Othello, and all the men like him, deserve condemnation, not sympathy. Nearly forty, his master dead and his ancestral home destroyed, Aristotle left Athens and the Academy. Cambridge University Press. 723 Words 3 Pages Open Document Othello is a tragic hero because of his greatnesses and his weaknesses. Othello as a Tragic Hero Essay Example | GraduateWay Unfortunately, little is known about the personal relationship between the two greatest thinkers of their time, the one bringing to a close a long, productive career, the other in his formative years. Gadamer, H. Truth and Method. AQA | Aspects of tragedy - text overview On average, it happens about once a week in Australia. For some the play came to be about "a black man whose humanity is eroded by the cunning and racism of whites" (Cowhig 7), while for others it was an antiracist polemic that "in its fine scrutiny of the mechanisms underlying Iago's use of racism, and in its rejection of human pigmentation as a means of identifying worth . For Burton, as Othello begins to believe in "his own irredeemable difference," and to embrace the discourse of misogyny, he loses the ability to "unsettl[e] the meaning of his skin," and this inability becomes proof of his Christian faith (254). This brings the reader to an explanation of the term hamartia. He has natural insecurities regarding his role in Venetian society, and Iago is cunning enough to utilize that to his advantage. Othello: A Survey of Criticism :: Internet Shakespeare Editions Othello hears Cassio's cry thinks Iago has killed him. Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning (1980) also finds in Othello the operations of a patriarchy based in sexual repression and the subordination of women. Othello has been described as one of William Shakespeare's most popular plays because the play focuses on 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?" 12For critics a generation and more later, the suggestion that Othello criticism ought to consist in consideration of the play's generic antecedents, in appreciation and explication of what Knight had earlier called the "music" of its language (109), or in analysis of its thematic preoccupation with jealousy as this relates to a generalizable experience of action, emotion, and moral value began to seem at best nave and at worst politically suspect. He argued that the action of a play should not take longer than twenty four hours. Works Cited: Belsey, Catherine. Othello: A Norton Critical Edition. One of these elements is the tragic hero, a protagonist who seems to be ill-fated, and destined for doom. He exhibits several contrasting features that make him incredibly interesting to analyze. The fiery openness of Othello, magnanimous, artless, and credulous, boundless in his confidence, ardent in his affection, inflexible in his resolution, and obdurate in his revenge; the cool malignity of Iago, silent in his resentment, subtle in his designs, and studious at once of his interest and his vengeance; the soft simplicity of Desdemona, confident of merit, and conscious of innocence, her artless perseverance in her suit, and her slowness to suspect that she can be suspected, are such proofs of Shakespeare's skill in human nature, as, I suppose, it is vain to seek in any modern writer. Othello was also not a tragic hero when discussing - Course Hero Analyzing Othello as a Tragic Hero - Storyboard That Othellos belief in Desdemonas adultery is literally illogical since there is no occasion when it could have transpired. Coleridge was also fascinated by the figure of Iago, and his assessment of the play's enigmatic villain as a "passionless character, all will in intellect" (1:49) influenced readings of the play for decades. Tragedy is therefore truer than history wherein things frequently happen by chance. Othello: A Tragic Hero in Aristotle's Definition - 555 Words | Essay While one should not be an apathetic everyman, or a stranger to human [], The downfall of Othello is a story by William Shakespeare which is a romantic tragedy involving some themes such as jealousy, revenge, greed, reality versus appearance which all play a role in bringing the play into a tragic []. Othello: The Moor of Venice. Indeed, Coleridge's claim that Iago's final soliloquy is best understood as "the motive-hunting of motiveless malignity" (1:49) remains one of the most quoted assessments of Iago to this day. As a pupil of Plato, Aristotle and his master stand among the worlds very greatest of philosophers (Frost, 1942/ 1962). The moor smothers his wife and then, confronted with proof of Iagos perfidy, kills himself. (Groliers Encyclopedia, 1961). All in all, Othello is used to inspire and remember the political and racial tensions that were taking place during the 17th century, and continue to impact our society today. Any likability he may have had for the reader or viewer is destroyed when he turns on Desdemona. According to Aristotle (384-322 BC), a tragic hero is one who possesses extraordinary, almost superhuman, talents and attributes, but whose incredible gifts are ultimately destroyed through a. Iago is a true villain in the most obvious of terms. The mistake of the hero plays a significant role in the plot o the tragedy. This point is made clear by Desdemona: I saw Othellos visage in his mind. They could have lived happily ever after. And Emilia we can say that being such a moral person, she did not deserve the devil Iago as her husband. A Tragic Hero: Shakespeare's Othello - MozartCultures William Shakespeare was a master at providing an audience with a keen insight into the human psyche through the actions [], Literature can be viewed as a manifestation of the context it is composed in, whilst retaining universal elements such as the human experience. 