Othello by Shakespeare: a Classical and Modern Tragedy - Book Report/Review Example

Othello: a ical and modern tragedy What does make a piece of art eternal? It’s an interest which every new generation of people demonstrates to this piece of art, isn’t it? Probably, because this piece of art raises eternal problems, reveals dilemmas and arguments which stay the same - unanswered. Definitely William Shakespeare’s artistic legacy stays classical and great firstly for this reason. With an individual creativeness and established mastery in his plays Shakespeare deeply discusses human nature, and it’s human nature humankind forever stay engaged with. It’s typical for Shakespeare to create “nervostatic” heroes, because author is interested deeply in human features’ development. There is “a reciprocal relationship” between the action and the main hero in Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello (Prior). The main hero reveals himself along with the action, and the action of the play is “pushed” by Othello’s main feature. “It is the passion of the hero that is mainspring of all the action of the play” (Crawford). Though there’re other characters in the play, their actions are ordered with the goal to reveal Othello’s personal tragedy. “It is the art of Shakespeare to place his characters under those conditions that will show the true nature of their passion and develop it to its fullness and to its fated end” (Crawford). Indeed, all the circumstances and other characters’ actions seem to be created to increase the development of Othello’s character. What leads the play is Othello’s sleeping weakness and main feature – a jealousy. In the opposite of comedy plays, personal features aren’t constant in tragic ones and continue to develop along with heroes and with the action. According to a classical (Greek) description of tragic play, which is known from Aristotle, a canonic tragedy is led by the main hero’s personal development. In his turn, the main hero himself is led by the main passion, a feature of his character (like a jealousy in Othello’s case). In classical tragedies there’re also some under powers which reason the action and the main hero’s tragic destiny (like Gods or fate), as well as there’s also a wrong fatal choice hero ought to make of his own free will. Making the fatal mistake, tragic hero is also reasoned by his main passion. A classical tragedy used to stay focused on the main hero’s destiny. “The plot is single and complex” and ordered to a single goal – to lead a main hero to the recognition of his fatal mistake, so to make him reveal his main feature (“Aristotle & The Elements of Tragedy”). Tragedy has strong pathos, and is serious because tells about the main hero’s suffering. Firstly, suffering comes from the main hero’s straggle with fate, and repeats later when the main hero loses in this straggle. To suffer for the tragic hero is essential because recognition of the fatal mistake comes with the suffering, and with the suffering main hero learns about his vice. Suffering for the main hero is a way to the enlightenment and intellectual grow. In this way a main hero discovers an unpleasant truth about his own position. Suffering on public makes process even more tragic (“Tragic Hero Classical Definition”). Also the tragicalness in the play must be personal for the main hero for in order to make tragedy focused on a single fate (“Tragic Heroism”). So the first thing which makes Othello a tragic hero is that the play is focused on his “subsequent tragedy”. His tragedy can’t be “shifted from him to another character in the play” (Crawford). Everything is reasoned in the play by Othello passion’s development, according to the classical tragedy cannon. Interesting, but it’s not only the jealousy of Othello what “pushes” the play. Though Iago serves as a catalyzer for Othello’s passion, he’s reasoned by a jealousy as well (“Theme of Jealousy in Othello”). And when it comes to a sexual jealousy, Iago acts on behalf of Roderigo, who’s in love with Desdemona. Crawford says, it’s typical for Shakespeare to show “a fatalism of overmastering passion” (n.d.). But can a passion itself move the play? In superiority to a classical tragedy, Shakespeare puts all the responsibility for the tragedy to happen with Othello on Othello himself. He’s responsible not only for the wrong choice he makes, but also for his destiny as well. “It’s a drama of character, not a drama of intrigue” and for Shakespeare “every man’s condemnation comes from the development of his own passion” (Crawford). Opposite to a classical tragedy, Othello straggles not with Gods’ will or fate, but with his own passion, and lose. I think the fact that Othello (as well as other Shakespeare’s tragedies) belongs to Elizabethan period in culture reasons this full responsibility Shakespeare puts on Othello. Late Renaissance reveals a great disappointment in human’s nature, and Shakespeare shows where own passions lead human. Anthropocentric world