Critical Analysis

Introduction

Othello, the central character of the play, is a Moor, which means a black man. He wins the heart of Desdemona with his tremendous tales of adventure and battle. This angers her father and the Venetian court of which they are a part.

Othello is a soldier, awkward with public display and situations. The story moves when Iago, an ensign of Othello, undertakes retribution after he has been neglected for promotion. Throughout the play, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is betraying Othello with Cassio, the person who got the position that Iago was hoping for. Othello could not realize the truth and acted like ant passionate cuckolded husband would do. In the end, although Othello realizes his errors, but he never understands the gravity of the crimes he had done. The final verdict upon Othello's character, despite what he claims in his final speech, is that he loved neither “wisely” nor “too well.”

McDonald, Russ's "Othello, Thorello, and the Problem of the Foolish Hero." was originally published in Shakespeare Quarterly (1979)and is reprinted in the anthology Shakespearean Criticism. (2009). Mc Donald sees Othello as a noble hero, who is comic yet tragic, all in once (Bradford, 11).

Discussion

Othello by William Shakespeare is praised by critics for being a cohesive tragic play, but there are many who perceive the central character 'Othello' as un-heroic. In many reviews, authors criticize Othello of being extremely stupid; many consider him as an obsessive man besieged by emotions. Other critics recognize him as self-pitying as well as thoughtless about the terrible nature of his actions. Still all such disparagements fade in front of the anticipation and compassion built by the nobility of this soldier portrayed throughout Othello (Bradford, 11).

Critics like T. S. Eliot have contended that Othello never realizes the grave nature of the crime he has carried out— that he admits his error but soothes himself in his last speech with heartening consoling about the virtue of his act. Although, this consoling does not go with the honesty and nobility borne in the military role portrayed throughout the play.Othello faced hideous betrayal, and he also did not hold on to the fact of his love for Desdemona which was mutual. However, in the last speech, he admits his error passionately, in a similar way that he reacted to his previous misapprehension. Similar to his belief that murdering Desdemona was a divine vengeance, he believes that killing himself is also a justified action. His fervent nature supposes it is bringing justice for the previous wrongdoing. There is an orientation to chastisement for Iago, but Shakespeare discharges the apparent villain in an attempt to crack down on Othello's concluding act of compensation.

Othello Change During The Course Of The Play

Although the reader is aware that Iago is a heinous and villainous person, to the other characters, he is a well-respected and trusted gentleman. This Through his ability to deceive the characters into believing what he wants them to believe and his aptitude for identifying personal flaws, Iago is able ...