20Othello's intersections with Islam have also fascinated a number of other critics, including Daniel Vitkus whose Turning Turk (2003) identifies the play as one of a series of early modern dramas about the rise of the Ottoman Empire and the complex commercial, political, and ideological space of the early modern Mediterranean. On April 25, 1616, he was buried within the chancel of the church at Stratford (Wright, 1967). "Shakespeares Othello: A Tragic Hero." It contains thousands of paper examples on a wide variety of topics, all donated by helpful students. Othello becomes full [], Almost every tragedy has a villain, to provide the conflict which catapults the plot into its bitter end. Othellos fatal flaw was used used to shine a light on some of the darker characteristics of humanity, as it was a normal emotion that was taking to the extreme due to those individuals who continued to attempt to manipulate him. Othello's position as tragic hero is interesting and complex. Required fields are marked *. While Rymer takes Brabantio's part in understanding Othello's rhetorical skill as a kind of devilishness, the critic's insight that language is presented in the play as equal to the task of reconciling difference, if not finally of overcoming tragedy, is one that continues to inform modern readings of the play. The effect on the audience is to make the tragedy more intense. Unfortunately, Othellos story continues to remain closely connected to the modern society in the sense that people today have a harder time holding in their jealous and racists thoughts while also not having the confidence to speak up about their insecurities. From this association which lasted about eight years, Aristotle gained the friendship and protection of the most powerful ruler of his time. Nonetheless, much of Othello's tragic flaws, such as insecurity and jealousy, are the reason as to why he fell for Iago's trap. He chooses to take his rage out on his general, Othello. While one hopes that Othello might not believe the lies, hes being fed, that doesnt last for long. Othello has been described as one of William Shakespeare's most popular plays because the play focuses on 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 ?" Available from: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/othello-as-a-clear-example-of-tragic-hero/, Really polite, and a great writer! Anagnorisis, according to Aristotle is the recognition by the tragic hero of some truth about his/her identity or actions that accompany the reversal of the situation in the plot, the peripateia. In the same year, Ruth Vanita's work on Othello addressed directly the vexed issue of its relationship to both sexism and racism, arguing that "the play forcefully combats racism (which posits blacks and whites as essentially different) precisely by its presentation of Othello as not at all different from any white husband" (342). In the midst of this maelstrom Bradley locates a thoroughly romanticized Othello, a noble and mysterious everyman whose destruction results from the cunning Iago's ability to turn his virtues against him and whose ruin speaks to a universal experience of tragedy. When he is sure he has been betrayed, he makes a moving speech bidding farewell to his occupation. His lofty status is of the utmost importance to him. A tragic hero is a type of character in a tragedy, and is usually the protagonist. Studying Othello, the Moor of Venice. only a perversion of taste; her bashful modesty only a cloak for evil propensities; so he represents them with all the force of language and self-conviction, and we are obliged to listen to him. Act 1 of the play presents Othello's decisions and behaviour as the epitome of virtue and valour, showing him as a high statured character - the definition of a tragic hero in Aristotelian methods, as it demands a character of greatness to suffer the greatest downfall. To see that this is how it is is a kind of self-knowledge for the spectator, who emerges with new insight from the illusions in which he/she, like everyone else lives. This, of course, proves not to be the case, and the reader is exposed to the truth of his nature. 9Critical interest in Othello continued into the early twentieth century, when, thanks to A.C. Bradley's Shakespearean Tragedy (1904), the play gained a place alongside Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth in the pantheon of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. Othello is a clear description of what a piece of literary tragedy . The play Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy with Othello as the tragic hero. But only a very careful study of the leading topics of the play will make this clear. ) It is a story of death and of betrayal that originally sprung from jealousy and false beliefs. Othello, like all of Shakespeare's plays, is a drama of character, not a drama of intrigue. Aspects of the Novel. As such when Othello's masculine pride and honor are threatened by himself being potentially made a cuckhold, his reaction is to remove the threat to his masculine influence by murdering Desdemona. continues to oppose racism" (Orkin 188). How is Othello a Tragic Hero? - Study.com . