Othello

Iago. One of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains and fascinating characters. He even has more lines than the character Othello, whom the play it titled after. Shakespeare does such a good job of making the reader despise Iago’s character one almost starts to admire him for his cunning intelligence. People relate Iago to that one schemer they know, or that politician who seems to have some master plan and makes even the purest of souls succumb to it. A true Shakespearian masterpiece, Iago lives on as a timeless character that continues to be a reference point to any villain in entertainment, pop culture or politics today. Part of Iago’s appeal as literary genius is his contrast to Othello. For all of Othello’s integrity honor and righteousness Iago possesses the opposite and is able to manipulate Othello- and the rest of the cast- to get his way. Iago’s way of earning the trust of his companions only to abuse it and often harm them only adds to his complexity and evilness; he is the first one there for comfort and condolences, yet he is able to use that trust how he pleases. His lack of motivation, and the ease at which he jumps on revenge and plots of destruction make it hard to find a more notorious character in literature. Iago’s plans finally come crashing down around him, but not after he has ruined or killed- directly or indirectly- many of those around him. How do these Villains Compare to Iago?

Poetics

Plot

vs Characters.

   Picking the more important element is one of life’s great tragedies in it’s self. What makes this conflict even more significant is how in some circumstances plot may be of more importance, yet in other situations the individual characters are what drive the story, regardless of the plot.  When this debate is taken to the tragedy ring; Aristotle declares that plot wins in a first round knock out. “Tragedy cannot exist without a plot, but it can without characters(90).” If by characters Aristotle is referring to characters as the people on stage who act out the play, I am not really sure how one could have a tragedy with out them. Aristotle then goes on to say that a tragedy must be structured “that the one hearing the events unroll shudders with fear and feels pity at what happens(93).”  While feeling pity at specific events is not completely out of the question, humans find it easier to feel pity with a person, with whom they can relate to.  When a famous hand model, such as George Costanza uses his hands to break a fall on a hot iron, we feel pity for George because he will no longer be able to continue his career, not because of the specific event. It is much easier to relate to characters that may not lead the most eventful lives, compared to a rock and tree that are destroyed in a hurricane.   If you cannot relate or at least feel pity for the characters, what use is the play in itself?

Medea

Revenge. Revenge. Revenge. A very powerful word and a common theme in literature film song and life its self throughout history.

 Romeo seeks revenge for the death of Mercutio and kills Tybalt.

 Harry and Marv seek revenge on Kevin McCallister for spoiling their reign as the “wet bandits.”

 The play hamlet is referred to as a ‘revenge tragedy,’ yet the protagonist is unable to commit revenge. 

Anakin Skywalker seeks revenge for those who killed his mother and those acts of revenge lead him down the path to become Darth Vader.

 The British looked for revenge on the Americans in the War of 1812.

 Seeking revenge for Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan and eventually dropped two atomic bombs on them.

 Revenge is ever present in Medea as well. Medea also addresses the value of revenge versus the grievances that cause one to act in a revengeful manner. Medea feels that Jason’s suffering for her killings outweighs the guilt of killing her own children (as well as Jason’s new wife and father in law.) This is the true conflict in any revenge plot, does the satisfaction of the revenge outweigh the guilt of committing such an act as well as the suffering of those who the revenge is acted upon. Most rational people need to be severely provoked to seriously think about acting upon revenge. And once reaching that stage I feel it is difficult to act in a way that deep down makes you feel better.  Revenge is playing down to the competition. Success is the only all encompassing revenge.