Othello Research Paper

For a play to be considered a tragedy, several events must be present. Shakespeare’s Othello is without a doubt a tragedy. It is a story full of scheming, lies, and jealousy. It is a tragedy that is centered around marriage and the jealousy that is created within that marriage. Othello is a story of a man with a tragic flaw who is brought to ruins and has an inability to cope with the unfavorable circumstances at hand. These things bring extreme sorrow on the character Othello and help to make this play a tragedy. The following paragraphs will show how each of these circumstances are met throughout the play. To understand the ways that this play is in fact a tragedy, a deeper insight into the play is needed. Othello is a play that was written by William Shakespeare around 1603. It is a play centered around a white woman who marries a black man which, during this time, was highly frowned upon. The

Othello allows the lies that Iago is spreading to become the truth in his mind. In fact, the more that Iago tries to convince him that surely, he has mistaken and must be wrong for believing, the more Othello believes it to be true. Othello eventually turns to Emilia for answers. Othello asks her, “You have seen nothing then?” To which she replies, “Nor ever heard, nor ever did suspect.” Othello then replies, “Yes, you have seen Cassio and she together” (IIII.ii.1-3). This shows that even though someone who is very close to Desdemona confirms that she is in fact not seeing Cassio, he has already made his mind up that she is. Othello allows his jealousy to cloud his own vision. As a result, an enraged and jealous Othello then goes to his wife’s bed to murder her. Desdemona tries to reason with Othello and tell him to bring Cassio in, but he refuses to listen to her. He then proceeds to kill her by smothering her with a pillow. Instead of listening to reason, Othello choses to let jealousy lead him to