William Shakespeare Othello
Introduction
Shakespeare is renowned for his literary works. This is evident in the acclaim of the tragedy Othello whereby Shakespeare is proficient in capturing the tragedies, which characterize the lives of humans. There are several viewpoints concerning the tragedy by Othello. This is especially evident when determining whether Othello was a tragic hero or otherwise. In order to establish the feasibility of this premise, it is crucial to explore the character using the perspective of Aristotle. This will involve using the criteria of a tragedy as determined by Aristotle concerning tragedies. Despite Othello being the protagonist in the work of Shakespeare, he is a tragic hero when considering the criteria of Aristotle.
In attempts to understand if Othello was a tragic hero, it is crucial to say whether the tragedy depicts a conformity with the unity consisting of 3 components identified by Aristotle. These unity includes time, action and place. In addition, a traditional tragic hero must encompass the following characters. For instance, he/she should be an individual who has a high status in the society. Moreover, the hero must be noble in order to appeal to the audience. In the tragedy, the protagonist does not commit evil acts willingly. Finally, a traditional tragic hero usually has a flaw that leads to the consequent downfall of the character. Considering this criteria, it is imperative to explore the plot of the tragedy in order to determine if the character fill the Aristotelian tragedy. The plot explores the life of a Moorish general Othello whereby the character experiences a tragedy in the hands of his nemesis Iago. The root of the enmity between Othello and the antagonists is that he promoted another individual for a post in the military. This resulted in bitterness, which prompted Iago to plot diabolically to cause the downfall of Othello (Dutton & Howard, 2003). In addition, the antagonist is spurred by the desire for Desdemona, Othello’s love interests and the thoughts that Othello has slept with his wife. These emasculating thoughts caused Iago to exploit the trusting nature of Othello to manipulate which lead him to his downfall. Iago’s plot results in the death of Cassio, the young soldier who was awarded his promotion. He convinces Othello that Desdemona was adulterous (Bradley, 2006). This resulted in murder of Desdemona in Othello’s hands. However, Emilia exposes the plot of Iago to Othello. This realization causes Othello to attack Iago in anger but does not kill him and instead allows him to live in guilt and anguish. Both Iago and Othello are accosted, and Othello gives a final speech on how he is to be remembered and kills himself with a dagger. It is apparent at the end of the play that the protagonist, who was senior and respected military man, was brought down not by a sword but by a crafty and diabolical adversary. There is no glory in the death of Othello but rather a sense of regret and pain for the character.
When analyzing the plot of the aforementioned play, it is possible to define if Othello was a tragic hero or otherwise. Considering the first criterion of Aristotle, it is apparent that Othello was an individual with a high status in the society. Despite the racial overtones, which were evident in the historical era, Othello appears to have attained respect among the Venetian population. He posessed invaluable leadership and military skills, which carve a position of importance for him in the Venetian population (Bloom & Heims, 2008). This is evident in his influence, in the senate whereby his input is valuable. It is understood from the sentiments of Cassio, whereby, he states that the senate has been relentless in seeking the counsel of Othello. The trust of the senate is evident with the appointment of Othello as a political commander of the region of Cyprus. This situation conforms to the first criterion which presupposes that a tragic hero should be an influential individual in the society. This is evident in Othello since he was a respected military man with pride, bravery and honor (Wells, 2002).
It is also apparent that the protagonist was an honorable individual. He was a loyal and brave soldier with admirable characteristics; steadfast in his military duties character, which endears him to the audience. He depicts a contrast with the antagonist Iago who is a malicious and evil individual. He appears to promote Cassio on merit depicting that he was not corrupt. He is honorable in his service to Venice through his life. He also appears to be remorseful for killing Desdemona a characteristic that contrast to the demeanor of Iago. It is evident that the protagonist was a respectful individual.
