A Feminist Perspective of Othello Essay -- Othello essays

A Feminist Perspective of Othello Shakespeares tragic drama Othello closes the final icon of the in the end act with the spiritual superiority of the heroine firmly established over that of the hero. This is one of many aspects regarding the feminine perspective on the drama, the subject of this essay. A.C. Bradley, in his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, describes the violence against the heroine as a sin against the canons of art To some readers, again, parts of Othello appear shocking or even horrible. They think if I whitethorn formulate their objection that in these parts Shakespeare has sinned against the canons of art, by representing on the stage a violence or brutality the effect of which is unnecessarily painful and kinda sensational than tragic. The passages which thus give offence are probably those already referred to that where Othello strikes Desdemona (IV.i.251), that where he affects to treat her as an inmate of a house of ill-fame (IV.ii), and finally the scene of her death. (174) At the outset of the play only the male perspective is given Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemonas father, in the middle of the night. formerly there the two awaken the senator with loud shouts about his daughters elopement with Othello. In response to the noise and Iagos vulgar descriptions of Desdemonas involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed. With Roderigos help, he gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona and bring her home. The fathers attitude is that life without his Desdemona will be much worse than before It is too true an evil gone she is And whats to come of my despised... ...espearean Tragedy. New York Penguin, 1991. Di Yanni, Robert. Character Revealed Through Dialogue. Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p. Random House, 1986. Gardner, Helen. Othello A Tr agedy of kayo and Fortune. Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from The Noble Moor. British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955. Heilman, Robert B. Wit and Witchcraft an Approach to Othello. Shakespeare Modern Essays in Criticism. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. Rev. Ed. Rpt. from The Sewanee Review, LXIV, 1 (Winter 1956), 1-4, 8-10 and Arizona Quarterly (Spring 1956), pp.5-16. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http//www.eiu.edu/multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.