It is believed that to an extent, Othello was responsible for the tragedy that unfolded in the play; this can be partially agreed but not to a whole as this can be shown throughout the text of Othello with the manipulation of characters flaws conveyed in the play. A.C Bradleys review on this Shakespearian tragedy is that, he believes Othello is a tragedy of character, and each character is built up on the knowledge of another. Shakespeare uses textual integrity through his understanding of the human condition the shape every act into the pertaining outcome. Body: Quoted by A.C Bradley in section 3, “Evil is displayed before him, he sees it, in itself almost irresistible, aided at every step by fortunate accidents and the innocent mistakes of its victims”, this symbolises Iago and the actions he shows to Othello, being helpful when help is needed from him. Othello then sees and claims Iago to be ‘honest’ throughout the play and believing all the lies that is told to him.
THE DOWNFALL OF OTHELLO AS CAUSED BY IAGO Iago is one of Shakespeare s most intriguing and credible villains. Iago can be perceived as either evil or brilliant in his plans to be deemed lieutenant. As the villain in Othello , Iago has two main actions: to plot and to deceive. Iago is mad that Cassio was chosen to be lieutenant instead of himself. From this anger comes the main conflict of the play.
A Character Comparison between Shakespeare’s Macbeth to Brian De Palma’s Scarface Power has the capability to corrupt the most notable of characters. It is able to make a person do things that they would generally not do, and motivate, depending on the source, for acts of good or evil. Macbeth is a tragic story written by William Shakespeare that shows how a notable Scotsman Macbeth gets power, and how he became person of dishonesty. This delusional sense of power enables Macbeth to commit various crimes in order to retain his false title of the King of Scotland. In Brian De Palma’s Scarface the character of Antonio 'Tony' Montana, in similar fashion, became the drug lord of Miami through equally questionable, immoral and corrupt deeds.
Misfortune in Othello Often people come to harm due to victimization, while others are the agents of their own destruction. In Shakespeare’s famous play Othello, all characters associated with the protagonist suffer a tragic end. Othello is a prime example of depicting various characters and how each comes to demise due to a personal critical weakness. The three most unfortunate characters: Roderigo, Desdemona and Othello have qualities that best demonstrate how they bring their individual misfortune upon themselves. Roderigo opens up the play in Othello with lines that already develop his character.
For example, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth was a king whose flaw was his vengeful nature, which led him to lose everything he had, including his life. In Julius Caesar, also written by William Shakespeare, the hero Brutus was a good man of high position whose flaw was being too trusting, and this led to his inevitable death as well. Nora, the protagonist in Ibsen's A Doll's House, does not fit into the role of a tragic hero. She didn’t have the “tragic flaw” the main characters of tragedies are supposed to have. The only real “flaw” that provided a weakness or limitation to her was the fact that she was born a woman.
Madness in Hamlet and King Lear The subject of madness is a major theme in two of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, “Hamlet” and “King Lear”. In both of these plays, a character feigns insanity to carry out a motive - Hamlet and Edgar respectively. However, while it is made quite clear to the audience that Edgar is only pretending to be a mad beggar (“Whiles I may escape I will preserve myself, and am bethought to take the basest and most poorest shape that ever penury, in contempt of man brought near to beast”), it is somewhat less clear whether Hamlet has crossed the line and lost control of his “antic disposition”. Shakespeare gives evidence which suggests that Hamlet is sane by having three other men also witness the manifestation of the ghost of Hamlet’s father. If Hamlet were to have seen his father’s ghost by himself, there would be a greater argument for him being insane from the outset of the play.
How far do you agree that ‘The play King Lear presents us with a bleak and cruel world and offers us no comfort at the end?’ Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ falls under Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, with the fact that the characters are royal, and therefore have an enormous amount to lose. Moreover, the destructive downfall of not only King Lear but most of the characters in the play is due to the fatal flaw of pride in the king. The embellished language in the play is mainly in verse, and coupled with the unusual language forms of The Fool and Edgar as ‘Poor Tom’, this further links the play with the traditional definition of tragedy. ‘This fellow has banished two on’s daughters and did the third a blessing against his will.’ Untangling the meaning on The Fool’s words can be difficult, but it is clear he is the voice of reason and wisdom whispering in Lear’s ear throughout the play. Despite all this negativity, it would be a great over-simplification to assume that the overall play ‘presents us with a bleak and cruel world and offers no comfort at the end’, though this is an easy assumption to make given the obvious bleakness that infects the play throughout.
Observing the juxtaposition in these two scenes with Polanski’s Macbeth with the influence of the witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth’s role of ambition and his weaknesses. In Shakespeare, Macbeth is interpreted as being intrusive with evil as he and Lady Macbeth both make deliberate choices to do evil deeds. As a victim of fate Macbeth is deemed to some extent not accountable for his actions, but as a victim of his own actions, Shakespeare makes him subjective to the consequences by his own behaviour. Firstly, In Shakespeare’s version of Macbeth is delineated as a victim of his own actions, with his overpowering ambition and tendency to self-doubt. This is identified in Act Two, Scene Two where Macbeth converses with Lady Macbeth about the death of Duncan.
Shakespeare's Presentation of Othello as Responsible for his Own Downfall Shakespeare’s Othello consists of the themes betrayal, love and dishonesty. At the centre of this play is the tragic downfall of Othello at the hands of his so called friend Iago. In this essay I will be discussing the reasons for and against Othello being responsible for his downfall through looking at critical interpretations of his character and actions. In some ways you could say that Othello was highly responsible for his own downfall as he was easily manipulated by Iago showing him to be gullible and naïve. Iago manipulates Othello by making him suspicious through inference, “Ha I like not that”.
These layers are often defined as strengths and weaknesses, range of emotions, and/or likes or dislikes. This makes a character believable for the audience masses. A character (for the most part) is human, and there are no humans who are great at everything. For example, Macbeth was given the title of Thane of Cawdor, for his achievements on the battlefield. A tragic flaw is defined as “a weakness or error in judgment that brings about a tragic hero's downfall” (Clugston 2010).