Othello: The Tragic Hero In William Shakespeare’s Othello‚ Othello is the tragic hero. He is a character of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings‚ his own actions‚ and his fate. His destruction is essentially precipitated by his own actions‚ as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not a fault of a single villain‚ but is rather a consequence of a wide range of feelings‚ judgments and misjudgments‚ and attempts for personal justification
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swiftly and utterly undone; that he could sink not only from bliss to despair but from the heights of human excellence to the very baseness of our animal instincts. We are first introduced to Othello from the thoughts of Iago and Roderigo. These comments in the opening scene have a mostly racist nature and Othello is described as barbaric and a Negro – he is referred to as “the thick lips” in the opening act. He is also full of “his own pride and purposes” (Iago – Act 1‚ scene 1‚ line 12) Racist innuendoes
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Othello‚ a tragedy of faith by William Shakespeare was written in 1603. Othello was first performed by the King’s Men at the court of King James I on November 1‚ 1604. Othello is set against the backdrop of the wars between Venice and Turkey that raged in the latter part of the sixteenth century. The play is loosely based on a novella titled Capitano Moro by Cinthio. The play is driven by the themes of inherent racism‚ jealously‚ love and presumed betrayal. The only thing which Shakespeare has not
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Shakespeare’s Othello Character Discussion Katie Olszewski Othello is a playwright by William Shakespeare. In Othello‚ a black man named Othello has married the daughter of a Venetian government official‚ Desdemona. After their marriage Othello is sent to Cyprus to battle the Turks. Fortunately for‚ the Turks were drowned at sea and no battle took place. Iago was Othello’s flag carrier and thought that his rank should be higher. So Iago plotted to ruin Othello’s life and it started
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Tragedy is a common theme within Shakespearean Literature. As an author‚ Shakespeare uses tragedy within his works to instill certain emotions and drama. Two examples of a Shakespearean tragedy are Hamlet and Othello. Hamlet and Othello are both tragic heroes within their respective stories. Sadly‚ due to their heroism‚ they are often the target for many plots and schemes. The setting of Hamlet takes place in the Kingdom of Denmark. King Hamlet has just died and his throne is passed on to his
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The famous Shakespearean tragedy Othello is open to many thoughts and ideas about life in the Elizabethan era as well as modern day life with adaptations such as Othello by Andrew Davies. The most apparent notion that occurs in both versions of the drama is racism‚ which largely drives the plot of the Davies production. However‚ sexual politics also comes out to play in the texts as it sees the assignation of particular gender roles as well as the way that love is portrayed. Love is also the reason
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Although the degrees of their guilt greatly vary‚ every major character in Shakespeare’s "Othello" contributes to the deadly chain of events that transpire. There are seven major characters in the play: Othello‚ Iago‚ Cassio‚ Desdemona‚ Emilia‚ Roderigo‚ and Bianca. Though some may seem to have greater roles than others in the tragedy‚ each one can be considered a major character because their specific actions are factors in the catastrophic ending. It is obvious that only a few of them have devious
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Feminism in Othello The women of Shakespeare’s Othello continuously end up falling into various roles; the part of the fraud‚ the part of the victim‚ and the part of the hero. Within the patriarchy of Venetian society‚ the women served major purposes‚ sometimes being victimized and stereo-typed in its name. Though the play continues with a slightly negative motif‚ all is subconsciously resolved by the redeeming actions and words of one character. In the end‚ a play seemingly riddled with negativity
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of trust‚ loyalty and honesty. In the play Othello‚ Shakespeare demonstrates these qualities through many of his characters to portray their deep friendship. However as the play progresses these friends turn into foes as many problems occur in their friendships and lead to many tragic events. The negative qualities that tore these friendships apart are distrust‚ selfishness and jealousy that led many of the characters to their tragedies. In the play Othello‚ Shakespeare demonstrates that there are
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In Othello by William Shakespeare‚ Iago is a character who lets his jealousy get in the way‚ betrays‚ and manipulates Othello and wants revenge of not being Othello’s ensign. Iago personality of not getting what Iago wants causes Iago to Betray‚ manipulates‚ and becomes jealous of Cassio who supposedly took Iago’s spot of being Othello’s ensign. Jealous is one of Iago’s important character trait that causes Iago’s jealousy of Othello giving Cassio the title of being Othello’s ensign. Iago spends
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