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Summary 2019 A* AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE OTHELLO SCENE ESSAY - [Act V Scene II] Final Scene
2019 A* AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE OTHELLO SCENE ESSAY - [Act V Scene II] Final Scene
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2019 Othello – William Shakespeare Read theextract below and then answer the question.
ACT V SCENE II [FINAL SCENE]
2019
Othello – William Shakespeare Read the extract below and then answer the question. Explore
the significance of this extract in relation to the tragedy of the play as a whole. Remember to
include in your answer relevant analysis of Shakespeareʼs dramatic methods. [25 marks]
Othelloʼs revelation that his hamartia was his love for Desdemona parallels between his
death and Romeo Montagueʼs.
The self dramatisation in Othelloʼs final speech.
A reminder of how far he has fallen from greatness – due to the racist language he uses on
himself, and self-absorption being emphasised.
The death of the tragic hero paralleling the lack of response from the other characters.
From a 16th century perspective this may be the restoration of natural order needed. They
help Iago escape death, but Emilia, Desdemona, and Othello are all allowed to die.
The extract comes from Act V Scene II, the final scene of the play where the death of the tragic
hero occurs following his anagnorisis moments before the extract begins. Iagoʼs manipulation
has been revealed while Desdemona and Emilia already lie dead on Desdemonaʼs bed. Through
this the extract begins with an immediate sense of the end almost foreshadowing Othelloʼs
death. The scene is pivotal as it explores the tragic themes of the tragic heroes death, his
hamartia whether it be love or self-absorption, alongside the intensity of his fall from greatness.
Through this essay I will therefore discuss its important in relation to the tragedy of the play as a
whole.
As Othello gives one of his last monologues before his death, his anagnorisis in seeing Iagoʼs
villainy and also be argued to stretch allowing him to see his own flaws. This can be seen as he
states that he was a man who “loved not wisely, but too well” demonstrating his idyllic and
immense love for Desdemona as his hamartia which Iago used to awake the “green eyed
monster” within him. As A C Bradley stated, “Othello is the most romantic of all of
Shakespeareʼs tragic heroes”. Therefore, Othelloʼs reference to his love brings parallels to the
earliest parts of the novel where he although he was the only character who spoke of love in the
play, he described his love for Desdemona as being all consuming. He states, “I love the gentle
Desdemona… for the seas worth”, an indirect link to Macbeth; “will all great Neptuneʼs ocean
wash this blood”, foreshadowing the tragedy which stems from this love. Othello also creates a
sense of the end with his love in Act I Scene III stating, “my life upon her faith” after Brabantio
hints that “she received her father and may deceive thee”, and that the sentence can even draw
“upon my life” if Desdemona denies him in court. He thematically links death and love from the
earliest moments of the play and this is repeated in the extract through Othelloʼs last line “killing
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