Tragic structure in shakespeares tragedies = cấu trúc bi kịch trong kịch shakespeare

- To study tragic structure in the tragedies before Shakespeare’s time - To study Shakespeare's life and works in general and his play’s tragic structure in particular through analyzing

Vinh University Foreign languages department

- -NguyÔn ThÞ Thu Ph¬ng

Tragic structure in Shakespeare's tragedies

1 The rationale of choosing the theme

Despite differences in languages, cultures, religions or society status people all over the world share common feelings when enjoying great books such as: “Hamlet”, “Othello”, “Romeo and Juliet”…by Shakespeare It is easily understood that many classical plays still win the hearts of modern readers Messages about love and people's life, indeed, never grow old

Shakespeare with his works is one of typical symbol for the vitality of literature He is the writer of all ages whose greatness endures forever The talent of Shakespeare demonstrates clearly in his tragedies Almost people move into tears when reading them and messages people get from them always remain their value even in modern society

In order to fully understand Shakespeare's tragedies, his greatness and contributions, it is necessary to know tragic structure in his tragedies This understanding will give you the key to open the door to the profound world in Shakespeare's tragedies That is the reason why I choose the theme "Tragic structure in Shakespeare's tragedies” for my graduation paper

2 The aims of the thesis

The aims of the thesis are:

- To study briefly about English Renaissance literature and one of its best representatives: William Shakespeare

- To study tragic structure in the tragedies before Shakespeare’s time

- To study Shakespeare's life and works in general and his play’s tragic structure in particular through analyzing the structure of “Othello”, one of his four greatest tragedies

- To point out the main characteristics and distinction of Shakespeare tragic structure

3 The limitation of the thesis

Shakespeare's works are enormous ranging from tragedy, comedy, historical plays to poems However, within the scope of this thesis, the writer only concentrates on tragic structure in Shakespeare's tragedies with a view to have a profound analysis In order to demonstrate what has been found in the structure of Shakespeare's tragedies, the writer analyzes one play

"Othello" - an outstanding example of Shakespeare's tragedies

4 The methods of the study

The methods used in this thesis include:

- Collective method: collecting relevant materials from different sources internet, magazines, books, teacher's lectures etc

- Analysis and synthetic method: splitting up the issues to get core ideas, and then synthesizing to have an overall picture

- Contrastive analysis method: finding the differences and similarities between Shakespeare play's tragic structure with that of tragedians before Shakespeare’s time

5 The design of the study

The thesis consists of three main parts:

Part I: Introduction

The rationale, aims of the thesis, limitation of the thesis, methods, the desisn of the study are all introduced in this part

Part II: Content

This is the main part of the study, which is divided into three chapters:Chapter I: Background

Chapter II: Tragic structure in Shakespeare’s tragedies

Chapter III: Tragic structure in "Othello"

Part III: Conclusion

Part Ii Content

Chapter I Background

1 English Renaissance

Renaissance is a French word firstly used by French historian Jules Michelet and then popularized by Swiss historian Jocab Burck that literally means rebirth Rebirth is understood in two ways: A rebirth of classic learning and knowledge through the rediscovery of ancient texts and a rebirth of European culture in general

The English Renaissance began in the 1520s, reaching its peak of development around the year 1660, and not ending until roughly the restoration of Charles II in the 1660s During this period, a vast changes and growths occurred in all aspects of English society and literature

1.1 Society

The distinctions of English society in the Renaissance periods were marked by great changes in politics This time witnessed the decay of feudalism and the development of capitalist relation Parliament became a much more important institution

The English Renaissance was a period of prosperity and increasing English power England became the most important European country thanks

to the reign of outstanding rulers: King Henry VIII (1509 - 1547) and Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603)

The English Renaissance was strongly affected by many great geographical, astronomical and scientific discoveries in the world The discovery of America in the last decade of the 15th century, the finding of a sea - route so Asia round Africa and the invention of printing opened the eyes

of people to the earthy life, human nature and human abilities People began

to lead a revolt against the strict and cramped pattern of life in the Middle

Ages, which hindered people from enjoying life on earth and their culture from developing.

The English Renaissance saw the awakening of men's mind, men's ability, of individual spirit and secularism, which led to the bloom of literature

1.2 Literature

There was a flowering of English literature in the English Renaissance The key literary figures in this period were: the poet Edmund Spencer the philosopher Francis Bacon, the poets and playwrights Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson, and the poet John Milton

English poetry was exactly at the right stage of development since forms such as the sonnet were uniquely adapted to setting as madrigals

Drama entered a high developing time marked by the name of William Shakespeare He is considered as the greatest writer the English language ever known

Literature of this time reflected the progressive ideology known as humanism

Human life, the happiness, the inner world of people and the belief in people's abilities became the main subjects in English art and literature In contrast to the medieval thinker who emphasized God, the progressive thinker

of the Renaissance placed the interest in human beings and considered them

as the creator of the world Literature, as a result, put people at its center This explained a flowering of English literature in this period

2 William Shakespeare's life and career

2.1 William Shakespeare's life

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford - upon - Avon, England in April 1564, and died on April 23, 1616 (Julian calendar)

He was the third of eight children of John Shakespeare, a locally prominent merchant, and Harry Arden, daughter of a Roman Catholic member of the landed gentry.

