Question: It seems that when we talk about Shakespeare’s plays, we should start with tragedies first?
Answer: Yes, because before talking about the plot, I want to use the simplest words to summarize what tragedy is. The person who first defined the concept of tragedy was the Greek philosopher Aristotle. He said in “Poetics”, “Tragedy is the imitation of a serious, full-length action. Its medium is language, and it is used in various parts of the play with the help of various decorative languages. The imitation method is determined by The performance of the actions of the characters, rather than narrative, elicits and purifies emotions of pity and fear.” This is a classic definition. What needs to be noted here is the word “purification” (katharsis). This Greek word also has the meaning of catharsis and cultivation. Therefore, some people understand tragedy as the audience using the scary and sad scenes on the stage to vent the pressure caused by the fear in their hearts. Watching a drama is a psychological process. Katharsis is a psychological vocabulary. Catharsis, cultivation, and purification are all psychological processes. Simple catharsis means loss but no gain, while edification and purification means loss and gain, letting those dirty things in the heart be abandoned due to the influence and inspiration of the plot, so that oneself can obtain a noble and pure feeling. When talking about the dramatic plot of tragedy, Aristotle proposed three elements of the plot, sudden turn, discovery and suffering.
Q: These three elements belong to writing skills?!
Answer: It is skill and the usual law of plot development. A sudden turn refers to the fact that the plot is in an enemy that no one expected, and a sudden event breaks out, which makes the audience’s psychological expectations fall short and produces unexpected effects. Discovery means that in the development of the plot, the story chain is presented little by little, which is a series of small turning points. Suffering is the tragic end of drama. In Aristotle’s words, “Suffering is an act of destruction or suffering, such as death, severe pain, injury.” I have no evidence that Shakespeare was familiar with Aristotle’s tragedy theory, and it is more likely that he did not read those classical drama theories, but his tragedies all naturally meet these requirements. This is a very miraculous thing.
Well, we now return to the tragedy Othello. There are several key characters in this play. Othello, a Moorish nobleman, serves the Venetian government. He is brave and vigorous, and has repeatedly made military exploits. He is a black man. The so-called Moors refer to the North African Muslims who conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages, which is now Spain and Portugal. Ethnologists divide the Moors into two categories, one is the Berbers and the other is the Haratines, also known as the Moors. Othello should be a Haratine Moor. The second protagonist is Iago, a villain with an evil heart. He is Othello’s flag bearer and the black hand who destroys Othello. The third protagonist is Testemona, the daughter of the Venetian senator, Othello’s wife, a beautiful, brave, loving woman who was later killed by Othello. The fourth is Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant, an upright and loyal young officer who is falsely accused of having an affair with Testemona. Rodrigo, one of Testemona’s suitors, is used by Iago as a tool to destroy Othello. Emilia, the wife of Iago, is the key figure in revealing the truth.
Question: From these characters, we seem to be able to feel a thrilling tragedy.
Answer: Yes. Let me tell the story. In the first act, the scene takes place in Venice. The first to play were Iago and Rodrigo. Rodrigo blamed Iago for spending a lot of money on the court, but failed to do anything for him. Iago promised him what he would do, but he did not say. But he said emphatically to Iago, “You tell me you hate him to death”. He didn’t say who he hated. But as soon as Iago replied, the clues of the whole play began to emerge. Iago said, “If I don’t hate him, leave me alone.” Then he explained the reason, “Three dignitaries in this city greeted him personally and recommended me to be his lieutenant general. In good conscience, I know my value, so can I not be a lieutenant general? But he I only see myself and no one else.” Here Shakespeare points out the first reason why Iago hates Othello. Then, he revealed that it was Cassio who had been appointed as lieutenant general. Iago went on to say, “As for me, I only acted as a banner officer under the command of this black general.” When the audience comes here, they can guess who he is talking about. He is the Negro Othello. This black letter is important because it shows Iago’s double hatred, a white man who wants to work for a black man, and the black man doesn’t take him seriously.
Q: Shakespeare seems to be pointing out a racial issue here.
A: You feel very right. Many critics believe that race is an important factor in this tragedy. In Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the basic status of blacks was that of slaves. But Othello, the Black Moor, actually became a military commander, and he could decide the fate of a white officer like Iago’s promotion. Stendhal, the author of “Red and Black”, has a collection of literature and art “Racine and Shakespeare”. When he analyzed Shakespeare’s “Othello”, he talked about one thing. In August 1822, in Baltimore, USA, a soldier who was in charge of security at the theater saw Othello strangled to death with his own hands when he was performing on the stage. stremona. He yelled, “Never heard of a damn black man killing a white woman in front of me,” and drew his gun, wounding the actor who played Othello. Stendhal thinks that the security guard had hallucinations and pretended to be real. In fact, behind this hallucination is the real racial concept. So what does Iago, who harbors hatred in his heart, want to do? Let’s hear what he has to say. “There is a kind of people, even though they pretend to bow down on the surface, they are planning for themselves in their hearts. They seem to be doing things for their masters, but in fact they rely on their masters to develop their own power. , you can know that what he respects is actually himself. This kind of person is still a bit of a brain, and I belong to this category. I am so careful with him, neither out of loyalty, nor out of obligation, but just Put on this fake face for your own benefit.” Here, Shakespeare paves the way for all the motives of Iago’s actions in the future. In order to achieve his own goals, he tried every means to destroy others. But when doing these bad things, he is always loyal. Immediately afterwards, he will instigate Testemona’s suitor Rodrigo to go to Testemona’s house to make trouble. Let’s talk about it next time.
