Othello

The playwright "Othello" was very different than anything that we have read thus far in the semester. The way that it was written made it very difficult for me personally to follow, but there were a couple of concepts that I found very interesting while reading. Even though Shakespeare wrote this play in the 1500’s, there were a lot of parallels that can be drawn between the goings on presented in “Othello” and things that are still happening in society today.

The concepts of betrayal, lying, and manipulation are obviously been components of societies for as far as we can look back in time. Iago’s plan to ruin Othello’s marriage ends up being put into motion only by sneaking behind Othello’s back and betraying Othello’s trust in him. Although his evil plan wasn’t all that easy for me to follow in the format that it was written it was easy to understand that the concepts and issues are still alive and well today in our society. There are still issues with friends stabbing friends in the back, betrayal of spouses, and manipulation of trust.

Along with of all of these terrible things often comes terrible misunderstanding, which is seen clearly in the end of this play. When Othello finds the handkerchief, he assumes automatically that Cassio was the one that had betrayed him and that Desdemona had been having an affair. His assumption leads him to make a terrible mistake that then causes him to take his own life. This is something that is still seen today. Misunderstandings definitely happen on a daily basis which is why it is so important to be sure of the facts before you do something that you might regret in the future.

Poetics

In the reading that we had assigned this week by Aristotle there were a lot of interesting things that I learned about tragedy. One line that really stood out to me though was a line towards the end of the reading. "...but when the tragic acts come within the limits of close blood relationship, as when brother kills or intends to kill brother or do something else of that kind to him, or son to father or mother to son or son to mother- those are the situations one should look for..." (93). This quote, I think, does a really good job of summing up what tragedy really means and what makes the best kind of tragic event. Granted, there can be tragic natural disasters and tragic murders done by a stranger onto someone else, but when that tragedy is done onto someone that is very close to the victim, that act sends a much stronger message. Like in Medea, it sends a much stronger message to the reader that Medea murders her own children than it would if some stranger or non-related character were to carry out the deed. Soap operas present another great example of this idea. When thinking about the plot of a soap opera, often times the dramatic events that lead to conflict in that soap opera are murders or betrayals within family and close friends. There is hardly ever a tragic event that involves a complete stranger. Overall though, I think it is very interesting and fascinating that even since Aristotle's time, not much has changed about how authors produce a great tragic plot.

Medea

This play is much different than any play that we have read thus far. It is a true tragedy that is exaggerated and presented in almost a fantastical matter. I really enjoyed the way that this play was written and would like to read more plays like it. It also brings up some very important and serious issues that for some people are dealt with in everyday life. The concept of abandonment is obviously a very prominent aspect of this play. For Medea, this sense of abandonment leads to her mental unstableness and eventual insane drive to get back at her husband for leaving her and her two children. It shows just how fierce the effects of abandonment can be. The love she felt for Jason overshadowed the love she felt for her children. It was interesting how Euripedes portrayed this concept because i feel as though this is something that is extremely uncommon. In fact, I believe that the opposite is true for most women who have husbands leave them. The love they have for their children is often times the only thing that keeps them going from day to day and the only thing that keeps them sane. This then also brings up the debate of whether the mother or father has a stronger bond with their children. Clearly, if Jason just up and left his wife and children to be with another woman, the feelings that he felt for his new wife overcame the love that he had previously felt for Medea and his kids. I believe that the connection that a mother has with their children is so personal that it is much harder to break. Not to say that it should be easy for a father to abandon his children by any means, but there is something to be said about actually giving birth to a child and the personal connection that helps to form between a mother and child.

Obviously this is an extreme case of feelings of hatred and revenge towards someone else taking over a person, and it is quite an unrealistic scenario, but it brings up some very powerful and interesting issues that need to be brought to light. Although none of us hope to experience such pain in our lifetimes, it is important that we realize that there are much healthier ways to handle a situation like this than the way Medea handles it.