As in a typical Shakespearean comedy, love, tested, triumphs over all opposition. And the 1980s saw a new, suggestive, and controversial direction in archetypal studies of literature: the feminist. Othello is decisive, confident, and secure in his identity, duty, and place in the world. My soul hath content so absolute An archetypal critic would suggest that all human experience is linked through literature and that this experience is expressed again and again using the same patterns throughout time and space. As Othello came to his breaking point, desdemona foreshadows her own death and he lets jealousy take over. The young Venetian noblewoman, Desdemona, has eloped with the middle-aged Othello, the military commander of the armed forces of Venice. Archetypal criticism is a literary approach that analyzes works of literature based on the idea that there are universal, timeless patterns and themes that recur across all cultures and throughout history. Speak of me as I am. In Shakespeare's, An outburst that othello has in a crowd of his peers causes people to start to question their noble leader. Human emotions have a lot of power over how we react to situations in life, the trick is learning how to not let them take over. After confronting Desdemona of her crimes he decides to carry out his overall plan to end his trues loves life. Analysis. As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black. Jung was also more preoccupied with dreams and fantasies, because he saw them as exclusively (purely) products of the unconscious, in contrast to literature, which he oddly believed, citing Joyces Ulysses as an example, was created in the full light of consciousness (15:123). The movie Zootopia uses animals to portray racism and sexism; predators do not like prey and vice versa. Joseph P. Strelka, 1976); Karin Barnaby and Pellegrino DAcerino, eds., C. G. Jung and the Humanities: Toward a Hermeneutics of Culture (1990); Martin Bickman, The Unsounded Centre: Jungian Studies in American Romanticism (1980); Maud Bodkin, Archetypal Patterns in Poetry: Psychological Studies in Imagination (1934); Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays (1957); Albert Gelpi, The Tenth Muse: The Psyche of the American Poet (1975); Naomi Goldenberg, Archetypal Theory after Jung, Spring (1975); Julia Kristeva, Stabat Mater (1977, The Kristeva Reader, ed. / Man but a rush against Othello's breast / And he retires." Archetypal criticism proceeds from the initial assumption that every work of literature can be categorized and fitted into a large framework that encompasses all literature. Up until Act III Scene iii Othello, "noble Moor" is in an elated position and is very aware of his importance. Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand, That's a matter of opinion. Jung most frequently used myth (or mythologem) for the narrative expression, on the ethnological level (Collected 9, pt. And new theories increasingly give credence to the requirement, historically asserted by Jungian readers, that each text elicit a personal, affective, and not merely intellectual response. In Cinthios story, Alfiero, the scheming ensign, lusts after the Moors wife, named Disdemona, and after she spurns his advances, Alfiero seeks vengeance by accusing her of adultery with Cassio, the Moors lieutenant. Let him command, And to obey shall be in me remorse, Kibin, 2023, www.kibin.com/essay-examples/an-archetype-criticism-of-othello-a-play-by-william-shakespeare-yJF4zltX. If after every tempest come such calms, Now art thou my lieutenant. The fulfillment of the wedding night that should come at the climax of the comedy is relocated to act 2, with the aftermath of the courtship and the wedding now taking center stage. Othello sends Emilia outside to guard the door. Even when Desdemona was found after Othello strangles her, she still believed that her death was not the fault of Othello. Even French feminist Julia Kristeva has been brought to praise a Jungian contribution to feminist discourse on the maternal: recognition that the Catholic churchs change of signification in the assumption of the Virgin Mary to include her human body represented a major shift in attitude toward female corporaiity (113). For Jung, archetype is an explanatory paraphrase of the Platonic eidos (9, pt. Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous, Archetypal Criticism Archetypal criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works, . James Baird, Jungian Psychology in Criticism: Theoretical Problems, Literary Criticism and Psychology (ed. Carl Jungs Contribution to Psychoanalytic Theory. Act 3, one of the wonders of the stage, anatomizes Othellos psychic descent from perfect contentment in his new wife to complete loathing, from a worldview in which everything is as it appears to one in which nothing is as it seems. Archetypal analysis is an appropriate model for customer heterogeneity whenever the underlying structure is best defined by the extremes. Aristotles second requirement for a tragedy is that the tragic hero must have a reversal of fortune. The next significant development in archetypal theory that affected literary studies grew out of the effort made by U.S.