Perspectives

Literary perspectives

William Shakespeare’s play Othello is a tragedy. The tragedy is a genre of drama that deals with human suffering and sometimes ends with a terrible event happening to the main character. The genre dates as far back as Ancient Greece and many of its characteristics are derived from that period.

There are several types of tragedies that are worth mentioning. The tragedy of circumstances, for example, explores the drama of characters who are born under certain circumstances and cannot change their fate, while the tragedy of miscalculation deals with a mistake made by the main character. Another example would be revenge plays, which deal with a character’s quest for revenge. Othello can be considered a tragedy of miscalculation, as the main character makes a mistake in trusting Iago and allowin...