In 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer After his marriage, William Shakespeare left few traces in the historical record until he appeared on the London Literacy scene in about 1588 Since then, his genius was in full bloom and highly recognized

By 1592, he gained success as an actor and a playwright Shortly later, the publication of Shakespeare's two fashionably erotic narrative poems Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594) and of his Sonnets (1609) established his reputation as a poet in the Renaissance manner However, Shakespeare's modern reputation is based mainly on the 38 plays that he apparently wrote

Shakespeare retired in approximately 1611 and spent the last years of his life in Stratford, his hometown He died on April 23, 1616 and was buried in the Church of Stratford

In deed, there was a lack of a complete and authoritative historical record

of William Shakespeare's life, however his name is well known all over the world What he left for the world's literature remains its value even until now although the time has passed and the society has changed deeply We understand him more through his work

2.2 William Shakespeare’s career

William Shakespeare is the writer of all time His contribution to the literature of his time was so great that the English Renaissance has often become known as "the age of Shakespeare" As a playwright, he wrote not only some of the most powerful tragedies, but also may comedies and histories He was also a great poet He wrote 154 sonnets and several major poems, some of which are among the most brilliant pieces of English literature ever known

His dramatic career is generally divided into four successive periods expressing his increasing maturity.

The first period (up to 1594)

This period is that of experiment and preparation Shakespeare tried his hand at every current kind of dramatic work Unlike his more mature work, his early plays imitate or are influenced by classical models

Four plays about the English civil strife of the 15th century are possibly Shakespeare's earliest dramatic works These plays: Herry VI, Richard III deal with the evil results of week leader ship and of national disunity In style and structure, these plays are related partly to medieval drama and partly to the works of earlier Elizabeth dramatists, especially Christopher Marlowe.Shakespeare's comedies of the first period represent a wide range: Comedy of Errors, Two gentlemen of Verona Love' Labor' Lost Those are of romantic stories Most of them are the experiments with plot and character, because at this time, Shakespeare is on his way of finding his own ideal and style

The second period (1594 - 1600)

The second period is occupied chiefly with happy comedies and chronicle- history plays In this period, his style and approach became highly individualized His plays at this time show his optimistic vision to people and

to the world It is best reflected in his sparkling comedies

The comedies charm the reader with the adventure of young men and women, their friendship and romantic love, their search for happiness His comedies are usually based on misunderstandings, mix- up in events, or confused identity of characters that create comic situation All of them are witty and romantic and what makes his comedies great is that we see in them

a whole spectrum of humanity His plays are filled with humanist love and belief in nobleness and kindness of human nature The comedies in this period are: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (c.1595), The Merchant of Venice (1596),

As you like it (1599), Twelfth Night (1600)

His chronicle- history plays deal with the history and development of the country Like all the humanists of the time, Shakespeare believed in a centralized monarchy to be an ideal form of state power In his plays, the combination of the tragic and comic to suggest a broad range of humanity became one of the favorite devices Some of chronicle-history plays are: Richard II (c.1595), Herry V (c.1598).

The third period (1600-1608)

This periods marks a change in tone in Shakespeare's works from the optimistic mood of comedies to the pessimistic mood of tragedies Shakespeare's vision turns unrelentingly to the tragic His main works at this period are tragedies, all of them are written at the height of his maturity What caused the shift in his vision from the sparking comedies of the 90's to the somber period that follows? Possibly, it is the result of contemporary society which was full of evils and injustice In his plays, Shakespeare sets himself to grapple with the deepest and darkest problems of human character and life such as : injustice ,hypocrisy, falsehood, cruelty, revenge ,jealousy, greed The four great tragedies of this period are: Hamlet, Othello (1604), King Lear (1605), and Macbeth (1605)

In this period, he writes not only his major tragedies but also the more difficult comedies, known as the "problem plays" because their resolutions possibly leave troubling and unanswered questions Two comedies "All's well that Ends well" (1602) and "Measure for Measure" (1604) are also dark in mood and they suggest a picture of morality in Christian term

The fourth period (after 1608)

In this period, there is a change from dark mood to one of light, magic, music, reconciliation and romance The plays are the mixture of comedies and tragedies These plays are written in a grave vein differing considerably from that of his earlier comedies but ending happily with a reunion or final reconciliation The important social and moral problems are still referred to

but without tragic tension in them and less conflicts These plays contain romantic and fantastic elements and are known as romantic dramas.

Some works in his last time are: Pericles, Prince of Tyre(c 1608), Cymbeline (1610), Winter’s Tale (1610), The Tempest (c.1611)

Shakespeare, in deed, as Ben Johnson said, "He was not for an age but for all time" The strength of Shakespeare’s plays lies in the absorbing stories they tell, on their wealth of complex characters and in the eloquent speech: vivid, forceful and at the same time lyric

The surpassing charm of his rendering of the romantic beauty and joy of life and the profundity of his presentation of its tragic side are what make Shakespeare's plays remembered all the time His greatness will endure forever and all succeeding ages will find in Shakespeare what they need, what speaks to them

3 Some typical features in Shakespeare’s tragedies

Shakespeare’s tragedies have a strong appeal and influence on the audience, even the modern ones They contain a lot of typical features, which make Shakespeare's tragedies distinctive and different from those of other dramatists

Shakespearean tragedies may be called a story of exceptional suffering and calamity, conducting the tragic hero to death A tale for example, of a man slowly worn to death by disease, poverty, little cares, sordid vices, petty persecution would not be tragic in the Shakespearean sense of the world Exceptional suffering and calamity, then affecting the hero, and generally extending far beyond him, so as to make the whole scene a scene of woe are essential ingredients in Shakespeare's tragedies, and the chief sources of tragic emotions, and especially of pity In Shakespeare, the hero recognized his own responsibility for the catastrophe, which befalls him too late to prevent his death Tragic conflicts in Shakespeare's plays are both external and internal

With Shakespeare, at any rate, the pity and fear which are stirred by the tragic story seems to unite with, and even due to the impression of waste which puts strong influence on the hearts and minds of the audience and makes them continuously think about the story and its message.

