Term Paper on "Othello One of William Shakespeare's Greatest Achievements"

Term Paper 6 pages (1736 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Othello

One of William Shakespeare's greatest achievements is Othello, a play that reveals the true nature of man. Critics agree that Othello is successful because it focuses on aspects of humanity that are timeless. While the world around us might change, mankind changes very little. Human beings are driven by the same emotions and passions we were thousands of years ago and Othello is a man that becomes a victim of his own emotions and another man's passion. Othello will always be popular because, whether or not we want to admit it, we know people like Othello and Iago and this scares us a.C. Bradley notes that Othello is the "most painfully exciting and the terrible" (168) of Shakespeare's plays. The play succeeds because 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 exception" (168). One of the distinguishing characteristics of the play is its method of construction. Bradley asserts that this method "by which the conflict begins late, and advances without appreciable pause and with accelerating speed to the catastrophe" (169). This movement is the cause of the pain that we experience with the play. Another method of construction is the "sexual jealousy rising to the pitch of passion" (169).

These elements are certainly not unique by any means but they do maintain a certain dynamic in the play that is difficult to forget. Passion rules and Othello proves that fact.

Othello is a play revolving around monsters. Undoubtedly, Iago cannot be upstaged as the real monster in this play but he is not alone. In his shadow lurks Othello, a jealous man that became Iago's pawn. We cannot blame Iago completely for Othello's actions but we find it difficult to let Iago off the hook because he is so present in everything that leads to Othello's downfall and breakdown. These monsters keep Othello alive and well. It is with fear and shock that we look upon the characters in this play. They revolt us; they frighten us; they are who we are. The reality of their fragile state is alarming and their humanity will not let us out of its grip.

It is important to recognize that Othello does not begin as a monster - he becomes one. Critics agree that Othello moves us because he is a man that we admire at the beginning of the play. Othello is presented as a noble man of superior strength. There is no reason to doubt his greatness and, similarly, there is no reason to doubt that the two are in love with one another. Othello illustrates his affection when he tells Desdemona's father, "She loved me for the dangers I had passed,/and I loved her, that she did pity them" (Shakespeare I.iii.166-7). Furthermore, Desdemona affirms her love for her husband when she tells her father, "My heart's subdued/Even to the very quality of my lord" (I.iii.247-8). These scenes support the notion that Othello is a good man and that he loves his wife. In fact, we might even go on to think that he would do anything for her. This would not be surprising because at this point in the play, Othello believes the same thing. Alvin Kernan notes that Othello appears as the "very personification of self-control, of the man with so secure a sense of his own worth that nothing can ruffle the consequent calmness of mind and manner" (Kernan xxiv). This aspect of his personality is what makes his tale so tragic. Othello was a good man and we all know that but we also know that he killed his wife in cold blood. The inner conflict that arises within us as we realize this is what makes the play so successful. Othello becomes a victim in no time at all and with this fallen man, Shakespeare demonstrates how weak we really are despite the outward appearance of strength and agility. Critic Harold Bloom contends that Othello is a man of "a curiously mixed power of expression, distinct yet divided, and deliberately flawed" (Bloom 445). Othello teaches us that we can fall at any moments notice.

We cannot feel too sorry for Othello, however, because he was not forced to kill his wife. He becomes his own victim because he refuses to listen to reason. We see his instability when he chooses to believe Iago over his wife. Heilman claims that when Othello chooses Iago over Desdemona, he "makes that particular wrong choice which is the logical opposite of the right choice open to him" (Heilman 341). Heilman believes that Othello is doomed because has too little faith. We also find it difficult to pity a man that does allow his wife the opportunity defend herself before he kills her. Othello's obsession is too powerful for him and it consumes him. His jealousy becomes an addiction that he must feed. It becomes him and, at this point, we know it too late for his poor wife. Bradley observes that once Othello of committing evil, it is too late. He states, "He sees it, in itself almost unresistable" (Bradley 148). The murder becomes irresistible and Bradley adds, "such jealousy as Othello's converts human nature into chaos, and liberates the beast in man" (Bradley 149). The delicate nature of Othello is carried out with his devolution. We knew Othello when he was a good man and we understood why Desdemona loved him. We also understand why Iago is jealous of him. However, these facts do not justify his actions.

While it takes time for Othello to become a monster, Iago is born one. He is truly one of Shakespeare's most fascinating and frightening creations. He is evil and sees no value in life whatsoever. Goodness has lost its appeal and living a good life has no rewards that he can see. He states, "To be direct and honest is not safe./I should be wise, for honesty is a fool/and looses that it works for" (Shakespeare III.iii.376-9). Elmer Stoll declared Iago a "devil in the flesh" (321) and this is an accusation that even Iago cannot deny. Stoll maintains that "unmitigated wickedness" (323) of Iago is almost as important as the tragedy we find in Othello. Iago's character is one of amazing magnitude primarily because he is not an idiot. To the contrary, he is rather clever. Robert Heilman observes, "It is more fun for the smart man if his victim thinks he is using his head with especial acuteness" (Heilman 334). The thought that he is being wise is something that goes to Othello's head. He promises to be "cunning in my patience" (Shakespeare IV.1.90) and he proves to be full of himself when he taunts Desdemona in her efforts to be wise. Heilman also notes that making a "fool of somebody else is an aesthetic demonstration of intellectual property" (335) and Iago proceeds to make a fool out of Othello almost too easily. Again, we find an inner conflict with these two characters because we see Othello's flaws and Iago's wickedness and while Othello is a fool, it is difficult to say that he deserves everything he gets because Iago is so evil. Othello's nature is his own weakness and it the perfect characteristic for Iago to exploit. He admits that Othello is a:

Moor is of a free and open nature,

That thinks men honest that but seem to be so and will as tenderly be led by th' nose

As asses are. (Shakespeare I.iii.393-6)

These words reveal his true nature and his ability to destroy for no reason other than to destroy. His viciousness makes him real and completely unforgettable.

Notable nineteenth adaptations of the play include Laurence Olivier acting as Othello in Stuart Burge's 1965 film version. Olivier is also remembered for theatrical performance of the Moor at the Royal National Theatre a year earlier. Olivier received must acclaim for his performances. Other actors that have successfully portrayed the Moor are Anthony Hopkins and Patrick Stewart. Lawrence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh also portrayed the two men in a recent film performance of the play. Some modern adaptations of the play exist but the strength of the play exists in its original movement. There is no need to attempt modernizing the play because, as we have already noted, the driving force of the play human nature and that has not changed over the centuries.

Othello is a popular play that exceeds the time and space because of its content. As with most of Shakespeare's works, his characters are so real they can never be forgotten. While his plays are centuries old, the characters are not - for humanity has not changed that much. Shakespeare understood all too well the human condition and Othello is a man driven by his humanity. Additionally, Iago is a man driven by passion that consumes him. What we discover about ourselves when we look at these characters is that no matter how far… READ MORE

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