long nonsense essay about tragedy
...s second-in-command, preferring him to Iago. This resentment, accompanied by Iago's accusations of adultery and his blatant racism, cause Iago to despise the kindly moor. Because Iago is much too smart to immediately kill Othello, he proceeds with the arduous process of dismantling him emotionally. Iago also knows he must distance himself from any part of this, so he cleverly gets someone to do his dirty work. The first to fall victim to Iago's manipulation is half-witted Roderigo. Iago knows Roderigo is consumed by lust for Desdemona, and would do what it takes to make her his own. Iago tells Roderigo that the only way to win Desdemona's love is to make money to procure gifts for her. Put money in thy purse…(act I scene 3 line 339). However Iago is just taking those gifts intended for Desdemona and keeping them for himself, and making a profit. Roderigo eventually starts to question Iago's honesty. When faced with the accusations, Iago simply offers that the killing of Cassio will aid in his cause and Roderigo falls for it. In doing this, Iago keeps Roderigo in the dark and continues to profit from him monetarily. Roderigo is also used as a device in both Cassio and Othello's downfall. Iago's actions demonstrate his monetary and power based motivations, invalidating the claim that Iago is evil for evil's sake. Cassio like Roderigo follows Iago blindly, thinking the whole time that Iago is trying to aid him, when in fact Iago, motivated by his lust for power, is attempting to remove Cassio of his position as lieutenant. With Roderigo's help Iago causes Cassio to forfeit his position as Othello's second-in-command. Cassio is also used to bring out the monster inside of Othello. In Iago's exploitation of Cassio, it is clear to see that, although evil in his deeds, Iago is strictly motivated by his hunger for power. As mentioned earlier, Iago's main intention lies in the degradation of Othello. Iago feels that he was best suited to hold the position of lieutenant, as opposed to Michael Cassio. From this Iago manufactures accusations of adultery, claiming that Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia. …Twixt my sheets/ he's done my office.(Act I scene 3 line 380) These accusations are merely excuses to validate his own pleasant acts and greed, and should be seen as nothing more. Again it's plain to see that, in Iago's deception of Othello he is motivated by his jealousy and subsequent bitterness. In conclusion, it's evident that Iago is evil for greed's sake, as opposed to evil for evil's sake. His craving can be seen in his clever manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello. He uses Roderigo for his own financial benefit, as well as support his master plan; the destruction of Othello. Cassio was unfortunate enough to be chosen ahead of Iago as Othello's second-in-command, and was reduced to a deteriorated state by Iago because of it. Lastly, driven by his bitterness towards Othello for choosing Cassio over him, Iago takes it upon himself to ensure Othello's demise. Iago is an extremely complex character, and far from ordinary. His complexity and uniqueness makes him one of Shakespeare's greatest villains. Words: 624 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The plot for Othello was developed from a story in Cinthio's collection, the Hecatommithi, which it follows closely. The only named character in Cinthio's story is "Disdemona", which means "unfortunate" in Greek; the other characters are identified only as "the standard-bearer", "the captain", and "the Moor". In the original, the standard-bearer lusts after Disdemona and is spurred to revenge when she rejects him. Shakespeare invented a new character, Roderigo, who pursues the Moor's wife and is killed while trying to murder the captain. Unlike Othello, the Moor in Cinthio's story never repents the murder of his beloved, and both he and the standard-bearer escape Venice and are killed much later. Cinthio also drew a moral (which he placed in the mouth of the lady) that European women are unwise to marry the temperamental males of other nations. [edit] Othello's race "Othello and Desdemona in Venice" by Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856) Although the play is very much concerned with racial difference, the protagonist's specific race is not clearly indicated by Shakespeare. Othello is referred to as a "Moor", but for Elizabethan English people, this term could refer either to the Berbers (or Arabs) of North Africa, or to the people we would now call "black" (that is, people of sub-Saharan African descent). In his other plays, Shakespeare had previously depicted both a Berber Moor (in The Merchant of Venice) and a black Moor (in Titus Andronicus). In Othello, however, the references to the character's physical features do not settle the question of which race Shakespeare envisaged. In his Arden edition of the play, E.A.J. Honigmann summarises the contradictory evidence. The various uses of the word 'black' (for example, "Haply for I am black") do not help, since 'black' could simply mean 'swarthy' for Elizabethans[1]. Iago twice uses the word 'Barbary' or 'Barbarian' to refer to Othello, apparently referring to the Barbary coast inhabited by the "white" Moors. Yet Iago also calls him 'the thicklips', which seems to refer to black physiognomy. Honigmann says that since these comments by Iago are all insults, they need not be taken literally.