Jealousy and manipulation in Shakespeare's Othello

Othello, the Moor of Venice

Shakespeare\'s play titled \'Othello\' is known to be the greatest story of envy and jealousy ever written. The play is also the only one about domestic tragedy by Shakespeare. It is about a certain prominent man\'s secret life. The character Othello is of a royal decent and valiant general, who is Cyprus\' Governor for some time. The term \"tragedy\" is among the most important terms that literature students are required to master. The term designates a subjective drama typically modified with regard to the playwright\'s idea of the play\'s genre. In fact, tragedies have one common quality; unhappy endings. The endings, even so, are in most cases made to be inspiring (Dr. Janie Caves Mccauley 2012).

Othello\'s Characterization

Most people make the assumption that Othello is African. However, \"Moor\" could have meant anyone that does not have the traditional European fair complexion, during the time when the play was scripted. Othello may have been of Middle Eastern, African Asian or any other origin of darker-skinned people. Race is seen as a factor in Desdemona\'s and Othello\'s relationship, but the racism displayed is not the same as the one in contemporary21st century. It is important to keep in mind that the downfall of Othello has nothing to do with race; it is due to his misplaced trust and jealousy. He is not able to separate his paranoid delusion from the reality. The lie Iago tells about Desdemona causes him to be have an obsessive imagination. Othello grows more insecure and worsens his marriage due to the lies passed on to him by Iago. Since Othello is initially portrayed as good-natured and noble person, we empathize with the slow fading of his inner power, but we are later disappointed (ELIZABETH BIRKENMEIER 2012).

Othello\'s cultural and gender confusion

Othello is in the military, and he is well familiar with politics and soldiering. However, the issue with Iago and Desdemona confuses him. He is unsure about the interpretation of women\'s words and actions, as well as those of people from various cultures. Cassio offers help in interpreting cultures and has assisted Othello in wooing Desdemona. Iago, someone whom Othello understands less than Desdemona, takes over Cassio\'s role as an interpreter and manipulates Othello in his confused state:

Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio;...

I know our country disposition well:

In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks

They dare not show their husbands; their best conscience

Is not to leave\'t undone, but kept unknown.

(III, iii, 197, 201-204)

Othello accepts the interpretations of Iago as \"insider\" cultural insight (DEBRA (DEE) JAMES n.d.).

Othello and the inherent Jealousy

Shakespeare is known for the use of repetitive themes in all his writings, especially the themes of death, betrayal and love. The play, \'Othello\' has the three themes. However, jealousy is the main theme of the play. Jealousy is portrayed from the first part of this play. It is seen when Roderigo is jealous of Othello since he too is interested in Desdemona. The theme is seen in the final part as well; when Othello gets infuriated with jealousy since he is convinced that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Some of the characters\' jealousy is induced by other characters\' actions. Iago has a lot to do with this, as he concocts tales and manifests confusing situations. Iago is jealous of Cassio and hates Othello since Cassio was selected as lieutenant ahead of him. Iago is also selfish; he wants to make other people feel the way he does, and this leads him to make other characters jealous. He is a vain and jealous man, and aims to confuse and manipulate others through subterfuge and deceit. He achieves this by manipulating and betraying other characters, particularly Othello (JENNIFER PUTNAM n.d.).

The main themes in the play are obsession, jealousy, illusion vs. reality as well as loyalty. We get to experience the effects of jealousy and fear on the perceptions of people. The play has familiar themes, and it follows a simple plot. Desdemona and Othello are united in the initial stages of the play, and Iago works to break them up until they finally separate completely. This is where Othello murders Desdemona, repents and commits suicide, with the hope that he will have a chance to reunite with Desdemona. This play is different from other tragedies by Shakespeare in that the subplots used are few and they are bound to the core story. The audience is left to concentrate solely on the internal conflict that Othello faces through the evil plans by Iago and the false accusations he makes against his faithful wife. The audience is greatly interested in the play\'s characters as well as their fate, and this makes Othello amongst the most popular and successful dramas by Shakespeare (ELIZABETH BIRKENMEIER 2012).

An Aristotelian Tragedy?