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in total between 1590 and 1612. Additionally, Shakespeare imbued Othello with contrasting features. All in all, Shakespearean Othello is the perfect hero of the tragedy because of his conceited nature and his naivety. This fact does not only make Othellos jealousy hard for the viewer to believe in; it shows it to be more insane. Keep in mind Othello is a Moor from North. In his final speech, Othello speaks of is great loyalty to the Venetian state which he has disgraced by murdering his wife and of his terrible mistake, before stabbing himself as Iago is taken away to be tortured. The grammar school provided basic education in Latin learning and literature and a little knowledge of Greek. Additionally, he doesnt display many of the characteristics associated with heroes, such as temperance, patience, and critical thinking skills. In an oft-quoted 1975 article titled "Othello's Handkerchief: 'The Recognizance and Pledge of Love,'" for instance, Lynda Boose argues that the strawberry-spotted handkerchief given to Desdemona by her husband gathers a heavy symbolic burden in the course of the play as it comes to stand for that much larger expanse of fabric, the couple's wedding sheets, and thus for both "the sanctified union promising life and the tragic union culminating in death" (373). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In William Shakespeare's Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. A few years later, Carol Thomas Neely's Broken Nuptials in Shakespeare's Plays (1985), with its nuanced understanding of history and its attentiveness to the operations of power within patriarchy, helped feminist criticism develop a more robust account of the role of marriage in the social and dramatic construction of early modern women. 21While consensus is building around the notion of Othello as a text of the early modern Mediterranean, new work on connections between early modern London's black community and the city's playhouses (Habib 2013) and on links between sixteenth-century dyeing practices and the properties of Desdemona's handkerchief (Smith 2013) suggests that alternative historical contexts for the play will continue to emerge. Marvin Alexan Fernandez Chicas was reportedly fishing at Nockamixon State Park around 5 p.m. when he saw the children apparently struggling in the water, according to Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck. September 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-othello-a-tragic-hero/. Discussing Desdemona at length, Jameson describes her in amusingly patronizing terms as "one in whom the absence of intellectual power is never felt as a deficiency, nor the absence of energy of will as impairing the dignity, nor the most imperturbable serenity as a want of feeling: one in whom thoughts appear mere instincts, the sentiment of rectitude supplies the principle, and virtue itself seems rather a necessary state of being, than an imposed law" (224). 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help you just now. . There he married Hermias niece, Pythias who bore him a daughter. 1592, the first reference to Shakespeare as an actor and playwright was available. He is a great warrior, a respected leader, and a fine, upright man of character, but the evil Iago is . Activity Overview. Him being a victim of racism " his blackness is not only a mark of his physical alienation but a symbol, to which every character in the play"1.1. Othello's career and virtues made him a distinguished noble man. Jealousy and the mad powers of the imagination together form an alliance of conflicting passions and cunning lies that destroy every one ad everything in their wake.(Studying Othello The Moor of Venice). By clicking Continue, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. . The heart of the play revolves around Iagos deceit and his manipulation of Othello. Shakespeares Othello: A Tragic Hero. The collective effect of these studies was to remind readers of the prominence of black characters on the early modern stage and literary page, to prompt new thinking about the impact of pernicious stereotypes equating blackness with ugliness, disloyalty, and evil, and to encourage further investigation of the historical realities and enduring legacies of slavery. Despite the color of his skin, Othello was a very good soldier to make it to the top as a Commander. Othello is not usually a character that pops up in lists of Shakespeares villains, but it is possible to make the argument that Othello was a villain. Set in Venice and the exotic island of Cyprus, the play narrates the tale of Othello, the Moor and Desdemona who dares to love him against the backdrop of war and the quest for power. Is Othello a Tragic Hero? Essay - 1479 Words | Bartleby It was greatly relevant during the time of the play, and is still relevant today. For audiences today, its a lesson to everyone that if individuals just gave the time and effort to really know someone before basing their personality off of their differentialities, the world would be a much better place with much less hatred towards ethnicities, religions, etc. Othello believes the handkerchief in Bianca's possession is proof of his wife's guilt. When confronted with the lie that Desdemona slept with someone else, Othello cannot control his rage, temper his emotions, or take the time to find out the truth. Othello's past is the reason he is the way he is today, his past is the reason he is considered a tragic hero. For Aristotle, the true nature of things is the necessary or probable consequences of a given combination of people and circumstances. By another woman of Stagira, he had a son, Nicomachus. Although he can be the hero in most situations, once