Othello- Question 2

"I took by the throat the circumcised dog And smote him, thus. (Stabs himself)" V.ii.354-355


I think the play Othello is a tragedy. I think the fact that knowing the play is a tragedy is important to experiencing the drama. When reading a Shakespearan tragedy, the reader knows that characters are going to die. The reader is expecting death to occur, it's just a matter of who is going to die and how will it happen.  I think the reader would be expecting Iago to die because he is the villian so it was interesting to see how the last scenes played out. When the audience knows the play is a tragedy, they know the ending will most likely not be happy. I think that's good because then the audience isn't expecting some epic love story so they won't be disappointed when the two characters who were in love both die. Recognizing the tragedy allows the audience to  be prepared for what's to come yet still have questions and want to know more.