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Summary A* AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE OTHELLO ESSAY - Specimen Othello – William Shakespeare ‘Othello’s virtue and valour ultimately make him admirable.’R100,52
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Othello quote bank organised into themes without analysis - all acts included
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English Literature B
Aspects of Tragedy
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Specimen Othello – William Shakespeare
‘Othelloʼs virtue and valour ultimately make
him admirable.ʼ To what extent do you agree
with this view? Remember to include in your
answer relevant comment on Shakespeareʼs
dramatic methods. [25 marks]
Specimen
Othello – William Shakespeare ‘Othelloʼs virtue and valour ultimately make him admirable.ʼ To
what extent do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer relevant
comment on Shakespeareʼs dramatic methods. [25 marks]
His presentation in Act I Scene II.
His love making him admirable.
His loss of any virtue and valour by the end of the play.
Attempts to maintain his virtue by killing Desdemona.
In Aristotleʼs Poetics, Aristotle stated that the tragic hero must initially be a man “highly
renowned and prosperous” with his virtue and valour being twisted into malice and vice after his
peripeteia occurs. In Othello, as we are initially introduced to the tragic eponymous hero, he
presents an intricate portrait of a man at equilibrium with his position as a solider and noble man
exhibiting both virtue and valour. However, his actions by the end of the play make the initial
character of Othello presented almost unrecognisable therefore it can be questioned to what
extent ‘Othelloʼs virtue and valour ultimately make him admirableʼ.
As we are introduced to Othello in Act I Scene II he immediately creates a conflict of
interpretation contrasting his previous barbaric representation in Act I Scene I where is depicted
as a “luscious” Moor who was “making the beast with two backs” with Desdemona. In this
scene however all devilish amoral implications are replaced with illusions of heaven and purity
as Othello speaks poetically and ornamentally delivering timeless lines such as “lift up your
bright swords for the dew will rust them”. He resembles Jesus Christ in the Garden of
Gethsemane as Brabantio arrives with his men and swords ready to take him away. Othelloʼs
admirability therefore stems from his ability to flourish in a society where racial and social
stereotypes are rampant. In Act I Scene III in the Duco Palace, the court still chooses Othello
over Brabantio (a white venetian man) after he attempts to appeal to racial and gender
traditional stereotypes with the Duke stating to Brabantio that “your son-in-law is more fair than
black”. This demonstrates Othello acceptance. He contrasts Shakespeareʼs previous depictions
of black men in ‘The Merchant of Veniceʼ where a black man is presented as the most immortal,
scrupulous, plotting character. He instead is more similar to John Leoʼs depiction of black men
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