Tragedy

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Tragedy: Othello

One of the underlying strands of the play is tragedy. Othello is a play of personal tragedy, but it is also a tragedy of Venetian society. If the genre of tragedy is characterised by ‘serious’ subject matter, then Othello ticks this box. 

Peripeteia

Othello is a great person (he is a general with strategic vision, who has risen from humble origins).  
Othello experiences a reversal of fortune (Peripeteia) through two things:
-  The assault upon him made by Iago.
- His own blinkered vision of not seeing the truth.

Otherness

One reason why Othello might be particularly ripe for Iago’s plucking is that Iago can exploit his 'otherness' to bring out feelings of insecurity in Othello and encourage other characters to speak in racial slurs.

Hamartia

As a tragic hero Othello does endures hamartia (a character flaw).  
Othello’s hamartia is his ability to be easily swayed by the words of another.  
A key aspect of this tragedy is Iago’s continued assault on Othello.  - Iago manipulates him so that he believes Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.

Consequences of Othello's hamartia

When we think about this logically, there has barely been any time for Cassio and Desdemona to even see each other, let alone have an affair, and yet Othello’s flaw is to believe what he is told without ever questioning it.  
His hamartia leads to his own mental and physical breakdown, and the flaw contributes to the death of Desdemona and himself.

Anagnorisis

Othello very much believes that the tragedy is brought about by other external factors, and not his own flaws.  
Towards the end of the play Othello finally goes through a process of recognition of his own mistake.
In this, Othello experiences anagnorisis and sees the error of his ways.

Catharsis

However, even then with Othello this moment does not last long.  
Although he sees it, he actually wallows in self-pity at the end.  - It is not clear if the learning or knowledge he has gained really helps him.  - It does, however, help the audience to understand that catharsis is at work.

The Genre of Tragedy

Aristotle's theory about tragedy does seem to work when applied to Othello.

Aristotle's theory

The play is complex and shows the complicated process of how a character is manipulated through suspicion and jealousy to kill someone they love.
This process shows much suffering, and when Othello comes to the point of anagnorisis, he truly suffers.

Aristotle cont.

Othello is a character of high morals (this is shown in his dealings with the Duke of Venice at the start) but Shakespeare presents him knowing that all of these are now questioned by the way that they have acted.  
The play does offer spectacle because of the terrible and fearful nature of the final scene.  
The play does culminate in multiple deaths: Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Roderigo.

Genre of tragedy

Othello does show that the genre of tragedy is so much more than a play with a ‘sad ending’.  
As the audience watches the action unfold human experience is pushed to its limits.

Other characters

This comes not only from the terrible lack of insight that Othello shows and the way he is manipulated by Iago, but also in the way in which minor characters such as Roderigo are so easily enveloped in the tragedy.

Dramatic irony

The audience certainly goes through catharsis as the play progresses; and this feeling is dependant on how well Shakespeare works the dramatic irony of the play. Only the audience is privy to Iago’s plan.