Shakespeare, exclusively in the post-Classical kind of tragedy, included Aristotelian ideologies in the play Othello. According to Aristotle, tragedy, along with every other art is defined by its imitative nature. It is of greatly importance, in our understanding of the art theory by Aristotle that we acknowledge that its inspiration is not some accidental quality like meteor, but a comparison of poetry with representation. Aristotle thinks of every controlled representation as poetry. Such representations include different literary forms like tragedy, Platonic dialogues, epic, music, sculpture, painting and dance. This Aristotelian study of tragedy has the most theoretical significance, but it has major practical limitations as well. It gives a clear picture of the circumstances which lead to tragic nemesis accomplishing its essential purpose, but it has very little applicability to tragedies that actually exist. An Aristotelian kind of tragedy portrays the fearful and pitiable magnitude of the existence of humans. For this to be achieved there has to be an action that is considered persuasive and plausible to humans, something that Aristotle refers to as \"probability and necessity.\" For the action to evoke fear and pity, it has to concern a spoudaios or noble character. The character\'s fall from joy to sadness is ignited, but not completely explained, by hamartia; a great intellectual miscalculation. Othello, among other few writings fits the description of tragedy (Leon Golden 1984).

The term \"tragedy\" is among the most interesting and captivating terms that literature students are required to master. The term designates a subjective kind of drama that is typically modified with regard to the playwright\'s idea of the play\'s genre. As a matter of fact, tragedies have one common quality; unhappy endings. The endings, even so, are in most cases made to be inspiring. Shakespeare almost fits Aristotle\'s description of a successful character tragedy, through Othello. First, Othello is prominent, royal and heroic. He earns respect because of his achievements and traits such as generosity, honor, self-control, reason and integrity. Othello\'s character primarily manifests itself when he speaks; he reveals his calm and love for truth. Othello, being the Venetian army Christian commander, is very important to Venice (Dr. Janie Caves Mccauley 2012).

Tragedy but justified and uplifting

The theory of tragedy by Aristotle requires more than just the element of a tragic hero. This element is only one of the aspects that separates the play Othello from comedy-drama. An Aristotelian kind of tragedy also includes something the Greeks refer to as katharsis; an uplifting and justifying purgation for the audience. In Othello, almost every character ends up dying. This is definitely not something that the audience would be cheerful or happy about. However, the audience feels some kind of justification from the lessons that the characters learn, and they are satisfied when the villain is punished. According to Elisa Galgut, the main idea in Aristotle\'s tragedy theory; katharsis, triggered a lot of debate. The customary readings are designed on a certain kind of cleansing, religious purification or medical purging. Furthermore, these interpretations presuppose that the pity and fear brought about by tragedy has been purged in the entire play, causing a katharsis situation. She adds that the main idea of katharsis, is that the audience is left with a sense of justification, which they get from the tragedy. Comment by Author: Who? When?

According to Aristotle, the experience of tragedy is shown through fear and pity, and that the poet needs to use imitation to achieve it. This means that for a good, katharsis from a tragedy ought to be satisfying, the drama needs to bring about feelings of fear and pity among the audience before expunging the feelings by bringing a feeling of satisfaction in the end. Shakespeare certainly makes the audience pity Othello, for his wife, for Iago and for Cassio. The audience also has a feeling of fear for the blissful couple\'s fate, and their greatest fears are realized when Othello kills Desdemona out of jealousy. The audience then feels pity for Othello after he realizes that his wife was innocent and kills himself due to the guilt he feels. The book does not have a happy ending, but there is closure when the miserable couple die and when Iago; the villain, is finally punished (Anna Baines 2013).

Towards the final phase of the drama, Othello, just like the tragic hero by Aristotle, realizes that he was the one responsible for his problems. When he confesses and claims fault for his problems, he restores some of his previous stature, and some of the admiration he got from the audience. His confession; which is referred to as his \"recognition speech,\" makes us accept that his misery/ repent was just. However, we still sympathize with him for his problems, since he has inherently good character traits. We are also filled with fear and pity due to his tragic downfall. However, even with all the emotions, we end up satisfied instead of feeling terrified or melancholic, after watching the play (Dr. Janie Caves Mccauley 2012).