Blake Spencer
Period 3
Dr. Drummond
3/3/09
Annotated Bibliography
Bradley, A.C. “‘The Most Painfully Exciting and the Most Terrible’ of Shakespeare’s
Tragedies.” In Othello. Ed. Edward Pechter. New York: WW Norton and
Company, 2004. 235-243.
A.C. Bradley’s primary arguments show the nature of Shakespeare’s character’s
in Othello and describing the feelings and reactions caused and felt in the play. He begins
his essay by saying that “Of all Shakespeare’s tragedies, Othello is the most painfully
exciting and the most terrible” (235). This generally means that the Othello truly
exemplifies a tragedy and creates catharsis or purgation of emotions. Bradley follows this
by describing the effect of sexual tensions and their effect on both the play and the
audience (235-236). Then, he describes why Desdemona is so helpless to what eventually
she is accused of (236) and why Othello’s romantic nature makes him “the greatest poet
of all Shakespeare’s heroes” (239). He says that Othello’s tragedy comes from his lack
of jealousy before and decisive action after Iago’s deception and this new emotion.
Othello’s race becomes discussed throughout the essay and Bradley believes that it
doesn’t matter if he is black or a Moor (241-242). Also throughout the essay describes
that “Iago stands supreme among Shakespeare’s evil characters.” Iago has the aptitude
and evil will to create the tragedy that occurs. One of these makes a villain potent but the
combination creates the ultimate villain of Iago. He also asks the question of why do we
still watch Iago and are very interested by him if he is that evil and intolerable (243).
Generally, Bradley describes the aspects of the play that create the tragedy and piece
them together to explain Othello.
Butcher, Phillip. “Othello’s Racial Identity.” Shakespeare Quarterly 3.3 (Jul., 1952): 243247. JSTOR. Carlyle Fraser Lib. 23 Feb. 2009.
In Phillip Butcher’s article he states that there has always been an argument
about the race and origin of Othello. Butcher argues that Othello is “undeniably black”
for many reasons. First, he says that Moor was a term widely used in the Elizabethan
world for anyone from Northern Africa and made no distinction between Moors and
black people (243). Othello being called a “Moor” throughout the play is of use, but is a
very ambiguous term. Also, throughout the play the term black and the stereotypes of
black people are used to describe Othello’s appearance (244). He gives many other
examples of terms and Elizabethan ideas that are used in the play and point toward
Othello being black, such as the argument that if Othello were a moor or of lighter skin
his marriage would have been more accepted in Venice and not look down upon. He
gives examples of this from Elizabethan texts and Shakespeare’s other works like The
Tempest (246). Also, even though Othello is royalty, he can still be black because, in
Shakespeare’s time, you did not lose your royal line if the person was in slavery (245). At
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the end, he says that Elizabethan people had little respect for foreigners and ignorantly
placed Moors and all other Africans in the same category. Othello is definitely black and
all the evidence points toward this conclusion. Finally, Butcher says that because Othello
is a black hero adds to the tragic effect because he would have been a protagonist
different from the normal Elizabethan white male (247).
Hazlitt, William. “Iago, Heroic Tragedy, and Othello.” In Othello. Ed. Edward Pechter.
New York: WW Norton and Company, 2004. 222-230.
There were three main points and arguments to William Hazlitt’s essay. First, he
argues that Iago is not simply a villain with very few human characteristics, but a man
with evil characteristics and very extreme and obvious human traits such as greed and a
lust for power. Iago is on the very far end of the spectrum and is based on a “want for
morality”, but still is very human (222-224). Another argument explains that people go to
watch this play because of this obvious manifestation of human traits. Hazlitt writes that
the play’s tragic foundation is based off of the “contrasts of character” and “the doubtful
contrast between passions” of the characters and plot (227). He then goes on to explain
the characters and their roles and personality. All of the characters contrast each other
and each show a different aspect of human nature. Hazlitt illustrates that Othello has a
noble and gentle nature, but has the tragic flaw of rage and jealousy, but also doesn’t stop
to think or for pity until it is too late (228). Desdemona has internal and external beauty
but the character is entirely based off of obedience and not being able to think and do for
herself (228). Finally, he says “The character of Iago is one of the supererogations of
Shakespeare’s genius.” Iago’s character would not work except for the tireless way in
which he works to carry out his plans. He is the ultimate, but has, although very distorted,
human traits that are shown throughout the play (229).
West, Fred. “Iago the Psychopath.” South Atlantic Bulletin 43.2 (May, 1978): 27-35.
JSTOR. Carlyle Fraser Lib. 25 Feb. 2009.
Fred West describes Iago as a psychopath in his essay “Iago the Psychopath.”
First, West says that Iago appears like the “ultimate evil” and compares him to other
characters that are well known villains such as Machiavellli and Aaron from Titus
Adronicus (27-28). Then, he uses evidence from two main sources: Hervey Cleckey, a
psychiatrist, and A.C. Bradley, a Shakespearean expert. Throughout his essay, West says
that many people have come very close to this diagnosis, but have been hesitant to call
Iago a psychopath. A.C. Bradley used all of the modern terms used to describe this
condition, but ultimately said that he had very human aspects and was not a psychopath
(29). West does not agree with this conclusion at all and believes that Iago is the perfect
example of the characteristics and ultimately calls him a psychopath. He uses many
examples from Hervey Cleckey, a well known psychiatrist who wrote one of the first
modern books on psychiatry, The Mask of Sanity. First, he says that Iago is not
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empathetic towards others, one of the major points of Cleckey’s, and Iago truly does not
believe that he does anything wrong throughout the play justifying everything he does.
Iago has no problem with lying or does he have a conscious for morality (29-30). Third,
Iago’s motive against Othello and how flimsy it seems for the evil he creates (31-32).
Finally, West shows how Iago appeared to have done nothing before and is throughout
the play ironically called “honest Iago” (30-32). He concludes by saying again that Iago
exemplifies a psychopath even though many people are afraid to call him one.