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Matthew Braxton
Dr. Stafford
English 5325
9 May 2013
Othello: The Best of Shakespeare's Tragedies
For many scholars, Shakespeare is considered the person who perfected tragedy as a
literary genre. Although all five of his contributions to the canon are considered masterpieces
and are worthy of study, any investigation of tragedy as a literary genre must include a
comprehensive examination of Shakespeare's play, Othello, the Moor of Venice. This is because
for centuries, it has captured the attentions of audiences and critics alike because in no other
piece are the plot, characters, thought, diction, and spectacle so tightly interwoven that they
create such a powerfully dramatic, intriguing and cathartic experience for those who watch this
story unfold on the stage.
According to A.C. Bradley, the leading authority on Shakespeare's plays in the early 20th
century, “Of all of Shakespeare's tragedies, not even excepting King Lear, Othello is the most
painfully exciting... the reader's heart and mind are held in a vice, experiencing the extremes of
pity and fear, sympathy and repulsion, sickening hope and dreadful expectation” (Bloom 41).
The main reason why Othello is the most powerful of Shakespeare's tragedies is because of its
plot structure. Unlike his other tragedies wherein the protagonist serves as narrator, the audience
is led through this tale by Iago, the antagonist. He is often referred to as "Honest Iago," and it is
apparent that no one, including his wife Emilia, is aware of his capacity for betrayal and deceit.
From the moment the play opens, the audience is aware of Iago's hatred for Othello, as well as
the understanding that he will not rest until he has destroyed his commander and most powerful
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ally, and is forced to watch him manipulate every person necessary to satisfy his need for
revenge. Watching these manipulations of people, most of whom are good and honorable, creates
feelings of excitement and angst so powerful, it is difficult to remain calm and subjective
through the performance.
Another element of the plot that makes Othello the model Shakespearean tragedy is the
incorporation of racism as a conflict in the story. In his article, "Othello and 'the Plain Face' of
Racism," Orkin writes, "Shakespeare is writing about color prejudice and further, is working
consciously against the color prejudice reflected in the language of Iago, Rodrigo, and Brabantio.
He in fact reverses the associations attached to the colors white and black" (170). Othello is a
Moor, a black Arab who has converted to Christianity and become the most able and trusted
general in the Venetian army. Although his is the only black face in a sea of white ones, those
who have come to know him love and respect the extremely able commander.
But, when Othello passes Iago up for promotion and marries Brabantio's beautiful
daughter without his knowledge or consent, both men lash out against Othello and his blackness,
bringing to the surface the society's deepest feelings about race and racial superiority. This fact is
displayed no more clearly than in Act III, Scene iii when Iago says:
Ay, there's the point: as--to be bold with you-Not to affect many proposed matches
Of her own clime, complexion, and degree,
Whereto we see in all things nature tends-Foh! one may smell in such a will most rank,
Foul disproportion thoughts unnatural.
But pardon me; I do not in position
Distinctly speak of her; though I may fear
Her will, recoiling to her better judgment,
May fall to match you with her country forms
And happily repent. (29-39)
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Here, Iago is sharing with the audience his disgust that a white woman would marry a
black man, as he believes that blacks, as well as other non-whites, are an inferior race of people.
But, Shakespeare, through sheer genius and an apparent desire to directly attack this assertion,
presents Othello as the most respected and honorable character in the play. Everything he does
up until the moment he sanctions the murder of Cassio is just and righteous, and yet even this act
would be warranted if Iago's lies were true. Adding this conflict to the plot forces the audience
members to acknowledge their own racist beliefs, whether subconscious or otherwise, and
recognize "that color, a surface indicator of identity, is shown to be totally inadequate" (Orkin
176). This acknowledgment is cathartic and also serves as the catalyst needed to purge these
feelings from their hearts and work to change their attitudes toward racial stereotypes. No other
work of Shakespeare has this element in it, and this is one reason why Othello must be included
in any study of tragedy as a literary genre.
The second reason why Othello must be included in a study of tragedy as a literary genre
is because of its characters. In none of Shakespeare's other works is the audience introduced to
such intriguing and tragic characters. Of these characters, none is more interesting and tragic
than the hero and title character, Othello.
