William Shakespeare is commonly considered the greatest English language dramatist and poet the world has ever known. No other writer''s plays and poetry have been produced so many times or in so many countries or translated into so many languages. Shakespeare stands out alone, both in his own age when so many were drawn to the form and circumstances which were favorable to this kind genius and in all of English literature history, as a great dramatic poet. He is undoubtedly the most famous literary figure of all time. He wrote many plays which include four major tragedies – Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. In this essay we will make a comparison of his two masterpieces i.e. Othello and Macbeth.
Overview of both plays, Othello and Macbeth
In the story of Othello, Shakespeare produces a tale of how one man’s trust is twisted and betrayed leading towards a tragic ending. The reader is presented with the classic battle between the deceitful forces of evil and the innocence of good. The forces of evil are those which ultimately lead to the breakdown of Othello, who is a noble Venetian moor, well known by the people of Venice as an honorable soldier and a worthy leader. Othello''s final breakdown and fall from grace results in the murder of his wife; Desdemona. She is a representative for the good in nature and her character can be defined as forgiving, honest, innocent and unsuspecting. Like all of Shakespeare''s plays, particularly the tragedies, Othello is complex and subtle. Criticism of Othello is as complex as the play itself. Some call it a modernized Morality play in which the characters are primarily symbolic. This criticism centers on the characters fall from innocence - the snake fouling the Garden - caused by Lago''s manipulation of Othello. Macbeth, as considered by societal critics, scrutinizes the evil dimension of conflict, offering a dark and gloomy atmosphere of a world dominated by the powers of darkness. Macbeth understands the reasons for resisting evil and yet he proceeds with a disastrous plan, instigated by the prophecies of the three Weird Sisters.
Comparison of Othello and Macbeth Othello''s character during the play is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. The other main characters in the play all form their own opinions of him and as the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and became less noble. Chronologically through the play Othello''s character changes from a flawless military leader, to become a murderer. Also as the play progresses, the other characters in the play change their opinions of Othello, which causes the plot to happen the way it did.
Othello showed his first act of violence against Desdemona by hitting her. This shows Othello''s other tragic flaw because he made himself susceptible to Lago and the jealousy within him begins to lead to the demise of others. By his actions Othello isolated himself from everyone except Lago. This gives Lago the perfect opportunity to complete his course of action. Lago does not tolerate any interference in his plans, and he murders Roderigo before he can dispel the evil that Lago represents. Finally, Othello, so full of the lies told to him by Lago that he murders his wife. Desdemona, representative of goodness and heaven blames her death on herself and not Othello. Lago''s wife, Emilia, becomes the ultimate undoing of Lago. After she had revealing Lago''s plot to Othello, Lago killed her. This is another vicious which represents the true evil which Lago represents. Othello finally realizes of being made fool into murder by Lago.
Macbeth is presented as a mature man of established character, successful in certain fields of activity and enjoying an enviable reputation. We must not conclude, there, that all his volitions and actions are predictable. Macbetke any other man''s at a given moment, is what is being made out of potentialities plus the environment, and no one, not even Macbeth himself, can know all his inordinate self-loving thoughts. We first hear of Macbeth in the wounded captain''s account of his battlefield valor, our initial impression is of a brave and capable warrior. This perspective is altered a little, once we see Macbeth interact with the three witches. The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are many factors which contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth of which three will be discussed. The three points which contribute greatly to Macbeth''s degeneration are the prophecy which was told to him by the witches, Lady Macbeth and her influence and manipulation of Macbeth''s judgment, and finally Macbeth''s long standing ambitions which drove his desire to be king.
Macbeth''s growing character degenerates from a noble man to violent individual. He is the focus of the entire play, and that''s why it was named after him. The problems start when he murders Duncan. He commits the murder because of his fatal flaw; ambition. Macbeth deserved his fate more than any other characters in the play. He did many things which were wrong; first, he killed Duncan, then Banquo; after that Macbeth killed MacDuff''s family. Worst of all, Macbeth disturbed the balance of nature. Macbeth didn''t feel any remorse until he was faced with death. If Macbeth just waited for his time, he would have been king, and would have had a chance to enjoy it.
More summaries about the Overview – Othello & Macbeth