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 one) tragic flaw which is directly attributable to their demise (Aristotle, 2008). Upon first read, Othello, the Moor of Venice, certainly appears to follow many of these conventions. However, closer discernment of Shakespeare's characterization of Othello reveals that the Moor is not a truly Aristotelian tragic hero. Despite the fact that he is heroic, good at arms and a verifiable military leader, Othello has far too many flaws that contribute to his downfall. Whereas tragic heroes only have one fatal…...
mlaReferences
Andrews, M.C. (1973). "Honest Othello: the handkerchief once more." Studies in English Literaute, 1500-1900. 13 (2): 273-284.
Aristotle. (2008). The Poetics of Aristotle. Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1974/1974-h/1974-h.htm
Bell, M. (2002). Shakespeare's Tragic Skepticism. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Schwartz, E. (1970). "Stylistic "impurity" and the meaning of Othello." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. 10 (2): 297-313.
Othello: The Tragedy of Internalized Racism
illiam 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 protestations to the contrary) all win him respect. Yet, by the end of the play, Othello's enemy Iago plays upon the Moor's insecurities and in fact tries to 'make' Othello into the barbaric creature whites accuse him of being. This is why it is said that "in Othello, the boundary between Self and Other is famously, and perilously, permeable. Othello's assimilationist efforts to claim a selfhood within the Venetian community leads, for him, to a fatal hybridity" (Marks 101). Othello…...
mlaWorks Cited
Macaulay, Marcia. "When Chaos is Come again: Narrative and Narrative Analysis in Othello."
Style 39.3 (2005): 259,276,377,379. ProQuest. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Marks, Elise. "Othello/me": Racial Drag and the Pleasures of Boundary-Crossing with Othello."
Comparative Drama 35.1 (2001): 101-23. ProQuest. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
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, he instead targets his superior, Othello, not only because he hates him, but also because he knows that he can easily manipulate Othello and lead him to self-destruct. Othello is categorized as a tragedy among Shakespeare's works and may further be classified as an Aristotelian tragedy as Othello appears to embody several characteristics that are attributed with being a tragic hero.
Greek philosopher Aristotle defines a tragic hero as "a [virtuous or noble] person who is neither perfect in virtue and…...
mlaWorks Cited
"Aristotle." Virginia Community College System. Web. 4 July 2012.
Arthos, John. "The Fall of Othello." Shakespeare Quarterly. Vol. 9, No. 2 (Spring, 1958), pp.
93-104. JSTOR. Web. 4 July 2012.
Boas, George. "The Evolution of the Tragic Hero." The Carleton Drama Review, Vol. 1, No. 1,
Othello and Death Knocks: Two Characters ho Do Not Know Themselves
The definition of a tragic hero is a great man who is brought low by a single, yet fatal flaw within his character. Shakespeare's Othello can be said to have many flaws as well as virtues -- he is a great general, but he is also a poor judge of character, extremely credulous, and jealous. But all of these flaws spring from a single, larger tragic flaw. Othello does not see himself clearly, and so he does not see the world clearly. Although many people esteem Othello, Othello instead focuses on the people who look down upon him, like Brabantio, his racist father-in-law who makes many disparaging statements about Othello's skin color, even though most of Venice has nothing but praise for Othello. "To fall in love with what she fear'd to look on!" Brabantio marvels of his daughter (I.3).…...
mlaWorks Cited
Allen, Woody. Death Knocks. [7 Sept 2012]
http://www.scribd.com/doc/81124508/Death-Knocks
Shakespeare, William. Othello. MIT Shakespeare Homepage. [7 Sept 2012]
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 behind the story. But, justice, especially Othello's sense of that trait, seems to be the one thing that shapes the events of the play. In this paper, the play and its characters are examined from the perspective of justice, as it is developed in the play, and a determination is made as to who was the character most wronged.
Othello is a foreign general in the army of Venice. In the play, he is seen as somewhat insecure, even having the…...
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,…...
mlaReferences
King, Laura. "And what remains is Bestial," the True Beast in Othello. Retrieved From
Accessed on 20 July, 2005http://www.eiu.edu/~ipaweb/pipa/volume/king.htm
Othello as a Tragic Hero. Retrieved From
Accessed on 20 July, 2005http://members.fortunecity.com/smashx14/othello.html
Othello as a "Moor"
One term that is often disguised in the play but the reader finds out early is that Othello is a "Moor" or a black man in love with a white woman. This is scandalous for the time Shakespeare wrote the play, and it still shocking today, and yet Shakespeare does not make the love affair between Othello and Desdemona shocking, he just makes it tragic. The interpretation and even the play's events might have been different if Othello was not black, however. The difference in race between Othello and Desdemona does not seem to drive them apart, but because it is mentioned, it was clearly important. It shows the differences between Desdemona, a rich Italian, and Othello, a black, foreign Moor of a different religion and background. They were too different to ever really understand each other, and that is one reason Othello found it so easy…...