Othello is the son of a noble Moor who at some point is captured and sold into slavery.
By some great change of fortune, he finds himself a soldier in the Venetian army and works his
way up the ranks to become a leader in this indomitable force. At the beginning of the play, the
audience learns that he is the most competent and trusted commander the state has, and on the
surface, his race does not matter (I.ii). As the story develops, Othello's virtue continues to be
displayed, and his race no longer matters to anyone except Iago (Lupton 74). In fact, he is often
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referred to as the "noble Moor," an indication of the paradox which exists between the
connotations of these two words just as much as it serves as proof positive of the community's
respect for this tragic hero.
Because Shakespeare does such a great job creating Othello's character and
demonstrating his virtuous nature, the audience feels an overwhelming sense of sorrow at the
torment he experiences caused by Iago's manipulations and lies (Bartels 441). Those who watch
this story play out understand that although he has free will, Othello is a pawn in Iago's maniacal
plan and is incapable of seeing in others those traits he does not have within himself. According
to Bradley, "Othello was no Leontes, and his was the last nature to engender such jealousy from
itself. Accordingly, Iago's intrigue occupies a position in the drama for which no parallel can be
found" (Bloom 43). So, instead of hating the black Moor who kills his beautiful white wife, the
audience abhors Iago, and throughout the entire play, Othello is seen as tragic a victim as
Desdemona. But, in the end, Othello recognizes his role in the tragic murder of his wife and
accepts responsibility for his actions. He does the only thing he can do to redeem himself to
himself, for he needs no redemption from the audience, and he plunges the knife into his flesh as
punishment for his terrible misjudgment of Iago's and Desdemona's characters. Though this final
act adds closure to the story, it also allows the audience to see their hero head off into eternal
slumber with his beloved wife.
The second character who makes Othello the most powerful of Shakespeare's plays is that
terrible villain Iago. He is not of noble origins like Othello, but he is just as respected and trusted
by those who know him. This fact is borne out by the fact that the appellation "Honest" is often
added to his name. Apparently, he has spent his life developing these attributes, but because he is
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not promoted to lieutenant as he probably deserves, he vows revenge on the two men whom he
holds responsible: Othello and Cassio.
Now most scholars argue that Iago's anger is unjustified, but William Empson, the 20thcentury poet and critic does not. In his essay, "Good and Evil in Othello," he writes:
"There is very little for anybody to add to A.C. Bradley's magnificent analysis, but one
can maintain that Shakespeare, and the audience he had, and the audience he wanted, saw
the thing in rather different proportions. Many of the audience were old soldiers
disbanded without pensions; they would dislike Cassio as the new type of officer, the boy
who can displace men of experience merely because he knows enough mathematics to
work the new guns.... Iago gets a start at the beginning of the play, where he is
enchantingly amusing and may be in the right (Bloom 44-45).
This assertion by Empson seems accurate, as Iago is a very likable character in the early
acts of the play. He is charming and engaging, and the trust that all the other characters,
especially Othello and Cassio, place in him suggests that his anger has changed him. But, as the
play develops and the audience members are allowed to get to know Othello and see the
incredible evil which exists in Iago, their attitudes change, and he becomes the most hated villain
in all of literature (Bloom 40). There is no redemption for him as a character, figure or person,
and the audience wishes that they could bear witness to his torture and death. According to
Harold Bloom, Iago is the reason this play is Shakespeare's most powerful tragedy. He writes,
"What makes The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice so harrowing a work is the total
triumph of Iago. . .Iago's changes. . . are marches of his own triumphalism, in which he
continually astonishes himself by his own manipulative genius" (51).
The last character that makes Othello the most powerful of Shakespeare's tragedies is the
beautiful Desdemona. In no other play is the innocent painted in a truer manner, nor is the death
of any other less deserved (Rosenberg 150). She is the daughter of Brabantio, a wealthy and
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powerful Venetian noble, who secretly weds Othello, a man who by outward appearances is the
complete opposite of her. She is white and he is black. She is young, and he is old. She is
inexperienced in the ways of the world, and he is very experienced in them. But, there is one
similarity which exists between these two seemingly different characters; both are honest and
true to a fault. Desdemona's unyielding fidelity to her husband is her tragic flaw, just as Othello's
complete faith in Iago is his. According to Bradley, Desdemona "is helpless because her nature is
infinitely sweet and her love absolute" (Bloom 43).