The strength of Shakespeare's plays lies in the aborting stories they tell,

in their wealth of complex characters, and in the eloquent speech - vivid, forceful, and at the same time, lyric that the playwright puts on his character’s lips

The content of Shakespeare’s tragedies is conveyed to the audience in a very appealing and attractive way with a tightly well-organized structure Thanks to this, his tragedies and messages sent from the story go straightly to the hearts and minds of the audience and keep there for a long time

Chapter II Tragic structure in Shakespeare s tragedies ’

1 Definition and characteristics of tragedy

Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of drama Its origins are obscure, but

it is certainly derived from the rich poetic and religious tradition of ancient Greece The Greek words triages meanings "goat" and acidic "to sing" were combined in the word tragoidia, "goat - songs", from which the word

"tragedy" is derived

According to Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude, in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative, through pity and fear affecting the proper purgation of these emotions

In the "discussion of Iliad", the word "tragedy" refers primarily to tragic drama, a literary composition written to be performed by actors in which a central character called a tragic protagonist or hero suffers from some serious misfortune which is not accidental but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected with the hero's actions

In modern Greek, the word "tragedy" simply means song However among English speakers, the term is usually assigned to a tale, which ends on

a note of sadness of despair To be considered as a tragedy, the play needs to fit a set of requirements given by Aristotle, it should:

1 Have a protagonist that is of noble quality of high rank

2 Have the protagonist suffer a disastrous fortune coming through his/her own fault

3 Have the protagonist discover throughout the course of events that some characters are not what they appeared to be.

4 Have an engaging plot that moves the audience to pity and fear

These characteristics become standard for later tragedies

2 Structure of tragedies before Shakespeare's time

The ancient Greek tragedies had fairly simple structure whose plots conformed to a standard paradigm - a prologue in which the protagonist reveals to the audience a central conflict that must be overcome, followed by

a sequence of episodes and choral odes in which the conflict is explored and deepened, and a final scene that provides at least a kind of resolution In modern drama, most plays are divided into acts and scenes, ancient Greek drama did not use acts and scenes but had a system of divisions which were: a prologue spoken by one or more characters, the parodos sung by the chorus Then follows a scene of dialogue called an episode, which in turn is followed

by the first stasimon The alternation of episode and stasimon continues until the last stasimon, after which there is a final scene of dialogue called an exodos Here are the basic parts of the Greek tragedy:

a Prologue: This is a monologue or dialogue spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears The prologue usually sets forth the subject and gives the mythological background necessary for understanding the events of the play

b Parados (entrance song) : This is the song sung by the chorus as it first enters Their song is usually about the actions of the play and help to build emotion in the audience

c Episode: There are several episodes (typically 3 - 5) in which the actors took the main roles They consisted primarily of spoken dialogue Sometimes, the leader of the chorus participates in the dialogue It is possible that some parts of episodes may have been chanted rather than spoken Each episode is terminated by a stasimon

d Stasimon (stationary song) : This is choral ode The ode usually reflects on the things said and done in the episodes and put them into some kind of larger mythological framework.

For most of the play, there is alternation between episodes and stasima

e Exodos: The song sung by the chorus as they left the stage concluding the play The song usually offers words of wisdom related to the action and outcome of the play

This typical structure of Greek tragedy can be found in the plays:

Antigone by Sophocles, Bacchae by Euripides, Libation Bearers and Eumenides by Aeschylus… Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus are three

representatives of Greek tragedy

Here is the structure of Antigone by Sophocles, which is based on basic

parts of the Greek tragedy:

From analyzing the finest Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, Aristotle gave out the divisions of the play According to Aristotle,

a play as a whole is divided in to 3 parts: a beginning, middle and an end The

beginning must start the cause and effect chain but not be dependent on anything outside the compass of the play The middle must be caused by earlier incidents and itself causes the incidents that follow it The end must be caused by the preceding events but not lead to other incidents outside the compass of the play, the end should therefore solve or resolve the problem created during the beginning to the middle.

