Tragedy8

=**The Tragedy of Othello **= Camila Bernal, Vanessa Canosa, Julianne Maksym, Melissa Robbins, Stephanie Sandberg

Web Pages

 * This website provides a good definition of Tragedy, going all the way back to Greek philosophy and Aristotle. Broaden your understanding of this genre [|here].
 * If you want a method of recognizing, identifying, and following the Shakespearean tragic elements of Othello as we read further, check out [|this page,] maybe even print it out for a hard-copy checklist of your own!
 * This website describes how Othello supposedly brought tragedy onto [|himself] . As we continue reading, see if you agree with this idea.
 * This [|page] provides insight to many of Shakespeare's plays, concerning tragic heroes.
 * This website explains how the play Othello is a [|complex tragedy]
 * [|Aristotelian] influence on Shakespearean tragedy
 * This page explains the origins of [|tragedy.]
 * This website provides the different aspects of tragedy presented in Othello - to learn more [|click here.]
 * For information on Othello as a Tragic Hero, including an examination of his tragic flaws, see [|this page.]

**News Articles and Movie Reviews**

 * Independent.ie's [|Pat Hunt] dives into Shakespeare's tragedy about the noble, yet jealous Othello. Hunt describes the characteristics of what makes Othello the tragic character and analyzes how the other characters contribute to the nature of the play.
 * Lar Lubovitch, an acclaimed dance choreographer, fails miserably at [|converting] Othello into a ballet. The reviewer offers his opinion as to what the choreographer neglects to convey and why the performance lacks true understanding of the tragedy.
 * Carole McDonnell compares the elements of tragedy in "O" and Othello in [|this movie review]. She explains how the movie makes tragedy more relatable for the audience because "perhaps kings and princes and warrior-soldiers are too above us for us to truly relate to their quandaries." She also believes that the creators of the movie chose the best modern-day setting: high school. "Where else would hormonal rage, jealousy and social hierarchy work to create such a tragedy?"
 * This [|"webzine" article], like the previous link, compares the play and movie version of this tragedy, but it more detail. "In Othello, it is the tragedy of a man whose excellence in pursuit of honor blinds him to his own weaknesses and eventually leads to his destruction. In O, it is the tragedy (though I have my doubts as to whether it really is, strictly speaking, a tragedy) of a man whose excellence in pursuit of honor allows him to be fooled into becoming yet another sacrificial victim to white racism."
 * In this [|movie review] of "O," Adele Marley talks about how "O" cannot be labeled a "tragedy" like Othello is. The reviewer states that the circumstances in the two versions are simply too different.

**Blog Posts**

 * A blogger discusses his/her experience watching a [|production] of Othello at the Cincinnati Playhouse. The writer describes in great [[image:http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/PaulRobeson/Images/othello.jpg width="177" height="160" align="right"]]detail how well the elements of Shakespeare's tragedy were composed on stage. (Caution - spoilers!)
 * Kayla M. expresses how Iago's intense [|jealousy] ultimately leads to the tragedy of all characters involved. She intertwines each character's motives and actions under the belief that Iago's selfish desires are the causes.
 * Othello = [|Iraq War]? RMJ (blogger) believes so; he/she compares the play to the current state of affairs: America as Othello; Bush as Iago; the war as the plot. RMJ provides in-depth analysis and some unconventional ideas. (Caution - spoilers!)