And it is this sweetness that makes this virtuous woman "the most nearly intolerable
spectacle that Shakespeare offers us" (Bloom 42). Hearing the lies that Iago tells about her pains
the ears. Listening to Othello's questioning of her about her feelings for him and her actions
when she is not in his presence befouls the air. Seeing her slapped for being her honest and true
self boils the blood, and watching her murder in her own bed by the man she loves
unconditionally does irrevocable damage to one's soul. Knowing her fate and being powerless to
change it is torturous. All of these things add to the overwhelming weight of angst, pity and
sympathy contained in this play, and once the audience's enmity at the evil which befalls her dies
out, the catharsis comes in to wash it all away. The audience can then return home and appreciate
their lives and loved ones a little more than they did before the play, and there is relief that what
they have witnessed is only fiction. In no other tragedy is this cleansing as powerful or
necessary.
The third reason why Othello must be included in a study of tragedy as a literary genre is
because of the images Iago's thoughts generate in the minds of audience members. In
Shakespeare's other tragedies, the thoughts of the tragic heroes are laid bare. In these characters,
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there is an inherent goodness that is somehow maligned by a tragic flaw. But in Othello, because
most of this story is told by the villain, the audience is repeatedly forced to confront pure,
unadulterated evil from the beginning of the play through its tragic end.
An example of this evil exists in Act III, scene iii. It is just after Emilia gives her wicked
husband Desdemona's handkerchief and is immediately sent away. Once he is alone, Iago again
congratulates himself for his cunning and relishes the satisfaction he will soon feel once he has
tricked Othello into believing that Desdemona has consummated her alleged relationship with
Cassio. He writes:
I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin,
And let him find it. Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ: this may do something.
The Moor already changes with my poison:
Dangerous conceits are, in their natures, poisons.
Which at the first are scarce found to distaste,
But with a little act upon the blood.
Burn like the mines of Sulphur. I did say so:
Look, where he comes!
Re-enter OTHELLO
Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep
Which thou owedst yesterday. (318-329)
Although he has not yet shown the handkerchief to Othello, Iago is sure that "his poison"
will be accepted as truth. He is so sure that he is already celebrating his triumph, and these
thoughts help create feelings of anger and disgust at Iago's treacherous nature. Moreover, Iago's
statements prove to be just as evil and criminal as the act of murder he is setting up with his
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deeds. Bloom, in his article "Iago's Manipulations," echoes this sentiment when he writes, "It is
only a step from this to that still more dangerous prevalence of the murderous imagination that
will triumph even more sublimely" (52). As each subsequent step in Iago's plan is carried out, the
dread and angst become more and more palpable. When Othello is finally pushed to the point of
no return, the audience is powerless to stop either the play's protagonist or their own hearts from
breaking under the terrible weight placed on them by Iago's treachery.
The fourth reason why a study of tragedy as a literary genre must include Othello is the
high diction Shakespeare uses to tell this tale. Although it is similar in terms of sophistication
and flow as his other tragedies, there is something about the ideas of love, betrayal, adultery and
jealousy that is extremely stirring. Bradley asserts that “jealousy, especially sexually jealousy,
brings with it a sense of shame and humiliation… when it is not hidden, it commonly stirs
contempt as well as pity” (Bloom 42). An example of this is found in Act III, scene iii. Othello
says:
Why, why is this?