It can be said that the Greek tragedies have influenced almost all the later tragic dramatists of the Western world and laid the foundation for the development of tragedy However, they still have some drawbacks Their structures are rather simple and the plays are not well–organized, and as a result, readers find it difficult to realize the flow of conflicts and tensions: how the conflicts are pushed to a height and how they come to an end

By the 16th century, playwrights were experimenting for more complex form, which reached their fullest expression in the five-part structure of Shakespeare’s tragedies His plays showed an "irregular" construction in the variety of its scenes, structure

3 Tragic structure in Shakespeare's tragedies

Shakespeare and his works have put a milestone in the development of English literature His tragedies are considered as models for tragedy of all times The structure of Shakespeare’s tragedies is clear and well organized which usually consists of five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

The structure is illustrated in the following pattern:

3 climax

2 rising action 4 falling action

1 exposition 5 resolution

3.1 Exposition

Exposition is the first part of the play, which sets forth or expounds the situation of affairs, out of which the conflict arises Thus, exposition is the task of the first act

This part is designed to:

- Outline the general settings In this part, the time, place where the play

is located is introduced (The setting of “Hamlet” is London , England)

- Represent the main characters in the play: their names, their status, some of their personalities and their relationships to one another (In

“Hamlet”: in the first part, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, the protagonist is introduced and he is confronted with the ghost of his dead farther who informs him that king Claudius was responsible for his death)

- Imply the problems of the play, the conflict or potential conflicts At the end of this part we can know what the important problem of the play is, what the major conflict is, who take part in the conflict that our protagonist or out hero is, and often what seems to be his tragic flaw (In “Hamlet”: the first part gives a hint of the main conflict: Hamlet must figure out a way to avenge his farther without getting killed or arrested; in “King Lear”: Cordelia will not flatter her farther like her sister do, so he banishes her)

3.2 Rising action

This second part of the structure deals with a definite beginning, the growth and nature of the conflict and forms the bulk of the play It is usually the task of Act II The rising action unveils the developing complications arising from the conflicts as the problems get intensified

In this part, the speed of the action increases From the conflict, certain actions arise and these actions cause other actions to happen This series of interconnected actions make the problem get intensified The pace and urgency generally pick up significantly (In “Hamlet”: Hamlet tried to discover the truth behind his father’s death He pretends to be mad in order to

hide his plans from the king In “King Lear”: Goneril and Regan reject Lear, who begins to realize his error in judgment)

The sense of inevitability now begins to advance as the tragic hero alienates his allies and his closest supporters As the complications develop at

a great speed, the play moves to the next part–climax, in which the complication comes to a height

3.3 Climax

Climax is the turning point of the play at which everything is brought to

a height and the terrible result becomes inevitable In this part, something suddenly goes terribly wrong (due to an action upon which the main plot hinges) leading to a change of play's direction for the worse (In “Hamlet”: the Mousetrasp helps to prove Claudius’s guilt in the murder Hamlet forgoes killing Claudious; in “King Lear”: discovery of his terrible errors and personal vanity causes Lear’s madness but paradoxically brings profound insight)

The conflict now is built up gradually and pushed to its height A sense

of urgency develops with the plot and the conflict that not only creates the effect of a kind of steam - rolling inevitability regarding the hero's fall that he has put into motion himself We can feel the pace and urgency As the tension reaches its height, the play moves to its next part - falling action where new actions occurs that lead to the real tragedy of the play

3.4 Falling action

Falling action usually lies in the act IV This part sees a reversal of the situation Opposing forces begin to openly resist and to make the final plans for the removal of the tragic hero, and the hero’s power obviously declining

as the opposition’s power advances (In “Hamlet”: Claudious takes charge of the action and plots Hamlet’s downfall, in "King Lear": King Lear’s madness and repentance lead to reconciliation with Cordelia)

3.5 Resolution

In this part, the opposition reaches its full strength and defeats the isolated, weakened hero This is where tragic recognition takes place At about this point in the play, the hero will realize the error (often a misreading

of people or events) that is bringing about his fall and he feels with deep suffering that he alone is to blame, he alone has erred Tragic recognition inevitably takes place when there is no chance to correct the error: it is too late The tragic hero faces the responsibility for his action alone The internal conflicts intensify to an almost unbearable pitch and death speedily follows as

a result Othello is dead, Hamlet is dead, Lear is dead but all these deaths provide us with a particularly moving display of courage or at least nobility of heart And we are normally aware again of the greatness of the soul that has just been dispatched in these final scenes of the play

It can not be denied that Shakespeare is the one who put tragedy into a new phase of development His tragic structure is highly well organized which shows clearly and impressively the development of tragic matter Readers can realize the flow of conflicts and tension, how they rise, fall and come to a resolution By the end of Shakespeare’s tragedies, people burst into tears They know what happened is inevitable but they can not help feeling that there is a severe pain in their hearts and this story leaves them many lessons in life

4 The inheritance and contribution of Shakespeare to tragic structure

Shakespeare is not the writer of an age but of all times From the 19th century Shakespeare's achievement has been more and more adequately recognized especially in the field of tragedies Since his death, Shakespeare's plays have been almost continuously performed in non- English speaking nations as well as those where English are the native tongues

Indeed, before Shakespeare's time, tragedy had had a fairly long way of developing Some tragedies of Greek time are still now recognized such as Aeschylus, Sophocles (496-406BC) and Europhiles (480-405BC) Basing on the foundation the preceding generation has laid; the talent and the greatness

of Shakespeare grew and developed Shakespeare learnt a great deal from the principles of tragedy, which were set down in the 4th century B.C by Greek philosopher Aristotle Aristotle holds that tragedy is the story of a noble hero whose downfall is brought about a specific defect in his character, a tragic flaw The hero may face opposition from an outside force but his ruin is really the result of his own mistakes By the end of the play, the tragic hero comes to some understanding of his error and accepts responsibility for this doom These principles give suggestions for Shakespeare to create his own tragic structure We meet these principles in many of Shakespeare's plays such as Othello, Hamlet, and King Leer and so on

