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Othello is unusual among Shakespeare's tragedies because much of it is set up

like a typical Shakespearean comedy. A tragedy is a play that focuses on

unfortunate events and that ends unhappily, while a Shakespearian comedy

almost always deals with love and marriage, has a plot that hinges on deception

and disguises, and has a setting that is outside of civilization where supernatural

events can take place and the characters are not held to the normal rules of

society. Othello contains all of the elements of a comedy, but instead of ending in

marriage, the play ends in multiple deaths including that of the tragic hero,

Othello.

In essence the play Othello is a private tragedy tracing the destruction of a

relatively noble man and his marriage. ypically !A Shakespearean tragedy is the

polar opposite of a comedy" it #...e$empli%es the sense that human beings are

inevitably doomed through their own failures or errors, or even the ironic action

of their virtues, or through the nature of fate, destiny, or the human condition to

su&er, fail, and die....# In other words, it is a drama with an unhappy ending.Shakespearean tragedy is seen to follow the model of tragedy set by Aristotle"

the plot of the !mind tragedies is always centred on (ust one main character, the

protagonist.

Shakespeare wrote thirty) seven plays" of those *+, twelve of them are labeled

as tragedies, most including #Othello# had been written between - and -/.

A Shakespearean tragedy has a few characteristics. 0irst, the main character1s2

or protagonists must have a tragic 3aw that will bring about his4her %nal demise

yet must also possess characteristics that allow the audience to feel admiration

or sympathy for him or her. At the same time, this must be a character that is

not completely pure at heart and #goog# but must possess some type of evil in

his4her character. he character of Othello in the play possesses these traits.

5ecause of the underlying themes in the play 1those of love, (ealousy because of

love, and murder because of that (ealousy2, some people would call the play a

romantic tragedy, but it is considered a Shakespearean tragedy, nevertheless.

his Shakespearean tragedy is a saga of su&ering culminating in the demise of

the tragic hero. he cursed hero is a very unusual individual of rare traits. 6e

en(oys a coveted position in society. 6e is an embodiment of the 7ualities of a

noble head and heart.

As a military commander Othello towers over his contemporaries. 6e is

considered the bedrock of the defense of the state of 8enice against the

onslaught of the urks. 9ven his enemies concede that he is moral, straight

forward, e$tremely daring, and bereft of meanness. :ater in the play, it emerges

that he was blue)blooded in his lineage.

5eyond any doubt, Othello is a highly gifted individual, but he endures

insu&erable mental anguish before he meets his grave. he seed of his

destruction is neither a divine plan nor a human curse. It lay within himself as a

tragic failing of his character. he renowned critic A. ;. 5radley calls it a !fatal

3aw. 6e has an une$plained propensity for indiscrete and ill)thought behavior.0or e$ample, he is rash and ine$cusably impulsive in action. 0or the e$alted

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position he held, such volatile and erratic response can result in un)intended

disastrous conse7uences. he pain he su&ers is un)endurable, much worse than

Shakespeares other heroes.

Shakespearean tragedy usually works on a %ve)part structure, corresponding to

the %ve acts< =art One, the e$position, outlines the situation, introduces the maincharacters, and begins the action. =art wo, the development, continues the

action and introduces complications. =art hree, the crisis 1or clima$2, brings

everything to a head. In this part, a change of direction occurs or understanding

is precipitated. =art 0our includes further developments leading inevitably to =art

0ive, in which the %nal crisis of action or revelation and resolution are e$plained.

Othello follows this pattern

Othello, as a %ctional character, shines in his sadness. 6is pathos and grief make

the novel such an absorbing reading. he plot begins with an e$ternal con3ict,

but the con3ict soon creeps into Othellos heart crippling him for good. 6is

intense su&ering grows more and more e$cruciating as the story proceeds from

the temptation scene till the end, where we discover the tragic scene of

>esdemonas bed. his grief maintains its stranglehold over Othellos mind

tormenting it with no respite, no remission. 6is spiritual anguish is so traumatic

that it bedevils even the readers mind with a feeling of de(ection and confusion.

Othello tumbles from his enviable status in the society. he crisis tears apart the

moral %bers of his self. 6e degrades himself, losing his %ne sense of (udgment. In

a feat of senseless rage, he derides and assaults his wife in full public view. ?ot

content with this, the valiant warrior resorts to chicanery and eavesdropping @

unbecoming of a hero like him. One of the noblest of the citizens of 8enice, thus,morphs into a murderer to kill his devoted and innocent wife >esdemona, with

the vile Iago as the accomplice.

o bring some succor to his guilty self, he plans to cripple ;assio for good. 0rom

Othello, the noble, he degenerates to become Othello, the hideous. Sense of fair)

play, (ustice and dignity desert him. he tragedy become insu&erably poignant

as the reader goes through the ordeal of >esdemona. 6er husband in3icts a

thousand cuts on her soul, doubting her %delity and character. he mental

torture becomes unendurable for >esdemona, also plunging the reader in grief.

She is a beleaguered %gure, abandoned and cursed by her husband whom sheadores till her last breath. 6elplessly weak and left with no recourse to (ustice,

she meets her doom without a single word of remonstration against her husband.

he admiration and longing for her brute husband does not wane a bit, till her

last.

Othello brings about his downfall himself through his stupidity and naivety. In

other tragedies, Shakespeare con(ures up an e$ternal intervention that

condemns the hero to disgrace, infamy and death. 5ut, in Othello, there is no

evidence of any vengeful supernatural force. In this novel, an uncanny

coincidence of events precipitates the crisis and the resulting tragedy.

>esdemona dropping her handkerchief unintentionally is the %rst, and perhapsthe most important mishap. uite ine$plicably, 5ianca arrives at the right

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moment. Bore curiously, Iago is able to stage)manage the over)hearing scene.

Ce witness the spectacle of the proud Othello lying pitiably at the feet of his

sworn enemy and then seeking his help in murdering Iago.

he wicked schemers in this tragedy, as in other tragedies of Shakespeare, su&er

the retribution for their evil deeds. 5ut along with the devil, the virtuous and theinnocent are also destroyed.

Shakespeares Othello is a monumental tragedy that e$udes nothing but pathos,

remorse, vengeance and brutality. Othello su&ers for his failings, but >esdemona

su&ers for no fault of hers. he only heartening feature is the punishment meted

out to Iago, who deserved it so much. Ce can, therefore, say that in Othello,

(ustice is meted out unevenly. here is no poetic (ustice, howeve