own insecurities. Linking this play to a central theme is difficult because there are so many threads that could be taken as the primary driver
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