compare Othello with Hamlet as tragic heroes

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Paper Name : THE RENAISSANCE LITARATURE

Assignment Topic : “ compare Othello with Hamlet as tragic heroes”

Sem : 1

Name: solanki pintu v

Roll No : 35

Enrollment No: PG15101037

Email: solankipintu1991@gmail.com

Submitted to :

       M.K. BHAVNAGARUNIVERSITY

           Department Of English   

Introduction:

             William Shakespeare started writing tragedies because he thought the tragic plots used by other English writers were lacking artistic purpose and form. He used the fall of a notable person as the main focus in his tragedies. Suspense and climax were an added attraction for the audience. His work was extraordinary in that it was not of the norm for the time. A reader with even little knowledge of his work would recognize one of the tragedies as a work of Shakespeare.

       A hero today is seen as a person who is idolized. Nowadays, a hero does not have to have wealth or certain political beliefs, but instead can be regarded as a hero for his/her actions and inner strength. However, in the plays of Shakespeare, the tragic hero is always a noble man who enjoys some status and prosperity in society but possesses some moral weakness or flaw which leads to his downfall. External circumstances such as fate also play a part in the hero's fall. Evil agents often act upon the hero and the forces of good, causing the hero to make wrong decisions. Innocent people always feel the fall in tragedies, as well.

A Comparison between Hamlet And Othello:

                           William Shakespeare is considered to be one of the most contributing writers in English literature. His way of writing usually focuses on the use of verse and prose. Hamlet and Othello are two of his most popular plays and are similar to each other in some aspects, tragedy being their basic theme. In Othello and Hamlet there are many forms of corruption and evil carried out by the characters. He expresses different kinds of evil through interesting and creative ways. His style of writing enables the readers to view the action of the characters and see how lies and deceit lead to death and despair. The main similarity in the two plays is that the characters Iago from Othello and Claudius from Hamlet both appear to be someone else when in reality they are both dangerous and cunning and deeply evil although their methods may be different. Claudius is a jealous and confused character and Shakespeare shows this side of him many times in the play.

 Othello:

     

        In the beginning Othello's language is consistent as he was a confident and noble man who was immensely in love with his wife, Desdemona. Later on as the play progresses (acts III and IV) Othello's language changes as he is manipulated by Iago to believe his wife was infidel. This causes Othello to become extremely jealous and his language there on becomes barbaric. Othello is essentially an ironic play considering the wide divide that exists in what appears to be real to the characters in the play and what appears to be real to the theatre audience.

Hamlet  :

                    In Hamlet Shakespeare, again through the use of language, portrays Hamlet's conflict of identity management. There are two sides to him: one side is his insane behavior towards his family and the other side is his variance between deciding to do right or wrong based on what he has seen and heard. He uses poetic diction using powerful phrases. There is figurative language, imagery and irony used to create suspense all through the play.

               Like Othello, in Hamlet also Shakespeare shows disputes between characters, betrayal and misjudgment. He stresses again and again on how characters appear to be one person while inside they are another.

similarities and contrast :

                       

Ø  Both the protagonists are superior men possessing great courage. But as the play grows Othello is consumed by jealousy while Hamlet by revenge.

Ø      The difference between them is that Hamlet spends a lot of time thinking things over and analyzing the situation; while Othello is irrational and acts without thinking.

Ø       In Hamlet, Horatio promises the young prince that he will narrate the story of Hamlet to the world, since hamlet asks him to "And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, to tell my story" (Act 5, scene 2).

            While in Othello, Cassio goes on to take his military position in Cyprus and Lodovico takes it upon him to return to Venice and relate the tragic story of what has happened to his countrymen. "Myself will straight aboard; and to the country state, this heavy act with heavy heart relate" (Act 5, scene 2).

Ø     Shakespeare’s protagonists Othello and Hamlet are for the most part, completely unalike in the ways that they handle the many emotions thrown at them in their respective plays. Othello is the victim of a twisted villain; Hamlet bears a distinct solitude and has a tendency to procrastinate.