his emotions take over his personality and characteristics, it soon turns into a quick falling out that is full of a roller coaster of emotions and negative decisions. In an anthology by Francis Meres, many playwrights are mentioned but Shakespeare is the only name whose plays are listed. What makes Othello a tragic hero is his tragic flaw. Othello is not usually a character that pops up in lists of Shakespeare's villains, but it is possible to make the argument that Othello was a villain.In this article we'll explore this idea in some detail. Order a custom essay from our writers and get it on time, Female Powerlessness in The Duchess of Malfi and A Streetcar Named Desire Essay, How Blanche Dubois is Portrayed in Scene 6 Essay, A marxist criticism of A streetcar Named Desire Essay, How Blanche and Stella Rely on Self-delusion in A Streetcar Named Desire Essay, The Jealousy in Othello: Literary Analysis Essay, The Immoral Ambitions of Iago in Othello and Claudius in Hamlet Essay, Othello and O the Movie: a Comparative Analysis of Two Works Essay, The Use of Stories as a Literary Device in the Tempest and Othello Essay, A study of the character Lago in Othello in William Shakespeare's play Essay, The Othellos downfall and its causes Essay. The Moor seems noble, frank, confiding, grateful for the love shown him; and he is all this, and, moreover, a hero who spurns at danger, a worthy leader of an army, a faithful servant of the state; but the mere physical force of passion puts to flight in one moment all his acquired and mere habitual virtues, and gives the upper hand to the savage over the moral man. This is due to his waning loyalty to Desdemona, his role as a soldier, the ease with which hes convinced of Desdemonas deceit, and overall eloquence. This take on the play was then developed by Ania Loomba who argued that "the 'central conflict' of the play . What is actually involved in this purging is not clear, but what is experienced in such an excess of tragic suffering is something common. A tragic event is one in which an individual suffers greatly, as Othello did, believing the infidelity of Desdemona. 2023 gradesfixer.com. Othello proves that even those individuals closest to you may only be taking advantage of you for their benefit over wanting a real friendship. 2. John married Mary Arden, daughter of his fathers landlord. Othello: An Authoritative Text, Sources and Contexts, Criticism. W. W. Norton & Company. "Shakespeares Othello: A Tragic Hero." Iago As A Tragic Hero In William Shakespeare's Othello Human beings must grapple with their emotions and check their actions, to prevent either from getting out of hand. Bradley finds Othello "the most painfully exciting and the most terrible" of the tragedies, arguing that "the reader's heart and mind are held in a vice, experiencing the extremes of pity and fear, sympathy and repulsion, sickening hope and dreadful expectation" (131). He was away for thirteen years. While this gross oversimplification of the play based on racist stereotypes seems absurdly simpleminded now, its account of the association of Moorish identity with violent sensuality persisted, in various guises, throughout the nineteenth century. In the last three acts, the plot moves almost with no interruption towards its tragic conclusion. Let us know in the comments below! Hes a strong and skilled fighter, and an eloquent speaker, and a loving partner (at least for a time). Othello, the Moor fits the definition of Aristotle's tragic hero. (64). A tragic hero is a person who makes a bad judgment that leads to their own destruction. Sadly, once his tragedy of a flaw came into the spotlight it overtook his life and began to make all of his decisions for him. This is true of Othello. (473). The plot of tragedy must proceed according to the laws of probability. ) It is a story of death and of betrayal that originally sprung from jealousy and false beliefs. One of the most difficult concepts introduced in Aristotle Poetics is catharsis. The following discussion sketches in broad strokes some of the most influential literary critical approaches to Othello, including character criticism, formalism, psychoanalysis, and a range of politically inflected approaches such as feminism and new historicism. The database is updated daily, so anyone can easily find a relevant essay example. (tragic-hero) throughout the play Othello is characterized as a strong-willed man who often trusts the wrong people which in turn leads to his demise. Othello - The Tragic Hero Essay - 796 Words | Bartleby Although his name is associated with Athens, Aristotle was a native of Thrace where he was born in 384 B.C. Marvin Alexan Fernandez Chicas, of Telford, Pennsylvania, was reportedly fishing around 4:30 p.m. at the park in Quakertown when he saw the children struggling in the water, according to Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck. Othello is ultimately seen as a protagonist with a defect in his character, which in this case, is the one thing that will push him over the ledge. By clicking Send, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. In the 1960s, critics on both sides of the Atlantic sought to understand Othello not as remote from the social and political effects of its historically specific sites of production and reception but as shaped by them. By clicking Check Writers Offers, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. That of our hero, Othello and those of the two virtuous women Desdemona and Emilia. Considering the concept, a true tragic hero ought to be fundamentally a decent