Welcome to Othello: Understanding Dramatic Tragedy

Hello! This set of notes is designed to help you master William Shakespeare’s intense tragedy, Othello, specifically through the lens of the OxfordAQA syllabus for Unit 1: Aspects of dramatic tragedy.

Why is this focus important? Because the examiners want to see that you understand *how* the play functions as a tragedy—not just what happens, but *why* it causes pity and fear in the audience and *how* Shakespeare uses dramatic tools to achieve this catastrophic effect.

Don't worry if the language of tragedy (like *catharsis* or *hamartia*) seems tricky at first; we will break it down into simple, manageable pieces!

1. The Type and Setting of the Tragedy

A. Type of Tragic Text: Public vs. Domestic Tragedy

The syllabus asks whether the tragedy is classical and about public figures or domestic and about ordinary people. Othello brilliantly fuses both types:

  • Public Tragedy: Othello is a celebrated general, "The Moor of Venice." His position is highly public and political. His actions (like attacking Cassio) disrupt the military order of Venice/Cyprus.
  • Domestic Tragedy: Despite his public role, Othello's downfall hinges entirely on private, marital jealousy. The tragedy culminates in the most intimate of settings—the couple’s bedroom—focusing on the murder of his wife, Desdemona.

Key Takeaway: The tragedy is heightened because a man of great public honor is destroyed by a tiny, private insecurity, showing that tragedy spares no one, regardless of rank.

B. Settings for the Tragedy: Places and Times

The change in location mirrors the descent into chaos.

  • Venice (Act I): Represents order, civilization, law, and structure. Othello’s marriage and status are officially ratified here, demonstrating initial stability.
  • Cyprus (Acts II–V): Represents war, isolation, and passion. The island setting is far from Venetian law, making it easier for Iago's psychological war to take root. The storm that separates the characters at sea foreshadows the mental storm that destroys Othello.

Memory Aid: V for Venice (Vast, logical world); C for Cyprus (Confined, chaotic world).

Quick Review Box: Setting
The movement from order (Venice) to disorder (Cyprus) is a structural device used to track the hero's journey from prosperity to catastrophe.

2. The Tragic Protagonist: Othello's Journey

At the core of all set texts is a tragic hero who is flawed, suffers, and causes suffering. Othello's journey is defined by his internal flaws and the painful discovery of truth.

A. Flaws, Pride, and Folly (The Path to Destruction)

The syllabus refers to the protagonist's flaws, pride, and folly.

  • The Flaw (Hamartia): Othello's most crucial flaw is not simply jealousy, but his profound insecurity and naive trust. As an outsider (a Moor in Venice), he lacks confidence in his place in Venetian society and his wife's fidelity. This makes him deeply vulnerable to Iago.
    Analogy: Think of Othello's mind as a beautiful, strong house. Iago doesn't need to break down the walls; he just exploits the single, hidden crack (Othello's insecurity).
  • Pride (Hubris): Othello initially displays immense pride in his military achievements and his noble nature. Once his reputation is threatened by the jealousy plot, this pride turns destructive; he believes he must kill Desdemona to restore his honor and enact 'justice.'
  • Folly: His refusal to doubt Iago, despite all evidence and Desdemona’s innocent pleading, is his ultimate act of folly (extreme foolishness).

B. Blindness and Insight (The Discovery)

The hero undergoes a transformation from blindness (lack of understanding) to insight (discovery).

  • Blindness: For much of the play, Othello is blind to Iago's evil, believing him to be "honest Iago." He sees his virtuous wife, Desdemona, as a deceptive fiend.
  • Discovery and Insight: In Act V, when Emilia (Iago's wife) reveals the truth about the handkerchief, Othello experiences a terrifying moment of discovery. This instant of profound insight is often marked by terrible suffering, realising he has murdered "a monumental alabaster."

The Final Moral Values: Othello tries to restore his moral standing by punishing himself. His final speech is an attempt to define himself as an honorable man who committed a tragic error, before taking his own life.

3. The Engine of Tragedy: Villainy, Fate, and Violence

A. The Role of the Tragic Villain: Iago

Iago is the classic example of the tragic villain who directly affects the fortune of the hero and is partly responsible for the hero's demise.

