Tragedy1

=Tragedy: what is it?= = = == “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its //katharsis// of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody” (Aristotle's [|Theory of Tragedy]).



"Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, often got without merit, and lost without deserving" (Act II Scene III,247–248)." -Iago
In Iago's typical deceitful fashion, he tactfully uses words to exploit Cassio's current state of despondence. After being relieved of his duties by Othello, Cassio expresses his disgust of losing the one eternal part of himself: his reputation. Iago uses his honesty, the reputation he has "got without merit," to comfort the despondent Cassio. Iago's cunning allows him to disguise his true trait of deceit with cowardly acts and eloquent speech. His reputation of being honest has been earned without merit, and for Othello's sake Iago must lose it or the damage he causes will be catastrophic.

Quote Analysis [[image:othello-iago-full.jpg width="242" height="160" align="right" caption="Othello and Iago "]]

 * "Othello, we have seen, was extremely trusting. He put his entire confidence in the honesty of Iago, who had n ot only been his companion in arms, but, as he believed, had just proved his faithfulness in the matter of the marriage. This confidence was misplaced, and we happen to know it; but it was no sign of stupidity in Othello. For his opinion of Iago was the opinion of practically everyone who knew him: and that o pinion was that Iago was before all things 'honest,' his very faults being those of excess in honesty. This being so, even if Othello had not been trustful and simple, it would have been quite unnatural in him to be unmoved by the warnings of so honest a friend, warnings offered with extreme reluctance and manifestly from a sense of a friend's duty" (Bradley 192).

Tragic flaw. What would a Shakespeare play be without it? In Othello, Othello’s tragic flaw is that he trusts too easily. He has so much trust in Iago that he takes Iago’s word over what is most important: his love for Desdemona. Iago lies and tells Othello that that Desdemona is cheating on him. Othello declares Iago as a man of honor and trust, and therefore has no reason to distrust him. In Act III, scene 3, Othello is thoroughly corrupted by Iago; Othello says that he believes that Desdemona is honest, yet he thinks that she is not. He does not know what to believe so he goes to Iago for advice, which is what Iago has been waiting for. Othello is seen as a confused man without direction and does not know what to do. "


 * " [T]he blow to Desdemona, and the scene where she is treated as the inmate of a brothel, a scene far more painful than the murder scene, is another cause of the special effect of this tragedy" (Bradley 178).

The sadness evoked in the hearts of the readers who follow Othello's descent towards perdition, does not begin to match the despair ignited by Othello's savage treatment of Desdemona. Desdemona, who remains steadfast in the face of Othello's brutality, preserves the integrity her savage husband previously possessed. Neither Othello's baseless accusations of his wife's infidelity nor his punches are able to deter Desdemona's attempt to rekindle their love. Othello allows his incredible stupidity and jealousy to unseat him from his throne of military might and reduce him to a weak human being. Desdemona has no such flaw to account for her tragic fall from proud wife to abused spouse. There is only one "flaw" that Desdemona possesses: an undying loyalty to her husband.


 * "Othello's mind, for all its poetry, is very simple. He is not observant. His nature tends outward. He is quite free from introspection, and is not given to reflection. Emotion excites his imagination, but it confuses and dulls his intellect" (Bradley 189).

Othello is an idiot. a dolt. a complete moron. The reader does not feel sympathy for him because he is ravaging his marriage, but because he is too stupid to see the malicious intent of Iago's scheme. Othello, who initially seems intelligent, proves otherwise on numerous occasions throughout the play. Eventually, his eloquence wears off and the reader sees Othello for who he really is: a volatile man incensed by jealousy. Othello's first impression on the reader of being intelligent was not a lasting one. Othello is a tragic figure for one reason: readers sympathize with dumb characters.

Everybody loves a good laugh. Even Iago can be transformed into a non-villainous character though humor. The audience of the play does not see Iago's deception of Roderigo as malicious but rather entertaining. Roderigo is a complete fool and the audience knows this; they feel like they are part of the 'joke' by siding with Iago's intentions. The true power of Shakespeare's tragedy is revealed here: Iago's maliciousness is completely shrouded by the context in which Shakespeare describes him. The audience does not realize that they should be feeling sorry for Roderigo and Othello until it is too late and Iago's 'funny' antics end up ruining lives.
 * "The scene in the Council Chamber, and the scene of the reunion at Cyprus, give almost unmixed happiness to the audience; however repulsive Iago may be, the humour of his gulling of Roderigo is agreeable; even the scene of Cassio's intoxication is not, on the whole, painful" (Bradley 66).


 * "The character of Othello is comparatively simple, but, as I have dwelt on the prominence of intrigue and accident in the play, it is desirable to show how essentially the success of Iago's plot is connected with this character. Othello's description of himself as 'one not easily jealous, but, being wrought, Perplexed in the extreme' is perfectly just. His tragedy lies in this--that his whole nature was indisposed to jealousy, and yet was such that he was unusually open to deception, and, if once wrought to passion, likely to act with little reflection, with no delay, and in the most decisive manner conceivable" (Bradley 186).