view puts a grand responsibility for grand actions on human, and human becomes overburdened with it. According to Aristotle’s description, tragic hero must be noble from the birth (“Aristotle & The Elements of Tragedy”). Though Othello is noble, his nobility is of a different kind. By birth he’s a Moore and unwelcome in an aristocratic society. Yet reader considers Othello as a noble man because of his achievements on a battle field. He’s a brave general and the Duke of Venice sets a high value on his service. Another thing that makes Othello noble is his love to Desdemona. “She loved me for the dangers I had pass’d, And I loved her that she did pity them” (Shakespeare). There’re no elements of “sensual lust”, but mostly “the marriage of true minds” between Othello and Desdemona (“Theme of Jealousy in Othello”). She has appreciated Othello’s nobility despite he’s not noble from the birth. And love of such noble woman also amplifies Othello’s nobility. A noble tragic hero must be led to an opportunity to make a wrong choice to reveal the unbearable truth. Iago’s intrigues and own overmastering passion lead Othello to a decision to kill Desdemona. Blinded by own jealousy, Othello turns a deaf ear to Desdemona’s argumentation. When intrigue is revealed, Othello recognize the truth and grows intellectually upon his passion. Public suffering makes the truth unbearable, and Othello kills himself. All aforesaid makes Othello both similar and different to classical tragic cannon, and discuss the play in its historical context. But is it all what is written in the play? Post-colonial criticism (1990s-present) is a literary theory which is interested in literature written by colonizers about those who were colonized. Within this theory political, economic, religious and cultural problems are discussed (“Post-Colonial Criticism”). Post-colonial criticism is concerned with such topics as critical race theory and diaspora, feminism, indigenous and transnational relationships etc. (“Postcolonial Theory & Literary Studies”). As the main hero of Othello is a Moore, foreigner in Venice it’s natural for post-colonial critics to pay an attention on relationships between colonizers and those who are colonized. For example, Brabantino – Desdemona’s father, - demonstrates a racist behavior. When he finds out that his daughter is engaged with a Moore, he can’t believe in Desdemona’s free will. “She is abused, stoln from me, and corrupted By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks” (Shakespeare). So the main love story in Othello is complicated with a racial question. And the fact that Desdemona indeed has engaged with Othello of her own free will without previously asking her father may be considered as emancipation. Othello and Desdemona’s love story raise gender questions. May it be said that Desdemona has suffered from domestic violence? Crawford says, “Shakespeare no doubt did not have the conception of the influence of social forces that some modern dramatics display, for that is conception belonging to the nineteenth century”; it’s only Othello’s personal overmastering passion what causes the tragedy, and no social problems have been raised (n.d.). I think to read the play only from historical point of view is wrong. It’s a great unanswered question in literary theory: is there only a context which historical author puts in the text or is there more – a modern context which also should be taken into account (Fry). With another era come new concerns. To reject a modern perception means to negotiate an opportunity of a new reading. And yet what makes an art work great is not only an eternal subject, but also a capability to open new meanings to new readers. Works Cited “Aristotle & the Elements of Tragedy”. Retrieved from http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/ref/aristotletragedy.html Crawford, A. W. “Othello as Tragic Hero”. Shakespeare Online. Retrieved from http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/othello/othelloessay2.html “Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present)”. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/10/ “Postcolonial Theory & Literary Studies”. Retrieved from http://postcolonial.english.ucla.edu/ Prior, M. “Character in Relation to Action in "Othello". Chicago Journals. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/435070 Shakespeare, W. Othello, The Moore of Venice. Retrieved from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/othello/full.html “Theme of Jealousy in Othello”. Retrieved from http://www.literary-articles.com/2009/12/theme-of-jealousy-in-othello.html “Tragic Hero Classical Definition”. Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/santorar/engl190v/trag.hero.htm “Tragic Heroism”. Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/engl257/Classical/tragic_heroism.htm Yale Courses. “Introduction to Theory of Literature with Paul H. Fry”. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD00D35CBC75941BD Read More