  • Manipulation and Power: Iago engages in a contest of power, manipulating Othello by exploiting language and appearance. He turns Othello’s strengths (his trust, his passion) into weaknesses.
  • "Motiveless Malignity": While Iago offers several motivations (the belief Othello slept with Emilia, being passed over for promotion), his evil often feels inexplicable, simply a delight in destruction. This makes him a terrifying force of chaos.
  • Did you know? Iago speaks aside (to the audience) more than any other character, making us complicit witnesses to his plan and heightening our sense of dramatic irony—we know the truth, but Othello does not.

B. The Presence of Fate

The syllabus asks if the hero's end is inevitable.

  • Inevitable Doom: While Iago sets the plan in motion (free will), Shakespeare structures the play to make the result feel tragically inevitable once Othello chooses to believe the lies. The loss of the handkerchief, for instance, feels like an unfortunate twist of fate that pushes the characters toward their doom.

C. Significance of Violence and Revenge

Violence is central to the catastrophe, moving beyond simple war to terrifying domestic brutality.

  • Psychological Violence: Iago’s poison is initially linguistic—he corrupts Othello’s mind using suggestive language and doubt.
  • Physical Violence and Revenge: The play culminates in multiple deaths: Roderigo, Emilia (killed by Iago for speaking the truth), and Desdemona (murdered by Othello as a distorted act of 'justice'). Othello’s final act is revenge against himself, showing how the desire for vengeance ultimately consumes the hero.

4. Structure, Language, and Audience Effect

A. The Structural Pattern of the Text

Tragedy follows a specific structural pattern: from complication to catastrophe, and from order to disorder.

  • Order and Prosperity (Act I): Othello is secure, successful, and happily married.
  • Complication (Act II & III): Iago sets his trap; the handkerchief is lost; Othello begins to doubt. This is the rapid decline.
  • Climax (Act IV): Othello falls into a trance (symbolising his mental collapse) and publicly strikes Desdemona. Disorder overtakes order entirely.
  • Catastrophe and Resolution (Act V): The chain of murders occurs, followed by the revelation of Iago’s guilt, Othello’s suicide, and the re-establishment of political order (Cassio becomes Governor).

B. The Use of Plots and Sub-plots

The sub-plots in Othello serve to advance Iago’s main plot and highlight the corruption of the world around the hero.

  • Roderigo's Plot: Roderigo's foolish lust for Desdemona is easily exploited by Iago for money and dirty work, demonstrating Iago’s ability to manipulate lesser men.
  • Cassio's Plot: Cassio's demotion is the necessary step for Iago to convince Othello that Cassio is romantically involved with Desdemona.
  • Emilia's Role: Emilia's theft of the handkerchief (to please her husband) unknowingly provides the central evidence for Othello's delusion. She acts as an unwitting catalyst, but her final insight is crucial for the resolution.

C. Dramatic Language Heightening the Tragedy

Shakespeare uses language to show Othello’s mental deterioration.

  • Before the Fall: Othello speaks in magnificent blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter), showing control and nobility (e.g., "Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.").
  • During the Fall: As Iago's poison takes hold, Othello’s language becomes fragmented, violent, and reliant on animalistic imagery (e.g., "Goats and monkeys!"). This switch to prose and guttural sounds marks his descent into madness and loss of civilized identity.

D. Affecting the Audience: Pity and Fear (Catharsis)

Tragedy must move the audience to an understanding of the human condition through pity and fear (often called *catharsis*).

  • Pity: We feel immense pity for Desdemona’s innocence and Othello's horrific delusion. Our pity is rooted in seeing a good man destroy himself because of manipulation.
  • Fear: We fear Iago’s sheer malicious power—the idea that something so virtuous (the marriage) can be destroyed by mere lies and doubt. This commentary on the real world shows the fragility of reputation and love.

Key Takeaway: *Othello* is a tragedy of speed. Its rapid structure, fueled by Iago’s linguistic weaponry, forces the audience through pity and fear to confront how easily love, order, and honor can be shattered by psychological darkness.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Do not simply describe Othello as "a jealous man." Always qualify this by connecting it to his tragic flaw—his insecurity as an outsider and his immense capacity for trust (which is easily abused). His jealousy is a *symptom*, not the root flaw.