Free «The Tragedy of Othello» Essay Sample

The function, nature, and value of art are appreciated in “The Tragedy of Othello” by William Shakespeare. He brings out an art as a piece of literature, and this indicates how great Shakespeare is. The definition of art varies. It is a piece of literal work, which comes in the form of a play. The tragedy in the play is a domestic one, in which we see Othello, the main character in the piece, killing his wife Desdemona, and it all ends in blood and tears. Other characters aiding to build the character of Othello in the play are Iago, the main cause of Othello’s downfall, Emilia, Iago’s wife, and Cassio, among many others. Some of the themes well depicted in this artistic piece are love, jealousy, revenge, and trust, among others, which show the diversity if the human emotion (Bradley, 1919). This artistic piece has been acted out all over the world by persons of all walks as it is a true reflection of society. It is with no doubt that it is the greatest tragedy piece by the well-known playwright. This paper discusses the art and “The Tragedy of Othello” as artistically created by Shakespeare.

To begin with, art is a piece of literal work created to send a given message to the readers. Art is also the glee that the reader experiences through reading a well-organized work by literal artist, either a play or a book. Art in literature is also saying something by writing. In this piece, it is clear that “Othello” is the tragedy being talked about by the writer. This can be established via the technique, versification, and elocution of the book as clearly brought out by Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s touch of art is truly drawn out in this play in terms of language use, diction, appeal to the minds of a given audience when read, and far more appealing and heart touching when played out. In ancient English, there is a feeling of an instant connection for the older folks and the trepidation for the younger ones who feel drawn to it (Bradley, 1919). In short, art is a way of life for those who understand and appreciate it.

Secondly, since art can either be a glee or anguish experienced by the reader in relation to some characters, “Othello” is the tragedy in the play. This is the condition that is displayed or portrayed so that the reader can digest how this condition affects the human mind. Moreover, one of the most prominent and intriguing element in “Othello” is that the story is more of a private life than a tragedy. That is why the story is told and placed in a distant period to generally create the perception that the human mind is far from that of the persons in the play. “Othello” is thus a drama of a modern life (Bradley, 1919).

Thirdly, the creation of art as a human condition is implemented by bringing the characters close to the readers and also by the manner, in which the drama is applied to the lives of the readers. The fortunes in the play affect us as those of private individuals, and this is noted, “I have not forgotten the Senate, or Othello’s position, or his service to the State.” However, it becomes evident that the deeds of Othello have no influence on the interest of the nation.

Fourth, art has a very important function in our lives as readers. It can affect our lives positively or negatively depending on the message that is derived from the art itself. Since art is created by a purpose, the process of creating an art that sends a clear message to the reader is very important. This is created by putting ourselves in the shoes of the character in the story. In so doing, we become aware of what Othello goes through and what makes this tragedy an art. The responsibilities of the artist are to create the message, use relevant styles, and finally deliver message to the reader or the audience. The audience, on the other hand, must exercise the duty of putting themselves in the shoes of the artist so as to experience what the artist goes through. The audience should also be engaged to illustrate what actually transpires. As a society, we benefit from such art work by understanding how we can handle tragedies when they befall us. As individuals, the peculiarity of the story combines with other forms of art to produce a feeling of oppression or confinement to a very narrow world and dark fatalities, which haunts our lives in reading Othello (William, 1995).

Another point is that it is always easy to know whether art work is authentic or whether the piece in question implies fraud at every state. For instance, the power of language when Othello gives his speech before the assembly indicates that he believes Desdemona’s love to be. However, according to Gloria (1998), light and dark are also juxtaposed in the Duke’s declaration to Brabantio, “if virtue no delighted beauty lack/your son-in-law far more fair than black.” This clearly indicates that light and dark are symbolic in the story. The symbolic implication of the colors is both, good and evil. Art is also important since it makes us understand the world as recommended, because through art we see the worthiness of truth and lies. This is brought out clearly through various characters in the play.               Art helps us see through the social new perspective, through the roles of characters in the play. For example, the definition of a hero may not go well with the character of Othello, and hence most lovers of literature will term him as tragic hero. This is because of what befalls him as the plot of the play unfolds scene by scene. The play, though written long back in time, has some modern touch, in relation to the then societal set-up. Art does take a center stage in all literal works, and it is impossible to separate the two, especially in a case, where it is to be acted out to live audience in a theatre. It is a dramatic piece as we see of how jealousy, powerful vice engulfs Iago due to Cassio’s promotion over him. This leads him to scheming against his superior’s for this. This now sets the play into spontaneous motion since it flows from one scene to another as plotted by the evil Iago. This is the new perspective that we, the readers, understand. For some reason, Othello believes Iago’s lies and falls for the story that his wife Desdemona was having an affair with Cassio, his lieutenant (William, 1995). It was foolish of him to further go ahead and kill his wife and commit suicide. This clearly shows that the social construct, illusions, and preoccupation of the mind help in understanding the story better.

Finally, “The Tragedy of Othello” illustrates all the undertakings in the above response in the sense that we get to understand how fate and glee can change a person’s life. The metaphoric stance created through Iago is an appraisal of human nature since he seeks to ensure that the marriage of Othello and Desdemona is not solid. The effects of this play are both, positive and negative because it encourages honesty and dishonesty through various characters, such as Iago and Othello. However, the message delivered by Shakespeare is that honesty is very crucial theme in the story. Characters don’t know the person who is honest, who is trustworthy, and honesty is also used in the context that is ironic. We learn that honesty is very important aspect of all our undertakings. It is significant because it can influence our lives either positively or negatively as indicated in the play in the case of Iago and Othello. For example, under Iago’s influence, honesty is a difficult liability, and this has in turn influenced the downfall of various characters.

Conclusion

In all aspects, art is very important at conveying messages. In this play, Iago acts as the pivotal point to determine the kind of life the other characters lead. However, innocence and pride of Othello are some of the issues that made him disloyal to his wife and finally led to the demise of both. In short, through well blended story, we acknowledge that Othello is a noble hero brought down by his own fatal flaws. In such tragedies, it is the reader who identifies and sympathizes with the protagonist, who gains insight through suffering.