However, it is Shakespeare who opens a new stage of development for tragedy, especially in the field of tragic structure In spite of the passage of time, the differences in religions, culture and language, Shakespeare's tragedies still win the hearts of many generations from almost all parts of the world His tragedies take us on a journey to a new world They confront our greatest hopes and fears, our best and worst of actions They probe the extremities of what means to be a human They expose the suffering we inflict and the suffering we bear Despite being written hundreds of years ago, the dilemmas of Shakespeare's tragedies are dilemmas that still rule our public arena and our private lives, family relations, power struggle, obsessions and betrayals We are uplifted by seeing tragedies on stage, which explore the human capacity for cruelty and also for enduration Why do Shakespeare's tragedies have such strong and powerful influences on the audience? This is partly because of his well - organized tragic structure which make stories be told in a very special, appealing and attractive way

Before Shakespeare's time, it is the Greek time; the structure of tragedies was fairly simple which derived from the role played by the chorus rather than from the action and the development of tragic matter As a result, there are limitations on the level of attractiveness and excitement of the plays.

In Shakespeare's tragedies, the structure is clearly divided into 5 parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution which connect with each other logically and inevitably Shakespeare knows how to tangle and untangle the knotting The audience is attracted into the flow of the story from the time when conflicts and tension raise, and then are pushed to a height to the time when conflicts and tension fall and come to an end Thanks

to well and tightly organized structure, Shakespeare’s tragedies are more exciting and attractive and have strong and powerful influences on the heart and minds of the audiences

It is the well-organized structure that plays an important part in the success of Shakespeare’s tragedies To understand more about the greatness and talent of Shakespeare, let’s look through at one typical and outstanding example of his tragedies, which contributes to make his name: “Othello”

Chapter III Tragic structure in "Othello"

1 Summary of "Othello"

“Othello” is one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies and thus a pillar that most critics take to be the apex of Shakespeare’s dramatic art People are moved into tears when reading Othello Time passes by but the messages about love and people’s life of the play still remain their value It can not be denied that “Othello” plays an important part in making the name of Shakespeare

List of characters in the play:

Othello- the Moor, a general in the service of Venice

Brabantio- father to Desdemona

Cassio- an honourable lietenant [who serves under Othello]

Iago- a villain [Othello’s ancient or ensign]

Roderigo - A Venetian gentleman; rejected suitor to Desdemona

Montano - Retiring governor of Cyprus; predecessor to Othello in

Cyprian government

Lodovico and Gratiano- two noble Venetians [Desdemona’s cousin and uncle]

Desdemona, wife to Othello [and Brabantio’s daughter]

Emilia, wife to Iago

Bianca, a courtesan [and Cassio’s mistress]

"Othello" consists of 5 Acts

As this play has a five-act structure, each Act is about one part in the development of the play, instead of summarizing the play as a whole, we summarize it act by act

Othello to further himself; he is playing false, and admits that his nature is not

at all what it seems Iago is aware that Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio,

a Venetian nobleman of some stature, has run off with Othello, the black warrior of the Moors Brabantio and many others know nothing of this coupling; Iago decides to enlist Roderigo, who lusts after Desdemona, and awaken Brabantio with screams that his daughter is gone

Roderigo is the one speaking most to Brabantio, but Iago is there too, hidden, yelling unsavory things about Othello and his intentions toward Desdemona Brabantio panics, and calls for people to try and find his daughter; Iago leaves, not wanting anyone to find out that he betrayed his own leader, and Brabantio begins to search for her

Iago joins Othello, and tells him about Roderigo's betrayal of the news of his marriage to Brabantio Cassio comes at last, as do Roderigo and Brabantio; Brabantio is very angry, swearing that Othello must have bewitched his daughter, and that the state will not decide for him in this case Othello says that the Duke must hear him, and decide in his favor, or else all

is far from right in Venice

Brabantio and Othello address the assembled Venetian leaders, who are discussing this military matter, and Brabantio announces his grievance against Othello for marrying his daughter Othello addresses the company, admitting that he did marry Desdemona, but wooed her with stories, and did her no wrongs Desdemona comes to speak, and she confirms Othello's words; Brabantio's grievance is denied, and Desdemona will indeed stay with Othello However, Othello is called away to Cyprus, to help with the conflict there Othello and Desdemona win their appeal to remain together, and Desdemona is to stay with Iago, until she can come to Cyprus and meet Othello there

Roderigo is upset that Desdemona and Othello's union was allowed to stand, since he lusts after Desdemona But Iago assures him that the match will not last long, and at any time, Desdemona could come rushing to him

Iago wants to break up the couple, using Roderigo as his pawn, out of malice and his wicked ability to do so

Act II:

A terrible storm has struck Cyprus, just as the Turks were about to

approach; this bodes badly for Othello's ship A messenger enters, and confirms that the Turkish fleet was broken apart by the storm, and that Cassio has arrived, though Othello is still at sea They spot a ship coming forth; Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia are on it Somehow, Iago and Desdemona enter into

an argument about what women are, and Iago shows how little praise he believes women deserve Othello arrives at last, and is very glad to see his wife arrived, much earlier than expected Iago speaks to Roderigo, convincing him that Desdemona will stray from Othello, as she has already done with Cassio He convinces Roderigo to attack Cassio that night, as he plans to visit mischeif on both Othello and Cassio

