English Literature Tragedies - Othello, the Moor of Venice - Essay Example

" The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice" by William Shakespeare is one of the most enduring examples of tragedy in English Literature. Edited byAlvin Kerman, the play outlines the fate of Othello, who marries Desdemona in secret to the displeasure of another of her suitors, Roderigo. Iago, Othello's ensign, seeks Othello's downfall and conspires with Roderigo in order to achieve this and makes use of Cassio, Othello's lieutenant, to arouse jealousy in Othello, who murders Desdemona under the conviction that she has been unfaithful to him with Cassio.

On realizing the truth after Desdemona's death, Othello kills himself. Iago, who has formerly killed Roderigo to cover up his own plots, further kills his own wife Emilia who had unwittingly helped in his wicked plans, and is executed after the entire scheme is exposed. The play is a powerful depiction of love, isolation, insecurity, jealousy, and sheer villainy that takes advantage of all these in order to bring about a tragedy. The love between fair Desdemona and the moor Othello is based on her admiration of his military prowess, adventures and a certain exotic quality that differentiates him from other Venetians.

This prompts her to marry him against her father's wishes and defend her choice in front of the Venetian senate. Her love is innocent, and she naively takes up the suit of Cassio, and jests with her husband despite his obvious displeasure. Othello is invigorated by Desdemona's presence, in his stark military atmosphere, she brings him comfort and joy. But his love is not fortified against his insecurities which spring from the difference in age and appearance between the two, and the unconsummated marriage standing on unsure love is thus open to the machinations of Iago.

Tragedy also springs from the change in venue from Venice to Cyprus, which isolates the main characters Othello, Iago, Desdemona, leaving them alone with their own obsessions. Othello stands apart from the whole scene first by his stature, skin and later by the intense jealousy that consumes him. Iago is frequently seen in soliloquies plotting revenge, and Desdemona is lost in contemplation of her love, and the strange reactions of her husband. Iago takes advantage of this isolation and the growing distance between the husband and wife to further his schemes, and falls prey to his own isolated obsession for revenge in the end.

The main weapon used by Iago is jealousy. The contrast between Othello's own appearance and that of Cassio, his diffidence in himself in terms of breeding, eloquence, good looks, and thus in deserving of such a genteel, youthful and beautiful wife, is the soil on which Iago sows the seeds of jealousy. Othello's tender feelings for Desdemona are entirely transformed into an insane jealousy when he is easily convinced of his wife's infidelity, due to his own lack of confidence. Iago is able to exploit the unconsolidated love between Othello and his wife, their respective isolation, Othello's insecurities and subsequent passionate jealousy in order to bring about the disastrous end.

Iago pays in the end with his life, but his villainy is almost unrivaled in literature, especially because he makes it seem so easy through his genius at plotting and taking advantage of circumstances. Suspicions of his wife's infidelity with Othello, and being passed over for promotion drives Iago to a manic frenzy which he channels through a diabolically planned conspiracy and brings about a tragic end to the play. In Othello, Shakespeare has taken tragedy to a new height by exploring how the seeds of a tragic end are inherent in the very beginning, by tracing a path through love, isolation, insecurity, and jealousy to a final catastrophe.