[2] Honigmann also notes one piece of external evidence: an ambassador of the Arab King of Barbary with his retinue stayed in London in 1600 for several months and occasioned much discussion. Honigmann wonders whether Shakespeare's play, written only a year or two afterwards, might have been inspired by the ambassador. [3] Also, it should be noted that a real Othello would more likely be a Berber or Arab than of entirely sub-Saharan African ancestry. On the other hand, sub-Saharans have visited the Mediterranean long before the time in which the events of the play are set, and a portrayal of Othello as sub-Saharan adds much to the feelings of alienation and suspicion that the audience must sense from him -- here is truly a stranger in a strange land, which makes his psychological plight all the more striking and his final inability to trust his wife the more "explainable" if he is constantly reminded of the fact that the two of them are from what would then be considered almost literally two different worlds. A Barbary Arab would not experience the same emotions; he might not be trusted but he would not be considered totally alien by the Venetians. Therefore when a Barbary Othello cannot trust Desdemona, the audience would be more likely to blame him and not pity him. Popular prejudice among average readers and theatre directors today leans towards the "black" interpretation, and more "realistic" Othellos have been rare.[4] [edit] Themes and tropes This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details. [edit] Signifier / Signified Othello subverts traditional theatrical symbolism. A contemporary audience would have seen black skin as a sign of barbarism or satanism as Aaron is in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus: a "swarth Cimmerian... of body's hue spotted, detested and abominable" (Titus Andronicus, Act II, scene iii, ll. 72-74). A white soldier would have been understood of honesty. Iago indeed actively tries to convince other characters that Othello is a "barbary horse" that "covers" Desdemona, or a "black ram", horned and animalistically "tupping" her (Act I, scene i, l. 108, ll. 85-86); and that he himself is truthful to a fault. In Othello, however, the black character is "noble" and Christian; and the white soldier is a scheming liar. Othello thus constantly challenges the link between a physical signifier and what is signified by it. For example, Iago – whose job as standard-bearer is to hold a sign of loyalty to Othello – says, of pretending to like the Moor: "Though I do hate him as I do hell pains/ Yet for necessity of present life/ I must show out a flag and sign of love/ Which is indeed but sign" (Act I, scene i, ll. 151-154a). Desdemona, too, sees a distinction between signifier and signified, saying she "saw Othello's visage in his mind" – not in his actual face (Act I, scene iii, l. 247). The play thus argues that the relationship between signifier and signified is arbitrary; the plot itself hinging on the significance of an utterly "made-up" sign – a handkerchief made to signify infidelity. When Iago tells him Desdemona is an adulteress, Othello cries "Her name, that was as fresh/ As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black/ As mine own face" – leading to a suicidal conclusion: "If there be cords or knives/ Poison or fire, or suffocating streams/ I'll not endure it" (Act III, scene iii, ll. 383b-387a). [edit] White / Black The most basic aspects of traditional Western symbology – that white signifies purity and black signifies evil – are repeatedly challenged in Othello. One example is in the character of Bianca. Her name in Italian means "white", yet, as Iago tells the audience, her name is again "but sign" of purity, as she is in fact "a housewife that by selling her desires buys herself bread and clothes" (Act IV, scene i, ll. 95-96). Ironically, just before Desdemona pleads with Othello that she is not a whore, Bianca too protests to an accuser that she is "no strumpet, but of life as honest/ As you that thus abuse me" (Act V, scene i, ll. 122-123)– leading the audience to realize that, just as with Desdemona, the only evidence anyone has that Bianca is a whore is Iago's word, and Cassio's (he calls her a "customer," whore {Act IV, scene i, l. 120}). [edit] Heaven / Hell Heaven nevertheless remains a signifier of truth, and hell a signifier of misrepresentation in the play. The words thus recur frequently throughout Othello, as Othello struggles to join other signifiers to them: for example he says to an innocent Desdemona that "Heaven doth truly know that thou art false as hell". This shows strong contrasts between the two. [edit] Iago / Othello Although the title suggests that the tragedy belongs primarily to Othello, Iago also plays an undeniably important role. For one, he speaks more lines than Othello. It is also Iago who manipulates all other characters at his will, trapping them in an intricate net of lies. A. C. Bradley—and more recently Harold Bloom—have been major advocates of this interpretation. Other critics, most notably in the later twentieth century (after F. R. Leavis), have focused on Othello. Apart from the common question of jealousy, some argue that his honour is his undoing, while others address the hints of instability in his person (in Act IV Scene i, for example, he falls "into an epilepsy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries In France, the most important source for tragic theater was Seneca and the precepts of Horace and Aristotle (and modern commentaries by Julius Caesar Sc...