Iago and Cassio are on the watch together; Iago gets Cassio to drink a bit, knowing that he cannot hold his liquor at all Iago also tries to make Desdemona seem tempting to Cassio; but Cassio's intentions are innocent and friendly, so this approach fails Iago says that he intends to get Cassio drunk, that will hopefully cause a quarrel between Cassio and Roderigo, who has been stirred up against Cassio Iago wants to see Cassio discredited through this, so that he might take Cassio's place Montano and others come, and Iago entertains them with small talk and song Cassio fights offstage with Roderigo, and comes forth, chasing him; Montano tries to hinder Cassio, but Cassio just ends up injuring him All the noise wakes Othello, who comes down to figure out what has happened Montano tells what he knows of it all, and Iago fills in the rest making sure to fictionalize his part in it all too

Cassio laments that he has lost his reputation along with his rank, which

is very dear to him Iago tries to convince him that a reputation means little; and, if he talks to Desdemona, maybe he can get her to vouch for him with

Othello Iago then gives a soliloquy about knowing that Desdemona will speak for Cassio, and that he will be able to turn that against them both

Act III:

Iago enters, and Cassio tells him that he means to speak to Desdemona,

so that she may clear things up with Othello Emilia comes out, and bids Cassio to come in and speak with Desdemona about his tarnished reputation Desdemona believes Cassio is a good person, and has been wronged in this case; she pledges to do everything she can to persuade her husband to take Cassio back Cassio leaves just as Othello enters because he does not wish for

a confrontation Iago seizes on this opportunity to play on Othello's insecurities, and make Cassio's exit seem guilty and incriminating Desdemona expresses her concern for Cassio; she is persistent in his suit, which Othello is not too pleased about

Iago then gets Othello to believe, through insinuation, that there is something going on between Desdemona and Cassio Othello seizes on this, and then Iago works at building up his suspicions Soon, Othello begins to doubt his wife, as Iago lets his insinuations gain the force of an accusation against her Desdemona enters, and they have a brief conversation; Othello admits that he is troubled, though he will not state the cause

Desdemona drops the handkerchief that Othello gave her on their honeymoon; Emilia knew that her husband had wanted it for something, so she doesn't feel too guilty about taking it Emilia gives it to Iago, who decides

to use the handkerchief for his own devices Othello re-enters, and tells Iago that he now doubts his wife; Othello demands "ocular proof" of Desdemona's dishonesty, so Iago sets about making stories up about Cassio talking in his sleep, and says that Cassio has the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona Iago knows how important this handkerchief is to Othello; it was his first gift to Desdemona, and was given to him by his mother Othello is incensed to hear that Desdemona would give away something so valuable, and is persuaded by Iago's insinuations and claims to believe that Desdemona

is guilty Othello then swears to have Cassio dead, and to be revenged upon Desdemona for the non-existent affair

Desdemona is looking everywhere for the handkerchief, very sorry to have lost it Othello enters, and asks for Desdemona's handkerchief; she admits that she does not have it, and then Othello tells her of its significance and alleged magical powers Desdemona interrupts Othello's inquiry by bringing up Cassio's attempt to get back into Othello's favor; Othello becomes angry, and storms out Desdemona and Emilia both note that Othello is much changed; he is unkind and seems jealous, and they are suspicious of the change in him

Cassio then enters, with Iago; he laments that his suit is not successful, and that Othello does not seem likely to take him back Desdemona tells Cassio and Iago that Othello has been acting strange, and is upset, and Iago goes to look for him, feigning concern Emilia thinks that Othello's change has something to do with Desdemona, or Othello's jealous nature; they still cannot fathom what has happened, and exit, leaving Cassio Bianca comes in, and Cassio asks her to copy the handkerchief that he found in his room; it is Desdemona's handkerchief, though Cassio has no idea He claims he does not love her, and gets angry at her for allegedly suspecting that the handkerchief

is a gift of another woman But, Bianca is not disturbed, and leaves with the handkerchief

Act IV:

Othello is trying, even after swearing that Desdemona was unfaithful, not

to condemn her too harshly He is talking with Iago about the handkerchief still, and its significance in being found; but, soon, Iago whips Othello into an even greater fury through mere insinuation, and Othello takes the bait Othello falls into a trance of rage, and Iago decides to hammer home his false ideas about his wife Iago calls Cassio in, while Othello hides; Iago speaks to Cassio of Bianca, but Othello, in his disturbed state, believes that Cassio is

talking of Desdemona, which is the last "proof" he needs before declaring his wife guilty

Now, Othello is resolved to kill Desdemona himself, and charges Iago with murdering Cassio Lodovico, a noble Venetian whom Desdemona knows, has recently landed; Desdemona and Othello welcome him there But, when Desdemona mentions Cassio, Othello becomes very angry and slaps her

in front of everyone; she rushes off, very upset Ludovico especially is shocked at this change in Othello, and has no idea how such a noble man could act so cruelly

Othello questions Emilia about Desdemona's guilt, or the chance she has had an affair with Cassio Emilia swears that she has seen and heard all that has gone on between Cassio and Desdemona, and that Desdemona is pure and true Othello believes that Emilia is in on all this too; he accuses Desdemona, and her insistence that she is innocent only infuriates him further Emilia thinks that someone has manipulated Othello into accusing Desdemona, and has poisoned his mind; however, Iago is there to dispel this opinion Upon leaving the women, Iago comes across Roderigo; he is not pleased with how Iago has failed to deliver on his promises regarding Desdemona Iago quiets him by making him believe that if he kills Cassio, then he will win Desdemona; Roderigo decides to go along with it, but Iago is coming dangerously close to being revealed