Ø        Othello is a story centered on the manipulations of an insecure newlywed, while Hamlet is centered on an idealistic avenger of justice. Hamlet is smarter, and with maybe the exception of his confidante Horatio, is surrounded by a massive array of idiots. Othello, on the other hand, is the only idiot in the end.

Ø         Despite the difference, there are a few notable similarities in the ways that Hamlet and Othello deal with emotion. For the most part, Hamlet and Othello seem to handle anger similarly. One thing that they are both guilty of when angry is the mistreatment of women.

Ø            One of the major differences in the flaws of the two characters is that Hamlet is one who appears to be able to think clearly and see the problems around him and the falseness of Claudius, etc., but he lacks the ability to act on them.  He bemoans his inability to make a decision, to the point of even pointing out his inability to kill himself.

                          Othello, on the other hand, is duped severely by Iago and is completely unable to see the     innocence of Desdemona or the scheming of Iago as he builds the illusion of Desdemona cheating on him.

Ø       They are similar in that Hamlet, considered a daring and dashing and intelligent figure is completely inept when it comes to action and Othello, whose warlike nature and prowess on the battlefield are no match for  the "intrigue" of life without warfare.

Ø        Analyzing the way that Hamlet and Othello deal with revenge finds as many similarities as differences. As soon as both characters are absolutely sure of the wrongs against them or their families, they both immediately plot murder and nothing less.

Ø        Othello asks Iago to furnish him “with some swift means of death for the fair devil” (III, iv, 474). And Hamlet says that for his Uncle it is “adieu, adieu, remember me. I have sworn”

Ø          The biggest differences between the two protagonists here, is in how they execute their revenges. Claudius’ murder must be perfect. Hamlet even passes up a murder opportunity when the king is in the church praying alone. “This psychic but prolongs thy sickly days”(II, iii, 96) ;Hamlet doesn’t want Claudius soul to perchance slip into heaven, so he waits. In the way that Hamlet deals with revenge, one can also assess that he is an idealist. He chastises himself numerous times for his lack of haste in executing his father’s will. Thus, the time scale of this play is much bigger than that of “Othello”.

Ø          Othello’s revenge, in contrast to Hamlet’s, is executed very quickly, as a result of Othello’s mad love for Desdemona. He goes on circumstantial evidence, as opposed to Hamlet, who carefully plots a way that Claudius will give away his own guilt.

         What also differs is the fact that Othello doesn’t even know who the real villain is in the end. As soon as he finds out, however, revenge comes swiftly after. , “O, thou pernicious caitiff” (IV, ii, 314) yells Othello, wounding Iago with his rapier. Hamlet and Othello are both guilty of being irrational at one time or another. When Hamlet thrusts his rapier behind his Mother’s curtain, upon sensing an intruder, he kills Polonius, “a rash and bloody deed” (III, iv, 28)! The hasty killing of Desdemona was just as irrational considering the evidence that Othello was going on.

        Another similarity between the writing styles for the two plays is the role of the protagonist: Othello and prince Hamlet common element in both the plays is that there is no definite end to them. Both the plays finish at a note of continuance From both these lines Shakespeare communicates that even though the plays have come to an end, the story still continues. There is more to the ending than just tragic deaths, the story will live one.

conclusion:

      Othello is the victim of a villain, instead Hamlet is the person who guides the game and take the decision, considered moral by Shakespeare, to punish a crime We can also consider Othello the only “idiot” of the play and, at the opposite, Hamlet the only shrewd person among idiot people.

      Just like Hamlet, Othello is based upon the passions that drive the main character over the edge of insanity. Shakespeare writes in a way by which we can see similarities between characters and the play as a whole, at the same time there are noticeable differences between the two.

      Although the main characters of these tragedies possess different traits, they all can be described as tragic Shakespearean heroes: they are basically good and noble men whose tragic flaw leads to their destruction.

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