Othello the Noble Savage Essay - 1893 Words

Othello: The Noble Savage There are many opposing views to the way that Othello is defined within Shakespeares The Tragedy of Othello. Some suggest that Othello is a savage Moor, and at no point is he the noble Venetian he attempts to portray himself as. Others suggest that Othello is the noble Venetian he portrays himself as, and his ultimate demise stems directly from Iago being a savage. Yet some agree that Othello is both the noble Venetian and the savage Moor, unable to fully interpolate himself into the Venetian paradigm, but becoming, rather, a noble savage. When the play begins, Othello is introduced as a military leader and a Christian, both characteristics of a noble Venetian. According to Bell: †¦show more content†¦Desdemona unknowingly supports the idea that Othello is, in fact, a savage, and that it was the savage that she was attracted to. When Othello recounts the way in which he came to woo Desdemona, he tells Brabanzio and the Duke: I spoke of most disastrous chances, Of moving accidents by flood and field, Of hair-breadth scapes ith imminent deadly breach, Of being taken by the insolent foe And sold to slavery, of my redemption thence, And portance in my travellers history... These things to hear Would Desdemona seriously incline... Shed come again, and with a greedy ear Devour up my discourse... When I did speak of some distressful stroke She gave me for my pains a world of kisses She swore in faith `twas strange, `twas passing strange, `Twas pitiful, `twas woundrous pitiful. She wished she had not heard, yet she wished That heaven had made her such a man... She loved me for the dangers I had passed, And I loved her that she did pity them. This only is the witchcraft I have used (1.3.133-68). Desdemona believes that Othello is, in fact, a noble for the heroic acts that Othello has performed. As Bell suggests: It is the heroic character Othello has made for himself that achieves his success in his wooing. He makes Desdemona put aside the prerequisites of class and race assumed for her appropriate suitor (4). Iago,Show MoreRelatedThe Protagonist in Willima Shakespeare ´s Othello810 Words   |  4 PagesThe central character, or protagonist, in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, The Moor of Venice is Othello. Aristotle defined the concept of a tragic hero as the destruction of a noble person, usually with a personal flaw, and this flaw determines their fate. Othello is a tragic hero with a tragic flaw in one of Shakespeare’s most known tragedies. 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