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The Tragedy of Othello Told in Pictures Essay (Critical Writing)

December 4, 2021 by Essay Writer

A Tragedy in Literature

In literature, tragedy is a form of tragic play based on themes derived from ancient Athens, which depict the downfall of a hero or a famous character (Roux 95). It gives rise to the notion of tragic heroes (Arenas 25). According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is initially well respected and regarded highly in society. However, a single mistake or flaw in their character brings them to ruin (Arenas 25).

My Proposed Project

In this project, I will tell the tragedy of Othello through a collection of pictures. The project is based on “Othello: The Moor of Venice”. The tragedy itself is based on an Italian short story, “A Moorish Captain”, published in 1565 (Noni 13). The plot of the play is developed around four major characters. The first is Othello. He is a general commanding the Venetian forces. The second is Desdemona. She is the wife of the main character. The other two are Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant and trusted ensign, and Iago, the villain (Owens 11). I will use graphic representations from different artists. A move through the representation will tell the reader how the story itself unfolds. Major scenes are captured vividly in the pictures.

Why Othello?

I chose the subject of Othello for several reasons. To start with, the tragedy is rich in themes that are relevant to contemporary society (Owens 11). They include jealousy, racial discrimination, and religious beliefs. Besides, people will learn important lessons from my collection (Noni 13). The story also acts as both a warning and a lesson to leaders on how a flaw in their characters can lead to their downfall.

Works Cited

Arenas, Enrique. “Causal Attribution and the Analysis of Literary Characters: Bradley’s Study of Iago and Othello.” Journal of Literary Semantics 39.1 (2010): 17-30. Print.

Noni, Mika. “The Culture of Othering: An Interrogation of Shakespeare’s Handling Of Race and Ethnicity in the Merchant of Venice and Othello.” Academy Publishers 2.4 (2012): 10-15. Print.

Owens, Brenda. Othello, the Moor of Venice and Related Readings, Minnesota: Paradigm Publishing, 2005. Print.

Roux, Duncan. “Hybridity, Othello and the Postcolonial Critics.” Shakespeare in Southern Africa 21.1 (2009): 90-97. Print.

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