Criticism entails proper analysis, judgment, and inferred thoughts on a person’s opinion. The main aim of criticizing other people’s opinion or publication is to shed light on the work. It should compose of opinion, personal view and both positive and negative thoughts about the literature. A good critic should be free and fair without necessarily forcing points or views. The paper looks into one of Shakespeare’s outstanding works Othello. It will focus on the general plot, its flow, the characters and their skill set. It concludes with personal opinion and perspective towards the writer’s symbolic motive in the work as well as share the point of view.
Situation
Othello is a play that talks about the war between Turkey and Venice in the late sixteenth century. The plot’s location is Cyprus, a Venetian outpost that the Turks attacked and won it in 1570. Shakespeare sheds more light on the war throughout the play. Another plot perspective of Othello is that it came from an Italian pose tale by Glovanni Nattista Cinzio in 1565. The story contains the foundation of Shakespeare’s work. In Cinthio’s work, there is a Moorish general who draws conclusions on his wife’s promiscuous life and her unfaithfulness. Shakespeare took the plot and added other supporting characters like Roderigo and Brabanzio.
The play begins in Venice as most of the other plays Shakespeare wrote. It opens up with an argument between a rich man, lago and Roderigo. Roderigo paid lago to make him a good suit for his journey to Desdemona. However, he is out of luck since Othello took Desdemona as his wife. Othello was a general in the army and lago served under him as an ensign. However, lago hated Othello due to his decision to give Michael Cassio, an inexperienced soldier the lieutenant position instead of him. As a way of making Othello pay back his unfairness, Roderigo and Lago cried out to Brabanzio that Othello stole his daughter Desdemona and married her. However, Lago tries to cover his track by rushing back to him master as a way of keeping his low profile on the plot to remove his master from the throne.
Character
Shakespeare defines the characters in the play by assigning them specific roles, which build up further as the play unfolds. The major characters in the play are Roderigo, Lago and Othello. Hatred and jealousy are present in both Lago and Roderigo. Othello stands out as a strong leader despite the harsh threats and mistreatment from Brabanzio. Shakespeare creates Desdemona as the center of attraction for all the parties involved in the play. She relates to each of the characters in one way or another. For instance, she is the cause of hatred between Brabanzio and Othello when Lago told her father about the disappearance.
The characters stand out through the play through their actions and deeds while the supporting ones tend to seal some of the plot’s loopholes. Ideally, Shakespeare’s takes his time and skill to ensure the story flows, and the reader follows up on the events that transpire. The major characters tend to stand out by themselves, though, in the beginning, the characters helped in building each other. The supporting character plays a role in solidifying the main character’s role. In some way, the major characters are real as it depicts what happened in Venice during the sixteenth century. However, Shakespeare substituted some of the names and characters from the original story. Desdemona acts as the land in which Turkey and Venice fight on while the two countries are Othello and Brabanzio. Lago acts as the insister in the plot as his work is to spread false rumors between the two camps. Roderigo stands out as the opposer of Othello and wishes to outdo him in his game. Altogether, the characters shed light on the social, regional, and economic background of Venice at the time.
Action
The action centers on a single incident, the disappearance of Desdemona. The two parties, Othello, and Brabanzio are at arms over the wrongful move and deceit towards the main character. Throughout the play, a lot comes into the light like the wrong accusations made by Lago about Othello’s intentions. The relationship between Desdemona and Othello was legit though her father knew nothing about it. Other subplots in the play, such as the scene in Cyprus where its governor, Montano comes into the limelight, are also present. He plays a part in showing remorse in Othello when he congratulates him on the recent wins and plans a feast for his victory. The plot acts as a convergence as all the other characters tend to meet up in Cyprus. Cyprus acts as a major harbor at the time, where buyers would meet sellers and others would meet to share their voyage stories.
The plot unfolds in a straight line with a few flashbacks. One of the flashbacks is Othello and Desdemona’s thoughts on their first time after meeting each other. The characters and their repspective actions go hand in hand by complementing each other. Lago’s cheeky nature is present in how he interacts with people. Othello’s calm and welcoming nature is present in all interactions present during the play. Despite the harsh accusations, he seems saddle and of good character. Conflicts present in the play are between two parties for instance Rodrego’s alliance with Lago to cause harm to Othello. The main conflict stands between Othello and Branbazio. Most of the actions are consistent with the characters and express the situation they are in currently. In conclusion, Shakespeare boosts of great skills in character creation and progressive plot.
