The Tragedy of Isolation in Shakespeare 's Othello
It can be a tool to preserve oneself, or done by one to impact another. It harbours infinite uses; interrogation, treatment of disease, abuse, etc. It is simply one of the worst feelings to be felt. It is Isolation. Northrop Frye stated that "tragedy individualizes the audience nowhere more intensely than in the tragedy of isolation...the end of a tragedy leaves him alone in a waste and void chaos of experience with a world to remake out of it...whatever the tragic hero has done, we are never so wise or virtuous that we cannot participate in the consequences of his fall with him." This was said as he discussed Shakespeare 's tragedies and it could not be truer in reference to Othello. Once …show more content…
Self-isolation in Othello is seen in many of the characters, and in many it is done without knowledge. Desdemona is isolated by her innocent, trusting nature. This causes her to lack foresight, and hinders her from making assumptions which could have saved her life. She believed that Othello could never be jealous, and that he would never think wrongly of her. She respected his orders, and even when he accused her point blank, she couldn 't bring herself to understand. It is because of these things, that she went to bed and did not ask someone for help, or at least to stay the night. She could have asked Emilia, and Emilia would have stayed. Though, even Emilia has isolated herself. Emilia 's unknowing isolation came about through her ignorance. Her ignorance shines very brightly in the scene where Othello accuses Desdemona of losing her handkerchief. She fails to piece together that it was the same handkerchief she had given to her husband, the one he begged for. She remains on the outside of the problem, never dipping in and helping because she fails to realize that the problem involves …show more content…
Shakespeare has also made a point to show how easily one can become influenced by the effects of isolation, whether it is something that stays lurking in the back of the mind, such as being on the island, or something that is blatantly obvious, such as Iago convincing Othello to trust him and only him. Had Iago not been involved in the play, the characters would still have been slowly affected by the thoughts of being miles away with absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go, but clearly that would take much too long. Iago’s character acted as a catalyst to quicken the madness. By toying with the things that caused people to isolate themselves, like Othello’s culture and Emilia’s ignorance, he effectively isolates them to the point that everybody is distrusting of one another, with the exception of Desdemona who could likely have benefited from distrusting a person or two. Had there been no isolation in this play, the outcome would have been much different than it is now. Without isolation, there would be no conflict. Isolation is the driving force in this play, it 's what keeps the characters on their toes and allows Iago to do what he is best at. In short, Othello is Othello because of
It can be a tool to preserve oneself, or done by one to impact another. It harbours infinite uses; interrogation, treatment of disease, abuse, etc. It is simply one of the worst feelings to be felt. It is Isolation. Northrop Frye stated that "tragedy individualizes the audience nowhere more intensely than in the tragedy of isolation...the end of a tragedy leaves him alone in a waste and void chaos of experience with a world to remake out of it...whatever the tragic hero has done, we are never so wise or virtuous that we cannot participate in the consequences of his fall with him." This was said as he discussed Shakespeare 's tragedies and it could not be truer in reference to Othello. Once …show more content…
Self-isolation in Othello is seen in many of the characters, and in many it is done without knowledge. Desdemona is isolated by her innocent, trusting nature. This causes her to lack foresight, and hinders her from making assumptions which could have saved her life. She believed that Othello could never be jealous, and that he would never think wrongly of her. She respected his orders, and even when he accused her point blank, she couldn 't bring herself to understand. It is because of these things, that she went to bed and did not ask someone for help, or at least to stay the night. She could have asked Emilia, and Emilia would have stayed. Though, even Emilia has isolated herself. Emilia 's unknowing isolation came about through her ignorance. Her ignorance shines very brightly in the scene where Othello accuses Desdemona of losing her handkerchief. She fails to piece together that it was the same handkerchief she had given to her husband, the one he begged for. She remains on the outside of the problem, never dipping in and helping because she fails to realize that the problem involves …show more content…
Shakespeare has also made a point to show how easily one can become influenced by the effects of isolation, whether it is something that stays lurking in the back of the mind, such as being on the island, or something that is blatantly obvious, such as Iago convincing Othello to trust him and only him. Had Iago not been involved in the play, the characters would still have been slowly affected by the thoughts of being miles away with absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go, but clearly that would take much too long. Iago’s character acted as a catalyst to quicken the madness. By toying with the things that caused people to isolate themselves, like Othello’s culture and Emilia’s ignorance, he effectively isolates them to the point that everybody is distrusting of one another, with the exception of Desdemona who could likely have benefited from distrusting a person or two. Had there been no isolation in this play, the outcome would have been much different than it is now. Without isolation, there would be no conflict. Isolation is the driving force in this play, it 's what keeps the characters on their toes and allows Iago to do what he is best at. In short, Othello is Othello because of