tragedy in othello Flashcards
(12 cards)
tragedy critic: Nuttal
“audiences gain ‘tragic joy’ from tragedy”
Tragedy critic: Mack
“madness is to some degree a punishment or doom”
Tragedy critic: Rymer
attacked the play for its use of Othello as a tragic hero, claimed “it was contrived because, while unlike classical tragedies, it shifted its location”
what is anagnorisis?
the point in a play where the principle character recognises/discovers another’s true identity or true nature of their own circumstances
what are the 4 features of a tragic hero?
- virtuous (noble, of noble birth), Othello is a general
- Flawed (have a hamartia), Othello’s jealousy
- suffer a reversal of fortune (peripeteia)
- end the play with a moment of anagnorisis and leave the audience with feelings of release (catharsis)
what is peripeteia?
a sudden reversal of fortune/change in circumstances
what’s hubris?
excessive pride/dangerous overconfidence
what is stichomythia?
single line dialogue: back and fourth
what’s a machiavellian character?
a character whose sole purpose is to manipulate and corrupt others for their own gain, ‘puppet masters’
what is a revenge tragedy?
dramatic genre in which the protagonist seeks revenge for an imagined or actual injury
what’s a malcontent character?
a character who is discontented with the social structure and other characters in the play, often an outsider who observes and comments on the action.
They may even acknowledge they’re in a play.
“For moral _______, it was self-evident that drama must please”
Dr Johnson
