The “tragedy” of Othello-on the ridge of the death

OTHELLO (ACT V, Scene ii,310-332, p.257)
    Behold, I have a weapon.
A better never did itself sustain
Upon a soldier’s thigh. I have seen the day
That with this little arm and this good sword
I have made my way through more impediments
Than twenty times your stop. But, oh, vain boast!
Who can control his fate? ’tis not so now.
Be not afraid, though you do see me weaponed.
Here is my journey’s end, here is my butt,
And very sea-mark of my utmost sail.
Do you go back dismayed? ’tis a lost fear.
Man but a rush against Othello’s breast,
And he retires. Where should Othello go?—
Now, how dost thou look now? O ill-starred wench,
Pale as thy smock! When we shall meet at compt
This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven
And fiends will snatch at it. Cold, cold, my girl,
Even like thy chastity. O cursed, cursed slave!
Whip me, ye devils,
From the possession of this heavenly sight!
Blow me about in winds, roast me in sulfur,
Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire!—
Oh, Desdemona! Desdemona! dead! Oh! Oh!








“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody.”(McManus, Barbara.) This is Aristotle’s idea about the meaning of tragedy and “Othello" by William Shakespeare, fulfills almost all of the requirements needed to satisfy Aristotle's idea of a true tragedy. The tragedy has a noble protagonist in Othello whose one flaw will ultimately lead to his downfall. Othello’s speech almost at the end of the play, after killing his true and only love, Desdemona, shows the understanding of the character that the end is coming. The speech reveals a lot about the character of the protagonist, that he is an honorable person who will die with honor, a person who can realize his own mistakes, and a person who cannot fear by truth.
Othello is a soldier; he did terrifying things to different people when he was on the front. He went through many difficult moments and he overcame them. In his speech he defines himself as a different person now. He says:
tis not so now. Be not afraid, though you do see me weaponed (316-317).
He knows that he is not the same as he was many years ago; he believes that Desdemona has changed him and he has become a better person. He understands that people are scarred by his personality and his sword. His words show that he is not a person who can frighten people because his journey is about to end. He tries to save his reputation, he wants to be an honorable man who is respected by the Venetian society and to show his motives for killing his lovely wife. But now in this speech he talks about death and about the end of his honor. In this speech he realizes that while trying to defend his honor, he was not able to defend the most valuable thing in his life-his love Desdemona.
Here is my journey’s end, here is my butt,
And very sea-mark of my utmost sail.
Do you go back dismayed? ’tis a lost fear.
Man but a rush against Othello’s breast,
And he retires (319-322).
He is not passionate enough to live this life without her. He does not want to scare people anymore; he wants just to stop everything.
The whole play revolves around the themes of jealousy and honor. This speech is right after the desire of one full of love and jealousy man to defend his reputation after understanding that his wife is cheating on him. In Othello’s speech Shakespeare shows that he is realizing his mistake not to believe Desdemona’s words and to be manipulated so brilliantly by Iago.
Whip me, ye devils,
From the possession of this heavenly sight!
Blow me about in winds, roast me in sulfur,
Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire!—
Oh, Desdemona! Desdemona! dead! Oh! Oh! (328-332)
Othello is full of pain and wrath. He cannot look at the heavenly sight of Desdemona. He wants to be tortured because he is feeling so bad because he believed the villain’s words. He understands that believing Iago was the worst mistake he had ever made. He realizes that any torture will hurt less than the pain in his heart; he wants to be with Desdemona and exactly these final words of his speech foreshadow that he is going to be with her in a different world- the world after the death though he seems to think he will go to hell. So this speech suggests that Othello is in the moment between life and death-he is on the edge of death.
Othello is a real protagonist of a tragic play. His speech reveals that his mistake led to his downfall-he lost his love in order to defend his reputation, but he is the one who is manipulated and treated as a puppet, so again his reputation is lost somewhere. The only thing that he is able to do in order to save his honor is to end his own journey.