**Corresponding Criticism **

>>> . >>> 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.'" __Renaissance Quarterly__ 48.3 (1995): 582+. Questia >>> School. Pascack Hills HS Lib., Montvale NJ. 13 Nov. 2008 >>> . >>> . >> >>> L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. 3 vols. Chicago: Gale, 1991. __Literature Resource__ >>> __Center__. Gale. Pascack Hills HS Lib., Montvale NJ. 13 Nov. 2008 >>> . >>> .
 * **"Othello** 's **tragedy** transposes solifidianism--salvation by faith alone--into the realm of marriage. What Martin Luther prescribes for the human soul resembles what audiences for centuries have silently urged on **Othello** : a belief that, though he may not deserve the redemptive love, the pity, even the body of this divine creature, God has given it to him, and now all he needs is absolute faith in that gift.6 Though my evidence can certainly be read in the opposite direction, as Shakespeare using the Protestant sympathies of his audience to reinforce their approval of this incongruous love affair, I believe the play uses the appeal of romantic love to enhance the appeal of Protestantism, by repeatedly associating Desdemona with this pitying Christ, and **//Othello//** with her doubtful worshiper. Pride is as fundamental to the **tragedy** of // **Othello** // as jealousy, and the psychological melodrama comports a lesson in soteriology--the theology of salvation."
 * This excerpt is very thought-provoking. The article it was taken from discusses the relationship (perhaps intentionally crafted by Shakespeare) between //Othello// and religion. Othello, who is fortunate enough to be loved by the divine Desdemona, can only be secure in this love if he has complete faith in it. Iago acts the Serpent and his whispers destroy Othello's certainty in Desdemona's fidelity. His manipulation leads Othello to doubt in his "Goddess'" love and therefore the entire fabric that the harmony of their marriage is based on unravels.
 * __Citation:__
 * Watson, Robert N. "//Othello// as Reformation Tragedy." __the Company of Shakespeare: Essays on English Renaissance Literature in Honor of G. Blakemore Evans__. Ed. Thomas Moisan and Douglas Bruster Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2002. 65-96. **Rpt. in** __Shakespearean Criticism__. Vol. 113. Detroit: Gale, 65-96. __Literature Resource Center__. Gale. Pascack Hills High School. 13 Nov. 2008
 * "Othello's manhood, life as a soldier, and deepest sense of self now rest on the absolute nature of the love between himself and Desdemona. "When I love thee not, / Chaos is come again" (3.3.92-93), and if not Chaos, then at least the certainty that "Othello's occupation's gone" (3.3.361) ... Both protagonists believe themselves betrayed, and the effect on them of this realization is as extreme as their earlier love. After a descent into a temporary distraction in the case of Othello, ... they each decide to kill the woman they love."
 * Raymond Powell's article is a juxtaposition of Shakespeare's famous Othello and a less famous but very comparable work by John Ford entitled 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore'. Though we need not pay attention to the observations he makes in regards to Ford's play, we as investigators of tragedy in Othello can glean a new frame of thought from Powell's article. He recognizes the significance of the line "When I love thee not, / Chaos is come again" (3.3.92-93) and the imperative connection between Othello's shaken faith in the woman he loves and his ultimate tragic demise.
 * __Citation:__
 * Powell, Raymond. "The Adaptation of a Shakespearean Genre: 'Othello' and Ford's
 * "What ever rubs or difficulty may stick on the Bark, the Moral, sure, of this Fable [Shakespeare's Othello] is very instructive. First, This may be a caution to all Maidens of Quality how, without their Parents consent, they run away with Blackamoors. (p. 132) Secondly, This may be a warning to all good Wives, that they look well to their Linnen. Thirdly, This may be a lesson to Husbands, that before their Jealousie be Tragical, the proofs may be Mathematical."
 * The last instruction that the author of this piece took away from Othello is very pertinent to the painful, tragic demise of Othello in Shakespeare's play. If only the character had known this moral and heeded it, he may have avoided the ruination of his life. It is good that men even in Shakespeare's own time recognized the moral lesson the play teaches, and hopefully all Husbands heeded this wise advice.
 * __Citation:__
 * Rymer, Thomas. "A Short View of Tragedy." __The Critical Works of Thomas Rymer__. Ed. Curt A. Zimansky Yale University Press, 1956. 82-176. **Rpt. in** __Shakespearean Criticism__. Ed. Mark W. Scott. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale Research, 1987. 82-176. __Literature Resource Center__. Gale. Pascack Hills High School. 13 Nov. 2008
 * " The play is thus also a tragedy of love in that it suggests that a complete form of love in which the spiritual and the sexual are equally balanced and reconciled is humanly unattainable...No form of love in the play, Othello 's, Iago's, or Desdemona's, is entirely adequate in the world of the play and this is why love is seen in tragic terms."
 * While it is obvious that //Othello// could be labeled a tragedy of revenge, greed, or jealousy, some people fail to see the element of love in the play. There is no "true" love in the play, and that could be a tragedy in itself, showing the inevitability of failure in relationships. A great deal of the play actually revolves around love. If Othello did not love Desdemona, Iago would not have been able to use her in his plot for revenge against Iago.
 * __Citation:__
 * Newton, K. M. "Othello: Overview." __Reference Guide to English Literature__. Ed. D.
 * “The question here is why Othello is so easily deceived, so easily taken in by appearances and the false physician and the honesty game, what is the “tragic flaw” which causes him to abrogate his integrity to precipitate his tragic fall? …Othello's prime fault was that he had such a talent, and even a need, for self-deception. Furthermore, it is this, the refusal to face reality…the trait of self-idealization, which makes of Shakespeare's Othello a psychologically consistent characterization, and which explains why he falls so quickly into Iago's trap…”
 * Othello's trust in others, especially in Iago, has caused him much trouble. Through Iago's manipulation, he comes to believe that his beloved wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with Cassio. Othello takes Iago's advice without question-failing to see the malice of his intentions. Perhaps, if Othello pondered for a moment about the nature of their conversation, he might have become aware of Iago's deceitfulness and his evil intentions being brought upon him. Unfortunately, Othello is blindsighted: unable to sense what the reader is able to.
 * __Citation:__
 * Rabkin, Leslie Y. and Jeffrey Brown. "Some Monster in His Thought: Sadism and Tragedy in Othello." __Literature and Psychology__. 23.2 ( 1973): 59-66. **Rpt. in** __Shakespearean Criticism__. Ed. Dana Ramel Barnes. Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. 59-66. __Literature Resource Center__. Gale. Pascack Hills High School. 13 Nov. 2008

