Othello as a Tragedy

Othello as a Tragedy

  • Submitted By: Cloist
  • Date Submitted: 10/29/2008 1:24 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1715
  • Page: 7
  • Views: 2

An effective tragedy acts based on the hero’s flaws of character, causing the audience to empathise with him. The audience realises that even the most powerful and respected among us is not immune to the vulnerable qualities of human nature. Thus feelings of pity and fear are evoked, and the audience is able to empathise with the suffering of the character. Shakespeare’s play Othello is an example of such a tragedy, where the vulnerable qualities of the hero cause him to fall from power and happiness to uncontrollable rage, jealousy, and death.

In establishing the hero’s widely-held esteem there is often foreshadowing of vulnerability of his nature, and this causes the audience to recognise that no one is free from human frailty. Othello’s position of power is first established when he says “My services which I have done the signiory shall out-tongue his complaints”. This personification indicates that Othello is confident Brabantio will do him no harm, on grounds of his past services. Othello’s pride is suggested when Iago describes him as “loving his own pride and purposes”, where word choice indicates Othello’s attitude. Othello’s own perception of himself is shown when he says “My demerits may speak unbonneted to as proud a fortune as this that I have reached.” This personification demonstrates that Othello is proud of himself and what he has done. His rationale and ability to handle situations is shown through “Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.” The touch of humour in these words shows that he is not the least perturbed even though he is outnumbered by Brabantio and his men. His tact at dealing with others is shown through the metonymy when he says “Good signior, you shall command more with years than with your weapons.” His self-deprecation when he says “Rude am I in speech and little blessed with the soft phrase of peace” is another example of how he uses tact to win over the opposition. Othello reminds us of his military...

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