For us to be able to understand Othellos tragedy, we may consider what the essence of tragedy is, and how other classical tragic heroes of a similar vein have been presented. A tragedy is, in its simplest form, a serious drama typically depicting a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force such as fate or destiny. In the case of Othello however, it could be argued that the superior forces with which he battles are the racial abuse of his peers or the treacherous Iago, but I will address these issue later. Tragedies will almost certainly have a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion which elicits pity in the audience. Shakespearian tragedy essentially follows the guidelines of tragedies, where the downfall of the protagonist, who has unique and defined characteristics and flaws, will be watched by the audience. Hamlets need for vengeance, Macbeths thirst for power, they all reflect different tragic qualities which lead to the eponymous characters downfall, and Othello himself has tragic flaws which lead to his downfall and ultimately demise. Another aspect of the tragedy of Othello which I will address later in this essay is his exclusion from Venetian society. This inability of characters both good and evil to ingratiate themselves into the masses as they so desire is, if you look carefully enough, somewhat of a theme in Shakespearian tragedies. Othello does not fit in as he is of a lower social class, and it could be argued that other Shakespearian characters, such as Macbeth or Hamlet, are set apart from their countrymen due to their position on a higher rather than lower echelon.
Shakespeare uses a variety of methods to build tension and drama in anticipation of a tragic finale. Some Shakespearean tragedy, as in the case of Othello, is not a typical tragedy in the sense that it follows the fall from grace of a storys protagonist; it could also be considered a tragedy of circumstance. We, as objective audience members, can see the possibility of a joyous ending unravelling with each chance event Shakespeare places in front of us; the raging storm on Othellos arrival in Cyprus; Cassios dismissal due to Iagos cunning engineering of events; Othello chancing upon seeing Cassio meet with his wife and then hurry away; the dropping of the handkerchief and how Emilia stumbles upon it. These chance occurrences are almost like individual pieces of a tragic jigsaw, alone seemingly innocent events, but together creating a bloody, terrible conclusion. Shakespeare, it could be argued, almost uses the progression of the plays characters to shift the performances tone. Othellos descent into madness, Roderigos gradual venture towards Iagos true intentions, these character developments suggest a negative movement towards some sort of horrific climax. Othellos descent occurs before Act V Scene II, as a result of Iagos duplicity, and it reveals his true nature, his real character, which is not moulded by society or profession. I must discuss this briefly before I address the events of Act V Scene II. Othellos hamartia is jealousy, and he is forced into a perilous position by Iago, full of, as Coleridge once put it, motiveless malignity, until the green-eyed monster (3.3.168) rears its ugly head. Iago, a master of cunning and deception, sees and exploits one of Othellos inherent character flaws, picking and gnawing at that flaw until it is exposed in its brutal, murderous form. I will address the reasons for Othello susceptibility to and leanings towards envy later, but, to sum it up in its most simple form, Othello is different, an alien with a place distinct culture in which some people think he does not belong.
In Act V Scene II we see many different aspects of Othellos tragedy and how they are presented by Shakespeare. There is tragedy to be found in the initial part of the scene, as Othello stands watching Desdemona sleep. Othello has been convinced by Iago of Desdemonas infidelity, yet he is in turmoil, his heart and his head tugging him in two opposite directions. He feels obliged to put out the light (5.2.7), that it is his cause (5.2.1) as she must die else shell betray more men (5.2.6). It could be argued that Othello almost believes his actions are religiously intoned, as if his role as a harbinger of death is imbued with heavenly vengeance, as shown by his talk of flaming ministers, a reference to Psalm 104 in the Bible, in which God makes his ministers a flaming fire. In this instant, standing over Desdemona with the ability to snuff out her life, Othello in himself may be considered, to a reasoned extent, a deity. He does not require jealousy or inferiorities, just vengeance. However, Othello is in a quandary. He still loves her, appreciating her exquisite beauty, as shown by the language he uses to describe her. Othellos talk, seeing as he is the most romantic of all of Shakespeare's heroes" (A.C Bradley), is quixotic and passionate, talking of her whiter skin ... smooth as monumental alabaster (5.2.5), reminiscent of statues which capture a moment of beauty forever in stone. It is as if this is what Othello is doing, capturing a final thought of Desdemonas delicate image before stops any man looking upon that image again. He is almost persuaded by her balmy breath (5.2.16) to renege on his judgement, yet he makes his vexing choice, deciding to kill thee (Desdemona) and love thee after (5.2.18). The most obvious tragedy in this is that Othello has convinced himself to kill an innocent woman whom he still loves.