Another factor, which can be used to attest that Othello is a tragic hero, is that he does not perpetrate evil with a premeditated intent. The plot of Iago exploits the trusting nature of the protagonist to cause him to perform evil. In the play, Iago implies that Desdemona was cheating with Cassio. Iago placed a handkerchief belonging to Desdemona in the room of Cassio arousing the suspicion of Othello. This led to the murder of Desdemona in the hands of Othello, an act that sealed the downfall of the protagonist (Bradley, 2006). Therefore, the protagonist was pushed to evil by the work of an external influence, in this case, Iago. His weakness, which leads to his tragedy, is the trust he has for Iago. Despite the plot of Iago to destroy Othello, the protagonist appears to be oblivious of the intentions of Iago. The tragic flaw of the protagonist was also evident in his character of being jealous and irrational. His emotions spurred him to act impulsively a flaw, which resulted in his tragic end. Another interpretation of the unhappy flaw exhibited by the protagonist was that he had internalized the racial prejudices, which were evident in the Venetian community (Bloom and Heims, 2008). He came to believe that being from the black race, he was inferior and unattractive to the native population. This caused him to second-guess the love of Desdemona and fall into the ploy of Iago leading to his tragedy. When Iago hinted at the infidelity of Desdemona, Othello appeared to believe the accusations immediately without stopping to think about the rationality of the accusations (Dutton & Howard, 2003). This shows the insecure nature of the protagonist concerning his status in the society and on love. Despite the protagonist being held in high acclaim by the leadership and the Venetian society, he still relates to the perception of the society on the black race, a main factor that leads him to death.
Considering the unity according to Aristotle, it is apparent that Othello is a tragic hero. For instance, the scenes of the play are centered in one location. This appears to be within a fortress in Cyprus. This is consistent with the criteria of Aristotle concerning a tragedy. There is also a unity with the act, whereby, the place is unified with the action and time. For instance, the events in the tragedy occur in one location, on a similar day and the act will be single without subplots (Witzel, 2008). This is consistent with representation of the aforementioned tragedy. The plot in Othello is unified since it focuses on Othello and his consequent fate. His interaction with other characters appears to be aimed at building up to the tragedy that will lead to his downfall. This means that the play is consistent with a tragedy.
There are arguments suggesting that the play is not a tragedy. Some of the rationales, which are forwarded in order to support this claim, include the following. For instance, the murder of Desdemona can be argued that it was a deliberate act by the protagonist. His insecurity led to anger, which was held within the protagonist over time. This anger was manifested during the murder of Desdemona. It means that the murder was premeditated and was not an accidental. However, this premise is countered by the claims that the acts of Othello were spurred by the influence of Iago by suggesting that Desdemona was unfaithful. It is argued the Othello would not have killed Desdemona if he were sure of her innocence since he was an honorable man.
The character of Iago is instrumental in depicting the play as a tragedy. The character is the archetype of a villain in a tragedy. The prominence of the character is evident since he gets a prominent share of the dialogue. The villain appears to control the other characters with his crafty plots. He controls the actions of others using lies and deceit and eventually traps them with a tragic consequence. The antagonist causes chaos through winning the trust of the characters and uses this relationship to plot the downfall of the characters. Other characters appeared to perceive Iago as hones, and this was a detrimental perspective since it resulted in their downfall. The interests of the antagonist in causing the tragedy for other characters appear to be motivated by selfish interests, whereby, he uses his schemes to obtain revenge. This is evident in the consequent tragedy of Othello and Cassio whereby the author had a vendetta due to his greed and contempt. The prominence of Iago attests to the premise that the play is a tragedy and that Othello is a tragic character.
Conclusion
The tragedy of Othello is among the renowned works of Shakespeare. Despite the prominence of the plot ion the literary scenario, it is essential to determine the attributes, which make the play a tragedy and whether Othello is a tragic character. In order to comprehend this, it is crucial to explore the approach of Aristotle concerning tragedies. It is apparent that the criteria of Aristotle concerning the definition of a tragedy are met. In addition, Othello appears to exhibit the characters of a tragic hero. Therefore, the play Othello is a tragic poem whereby the protagonist is a tragic hero.
References
Bloom, H., & Heims, N. (2008). Othello. New York: Bloom’s Literary
Criticism.
Bradley, A. C. (2006). Shakespearean tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. Teddington (G.B.: Echo Library.
Dutton, R., & Howard, J. E. (2003). A companion to Shakespeare’s works. Malden, Mass: Blackwell.
Wells, S. (2002). Shakespeare survey: Vol. 34. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Witzel, P. (2008). Multiple Iago – The Character and Motives of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.