Othello tells Desdemona to go to bed, and dismiss Emilia; Emilia regrets Desdemona's marriage, although Desdemona cannot say that she does not love Othello Desdemona knows that she will die soon; she sings a song of sadness and resignation, and decides to give herself to her fate Desdemona asks Emilia whether she would commit adultery to win her husband the world Emilia, the more practical one, thinks that it is not too big a price for a small act; Desdemona is too good, and too devout, to say that she would do so

Act V:

Iago has Roderigo poised and ready to pounce on Cassio, and kill him; if either of them is killed, it is to Iago's benefit, so that his devices might not be discovered Roderigo and Cassio fight, and both are injured badly Iago enters, pretending that he knows nothing of the scuffle; Gratiano and Lodovico also stumble upon the scene, having no idea what has happened Roderigo is still alive, so Iago feigns a quarrel, and finishes him off Bianca comes by, and sees Cassio wounded; Iago makes some remark to implicate her; Cassio is carried away, and Roderigo is already dead

Othello enters Desdemona's room while she is asleep; and though she is beautiful, and appears innocent, he still is determined to kill her Desdemona awakens, believes there is nothing she can do to stop him from killing her, and continues to assert her innocence Othello tells her that he found her handkerchief with Cassio, though Desdemona insists it must not be true; she pleads with Othello not to kill her right then, but he begins to smother her Emilia knocks, curious about what is going on; Othello lets her in, but tries to conceal Desdemona, who he thinks is already dead Emilia brings the news of Roderigo's death, and Cassio's wounding

Emilia soon finds out that Desdemona is nearly dead, by Othello's hand; Desdemona speaks her last words, and then Emilia pounces on Othello for committing this horrible crime Othello is not convinced of his folly until Iago confesses his part, and Cassio speaks of the use of the handkerchief; then, Othello is overcome with grief Iago stabs Emilia for telling all about his plots, and then Emilia dies; the Venetian nobles reveal that Brabantio, Desdemona's father, is dead, and so cannot be grieved by this tragedy now Othello stabs Iago when he is brought back in; Othello then tells all present to remember him how he is, and kills himself Cassio becomes temporary leader

of the troops at Cyprus, and Lodovico and Gratiano are supposed to carry the news of the tragedy back to Venice

2 Tragic structure in "Othello"

"Othello" is commonly considered as Shakespeare's most perfectly constructed play It is tightly organized, fast - paced and exciting People believe that Othello is the best example to illustrate tragic structure in Shakespeare's tragedies It consists of 5 parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution This structure expresses impressively the talent and greatness of Shakespeare in creating and solving conflicts and tensions in a tragedy

2.1 Exposition

In Act I, the audience is introduced to the setting of the drama, to the major characters and to the situation that will be developed in the plot This information opens the door guiding the audience to the true story

The setting introduced in the first part of the play is Venice, the most powerful city - state of 16th century Italy As one of the world's leading sea powers, Venice was the center of commercialism and materialism and therefore, corruption and conflict arising from social status and fierce competition Some conflicts arising in "Othello"are also from that society

In the exposition part, the major characters are in turn introduced The first character represented is Iago We learn his name in the second line of the first scene of the play And later, some of his characteristics are also depicted From his first appearing, Iago is painted as the villain He hates Othello just because of Othello's recent promotion of Michael Cassio to the post of lieutenant In spite of Iago's service in battle and the recommendation of three

"great ones" of the city, Othello chose to give the position to a man with no experience leading men in battle (as Iago said) So, jealousy is Iago's first motive of taking revenge against Othello

Despise me, if I do not Three great ones of the city,

In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,Off-capped to him: and by the faith of man,

I know my price; I am worth no worse a place,But he, as loving his own pride and purposes,Evades them with a bombast circumstanceHorribly stuffed with epithets of war,

One Michael Cassio, a Florentine

A fellow almost damned in a fair wife That never set a squadron in the field,Nor the division of a battle knows

-Iago only pretends to be loyal to Othello to "serve his turn upon him":

"I follow him to serve my turn upon him"

"In following him I follow but myselfHeaver is my judge, not I for love and dutyBut seeming so for my peculiar end"

He tries to persuade Rogerigo, who also loves Desdemona to spoil some

of Othello's pleasure in his marriage by rousing Desdemona's father, Brabantion against the general But, in the next scene of Act 1, his action is identical to that in his first encounter with Roderigo: he is trying to secure Othello's trust By setting both sides against each other, Iago creates an inevitable confrontation between Othello and Roderigo/Brabantio It is obvious that Iago was the person who instigated the whole situation Shakespeare does a very good job in showing what kind of person Iago is, right from the beginning of the play The readers begin to see how evil Iago

is, yet how unjust his reasoning is Act I is where Iago pieces together his whole sinister plot to get revenge He tells Roderigo to act against Othello, the last part of Act I is where he manifests his grand scheme So from the

beginning, it is implied that Iago is the antagonist- the opposing force of the tragic hero, who will cause the tragic ending of the play.

