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The Flaws And Problems In William Shakespeare's Othello

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Abstract William Shakespeare’s Othello is indubitably one of his most popular and successful plays.Nevertheless, like his other great works, it suffers from some literary and stylistic faults and problems. Several eminent critics such as Thomas Rymer, Samuel Johnson, A. C. Bradley, Harley Granville Barker, and J. Dover Wilson have dealt with this issue. Some of the most important faults they have found in this play include the question of time, the improbability of the events, the inconsistency of characterization, moral defects, and the absence of poetic justice. In some cases, the faults attributed to this great play are the result of misguided and wrong-headed criticism; in others, however, they are real deficiencies resulted from Shakespeare’s carelessness or his concern over the success of his play in performance rather than its plausibility and critical correctness as aliterary text. In the present article, these problems are discussed, and it is explained whether they are serious problems diminishing the value of the play as an artistic work or strategies adopted by the author intentionally to serve some higher purposes. Keywords: Othello; Shakespeare; faults; problems 1. Introduction The play Othello is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies. Since its first performance in 1604 (Kermode 165) the play has always held immense appeal for all its audience. This appeal is partly due to the relative simplicity and tangibility of its plot and argument (It is the least

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