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 he may be the innocent and naturally gentle victim of the serpentine Iago. Either interpretation would be fair, for the play proposes so many different ways of looking at him through the eyes of the other characters that one would be justified in drawing any number of conclusions about the way he should be acted. In analyzing the play for character then, it is important not to base one's interpretation of Othello solely on personal instinct or the image of…...
mlaBibliography
Grady, Hugh. "Iago and the dialectic of enlightenment: reason, will and desire in Othello." Criticism 37.4. (Fall, 1995): 537-559.
Hadfield, Andrew. A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on William Shakespeare's Othello. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Hornback, Robert. "Emblems of folly in the first Othello: renaissance blackface, moor's coat, and 'muckender'. (Shakespeare's play)." Comparative Drama 53.69. (Spring 2001): 69-100.
Moore, Andrew. "Studying Bertolt Brecht" 2001. http://www.shunsley.eril.net/armoore/drama/brecht.htm
Othello has used military service to prove he is not a savage to white leaders, but his reliance upon the counsel of military officers and his over-valuing of military decision-making and life makes him descend into savagery. This is true even before Iago has begun to try to manipulate his mind. After marrying Desdemona, Othello's first thoughts are of war: "The tyrant custom, most grave senators,/Hath made the flinty and steel couch of war/My thrice-driven bed of down" (I.3). Even before Othello can enjoy his wedding night with Desdemona, he must leave her for the military field, and the two are separated. Othello cannot bear to look weak, and as for even a few nights with his bride before he begins to fight again. This is perhaps the true irony of Othello as a tragic character -- not that he trusts Iago, but in his every action, even those…...
mlaWorks Cited
Aristotle. "Poetics." Full e-text. January 18, 2009. http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.mb.txt
Bradley, a.C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.
London: Penguin, 1904. Full e-text. January 18, 2009. http://www.clicknotes.com/bradley/welcome.html
Shakespeare, William. "Othello." The Shakespeare Homepage. January 28, 2009.
ithout magic, Brabantio argues, Desdemona would not have chosen "So opposite to marriage that she shunned" and would not "Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom, / of such a thing as thou -- to fear, not to delight" (1.2.66-70).
Iago and Brabantio's attitudes toward people of color were very much in line with popular Elizabethan views of black people during Shakespeare's time. This is, for example, evident from Duke of Venice's attempt to defend Othello. "If virtue no delighted beauty lack," the Duke tells Brabantio, "Your son-in-law is far more fair than black" (1.3.22). hile arguing that Othello is virtuous and "fair," the Duke is suggesting that blackness has negative connotations. European attitude toward blacks is also evident from the fact that Othello eventually ends up internalizing negative connotations attached to black people. For example, learning upon Desdemona's "cheating," Othello says: "My name, that was as fresh, /…...
mlaWorks Cited
Sanders, Norman (ed.). Othello. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984. Print.
He complains to Roderigo that he has been denied promotion because of Cassio's youth, breeding, and better name. "Preferment goes by letter and affection, / Not by the old gradation" (1.1.37-38). Then he vaguely alleges that the Moor may have had a tryst with Emilia, which Emilia later denies, and which seems impossible, given that Emilia and Othello have the most openly adversarial relationship in the play. Iago may be one of the most ambiguous characters in all of Shakespeare (hite 283).
Iago seems to know that he is condemned to hell -- even in the first scene, he has a premonition of his damnation: "Though I do hate him as I do hell-pains" (I.1.161). Iago seems to be searching for motivations to excuse his bad deeds, rather than to be motivated by malice alone, like a devil. Iago calls the Moor a devil: "Or else the devil will make…...
mlaWorks Cited
The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd Edition. Edited by G. Blakemore Evans, J.J. M Tobin.
New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
White, R.S. From "Shakespeare Criticism in the Twentieth Century." From the Cambridge
Companion to Shakespeare. Edited by Margreta de Grazia and Stanley Wells.
In fact, even when Othello enters their bedchamber and talks about killing her, entreating her to pray so that she does not die with a sin on her soul, Desdemona makes no effort to run from Othello, but questions him about why he is upset. (Othello, IV. iii, 45-51).
Cassio's flaw is not as obvious in the beginning part of the play, but plays a major role in the downfall of Othello. Cassio's flaw is that he is too concerned about other people's opinions. Thus, when he begins describing Desdemona to Montano, he does so in glowing terms, despite the fact that he has no romantic interest in Desdemona and appears to have little real knowledge of her. (Othello, II. i, 79-89). Though he knows that he is vulnerable when he drinks alcohol, Cassio allows Iago to goad him into drinking, because he is concerned about Iago's opinion of him.…...
mlaWorks Cited
Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993.