man with a minor blemish or shocking characteristic in his character. But, when one digs deeper, its impossible to ignore the villainous role Othello plays. When Othello sees the truth in Emilias statement, he tries to kill Iago, but Iago kills Emilia and flees. Ironically, Othello does not know the truth, but it is his gullibility of trusting the "honest Iago" (2.3.175) makes him believe anything he said, despite whether he had any physical evidence or not. He saves his most virulent attacks, however, for what he presents as the play's violation of the conventions of a natural hierarchy that positions people of color firmly below white Europeans, and non-Christians below Christians. (2021) 'Shakespeares Othello: A Tragic Hero'. Whilst human emotions such as jealousy remain universal despite context, attitudes [], Characters in Shakespeares Othello and The Tempest use stories to explain personal history or change the course of events. First published in the 1950s and reprinted a decade later, a series of influential psychoanalytic readings of the plays found a readership fascinated to explore links among Shakespeare, Freud, and the psychological dimensions of human sexuality. He is a character of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. On Lupton's reading, Othello becomes increasingly Islamicized in the course of the play, and she presents his self-stabbing as an act of extreme circumcision, what she calls a "death into suicide" that affirms both his commitment to Venetian Christianity and his identity as a Muslim man even as it reveals the tragic cost of early modern Europe's refusal to allow him this hybrid identity. The logic of the heros fall into misfortune is determined by the nature of his/her particular kind of hamartia. The Greek word that describes what many people refer to as the tragic flaw of the hero of Greek tragedy is hamartia. Iago preyed on his weakness, controlling and changing him for the worse. Tragic heroes typically have heroic traits that earn them the sympathy of the audience, but also have flaws or make mistakes that ultimately lead to their own downfall. Washington Square Press. . This event resulted in the suicide of the tragic hero, as he soon realized that what he had done had been a terrible mistake and leaves him with a broken heart and a shattered state of mind. The tragic hero has a noble stature and a high position in his culture. He died a hero." The drowning death is the second confirmed in June in Bucks . There are no real sub-plots, only very brief comic interludes, and what happens from Act 2 to Act 5 takes place in a period of some thirty six hours. student. Simon & Schuster, 1967. According to Bartels, "the Moor's story is never exclusively his ownor, rather, is his own, if we understand that story as insistent on the extravagant interplay of cultures here and everywhere" (189). Othello is Not a Tragic Hero - 1483 Words | 123 Help Me Although the impact of this early work on race in history and drama was gradual, the trail it laid was developed in the 1980s in a series of influential books, including Elliott Tokson's The Popular Image of the Black Man in English Drama, 15501688 (1982), Anthony Barthelemy's Black Face, Maligned Race (1987), and Jack D'Amico's The Moor in English Renaissance Drama (1991). Instead, in a move reminiscent of the character criticism that dominated in the previous century, he suggests that it is best to understand "all the major figures" of the play as "possible people caught in a net of circumstance which their characters make them unable to escape" (182). In Othello, hamartia is evident in the unreasonable jealousy of the character Othello. Othello, the Moor of Venice as a Tragedy - Canadian Writings for only $11.00 $9.35/page. Instead of enlisting Othello as evidence of a hostile collision between Islamic East and Christian West, Bartels argues, critics ought to understand the play as a product of a historical moment in which overlapping concerns about race, religion, and nationalism were being negotiated within the militarily and commercially significant space of the Mediterranean, and ought to view its titular Moor as emblematic not of cultural discord but of proto-globalization. Othello is full of important literary elements for students to explore. Its a relatable situation to today, due to the fact that jealous individuals within a relationship usually act out of character to protect those who they are in lust with, which is ultimately why Roderigo attacks Cassio after Iago had brainwashed him that Cassio and Desdemona were together. 11Perhaps the most influential close reading of the language of Othello remains William Empson's 1951 essay "Honest in Othello." As a middle-aged Black man, his belief that he is unloveable becomes the primary driver in his life in white society. He stayed there for twenty years. He returns home to kill Desdemona. Sadly, once his tragedy of a flaw came into the spotlight it overtook his life and began to make all of his decisions for him. Shakespeare's Othello as a Tragic Hero | SchoolWorkHelper In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is a tragic hero. Othello as a Tragic Hero and His Downfall - UK Essays Othello by Shakespeare had been a story that ended with a tragedy as both Desdemona and Othello die at the end. What do you think of this take of Othello as a villain? Bradleian character criticism had fallen out of favor, but the impulse to address the psychological complexities of Shakespeare's characters found fertile new ground in the insights of psychoanalytic theory.