A tragedy drama is a drama that covers the events of human achievement and suffering as a result of the protagonist’s decisions at one time or another. The leaders are more likely to become victims of other people who intend to manipulate their power and good leadership skills. Although many critics consider Othello a perverted form of tragedy, it belongs to the classic tragedy as it comprises the Aristotelian tragedy’s characteristics. The other personage, Bianca, is another subject to a discussion. She was a prostitute which made her personality doubtful, especially in regard to her actions. Despite her shady character, she was not responsible for her downfalls in life because she was a victim of circumstances.
Shakespeare’s Othello can be referred to as a tragedy for several reasons. Primarily, Aristotle’s tragedy has several specific characteristics, including the presence of a fatal error, the admission of the error, and the epiphany, in which people imagine various ways to avoid undesirable consequences. To be classified as an Aristotelian tragedy, a film or story must be complex and include a situation in which a respectable person suffers a complete reversal of fortunes due to a fatal mistake and the discovery of it. The tragic hero suffers as much from his actions as from those of his fellows. In addition, the tragedy consists of floral elements, because it tells about good and evil and shows how they lead a person to despair. Hence, the mentioned play corresponds with most of these characteristics, which makes it a true Aristotle’s drama.
Apart from the abovementioned elements, Aristotle’s tragedy normally discloses the most heinous problems such as racial prejudice. Racism is a prominent theme in William Shakespeare’s Othello. It depicts European society’s attitude toward racial, ethnic, and linguistic differences. In Europe, white people were the majority, and all other races were considered inferior and unimportant. Rodrigo and Iago disparage Othello’s apparent race in the first scene, calling him “Thick Lips” and “Barbary Horse,” among other things (Othello 1.1.72). Most of the time, biased characters refer to Othello as an ugly creature: “turn thy complexion there, Patience, thou young and rose-lipped cherubin, Ay, there look grim as hell” (Othello 4.2.72-74). In other words, they used racist language to label Othello as an outsider and as less human and thus less deserving of respect. This prejudice appears to have been internalized by Othello.
Ever since the drama Othello, the Moor from Venice, Shakespeare portrayed Othello in many ways as a tragic hero and, in many cases, led to his failure. Othello is a great and noble man of high status who turns tragic as Shakespeare portrays him. He serves as the commanding general of the army in Venice, and then becomes the governor of Cyprus. The main character has an increasingly successful career, and his life seems flawless until he gets into trouble. Othello is overwhelmed by his pride and arrogance, which makes him vulnerable when it comes to correcting mistakes. From the study of this traditional tragic hero, it is clear that his disappearance is due to the presence of his arch-enemy Iago. It was also certain individual factors that destroy his success, such as self-pride and other social changes in the country.
Bianca’s character could be compared to Rodrigo because both were besotted by someone who did not respond enough to their advances, and neither of them quickly realized when they had been cheated. Yet, they believed that true love would eventually be returned to them. She was a prostitute; however, her profession did not determine her as a negligible person. Instead, she was rather a plaintive figure due to Cassio and Iago’s attempts to use her for ill purposes.
Moreover, she was a victim of circumstances because other people contributed to her jealousy. Bianca was first depicted in act 3, scene 3, where Iago disclosed that Desdemona gave Othello a handkerchief as an expression of her love, and he would lose it in Cassio’s lodgings. After discovering it in the next scene, Cassio admired how the handkerchief was crafted and asked Bianca to copy it for him. Bianca, already angry at Cassio for his evident negligence in their relationship, supposed that it was a gift from another woman; yet she complied with his request. Even after a talk with Cassio, who she was deeply in love with, she said: Bianca says, “I must be circumstanced” (Othello 3.4.232). This proves that her surroundings were ill-mannered, and she was hapless in that situation.
In addition, Bianca was exposed to terrible attitudes from her clients. For instance, Iago stated that Cassio mistreated her as well as did her potential husbands: ’tis the strumpet’s plague/ To beguile many and be beguiled by one” (Othello 4.1.115-116). Hence, Bianca realized that everybody around merely misused her and that Cassio’s request for a handkerchief made her vulnerable. Even after Cassio was assaulted, she still rushed to help him, while Iago accused her of all the misfortunes.
To summarize, despite that some people claimed Shakespeare’s Othello to be a distorted version of the tragedy, Shakespeare used the means of the classic Aristotle’s tragedy to develop his play. In addition, even though the protagonist had a very high rank and many other pleasures in life, he was exposed to jealousy and racial discrimination. The other character Bianca was ill-used and became a victim of circumstances. Her mishaps were not due to her infamous profession, but rather because of the people surrounding her. Therefore, Bianca could only be sympathized with since she was clearly betrayed by Cassio.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of OTHELLO, the Moor of Venice. Edited by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine, Simon & Schuster, 2017.
Shakespeare, William. “Othello: The Moor of Venice.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 8th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2016. 962-1060. Print.