Othellos Research Paper :: essays research papers fc

Among Aristotle’s terms in depicting terms in his model of human characteristics is hamartia. Hamartia is when one’s flaw or weakness is his or her error or transgression. In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Othello,† Othello’s hamartia is the misconception he has â€Å"of himself as being uncouth, poorly spoken, and old; and because he begins to believe that his fair wife, Desdemona, cannot love him, he starts to believe that she is guilty of infidelity. â€Å"(classicnote). Maurice Charney’s â€Å"Shakespeare on Love and Lust† states that love in a comedy â€Å"acts as a generator of plot†¦The assumption is that the perturbations of love are a prelude to the triumph of love in the end; they provide a kind of education in adversity† (29). The phrase â€Å"education in adversity† means that there will be obstacles designed to make lovers question just how much they love. In comedy, this education proves hopeful; it illustrates that lovers will overcome this adversity. There is no burden on the characters to fight their way through the obstacles of love because what Charney calls â€Å"plot magic† exists (29). Charney’s idea of a cure-all ‘plot magic’ has been erased in the tragedy Othello, therefore making the characters condemned to endure their educations in love without the help of a plot. In tragedy the obstacles are designed to impede â€Å"perfect love,† that remains unconquerable. There is no longer the possibility for the characters to learn the same lessons of â€Å"triumph, wit, and devotion† that love in comedy teaches (30). These intractable obstacles in Othello are Othello and Desdemona themselves. The love between Othello and Desdemona proves to be destroyed because both of them stand in the way of a comedic and successful â€Å"education in adversity.† Othello could quite well be jealous of Brabantio’s relationship with his daughter, Desdemona. Quite possibly, to move up in the ranks of social mobility, Othello believed that Brabantio would love him one day and respect him, too as a son-in-law. Othello’s jealousy burns inside him because his pride is on the line when he doubts Desdemona’s faithfulness to him. Othello was a former slave and had a hard time being loved unconditionally. He felt loved by those he fought battles for. Desdemona loving him unconditionally seemed too good to be true. When Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, warns Othello that Desdemona may deceive him just as she has deceived her own father, any hope of Othello’s long-term happiness is bruised.