Othello is Shakespeare's only domestic
tragedy. It is a tragedy between a husband and a wife, neither of whom are kings and queens or
nobility of any kind. Desdemona is a senator's daughter; Othello is a general in the Venetian
military. Other plays that involve domestic scenes, such as Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, for
instance, are complicated by the politics of the area. The power of royalty comes into play, and
the actions of the characters affect the welfare of the country. This is not so with
Othello.
Further, Othello
is a play that involves a marriage between two people of different races. Desdemona is a true
Venetian while Othello is a Moor. In this play, these differences are paramount as Othello's
downfall lies partly in the fact that he feels as if Desdemona would naturally be attracted to
someone of her own race, a man such as Cassio. Othello's racial difference causes him to doubt
himself as a good husband for Desdemona, and it is this doubt that Iago
exploits.
No comments:
Post a Comment