-born, Zurich-trained analyst James Hillman (b. Othello is decisive, confident, and secure in his identity, duty, and place in the world. This explains his fascination with a text like Rider Haggards novel She: The History of an Adventure (1886-87), with its unmediated representation of the anima. As Jung himself noted: Literary products of highly dubious merit are often of the greatest interest to the psychologist (Collected 15:87-88). And let the labouring barque climb hills of seas They also attest to his self-confessed lack of interest in literature: I feel not naturally drawn to what one calls literature, but I am strangely attracted by genuine fiction, i.e., fantastical invention (Letters 1:509). Seeing her dying, Emilia asks who would do this. . Her Jungian Approach to Literature attempts to cover the Finnish epic The Kalevala, the Persian Atars The Conference of the Birds, and texts by Euripides, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Michel de Montaigne, Pierre Corneille, Goethe, Novalis, Rabbi ben Simhah Nachman, and W. B. Yeats. Thus Jungian theory provided no clear avenue of access for those outside of psychology, and orthodox Jungians were left with little in the way of models for the psychological analysis of literature. Hillman also discovers archetypal precursors in Neoplatonism, Heraclitus, Plotinus, Proclus, Marsilio Ficino, and Giambattista Vico. Othello falls in love with Desdemona and they secretly marry; later, he leaves to Cyprus to stop the Turks. I know not ift be true; But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, Will do as if for surety (2.1. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Iago: My friend is dead. This way of proceeding had the effect of putting, and keeping, archetypal criticism on the margins of academic discourse and outside the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines and departments. . A tragic hero has many characteristics, 3 of them being that they must have an error in judgement, they must have a reversal of fortune, and they must recognize that the reversal of fortune was brought about by their own actions. First Cassio lands to deliver the news of Othellos marriage and, like the best man, supplies glowing praise for the groom and his bride; next Desdemona, accompanied by Iago and his wife, Emilia, enters but must await news of the fate of Othellos ship. For Frye, as William K. Wimsatt and Cleanth Brooks put it, archetype, borrowed from Jung, means a primordial image, a part of the collective unconscious, the psychic residue of numberless experiences of the same kind, and thus part of the inherited response-pattern of the race (Literary Criticism 709). Considered according to this definition, the concept becomes a useful tool for literary analysis that explores the synthesis of the universal and the particular, seeks to define the parameters of social construction of gender, and attempts to construct theories of language, of the imaginal, and of meaning that take gender into account. As scholar Edward Pechter has argued, During the past twenty-five years or so, Othello has become the Shakespearean tragedy of choice, replacing King Lear in the way Lear had earlier replaced Hamlet as the play that speaks most directly and powerfully to current interests.. Archetypal criticism, then, construed as that derived from Jung's theory and practice of archetypal (analytical) psychology, is a fledgling and much misconstrued field of inquiry with significant but still unrealized potential for the study of literature and of aesthetics in general. To learn more, read our. Furthermore, they must also have a fatal flaw, that eventually leads to their downfall. The term "archetype" can be traced to Plato (arche, "original"; typos, "form"), but the concept gained currency in twentieth-century literary theory and criticism through the work . He turns to Iago, who has been brought before him to know the reason for his actions. I am hitherto your daughter. : Feminist: Ex. Such characters can be found in works of fiction, long or short, and in more poetic works. In Re-Visioning Psychology, the published text of his 1972 Yale Terry Lectures (the same lecture series Jung gave in 1937), Hillman locates the archetypal neither in the physiology of the brain, the structure of language, the organization of society, nor the analysis of behavior, but in the processes of imagination (xi). One excellent example of such an approach, G. M. Matthews's 'Othello and the Dignity of Man', has been referred to at the end of the section devoted to historical and social criticism. In-text citation: The Shakespearean tragedy Othello contains a number of themes; their relative importance and priority is debated by literary critics. Ralph Manheim, 1974); Morris Philipson, Outline of a Jungian Aesthetic (1963, reprint, 1991); Annis Pratt et al., Archetypal Patterns in Womens Fiction (1981); Jos van Meurs and John Kidd, Jungian Literary Criticism, 1920-1980: An Annotated Critical Bibliography of Works in English (with a Selection of Titles after 1980) (1988); William K. Wimsatt, Jr., and Cleanth Brooks, Literary Criticism: A Short History (1957). Thus, all contrastive categorization would benefit from archetypal analysis. Othello: Damn her, lewd minx! To date, the British Journal of Analytical Psychology and the retitled American Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture are the best resources for archetypal criticism of literature and the arts even though only a small percentage of their published articles treat such topics. This book established the priority of interest in the archetypal over the mythological. Othello Zootopia Act 1 The wall Othello is referring to are the Walls of Nicosia which surround the capital city Nicosia in Cyprus. An equal case can be made that Iago here completes his role as Vice, borrowed from the medieval morality plays, sealing the Faustian bargain for Othellos soul in this mock or black marriage scene. Olympus-high, and duck again as low Literary Archetypes The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The Loved One The Magus The Making of Americans The Man in the High Castle The Mayor of Casterbridge The Member of the Wedding The Metamorphosis The Natural The Plague The Plot Against America The Portrait of a Lady The Power of Sympathy The Red Badge of Courage The Road The Road from Coorain Archetypal criticism ensures the efforts of all these concerned faculties to analyse of a text hence archetypal criticism is of immense significance. In addition, he modified and extended his concept over the many decades of his professional life, often insisting that archetype named a process, a perspective, and not a content, although this flexibility was lost through the codifying, nominalizing tendencies of his followers. Consider the implications of this idea. Of one that loved not wisely but too well, Archetypal criticism, then, construed as that derived from Jungs theory and practice of archetypal (analytical) psychology, is a fledgling and much misconstrued field of inquiry with significant but still unrealized potential for the study of literature and of aesthetics in general. Desdemona finally, dramatically appears before the senate to support Othellos account of their courtship and to balance her obligation to her father and now to her husband based on the claims of love: My noble father, In his "The . Archetypal critics are also interested in certain myths and rituals that recur in a wide variety of cultures. As Iago asserts to Roderigo, Virtue? After Othello learns of a possible affair between Cassio and Desdemona, at this instance is the turning point in Othellos fortune because it changes his views, attitudes and ultimately his fate. Where a malignant and a turband Turk In Shakespeare's Othello, Iago is one of the most compelling villains in English literature. Archetypal Criticism of Othello Othello, one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, is full of symbols, motifs, and themes that make it relatable to people all over the world. The term 'archetype' is taken from the Greek words 'arche' (beginning) and 'typos' (imprint). As the story unfolds Othellos character evolves in an extremely tragic way as Iago manipulates him and leaves him to rot in his misery. Ignoring her appeals for mercy and avowals of innocence, Othello smothers her moments before Emilia arrives with the proof of Desdemonas innocence and Iagos villainy. And despite frequently perceptive readings, the work is marred by the characteristic limitless expansionism and psychological utilitarianism of her interpretive scheme. He is the general of the Venetian army and a well respected man by the towns noble men. Richer than all his tribe. What makes Othello so unique structurally (and painful to witness) is that it is a tragedy built on a comic foundation. Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away Iago tries to prove Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio which increases Othello's torments of jealousy. 1. Archetypal theory then took shape principally in the multidisciplinary journal refounded by Hillman in 1970 in Zurich, Spring: An Annual of Archetypal Psychology and Jungian Thought. Is Othello or Hamlet better? Emilia comes into the couples bedroom after Othello smothers Desdemona, but hears Desdemona cry out. This heuristic distinction was formed, however, solely on psychobiographical grounds: Did the text originate in, and remain principally shaped by, the authors experience of consciousness and the personal unconscious or his or her experience at the level of the archetypal collective unconscious? "Othello is essentially an noble character, flawed by insecurity and a nature that is naive and unsophisticated". What bloody business ever. Literary Theory from 1900 to 1966: A-Z A Alexander Chirila First published: 24 December 2010 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444337839.wbelctv1a009 Read the full text PDF Tools Share Abstract Archetypal criticism is a form of analysis based on the identification and study of recurring symbolic and mythic patterns. Desdemona senses a change in Othello and she has a feeling that she will die soon due to the hands of Othello. I do perceive here a divided duty: Nor set down aught in malice. This juxtaposition between Othello's transparency and Iago's duality identifies him as a sympathetic character despite his actions. This type of criticism was first experimented by Maud Bodkin, in his book Archetypal Patterns in Poetry (1934). Desdemonas true morals is her absolute devotion to her husband. This assignment is intended to encourage you, and require you . http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/an-archetype-criticism-of-othello-a-play-by-william-shakespeare-yJF4zltX Be sure to capitalize proper nouns (e.g. Van Meurs also does a service by resurrecting successful but neglected early studies, such as Elizabeth Drews of T. S. Eliot (1949), and discovering value even in reductionist and impressionistic studies, such as June Singers of Blake. A archethpes symbol or myth leads to the establishment of a general truth. No single motive is relied on for long, and the gap between cause and effect, between the pettiness of Iagos grudges and the monstrousness of his behavior, prompted Samuel Taylor Coleridge in a memorable phrase to characterize Iagos motiveless malignity. There is in Iago a zest for villainy and a delight in destruction, driven more by his hatred and contempt for any who oppose his conception of jungle law than by a conventional naturalistic explanation based on jealousy or envy. Desdemona is oblivious to what is going on around her and stays loyal to her morals but Iagos rumours lure Othello to thinking otherwise. The major work of Frye's to deal with archetypes is Anatomy of Criticism but his essay The Archetypes of Literature is a precursor to the book. My life and education both do learn me The concept of the archetype is a venerable philosophical principle that came into new prominence and usage in the twentieth century with the development of archetypal literary criticism . Check out our Privacy and Content Sharing policies for more information.). Instead, they blame him for his own ultimate ruin. For more information on choosing credible sources for your paper, check out this blog post. (2023). He had even gone as far as hitting her (4.1 134). Not only does she try to protect Othellos reputation by blaming herself, Desdemona tells Emilia to remind Othello about her showing that she stills respects Othello. The play imitates life through basic human emotions such as jealousy and rage. From the theorists, dissertations, articles, and books, often traditionally academic in orientation, appeared; the productions of the practitioners are chronicled and critiqued in van Meurss bibliography. He sees it, in itself almost irresistible, aided at every step by fortunate accidents and the innocent mistakes of its victims. By the end of the play, he has brought down his world around him with the relentless force that made him a great general turned inward, destroying both what he loved best in another and in himself. Archetypal criticism gets its impetus from psychologist Carl Jung, who postulated that humankind has a "collective unconscious," a kind of universal psyche, which is manifested in dreams and myths and which harbors themes . Home Archetypal Criticism Archetypal Criticism, By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on October 22, 2020 ( 0 ). James Hillman, Archetypal Psychology: A Brief Account (1983), Re-Visioning Psychology (1975); C. G. Jung, Collected Works (ed. (V.2.320-322) Giving up is hardly Othello's style, but this is how a noble and true man should react when he has mistakenly killed his wife. Kibin does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of the essays in the library; essay content should not be construed as advice. Despite his deliberately selective focus on critical works written in English on literary texts that are, for the most part, also written in English, van Meurs, with the early assistance of John Kidd, has collected 902 entries, of which he identifies slightly over 80 as valid and valuable literary criticism. archetypal criticism in othello america undercover life of crime Juni 12, 2022. used kawai upright piano . Othello, being a hero, enjoys a good reputation and has notable qualities. Misled by the handkerchief, his love token to Desdemona, that Iago has planted in Cassios room and by a partially overheard conversation between Iago and Cassio, Othello, by the end of act 3, forsakes his wife and engages himself in a perverse version of the marriage ceremony of act 2 to Iago. These patterns and themes, often referred to as archetypes, are believed to be present in the collective