One of Othello's flaws is arguably even more tragic than his excessive trust: jealousy. Though he thinks of himself as "not easily jealous", this only leads him to become much more jealous when the opportunity arises. Since Othello is so passionate in everything he does, it will only take some strategic and persistant manipulation (Iago's specialty) to transform this passion into jealousy. All of this passion invested into jealousy leads Othello to act in a rash manner to justify his temporary and false jealousy; a very regrettable decision awaits.

**Web Pages**

 * [|This page]explains some of the sources that inspired Shakespeare to write Othello.
 * For those of us curious about watching a reenactment of the play Othello, this 1952 film titled __[|The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice]__, does a good job of putting the play into movie form.
 * [|Criticism]on Othello's three main traits - romance, dignity, and self reliance - and how they relate to tragedy. Explanation of how Othello might be Shakespeare's most "tragic" hero out of all of his protagonists.
 * A [|brief summary] of Shakespeare's tragedies and their tragic elements. Outlines each major protagonist in Shakespeare's many tragedies. Don't click if you plan on reading other plays by Shakespeare!
 * An [|amazing website] detailing every aspect of the tragic hero. Covers many vital topics including tragic flaws, tragic stories, tragic structure, and supernatural causes. A must read for those interested in the planning and structure of any tragedy.
 * [|This link] sheds light on the vulnerability of Othello that will lead to his imminent downfall. The human nature of Othello, this link shows, urges the reader forges such a powerful bond with him.
 * An [|in depth analysis of the play Othello], and an [|in depth analysis of how Othello is a tragedy]. Both links aid our understanding of the novel because they provide outside information (which is not written in old English) to what we are reading in and out of class.
 * [|A relationship drawn] between Othello and Shakespeare's other tragedies. This page also describes how Othello stands out from the rest, mostly due to the villainous character, Iago.
 * This is an excellent site that explains the common trends of tragedies, especially [|Shakespearian tragedies]. Here, one can find information not only about Othello, but also about most of Shakespeare's other tragedies.

Additional Web Pages

 * [|What exactly is a tragic flaw]? In all of our class discussions, we have been talking a lot about tragic flaws and tragic heros. A tragic flaw is a trait in a character that usually brings about the downfall of the character. In Othello, trust is Othello's tragic flaw that eventually causes him to kill everything he loves and lives for:Desdemona. In most all of Shakespeare's plays, there is a tragic flaw that causes the downfall of a character. Usually the tragic flaw is in a protagonist, and the readers sympathize with the protagonist.
 * Who really is the Tragic Hero in Othello? Some argue that it is Iago, and some argue that it is Othello. [|This link provides information on how Othello is a Tragic hero]. Many say Othello is because his trust is his tragic flaw that brings about his (and Desdemona's) downfall; he trusts Iago when Iago tells him that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Othello even goes on to say that he loves and trusts Iago and that Iago is a man of honor and trust.
 * All Shakespearean tragedies have the same basic concepts. [|This page] does a good job of giving the characteristics of a tragic hero, and also expands on Iago's malevolent malcontent.
 * One of the common traits of Tragedies are the [|qualities of tragic heroes]. These men, or women, are well liked, of a higher class, and almost always have a tragic flaw or commit a tragic error. In contrast to Shakespearian tragedies, contemporary tragedies deal with the common man. As Arthur Miller stated in [|Tragedy and the Common Man], people of the present day enjoy reading and viewing plays with the common man being the tragic hero because they can relate to him. We cannot relate to people like Othello, Julius Cesar, or McBeth, because we are not all of a high noble class and probably none of us are kings, rulers or war heroes.
 * Here is a [|blog]discussing a live performance of Othello. It is interesting to note the difference between reading the play and seeing it live.

**RSS Feeds**
Interested in tragedy, Shakespeare, or a mixture of both? These following feeds may have some interesting material that may lead you to read other books with tragedy as a main theme. rss url="feed://z.about.com/6/g/shakespeare/b/index.rdf" link="true" number="5" rss url="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=Tragedy+Books&ie=UTF-8&nolr=1&output=rss" link="true" number="5"

**Videos**
If you do not have time to read the book or sparknotes.com, this video may assist you in understanding the story of Othello. media type="youtube" key="UC-f0drvdmM" height="349" width="425" Clip from Scarface portraying a tragic flaw media type="youtube" key="m088QNQomOg" height="349" width="425"
 * Tony's ruthlessness and cruel behavior led him to become a very wealthy and powerful man. He wanted "the world and everything in it" and did not let anyone deter his ride to power. Surprisingly, Tony's tragic flaw was compassion; he killed a hit man working for a powerful Colombian drug lord because the hit man was ready to kill a man and his children. Tony said that he would have no problem killing only the man, but under no circumstances would he ever harm a child. In your opinions, whose tragic flaw is worse: Othello's or Tony's?**

Educational video on the true meaning of "tragedy" media type="youtube" key="PVlBcO64hKY" height="349" width="425"

Key scenes from the play summarized media type="youtube" key="AFjHukUOeDQ" height="349" width="425"

**Podcasts and Other Audio**
Shakespodospheare Podcast media type="custom" key="2547133"