‘Othello’s nature is all of one piece. His trust where he trusts is absolute. Hesitation is almost impossible to him. He is extremely self-reliant and decides and acts instantaneously. If stirred to indignation … he answers with one lightning stroke. Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must live or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-nigh incontrollable flood.’
Having read Act III how far do you agree with A.C. Bradley’s view of Othello?
It can be seen that 'Othello's nature is all of one piece' because when he loves Desdemona, he loves her with all of his heart and this is shown when he says 'But I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again'. Adding to the idea that his nature is all of one piece, it can be seen through his amount of trust with Iago, he trusts Iago so much about Desdemona being unfaithful that he is even willing to kill his good friend Cassio and his wife over something that has no real truth. We know that he wants Desdemona dead because of when he says 'Damn her, lewd minx: O damn her, damn her!' This demonstrates Othello's power, however it does not demonstrate his nobility which he should possess in order to be the tragic hero of a classical tragedy (according to Aristotle).
It could be argued that Othello's trust is absolute because of how reliant he is on Iago's information about Desdemona and Cassio. Othello's absolute trust for Iago is shown when he says to him 'I know thou'rt full of love and honesty'. It could be said that the fact that Othello is so trusting of people and the fact that he is so gullible is a part of his hubris that leads to his hamartia at the end of the play. This could also be used to argue the fact that Othello isn't a 'noble' tragic hero because of this which means he doesn't possess the correct characteristics that Aristotle said are necessary for a tragic hero to have in a classical tragedy. It's apparent that Othello is gullible when Iago is telling him the arguably bathotic story of Cassio saying 'Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our loves' in his sleep. The fact that this is what convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful might make the audience question his ability to be in a position of power.
It could be argued that Othello's trust is absolute because of how reliant he is on Iago's information about Desdemona and Cassio. Othello's absolute trust for Iago is shown when he says to him 'I know thou'rt full of love and honesty'. It could be said that the fact that Othello is so trusting of people and the fact that he is so gullible is a part of his hubris that leads to his hamartia at the end of the play. This could also be used to argue the fact that Othello isn't a 'noble' tragic hero because of this which means he doesn't possess the correct characteristics that Aristotle said are necessary for a tragic hero to have in a classical tragedy. It's apparent that Othello is gullible when Iago is telling him the arguably bathotic story of Cassio saying 'Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our loves' in his sleep. The fact that this is what convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful might make the audience question his ability to be in a position of power.
Furthermore, the idea that 'hesitation is almost impossible' to Othello can be seen when Othello immediately falls out of love with Desdemona as soon as Iago plants the idea that she has been unfaithful with Cassio. This is demonstrated when Desdemona has just spoken to him about giving Casio his job back and Othello calls her an 'excellent wretch!' This characteristic of Othello can also be seen as a part of his hubris. Othello's lack of hesitation leads to his downfall. It also shows that he can be easily angered and loses his temper quickly which some may argue doesn't make him noble. Not only does Othello not hesitate with his emotions towards Desdemona but he doesn't hesitate with believing what Iago has to say about Desdemona and Cassio.
Moreover, there is evidence in act three for how Othello 'decides and acts instantaneously because of when he says to Iago 'within these three days le me hear thee say that Cassio's not alive. This demonstrates how he acts and decides instantaneously because he doesn't even want to speak to Cassio and Desdemona about it first to get their sides of the story; because his nature is all of one piece and that his trust is absolute, he is willing to be the cause of two deaths just because of something that Iago told him.
In addition to this, 'if a passion such as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-nigh of incontrollable flood' because of how angry he gets when Iago first speaks to him to make him jealous. Once he gets jealous, he then starts to get angry with Iago wanting to know what he has to say about Cassio and Desdemona as shown when he says 'by heaven I'll know thee thoughts!' This demonstrates that when he experiences jealousy, he loses his temper very quickly and gets very angry with Iago. He even threatens to kill him if he finds out he is lying. That could be used as another example of when Othello acts and decides quickly, because he would have no hesitation in killing him under those circumstances.
To conclude, A.C. Bradley's views of Othello can be seen throughout act three in the play, there is evidence to support all of them. These characteristics of Othello may make up his hubris and that leads to him committing the hamartia of believing Iago to which eventually leads to him killing Desdemona which ultimately leads to his downfall and eventually he kills himself. However the audience experience a feeling of catharsis at the end of the play because Othello realises he was in the wrong and wants everyone to know that.
Moreover, there is evidence in act three for how Othello 'decides and acts instantaneously because of when he says to Iago 'within these three days le me hear thee say that Cassio's not alive. This demonstrates how he acts and decides instantaneously because he doesn't even want to speak to Cassio and Desdemona about it first to get their sides of the story; because his nature is all of one piece and that his trust is absolute, he is willing to be the cause of two deaths just because of something that Iago told him.
In addition to this, 'if a passion such as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-nigh of incontrollable flood' because of how angry he gets when Iago first speaks to him to make him jealous. Once he gets jealous, he then starts to get angry with Iago wanting to know what he has to say about Cassio and Desdemona as shown when he says 'by heaven I'll know thee thoughts!' This demonstrates that when he experiences jealousy, he loses his temper very quickly and gets very angry with Iago. He even threatens to kill him if he finds out he is lying. That could be used as another example of when Othello acts and decides quickly, because he would have no hesitation in killing him under those circumstances.
To conclude, A.C. Bradley's views of Othello can be seen throughout act three in the play, there is evidence to support all of them. These characteristics of Othello may make up his hubris and that leads to him committing the hamartia of believing Iago to which eventually leads to him killing Desdemona which ultimately leads to his downfall and eventually he kills himself. However the audience experience a feeling of catharsis at the end of the play because Othello realises he was in the wrong and wants everyone to know that.
Really useful one, compact yet packed with important points.Thank You very much for the effort to make the hard one looks so simple. Further, you can access this site to read Othello’s Tragic Flaw
ReplyDelete