Think'st thou I'ld make a lie of jealousy,
To follow still the changes of the moon
With fresh suspicions? No; to be once in doubt
Is once to be resolved: exchange me for a goat,
When I shall turn the business of my soul
To such exsufflicate and blown surmises,
Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous
To say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company,
Is free of speech, sings, plays and dances well;
Where virtue is, these are more virtuous:
Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw
The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt;
For she had eyes, and chose me. No, Iago;
I'll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove;
And on the proof, there is no more but this,-Away at once with love or jealousy! (199-215)
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In this scene, Iago tells Othello that he believes that Desdemona is having an affair with
Cassio. Othello does not believe Iago’s contention, but as he thinks about the idea of his wife
being with another man, he is unable to see what he already knows to be true. Instead of
dismissing the idea, he demands that Iago prove his assertion or pay for this accusation with his
life. Now, the fact that such treachery is perpetuated using such beautiful language creates a
paradox in the audience’s mind: how can something that sounds so beautiful be so hideous?
In his piece, “Othello’s Inaudible Music,” Harold Goddard supports this contention. He
asserts that Shakespeare’s use of the sophisticated language of “Iago loosens the moral hurricane
that parts the Moor from his wife more violently than ever the physical tempest did” (Bloom 47).
Although he does not specify which lines, it seems that the lines that accompany those of Othello
in Act III, scene iii are the “words” of which Goddard speaks. Coupled together, the dramatic
and elevated language of these two tragic and tormented figures do much in terms of moving the
audience and generating that sense of pity of which Bradley speaks. It also breeds a strong
appreciation for the poetic license Shakespeare exercises in various parts of the play.
The last reason why a study of tragedy as a literary genre must include Othello is because
of the dramatic spectacle presented at the end of the play. Death is a necessary component in a
tragedy, but what is presented at the end of Othello is the most tragic display ever put on stage.
In the final scene, Desdemona, Emilia and Othello are all dead, and Iago is on his way to be
tortured. All the honor and virtue is gone, and what remains is unabashed evil, unrepentant and
unapologetic to the end. Viewing this scene is made all the more tragic when hearing the last few
lines of the play. Lodavico says:
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O Spartan dog,
More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea!
Look on the tragic loading of this bed;
This is thy work: the object poisons sight;
Let it be hid. Gratiano, keep the house,
And seize upon the fortunes of the Moor,
For they succeed on you. To you, lord governor,
Remains the censure of this hellish villain;
The time, the place, the torture: O, enforce it!
Myself will straight aboard: and to the state
This heavy act with heavy heart relate. (V,iii, 412-422)
Desdemona's kinsman compares the death in the room to some of the catastrophes to
which man is subject as a way to put into perspective the measure of tragedy Iago has wrought
with his treachery. Although the language here is simple, the metaphor, coupled with the image
of so much unnecessary death, is too powerful to ignore. Thus, the audience becomes subject to
the greatest feelings of pity and anger ever generated by a piece of fiction. It is the quintessential
representation of Aristotle's notion of spectacle in relation to tragedy.
Because of the plot, characters, thought, diction and spectacle contained in Othello, it is
arguably the best example of a literary tragedy. The feelings of pity and anger generated by
Iago's lengths to get revenge and the overtly racist attitudes of some of the characters make the
plot much more complex and tragic than that of any of Shakespeare's other plays. Othello and
Desdemona are truly noble and righteous people who become victims of those they love, and this
makes the catharsis which comes in the end so much more powerful. The thought and diction
work in tandem to create a vivid picture of evil and the ugliness of sexual jealousy, especially
between husband and wife. Lastly, Shakespeare's final scene in Othello presents the audience
with a sight few in attendance can soon forget. Collectively, these five elements of this piece
make Othello, the Moor of Venice a story which shall endure for many more centuries to come.
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Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare’s Tragedies. New York: Random House, Inc., 2000. Print.
Bartels, Emily. “Making More of the Moor: Aaron, Othello and Renaissance Refashionings of
Race.” Shakespeare Quarterly Winter 1990: 433-454. Print.
Lupton, Julia R.. “Othello Circumcised: Shakespeare and the Pauline Discourse of Nations.
Representations Winter 1997: 73-89. Print.
Orkin, Martin. “Othello and the “plain face” Of Racism.” Shakespeare Quarterly Summer
1987: 166-188. Print.
Rosenberg, Mark. “In Defense of Iago.” Shakespeare Quarterly Spring 1955: 145-188. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Othello, the Moor of Venice. New York: Oxford University Press, USA,
1994. Print.