An Analysis of Othello's Swan Song
Othello’s Swan Song
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice he presents his character of Othello as having all the great qualities of a true leader, but also a man who lacks any type of reasoning power. Othello being the ideal hero has strength, prowess, and battlefield knowledge. However these ideas of leadership do not translate well into situations in the real world and in this case, situations dealing with the heart. The battlefield and senate are where Othello feel most comfortable. They are places of truth where men go to be honest about matters of war. As well, these matters of war and state are relatively simple and are subjects in which Othello can relate. This simple view that Othello has, does not bode well for him on the subject of true love and passion. His marriage is one based on stories and he never really examines who his true friends are. In Othello’s mind he is loved by everyone he knows. This examination of Othello’s character would show that he means well and leads even better, but he lacks judgment skills and common sense. This is most evident in his final speech before he commits suicide, where even though his end is proper, he never fully realizes what he has done, or takes responsibility for what has just happened.
It is clear that Othello loves Desdemona, and the quote “One who loved not wisely, but too well” (Shakespeare V.ii.353) is directed mainly at her. When he does come to realize the truth behind Desdemona’s innocence, Othello is legitimately tortured. “This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven / And friends will snatch at it” (V.ii.283-284) It is obvious that he tormented by the fact that he has just killed his wife. It is now for the first time seen that maybe Othello is at a loss of what to do with his power “Do you go back to dismayed? Tis a lost fear: / Man but a rush against Othello’s breast, / And he retires.” (V.ii.279-280) This is not Othello’s usual hard grit style, but this is how
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice he presents his character of Othello as having all the great qualities of a true leader, but also a man who lacks any type of reasoning power. Othello being the ideal hero has strength, prowess, and battlefield knowledge. However these ideas of leadership do not translate well into situations in the real world and in this case, situations dealing with the heart. The battlefield and senate are where Othello feel most comfortable. They are places of truth where men go to be honest about matters of war. As well, these matters of war and state are relatively simple and are subjects in which Othello can relate. This simple view that Othello has, does not bode well for him on the subject of true love and passion. His marriage is one based on stories and he never really examines who his true friends are. In Othello’s mind he is loved by everyone he knows. This examination of Othello’s character would show that he means well and leads even better, but he lacks judgment skills and common sense. This is most evident in his final speech before he commits suicide, where even though his end is proper, he never fully realizes what he has done, or takes responsibility for what has just happened.
It is clear that Othello loves Desdemona, and the quote “One who loved not wisely, but too well” (Shakespeare V.ii.353) is directed mainly at her. When he does come to realize the truth behind Desdemona’s innocence, Othello is legitimately tortured. “This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven / And friends will snatch at it” (V.ii.283-284) It is obvious that he tormented by the fact that he has just killed his wife. It is now for the first time seen that maybe Othello is at a loss of what to do with his power “Do you go back to dismayed? Tis a lost fear: / Man but a rush against Othello’s breast, / And he retires.” (V.ii.279-280) This is not Othello’s usual hard grit style, but this is how
Bibliography: Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice." Literature A Pocket Anthology. 'Ed. R.S. Gwynn, Wanda Campbell. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Longman, 2005. Print. Christie, M.J. Othello: Notes Toronto: Coles 1976. Print Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Othello.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Hunter, Britany. "O Proves to Have Long Shelf Life." Carillion 44.05 (2001): n. pag. Web. 1 Dec 2010. <http://www.carillon.uregina.ca/01.09.13/o.html>. Othello is a play that has been studied quite thoroughly. It is hard now a days to understand Shakespeare’s English because it is almost an entirely different language then what we speak today. I defiantly believe the most useful source when studying Shakespeare is Spark Notes. This gives you an accurate translation into modern day English and can help those who are lost understand the magic of Shakespeare’s plays