Being introduced at the same time with Iago is Roderigo His name is introduced soon after Iago In the first place, Roderigo is clearly a pathetic and jealous character He likes Desdemona but he even does not have the ability to woo Desdemona by himself He has already appealed to her father, Brabanzio for Desdemona's hand and when that is unsuccessful, he turns to Iago for help So he does what Iago asks him to do without consideration His actions contribute to the development of the central conflict (between Othello and Iago)

The major character - the tragic hero of the play, Othello, appears later in scene II of act 1 His name is not known well until scene II However, he is ambiguously referred to as "he" and "him", "the Moor" through the talk between Iago Roderigo in the first scene This is also the talent of introducing character of Shakespeare, which grabs our attention for more information of the character The action of the first scene heightens the audience's anticipation of Othello's first appearance

From what Iago describes, Othello appears as a barbarous and threatening Moor, or native of Africa, whose bestial sexual appetite turned him into a thief and a rapist After having been prepared for a passionate and possible violent personage in Othello, the quiet calm of Othello's character - his dismissal of Roderigo's alleged insult and his skillful avoidance of another conflict in act I scene II - is surprising That is the conflict arising between Othello and Brabanzio when Brabanzio orders his man to attack and subdue Othello for wooing his daughter by witchcraft Othello avoids it by calmly telling both sides to put up their weapons It is obvious that Othello is a man

of great qualities Shakespeare lets us step by step discover the destiny of Othello

"Keep up you bright swords, for the dew will rust themGood signor, you shall more command with yearsThan with your weapons"

Othello's confidence in himself is clearly portrayed as he defends himself and his recent marriage to Desdemona, the daughter of Venetion senator Barbantio before the Duke In his defense, he has shown that he is reliable and well known in the military and is well respected The senators value him and hear what he says when he speaks This is shown here by one of the senators "Here come Barbation and the valiant Moor" This is an example of the many comments, which shows Othello's character and personality as a person and officer They say he is one of the great leaders

Not only does he posses great characters but also dignity This characteristic is depicted in following scene He keeps his control even when

he is being accused of witchcraft, by marrying Desdemona, during the first encounter with the senators when Desdemna's father confronts him about seeing his daughter

Most potent, grave and reverend signors,

My very noble and approved good masters,That I have ta'en away this old man's daughter,

It is most true; true I have married her;

The very head and front of my offendingHath this extent, no more Rude am I in my speechAnd little blessed with the soft phrase of peace;

This is an example of how Othello deals with style and grace under fire Through his defense, it is shown that he is a brave soldier, great leader in battle His valiant personality is what draws people to him, as it does for Desdemona

Dignity, courage, self-control and sound judgments are a few of Othello's positive attributes portrayed in the play Shakespeare also shows a

soft side when he displays Othello’s love and confidence in his wife Desdemona In Act I, scene 3 Othello entrusts his wife to the care of another gentleman and his wife as he must go off to war in Cyprus Othello displays his trust and confidence in both his wife and his ensign when he remarks to Iago:

"So please you grace, my ancient

A man he is honesty and trust

To his conveyance I assign my wife,With what else needful your good grace shall think

To be sent after me"

Shakespeare intriguingly begins to show Othello's faults and negative character traits, which eventually lead to his destruction, that is his too trusting nature This is also one of the causes that lead to the later internal conflict in Othello Therefore, from the first part, the tragic hero's character, his status and even his tragic flaws are apparently portrayed

Desdemona is the last character appearing in Act I She is a white, beautiful, gentle woman She is young in year and child-like in her innocent and purify Desdemona is the daughter of Brabantio, a man of some reputation in Venice As such, she is part of the upper class of Venetian society Apparently, she has many suitors vying for her hand in marriage, but she freely chooses to marry Othello- the brave and great leader without her father's permission, a decision that greatly upsets Brabantio, Iago, and Roderigo She begins the play as a supremely independent person In the defense before the Duke she testifies before the Venetian senate that the story Othello has told about their mutual attraction is true and that she marries him because of her love for him The marriage between Othello and Desdemona seems to be perfect, but though the description of the two characters (Desdemona is a white, beautiful woman, Othello is a foreigner black in color) )and through their relationship with the other characters in the play, the readers can realize the conflict between them This raises in the audience a feeling of uncertainty about their marriage

So, in the exposition, the characters are gradually introduced in the way that leads the audience to the inside world of each character and releases the first hint of the conflicts and tension among them This part is served as the opening door to the central conflict that will be developed in the next part.

In this first part, readers can realize the fierce conflict between Othello and Brabantio Brabanzo has twice accused Othello of using magic to seduce his daughter Brabanzio insists that he want to arrest and prosecute Othello especially for the crime of witchcraft But this conflict appears not to be the central conflict of the play At the beginning, the middle, and the end of the first part we witness the appearing of Iago At the beginning he expresses his hatred for Othello, in the middle; he creates the confrontation between Othello and Brabantio At the end, he reveals his intention of removing Othello:

Cassio's proper man: let me see now;

To get his place and to plume up my will

In double knavery How ? How ? Let's see

After some time, to abuse Othello's ear That he is too familiar with his wife;

He hath a person and a smooth dispose

To be suspected framed to make women false

So, the central, potential conflict that appears to emerge during the play

is that between Iago, the antagonist and Othello, the protagonist Shakespeare gives the audience the hint of the conflict, and then lets the audience predict what might happen next This heightens our precipitation for the development

of the conflict in the next part The audience expects the character's moves and countermoves in the rising action

To sum up, the exposition plays the opening role in “Othello” It introduces the setting of the story and gives hints of the conflict that will grow

in the next part