Othello. In this play, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare, the title informs the reader of Othellos downfall. Yet, every now and then appears a humorous scene

Naiema Zaki-Hassan March 2, 2004 English 220 Comedy in Tragedy The title of a literary work is the first part that a reader glances. The reader will then make a prediction about what they suppose will happen. In this play, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare, the title informs the reader of Othello's downfall. Yet, every now and then appears a humorous scene that if just for a moment uplifts the emotions of the reader. This leads them to hope that a romantic turning point might take place, like a fairy tale. The various social classes that were present in Shakespeare's audience, humor he acknowledged, can appeal to everyone regardless of where they exist in a social hierarchy. In this play, we witness the avertable fall of the main character Othello. The humor in this tragedy imparts hopeful moments by digressing us from what we expect. The play is generally told from the view of the antagonist Iago, yet we learn to sympathize with Othello. In what is supposed to be a serious tragedy of the downfall of Othello, these temporary moments of mocking and humor, gives us a sense of hope. After Othello "stole" Brabantio's daughter, Roderigo and Barbantio both draw their swords ready to attack when Othello replies "Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them" (Shakespeare 59-60). This scene creates a mood that is different from our

  • Word count: 626
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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