Desdemona then proceeds to wake up, denying all of Othellos accusations of lechery. He takes a remorseless tone with her, saying how she stone my heart (5.2.63), yet this abrasive language is interspersed with gems of affection for her, the sweet soul (5.2.50). While he still holds feelings for her, even after her perceived sins have been committed, he wishes her a quick death, not allowing her to linger in thy pain (5.2.87). He smothers her, and it is done. It is almost as if committing the fatal act wakes Othello up from some sort of revenge-induced stupor, in which he blindly goes about his vengeful actions without stopping to carefully consider the deeds he is about to commit. The realisation of what he has done hits him, that he now has no wife O insupportable, O heavy hour! (5.2.97) Instantly after murdering her, Othello is wracked with guilt. It is tragic, then, that a rash, violent impulse lacking in consideration has led to the death of the woman he loves, and it is compelling in a way that
Emilia then enters and is shocked by Othellos blunt admittance that twas I that killed her. As I alluded to before, one of the tragedies of Othello is his exclusion and the racial abuse he suffers. This racism is evident in the response of Emilia, in a flurry of verbal rage on learning or her mistresss murder, refers to him as the blacker devil, obviously with negative racial connotations, as well as many times referring to dirt (5.2.160) and filth (5.2.153). Although it should, in times of equality, be merely a term of recognition, the audience cannot help but see how, under stress, Emilias frantic shout that the Moor hath killed my mistress! (5.2.163) is obviously infused with racial prejudice and hostility. Throughout the play Emilia is consistently respectful towards Othello, and there is no inclination that she has ever harboured any form of racist views, yet in a time of stress and panic, racist utterances spew forth. This is reflective of Venetian society on a whole, and the adversity that Othello has to contend with due to being a man of his race in his position with a beautiful, young, white wife. This racial abuse obviously effects Othello, making him more self-conscious and thereby more vulnerable to Iagos treacherous plans, which hinge on his ability to mould Othellos feelings of unworthiness and exclusion.
Othellos last few words in the play, where a malignant and a turbaned Turk beat a Venetian and traduced the state, I took by th throat and smote him thus! are almost a condensed version of Othellos character summed up in a solitary sentence. At this point we feel a terrible sadness for Othello as in those few lines, that single sentence, Othello sums up the whole duality of his own existence. He is at the same time both the turbaned Turk and himself acting for the Venetian state. This confusion regarding his identity could be reflected in his confusion over whether or not to take away that identity of Desdemona, and also possibly shown in Shakespeares muddled reference to Promethean heat (5.2.12), where Shakespeare combines two Greek legends concerning Prometheus. He would be right to consider himself the Turk as he is an outsider, not a member of Venice, a despised outcast who wishes to beat a Venetian and thereby Venice itself for the injustice and hurt that it has caused him. However, at the same time he would also be right to consider himself the smiter who kills the Turk this is as he has acted on many occasions without question for the Venetian state, thereby destroying the aspects of him which make him different. As he considers himself to a certain extent the Turk of (5.2.351), he then refers to himself as a circumcised dog. It could be thought of that he is only accepted by those around him on his noble death. Cassio, on Othellos final breath and kiss for Desdemona, shows his respect by saying how he was great of heart (5.2.359), and Lodovico realises, with heavy heart (5.2.369), that the whole affair was down to the actions of the Spartan dog (5.2.359) that is Iago. Whether this alludes to the possibility that each the fall of Othello and Iago is the cause of the other is questionable, but seeing as they are both dogs, one circumcised and the other Spartan, it is a possibility. They are both outsiders in their own way, yet Iago is one out of choice. He is the one who engineers the events that occur, almost as if he is on a higher Their similarities may mean that Iagos motiveless malignancy may not, in retrospect, be so motiveless. It is a tragedy, therefore, that Iago, out of the many peoples lives he could have chosen to ruin, decided to chose Othello because he recognised their similarities.
The tragedy of Othello is a tragedy of loss. Othello loses his position in Venetian society, his profession, his beloved wife, his own life, and, it could be argued, himself. Iagos influence shapes his descent into madness, at which point Othello is not the same character we see at the beginning of the play, one of
Bibliography
Othello, edited by E.A.J Honigmann
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