It is also perfect because it permits Iago to draw Emilia into his schemes, whereby he can punish her for being unfaithful without dealing with whether or not his beliefs are true.
6. In what ways does "reputation" become an element of the conflict with each of the four major characters?
For Othello, reputation becomes an element of conflict because he is proud and has a certain reputation to uphold, which is threatened by the idea of his wife being unfaithful. For Iago, reputation is what drives his actions; jealousy of Cassio has caused him to lash out against the Moor, because Iago believes he should be held in higher esteem than Cassio. For Desdemona, reputation is central to her conflict because the one thing she did that was contrary to her reputation, marrying Othello, is the one thing that gives him reason to believe that she would be unfaithful to…...
" (Blackwelder) Like Shakespeare's original and Parker's version, Odin's fame and popularity and his love for Desi Brable played by Julia Stiles who is the daughter of the school's headmaster just tees Hugo off. ith jealousy and envy guiding him, Hugo plots to bring Odin down.
In Parker's version Othello, Iago is given the opportunity to take over the movie by being the one who tells the story. hen Fishburn as Othello returns from war and is reunited with Desdemona the story seems more about Iago as he convinces Roderigo, who is really chasing Desdemona, to pick a fight with Cassio so that he will lose his job. Iago then gets Cassio drunk and he eventually encounters Roderigo which leads to a sword fight and an innocent is injured trying to stop the brawl. "Always by Othello's side are his two right-hand men: Cassio (Nathaniel Parker) and Iago. However, for reasons…...
mlaWorks Cited
Berardinelli, James. "A Film Review by James Berardinelli." Rev. Of Othello (1995), dir. Oliver Parker. movie-reviews.colossus.net 1995. 10 Dec. 2004 http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/o/othello.html.
Blackwelder, Bob. "Betrayal, Violence of Shakespeare's Tragic 'Othello' Are Rejiggered Around High School Basketball in 'O'." Rev. Of O, dir. Tim Blake Nelson. splicedonline. 10 Dec. 2004 http://www.splicedonline.com/01reviews/o.html .
Nelson, Tim Blake, ed. O. 2001.
Parker, Oliver, ed. Othello. 1995.
Othello, a tragedy by Shakespeare, can be likened to a modern day soap opera or murder drama. All the elements are there: deceit, jealousy, passions, and more. ut one mysterious element runs through this play -- the handkerchief. All throughout history, the handkerchief holds significance in many ways, from the time of Christ to the modern day.
Handkerchiefs were thought to have spiritual powers, starting when the woman in the ible just touched Christ's garment and was healed, to Oral Roberts and his prayer cloths. The first incidence of the use of prayer cloths dates back to the early 19th century when the Mormons used healing handkerchiefs. "Historian Michael Quinn writes that a group of people asked Joseph Smith to come heal them. Smith couldn't go but he pulled a red silk handkerchief out of his pocket and he said to one of his evangelists, 'You go and take my handkerchief.'…...
mlaBibliography
Lowenstein, Daniel. "Emilia" Online Posting. 27 Jun 1996. Shakesper: The Global Electronic Shakespeare Conf.
13 Nov. 2002 http://www.shaksper.net/archives/1996/0489.html .
Material History of American Religion Project. Ed. R. Marie Griffith.
Harvard. 13
Shakespeare may be the most popular broad topic for essays in English classes. He wrote some of the most well-known works in the English language and, while he is known for his plays, he is also known for poetry. English essays may focus on his works, but it is also possible to write compelling essays about Shakespeare’s life, including the enduring popular topic of whether Shakespeare was the true author of the works credited to him.
Here are some essay title suggestions:
It is impossible to overstate the role that race and cultural difference play in Othello. Often framed as a story of obsessive love, domestic violence, jealousy, deceit, and tragedy, it is less a story of the conflict between two people and more the story of racism and the conflict between cultures. That is because Othello being both a beloved and respected war hero and a suspect outsider is central to the plot of the play. That only happens because Othello is an outsider. Not only is he not a Venetian, but he....
The Enduring Legacy of Greek Mythology in Pop Culture and Literature
Greek mythology, a tapestry of epic tales, legendary heroes, and divine interventions, has left an enduring imprint on modern pop culture and literature. Its archetypal characters, timeless themes, and evocative imagery continue to inspire and shape artistic expressions across various mediums.
Characters as Archetypes:
Greek mythological figures have become archetypal representations of human traits and experiences. Achilles symbolizes the warrior's pride and vulnerability; Odysseus embodies the cunning strategist; and Aphrodite stands for the power and allure of love. These archetypes resonate with audiences of all ages, providing relatable and universally recognizable symbols.
Literary....
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now