“the Mere Fact That Someone Cruelly Destroys a Potentially Happy Marriage Is Sad, Not Necessarily Tragic.” What, Then, Makes Othello a Tragedy?

The emotion elicited from the destruction of a happy marriage by the villain at the greatest extent is sadness, possibly due to the fact that the outcome is highly predictable.   One may then find himself detached from the play as there is no palpable tension felt by the audience and therefore there is no culmination in the sense of helplessness and inevitability which engender tragedy.   What, then, makes Othello a tragedy? It is no longer the mere fact that Iago destroys the blissful marriage between Othello and Desdemona, however, it relates to the striking revelation that in reality Othello himself is to be held culpable for this destruction through his murder of wife, Desdemona. With this, the element of tragic irony is introduced where the hero is responsible for destroying his own marriage and hence Othello is evidently a tragedy.

In Othello, as in any Shakespearean tragedy, the sense of tragic irony stems from the inherent tragic flaw of the hero that will consequently bring upon his tragic downfall. Othello constructs his identity in a way that belies his insecurities about his other self. Othello defines himself through discourse as a noble Moor, an Elizabethan traveller, and an ascetic general. His allusions to his “travel’s history with the “exotic” where it is replete with “disastrous chances” and “moving accidents” in Act 1 Scene 3 fashion him as an Elizabethan traveller and his declaration that “[his]parts,.. title,.. and ... perfect soul/Shall manifest [him] rightly” when Brabantio is searching for him in Act 1 Scene 2 illustrates how he perceives himself to be and finds security in that. With this construction, the characters overlook his other self as they accept him into Venetian society with his attachment to Desdemona.

Nonetheless, the seizing and manipulation of this knowledge by Iago then exposes his tragic flaw, which is the triggering factor that causes him to kill Desdemona and destroy his happy marriage. Iago unmasks his insecurities... [continues]

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