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AQA A-level English Literature: Aspects of Tragedy 'Cassio may be a proper man but he is also an honest fool whose weakness plays no small part in the death of Desdemona’. To what extent do you agree? £3.99
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AQA A-level English Literature: Aspects of Tragedy 'Cassio may be a proper man but he is also an honest fool whose weakness plays no small part in the death of Desdemona’. To what extent do you agree?
‘Cassio may be a proper man but he is also an honest fool whose
weakness plays no small part in the death of Desdemona’. To
what extent do you agree?
Cassio plays a critical role in the play ‘Othello’ that arguably catalyses the
tragedy. However, some critics promulgate the view that he plays the role
of an ‘honest fool’ and it is his weakness within his character that is
largely to blame for the death of Desdemona. Some people negate the
machinations of Iago, pointing to the foolish and impressionable
characterisation of Cassio. Besides serving as a dramatic foil for Othello,
Cassio inadvertently plays an integral role in his downfall and is therefore
instrumental in the plot. But one must question whether the Florentine is
manipulated or whether we should brand him as a fool.
Michael Cassio is positioned from the outset as an educated individual
who is an outsider and a ‘Florentine’. Whilst Othello is also a cultural
outsider who is ethnically diverse. Critic Veronica Walker describes Cassio
as a ‘beautifully written foil to the General’. Perhaps, Cassio’s reputation
as an ‘arithmetician’ causes Iago to be derisory of him and utilise him as a
pawn in his Machiavellian scheme to destroy Othello. As Iago articulates
his grievance with him and targets him at the beginning of the play, the
audience see his utterance as a threat, ‘One Michael Cassio, a Florentine’.
It seems Cassio is unwittingly targeted through the use of the determiner
‘one’. Furthermore, the recognition that Cassio is a ‘Florentine’ serves to
exacerbate his differences and expose Iago’s bigotry, judgement and
xenophobia. Many Venetians in Renaissance Europe recognised a lack of
‘ethical transparency’ according to Griffiths, which illustrates Cassio’s lack
of involvement leading to the death of Desdemona. In addition to this,
Iago demeans Cassio further declaring he is ‘Mere prattle without
practise’. The exploitation of the antagonistic Iago, highlighting his need
for revenge and it is this, that brands the play as a revenge tragedy
exposing Cassio’s exploitation.
Alternatively, it is possible to view Cassio as an ‘honest fool’ who plays an
instrumental role in the death of Desdemona. In Act 3, despite Cassio
articulating that he has ‘poor…brains for drinking’, he is still persuaded by
Iago to drink, resulting in the outbreak of a drunken brawl. In particular,
the Jacobean audience associate his character with foolishness as he
concludes, ‘I’ll do’t, but it dislikes me’; the isolated subordinate clause
after his resolve to drink captures his foolishness foreshadowing the
disastrous consequences it may bring. Whilst it can be argued that he is
merely helpless and a piece in Iago’s malevolent game of chess, evident
through his relentless need for forgiveness from Othello; it could also
illustrate his lack of involvement in the tragic demise of Desdemona.
Cassio exclaims, ‘Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my
reputation!’ The exploitation of the exclamative combined with the
repetition of the abstract noun, ‘reputation’ cultivates an emotional
response which conveys genuine remorse, which Iago preys upon to
further his revenge. If the Jacobean audience accept Cassio as a mere
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