Literary Criticism


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by Shilliam Wakespeare

Othello, a heartbreaking tragedy by William Shakespeare, loosely based upon the story depicted in Dante's Proserpine.

This article has been played with throughout and consequently ruined by the hand of an infantile ninny.

Othello's tragic demise Edit

by User:LockeShocke

The tragedy of Othello is one of the most famous in literature.. The undeserving Othello makes one ill-fated decision, becomes the instrument of the suffering of the envious Iago, and eventually takes his own life after ruining the lives of several peers.

Othello is a general in the army, responsible for deciding whom to promote. He has recently promoted Cassio to lieutenant. This infuriates Iago, a subordinate of Othello vying for the same position. Iago devises a sly strategy for revenge, with Othello as his instrument.

Iago provokes a fight between Cassio and a peer, Roderigo. Othello then strips Cassio of his rank, destroying his reputation. This is exactly what Iago wants: his revenge against Cassio is complete. Iago then convinces Othello that his wife, Desdemona, has been unfaithful. The final phase of Iago's plan is in effect: Othello becomes an instrument against himself. The audience can only watch in horror as he takes his own life after smothering Desdemona.

The true tragedy is that Othello is a noble character, undeserving of the fate that befalls him. He didn't mean to cause suffering: he was simply a general deciding whom to promote. The audience is shocked that Othello, an admirable person, can be fooled into bringing suffering to so many around him. The audience feels regret for the snowball he starts by passing up Iago. The lives of Othello, Desdemona and Cassio are all ruined.

As Iago's instrument, Othello destroys his own life as well as the lives of two peers. The tragedy is that Othello's only crime having made a professional decision, Desdemona and Cassio were completely innocent.

This makes Shakespeare's "Othello" one of the best tragedies of its time, because the tragedy isn't centered around a single character; it's centered around the loss of innocence, and the cruel, selfish nature of human kind.

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