...Othello as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Othello, the Moor of is arguably one of the finest, if not the finest, tragedies in the literary history of Western civilization. This paper discusses Othello as a tragic hero and compares him to Aristotle's concept of what a tragic hero actually is. First, we need to understand the characteristics of a so-called tragic hero as defined by the Greek critic, Aristotle. He indicates that a tragic hero must have these characteristics: (1) Be a nobleman, prince, or person of high estate; (2) Have a tragic flaw, and a weakness in judgment; and (3) Fall from high to low estate. Using Aristotle’s criteria, we can easily classify Othello, the Moor, as a tragic hero. At the time, it was common practice for the Italian city-states to have a foreigner, with proven military capabilities, serving as the head of their Army. Othello, an African Moor of noble birth, is just such a character and held the highest ranking military position as Governor-General of Cyprus. The city of Cyprus was a city-state in the great state of Venice. His title alone, Governor-General, exudes an air of nobility, confidence, and strength. It defines someone who is held in tremendously high esteem by the people of Venice. During Act 1, Scene 3, the Duke and a few Senators are discussing issues around a table when Othello enters the room. It's clear that Othello is held in high esteem when, as he enters, one of the senators states “Here comes Barbantio...
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...Racism Jealousy, and a Doomed Marriage in Othello Almost everyone, in his or her lifetime, may experience alienation or racism at least one time. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello has done a considerable amount for the city of Venice in which he lives whether it is his military victories or other services he has for the city. However, during the time of the play, which is the very early 17th century, minorities were irrelevant and ignored by many on society. Despite the role of a minority in the time, Othello is a black man who rises to power as a general in the military and is respected by the other white people in power. However when he marries a young beautiful woman named Desdemona, who is the daughter of Senator Barbantio, the effects of racism are in full effect. Characters get jealous and use his race as a means of trying to break up the marriage of Othello and Desdemona. Othello is known as the Moor and is called the name by other characters in the play, which signal that he is from African decent. In Othello, the conflict of racism toward a minority ultimately ends up in the ending of the marriage in a tragic way. The play, Othello, is concerned with one of the major anticipated disgraces and embarrassments of Western Civilization and tradition, i.e. the martial union of a black man and a white woman of superior social status (Toker 31). Once the marriage between Desdemona and Othello was complete, the man who was once respected by everyone...
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...Perveen William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist whose work is liked by all film-maker to bring down on screen. According to Robert Hamilton Ball, Shakespeare’s dramas were considered ideal material for cinema in the early 20th century because the presence of Shakespeare on film raised the contemporary estimation of film. Almost all of his works have been adapted on screen in Hollywood and all other film industries. Hollywood has produced around 300 movies based on Shakespeare’s plays and characters. Films based on tragedies like Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet etc., have got very good response by the audience on the silver screen. In Bollywood also many directors adopted the work of Shakespeare. But Vishal Bhardwaj through his films showed that he is the true fan of Shakespeare and knows well how to do justice with the work of such a big writer on silver screen. His film Maqbool (2003) based on Macbeth, and Omkara (2006) based on Othello left very remarkable impression on audience’s hearts. Maqbool had its North American premiere at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. Though the film failed to entice much of an audience during its theatrical run in India, critics were appreciative and Pankaj Kapoor went on to win a Film fare Award for Best Actor (Critics) and a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. While Othello showcased...
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...11/02/2015 Research Paper Othello Othello is a famous tragedy written by William Shakespeare as a Tragic Hero. The Moor is arguably one of the finest, if not the finest, tragedies in the literary history of the Western Civilization. In this paper I will discuss Othello as a tragic hero and compare his to Aristotle’s concept of what a tragic hero is actually is. The characteristic of a tragic hero is defined by the Greek critic, is determined by three characteristics. According to Aristotle a tragic hero must be 1) Be a nobleman, prince, or person of high estate; 2) Have a tragic flaw, and a weakness of in judgment; and 3) Fall from high to low estate Using the criteria’s above which was established by Aristotle, we can effortlessly classify Othello, the Moor, as a tragic hero. At the time, it was common for the practice for the Italian city-sates that have a foreigner, with proven military capabilities, serving as the head of their army. Othello, an African Moor of noble birth, is just such a character and held the highest-ranking position in the military as a Governor –General of Cyprus. The city of Cyprus was a city-state in the Venice. Othello’s title alone, Governor-General, emanates an air of nobility, confidence, and strength. It defines someone who is held in remarkably high esteem by the people of Venice. During Act 1, Scene 3, the Duke and a few Senators are discussing issues around a table when Othello enters the room. It is clear that Othello is held in high esteem...
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...How does Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ Compare to Uriah Heep in Charles Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield’? The character Malvolio is depicted in William Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth night’ play which was written in the 16th century and was first performed in 1603. Life was incredibly hard for common people in Elizabethan times as there was a new church and many Catholic’s were persecuted. The character Uriah Heep is depicted in the Charles Dickens novel ‘David Copperfield’ which was written in the 19th century and was published in 1850. Life in the 18th century was harsh and cruel, poverty and disease were rife and the population was increasing rapidly. Both Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare were prolific writers whose work is still studied and celebrated today. Malvolio is a Steward in the house of Countess Olivia. Malvolio’s station in the house is to control and oversee the other servants in the house. He is an egotistical character who is always dutiful to his mistress Olivia and does everything he can to please her and gain her favour. He has a monotonous temperament and has a pretentious attitude towards the other servants in Olivia’s household. Also he can be seen as a susceptible character who is easily baffled and tricked. He tries to rise to a higher social status by wooing his mistress and marrying her which in fact fails. He is cruelly punished through embarrassment and humiliation which Sir Toby Belch and Olivia’s Gentlewoman Maria manage to subject...
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...Othello: Tragic Hero? Michael Charles Robinson ENGL 102 October 17, 2011 Ms. Charity Givens Othello: Tragic Hero? I. Introduction Thesis statement A. Thesis Statement II. Brief overview of Othello III. Aristotle and Othello A. Peripeteia B. Hamartia C. Anagnorsis D. Catharsis IV. Othello a tragic hero? A. Evidence supporting B. Not supporting V. Brief overview of “O” A. Comparison to original VI. Conclusion THESIS STATEMENT: Othello is a tragic hero because he mostly satisfies Aristotle’s four requirements for a tragic hero: peripeteia, hamartia, anagnorsis, and catharsis. Othello: Tragic Hero? The tragic play Othello, written by William Shakespeare has caused constant dispute on whether the main character Othello can be considered as a tragic hero or not. Othello is a tragic hero because he mostly satisfies Aristotle’s four requirements for a tragic hero: peripeteia, hamartia, anagnorsis, and catharsis. The exploration of different aspects of the Othello character will give the readers of this essay insight regarding whether Othello is a...
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