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Summary A* AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE OTHELLO ESSAY - 2021 Othello – William Shakespeare ‘Desdemona is an innocent tragic victim who evokes pity.’$6.16
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Othello revision booklet AQA A Level English Lit B
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2021 Othello – William Shakespeare
‘Desdemona is an innocent tragic victim who
evokes pity.ʼ To what extent do you agree with
this view? Remember to include in your answer
relevant comment on Shakespeareʼs dramatic
methods. [25 marks]
2021
Othello – William Shakespeare ‘Desdemona is an innocent tragic victim who evokes pity.ʼ To
what extent do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer relevant
comment on Shakespeareʼs dramatic methods. [25 marks]
Desdemonaʼs presentation in Act I Scene II as a woman who has also transcended gender
boundaries. The depiction of egalitarian love in Othello.
Tragic victim of the way in which men view her (described as a possession/Goddess or
being of purity). Dramatisation of any women ever becoming completely pure or innocent.
Willow.
As Shakespeare began his tragedies with Hamlet, he subverted Aristotelian tragic decorum by
adding a feature known as ‘collateral damageʼ where instead of the tragic focus being placed
entirely on the tragic hero, the uncertain fates of the numerous tragic victims was also focused
on. One of these clear tragic victims in Othello is Desdemona whose descending in stature
parallels that of the tragic villain, Iagoʼs, direct ascension into power. Her death is something
which evokes strong tragic feelings of catharsis for audiences within the play due to how easily
it could have been avoided. In this essay I will therefore discuss to what extent ‘Desdemona is
an innocent tragic victim who evokes pityʼ.
As we are introduced to Desdemona in Act I Scene II, her arrival contrasts the direct departure
of traditional marital roles within her and Othelloʼs marriage. Othello calls upon her in court to
speech stating that she is “free and bounteous to her mind” depicting a freedom and
equilibrium within the couples marriage not common to 16th century traditional roles. Critics
have stated that due to this the true tragedy of Othello and Desdemona “is the destruction of a
loving relationship between two individuals who saw each other as equals” where ‘Othello and
Desdemona acted as though a black man and white Venetian woman had every right to fall in
loveʼ (Loomba). The couple appear to clearly idealise each other with an innocence and purity
within their marriage which is reflected directly on both their characters at the beginning of the
play. The contrast Emilia and Iago who seem to simply just bear each other; “you will not write
my prayers” (Emilia – Act II Scene I) and juxtapose Cassio and Bianca who belittle each other
and whose relationship is full of mockery and shallowness; “she haunts me in every place”.
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