Saturday 4 February 2012

Based on acts 1 & 2, what sub genre of tragedy does 'othello' fit into?

Based on acts 1 & 2, what sub genre of tragedy does 'Othello' fit into?

Othello is a  domestic  tragedy, written by Williams Shakespeare around 1603 and because the play has an eponymous  title, it suggests that the tragedy is all about Othello. However, based solely on the events that take place in  Acts 1 and 2, Othello is a  Seneca tragedy. This is because revenge, which is used extensively in Acts  1 and 2  is an element of senecan tragedy. In Acts 1 and 2, Iago is a device used by Shakespeare  to forward the notion the sub genre of the tragedy in Othello is revenge because, Iago is illustrated as a duplicitous characters who consistently plots the demise of the Moor and Cassio in response to his 'suspicion' that they have 'done (his) office'. Although Iago's reason for revenge appears to be  sufficient,considering the fact that at that time in Venetian society he would have been seen as a 'cuckold' and his reputation (which was the most important thing to Venetians at the time) would have been ruined, Shakespeare reveals in the opening of Act 1 that the true reason why Iago craves revenge against the Moor and Cassio, is because he hates the Moor for appointing Cassio as his lieutenant not Iago. Iago states that he is 'worth no worse a place' and conveys his anger and jealousy to the audience by referring to Cassio as a 'fellow almost damned in a fair wife'. Iago's demeaning description of Cassio foreshadows his  'malicious' method of obtaining revenge which he reveals at the end Act 2 ; to destroy the Moor's marriage and Cassio's reputation  by tricking the Moor  into believing that  Cassio is 'soliciting his wife. This, allows  Shakespeare to  reiterate the idea that the sub genre in Acts 1 and 2 is indeed revenge.

1 comment: