Melissa Lyons

9/20/14

Period 2

Essay on Othello

While Othello is certainly a very tragic story, it does not quite hit all the marks a Aristotelian tragedy would, as it misses many of the fundamental elements. The biggest being that it was written for catharsis, but for entertainment and profit; this is shown through the many decisions made in the writing of the play itself. As there are time skips to different locations, comedy relief, and the fact that Othello is not a true tragic hero by Aristotle’s definition.

The easiest way to tell how Othello was not meant to be a Aristotelian tragedy is to look at the technical way it is written. This type of tragedy is supposed to be continuous, with no breaks between scenes. This is supposed to be a factor of realism, when watching the play you’re supposed to feel as though those events are taking place in front of you in real time. Othello however is littered with time breaks, as the story takes place over a series of days, in numerous different locations. This is the first Aristotelian rule that this tragedy breaks.

The other thing that Shakespeare does in Othello is add comic relief to the story, especially right when things get the most intense. Such as right after Cassio gets in trouble for fighting in his drunken stupor, Shakespeare writes in the Clown to make puns and jokes, solely for the purpose of comedy relief. The clown also makes another appearance right after Othello plants to murder Desdemona. This use of comedic relief goes against Aristotelian tragedies as it once again breaks the effects of realism. When you see this comic relief you are reminded to the fact that the play is not real and merely a work of fiction being played out in front of you.

The final and probably biggest discrepancy between this tragedy and an Aristotelian one is the fact that Othello is not a tragic hero in the truest sense, most of the debate surrounding his “tragic flaw”, and if it was what truly caused his demise. For a tragic flaw to be Aristotelian it has to be the sole reason of a characters downfall, and while it is Othello’s over trustiness with Iago pared with his insecurity over Desdemona’s’ faithfulness that is the main driving force behind the story, Iago’s manipulation makes the circumstances a lot more murky, as his deception sets up every

tragedy in the play. But even if Othello’s flaw was the sole reason for his downfall, he still would not qualify as a tragic hero, for the reason that he does not accept it. Aristotle states that tragic heroes must realize the full consequences of their actions, but Othello does not. Instead he asks to be “remembered as he was” and blames Iago for his downfall, and then proceeds to kill himself.

It’s for these reasons that Othello does not qualify to be an Aristotelian tragedy, as is not one continuous piece, breaks the tension with comedy relief and Othello himself does not even qualify as a tragic hero. Othello was not made to feel catharsis but to entertain the public with a tragic love story.