**Audio**

 * In a short audio clip, the speaker illustrates the differences between a [|melodrama] and a tragedy. He continues in distinguishing Othello as the melodrama it once was from the tragedy it is now.

**RSS Feeds**

 * rss url="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&q=Shakespeare+Tragic+Flaw&ie=UTF-8&nolr=1&output=atom" link="true" description="true" number="5"

**Quote Analysis**
//The Moor is of free and open nature// //That thinks men honest that but seems to be so,// //And will as tenderly be led by the nose// //As asses are.// //I have't! It is engend'red! Hell and night// //Just bring this monstrous birth to the world's light. (I.iii.417-422)//
 * Iago declares his plans to manipulate Roderigo, ruin Desdemona's marriage, and destroy Othello. The soliloquy describes how Othello's good natured characteristics will cause his demise and compares the start of Iago's plotting as a "monstrous birth." Tragedy lies in Iago's jealousy, evil scheming, and eventual success. These six lines initiate the beginning of Othello's ultimate downfall.

//This fellow's of exceeding honesty,// //And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit Of human dealings. If I do prove her haggard,// //Though that her jesses were my dear heartstrings,// //I'd whistle her off and let her down the wind To prey at fortune. Haply, for I am black And have no those soft parts of conversation// //That chamberers have, or for I am declined Into the vale of years (yet that's not much),// //She's gone. I am abused, and my relief Must be to loather her. O curse of marriage, That we can call these delicate creatures ours,// //And not their appetites! I had rather be a toad And live upon the vapor of a dungeon Than keep a corner in the thing I love For others' uses. Yet 'tis the plague of great ones; Prerogatived are they less than the base. 'Tis destiny unshunnable, like death: Even then this forked plague is fated to us When we do quicken. Desdemona comes. (III.iii.293-312)//


 * Othello believes Iago is an honest man, knowledgeable of human behavior; because of this reason, Othello's tragic flaw begins to manifest. He becomes unjustly jealous of Desdemona and goes as far as declaring his intentions to hate and leave her. He references his skin color, stating that that may be why Desdemona has abandoned her fidelity. Othello concludes his speech with the revelation that husbands are plagued by the hidden independence of their wives. The cause of the tragedy rests in Iago's manipulation - his actions so conniving that Othello loses his faith in happiness and gains a certainty in desertion.


 * Video **

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 * For Our Lesson:**

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