Sunday 5 February 2012

Based on Acts 1 and 2, what sub genre of Tragedy does Othello fit into?

In Act 1 of Othello we are introduced to the main characters and the relationships between them. Shakespeare also introduces a change of scene, moving the main characters away from Venice to Cyprus to fight the "Turks" (Act 1, Scene 2). By Act 2, Shakespeare has introduced various complications by causing   Othello to doubt his wife's faithfulness. These two scenes follow the format of a Classical tragedy. Furthermore, Classical tragedies depict the downfall of a noble character due to a flaw in their character. Othello fits this description as he has a noble and prestigious position as a General in the Venetian Army and falls from grace due to his trust in "his... ancient", Iago and lack of trust in Desdemona (his wife). Based on Acts 1 and 2, it can be said that Othello fits into the sub genre of a Classical Tragedy.

However, Othello can also be classed as a Revenge Tragedy because this is Iago's main motive for planning  Othello's downfall as seen in Act 1 when he explains " I follow him to serve my turn upon him" which clearly shows there is truth in  Roderigo's statement "Thou told'st me thou didst hold him in thy hate". Iago wants revenge as he was not given a promotion to lieutenant by Othello. In a revenge tragedy, the main characters were of a high social rank. Othello, as a General and Desdemona, as the daughter of a Senator, fit this description. 

Othello also fits the description of the Medieval Tragedy and the Wheel of Fortune. This sub genre of tragedy concerns a reversal of fortune and a fall from a high position. The belief was that the top of the wheel represented the best fortune and under the wheel the worst and that the wheel could spin at any time and the person at the top could suddenly find themselves under the wheel. This is an accurate description of Othello because whilst Othello has good fortune at the start of the play he falls from grace during the course of the play.However, Othello does not fall from grace during Acts 1 and 2 therefore this sub genre is irrelevant.

Based only on the first two Acts, the sub genre of tragedy which Othello best fits is the Classical Tragedy  although there are elements of other sub genre's as well.

1 comment:

  1. Georgia, very good work here. You have carefully considered a range of tragedies which adds to your answer.

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