Melissa Lyons

9/20/14
Period 2
Essay on Othello
While Othello is certainly a very tragic story, it does not quite hit
all the marks a Aristotelian tragedy would, as it misses many of the
fundamental elements. The biggest being that it was written for
catharsis, but for entertainment and profit; this is shown through the
many decisions made in the writing of the play itself. As there are time
skips to different locations, comedy relief, and the fact that Othello is
not a true tragic hero by Aristotles definition.
The easiest way to tell how Othello was not meant to be a
Aristotelian tragedy is to look at the technical way it is written. This
type of tragedy is supposed to be continuous, with no breaks between
scenes. This is supposed to be a factor of realism, when watching the
play youre supposed to feel as though those events are taking place in
front of you in real time. Othello however is littered with time breaks,
as the story takes place over a series of days, in numerous different
locations. This is the first Aristotelian rule that this tragedy breaks.
The other thing that Shakespeare does in Othello is add comic
relief to the story, especially right when things get the most intense.
Such as right after Cassio gets in trouble for fighting in his drunken
stupor, Shakespeare writes in the Clown to make puns and jokes, solely
for the purpose of comedy relief. The clown also makes another
appearance right after Othello plants to murder Desdemona. This use
of comedic relief goes against Aristotelian tragedies as it once again
breaks the effects of realism. When you see this comic relief you are
reminded to the fact that the play is not real and merely a work of
fiction being played out in front of you.
The final and probably biggest discrepancy between this tragedy
and an Aristotelian one is the fact that Othello is not a tragic hero in
the truest sense, most of the debate surrounding his tragic flaw, and
if it was what truly caused his demise. For a tragic flaw to be

Aristotelian it has to be the sole reason of a characters downfall, and

while it is Othellos over trustiness with Iago pared with his insecurity
over Desdemonas faithfulness that is the main driving force behind
the story, Iagos manipulation makes the circumstances a lot more
murky, as his deception sets up every tragedy in the play. But even if
Othellos flaw was the sole reason for his downfall, he still would not
qualify as a tragic hero, for the reason that he does not accept it.
Aristotle states that tragic heroes must realize the full consequences of
their actions, but Othello does not. Instead he asks to be remembered
as he was and blames Iago for his downfall, and then proceeds to kill
himself.
Its for these reasons that Othello does not qualify to be an
Aristotelian tragedy, as is not one continuous piece, breaks the tension
with comedy relief and Othello himself does not even qualify as a
tragic hero. Othello was not made to feel catharsis but to entertain the
public with a tragic love story.