Feminist Essays on Othello

Coursework Unit 1: ‘Many critics have argued that Othello is not a true Shakespearean tragic hero. Explore the idea that Shakespeare intended to make Othello fit the criteria of his tragic hero with comparison to Macbeth.’ By Marina Georgallides A tragic hero, determined by Aristotle, must show a nobility and virtue of a certain magnitude however, their path to happiness should be ceased by their destructive vice (Harmartia- the flaw that eventually leads to their downfall). Peripeteia, the point

Evil in Othello         What can compare to the evil present in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? The sinister aspect of the play is so heavy at times that it has a depressing effect on the audience.   In the essay “Wit and Witchcraft: an Approach to Othello” Robert B. Heilman unveils the evil awaiting the reader in Othello:   Reason as an ally of evil is a subject to which Shakespeare keeps returning, as if fascinated, but in different thematic forms as he explores

Discrimination Against Women in Othello       The Shakespearean drama Othello renders less to the female gender than it does to the male gender. All the women characters are victims – unjustly so. Let’s talk about the obvious sexism throughout the play.   Susan Snyder in “Othello: A Modern Perspective” expounds on the sexist notions typical of Venice:   The pervasive notion of woman as property, prized indeed but more as object than as person, indicates one aspect of a deep-seated

Othello: the Abnormal Five Works Cited    William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello presents to the audience a very abnormal character in the person of Iago. Also can one classify the epileptic seizure of Othello as normal? Let us in this essay consider the abnormal in the play. The abnormal behavior of the ancient is partly rooted in his misogynism. In “Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello” Valerie Wayne implicates Iago in sexism. He is one who is almost incapable of

Othello’s Sinister Side         Shakespeare’s Othello, with its prolonged exposure to the evil mind of Iago, is difficult for some in the audience. Let’s consider the play’s evil aspect.   In the Introduction to The Folger Library General Reader’s Shakespeare, Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar explain the single, evil focus of the drama – the arch-villainy of the ancient:   Othello has been described as Shakespeare’s most perfect play. Critics of dramatic structure have

Racism in William Shakespeare’s Othello   In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello racism is featured throughout, not only by Iago in his despicable animalistic remarks about Othello’s marriage, but also by other characters. Let us in this essay analyze the racial references and their degrees of implicit racism. Racism persists from the opening scene till the closing scene in this play. In “Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello” Valerie Wayne comments on the racism inherent in

drama Othello there is a very disquieting dimension of the play; this is the evil dimension, which has such depth and intensity that it penetrates not only the mind but the body and soul of the audience.   Even the imagery in the drama has its evil aspect. Kenneth Muir, in the Introduction to William Shakespeare: Othello, explains the instances of diabolic imagery in the play as they relate to the infecting of the Moor by the ancient:   The same transference from Iago to Othello may

Othello: the Unquestionable Sexism        Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello features sexism as regular fare – initially from Brabantio and Iago, and finally from Othello. Let us in this essay explore the occurrences and severity of sexism in the drama.   In “Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello” Valerie Wayne implicates Iago in sexism. He is one who is almost incapable of any other perspective on women than a sexist one:   Iago’s worry that he cannot do what Desdemona

The Incomparable Evil in Shakespeare's Othello        Shakespeare?s tragic drama Othello disturbs audiences because of the intense, diabolical evil involved in the plot development. Let?s explore the evil in the play, especially in the character of Iago.   In his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, A. C. Bradley gives an in-depth analysis of the brand of evil which the ancient personifies:   Iago stands supreme among Shakespeare?s evil characters because the

Othello’s Diabolism        In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, there is present through most of the play such an overwhelming amount of evil that the audience can scarcely remain undisturbed.   Alvin Kernan’s “Othello: an Introduction” explains the diabolism existing under the name of “honest Iago”:   “Honest Iago” conceals beneath the exterior of the plain soldier and blunt, practical man of the world a diabolism so intense as to defy rational explanation – it must be taken