unconscious of all human beings . The Moor is eventually captured, tortured, and slain by Disdemonas relatives, while the ensign dies during torture for another crime. The direction of Othello criticism will also be affected as literary criticism's longstanding commitment to cultural historicism comes under pressure from those who argue that explorations of context often come at the expense of literature's formal properties and affective registers, and as developments in the digital humanities enable fresh Archetypal criticism is a type of literary criticismexamining the presence of archetypal characters within a piece of literature. In addition, Othello is far from being a perfect character - another quality that meets Aristotle's requirements. After the. The romantic climax comes in the trial scene of act 1, in which Othello success-fully defends himself before the Venetian senate against Brabantios charge that Othello has beguiled his daughter, stoln from me, and corrupted / By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks. Calmly and courteously Othello recounts how, despite the differences of age, race, and background, he won Desdemonas heart by recounting the stories of his exotic life and adventures: She loved me for the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them. Wonder at Othellos heroic adventures and compassion for her sympathy have brought the two opposites togetherthe young, inexperienced Venetian woman and the brave, experienced outsider. Each literary theory will examine the text through different lenses, resulting in different interpretations. How to respect you; you are the lord of duty; Despite this, Desdemona continued to stay true to Othello. He ends up killing her out of jealousy; when she does not deserve it. Kibin, 2023. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/an-archetype-criticism-of-othello-a-play-by-william-shakespeare-yJF4zltX. The key to extremely detrimental jealousy lies within one's ability to recognize it or deny it. Farewell! Let us know! Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture, Spring: An Annual of Archetypal Psychology and Jungian Thought, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Analysis of Stuart Halls Encoding/Decoding, Jacques Derrida's Structure, Sign and Play. In The Tragedy of Othello, Shakespeare details the story of a celebrated military hero who falls victim to the machinations of a conniving villain who goes by the name of Iago. Altho a tragic ending it may be, Othello couldn't stand being a such a fool to have believed such lies about his one and only love. William Shakespeare utilized archetype frequently as a literary device in his plays. Othello is characterized by his plainspoken read analysis of Othello Iago Othello's disloyal standard-bearer and the villain of the play. As the play progresses, and Iagos plan culminates, Othellos good fortune begins to turn. Othello is a train wreck that the audience horrifyingly witnesses, helpless to prevent or look away. He is an individual of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. An archetype is universal; it is generated by man's psyche regardless of time of place. Farewell / Commend me to my kind lord. (2.1.191-93) Setting the scene. These archetypalists, focusing on the imaginaland making central the concept that in English they call soul, assert their kinship with Semiotics and Structuralism but maintain an insistent focus on psychoid phenomena, which they characterize as meaningful. Feminist Critique of the Character Desdemona in Othello Introduction Women during Elizabethan age are assumed to have spent their lives in the service of men - prearranged marriages, child rearing, and their role as sexual objects. This last text explicitly named the movement and demonstrated its appropriation of archetypal theory for feminist ends in aesthetics, analysis, art, and religion, as well as in literature. Shakespeare often focuses his plays on human nature as well as fate, which Othellos fate ended in the tragic ending due to his reversal of fortune once the claims against Desdemona begin. At mid-century, Canadian critic Northrop Frye (1912-91) introduced new distinctions in literary criticism between myth and archetype. I will withdraw Frye frequently acknowledged his debt to Jung, accepted some of Jungs specifically named archetypes persona and anima and counsellor and shadow and referred to his theory as Jungian criticism (Anatomy 291), a practice subsequently followed in some hand books of literary terms and histories of literary criticism, including one edited by Frye himself, which obscured crucial differences and contributed to the confusion in terminology reigning today. Because of that, it has generated a lot of literary criticism in the 400 years since it was written and first . Cinthios version of Iago is conventionally driven by jealousy of a superior and lust for his wife. Othello was crafted at the dawn of the 17th century, shaped by complex social and geopolitical issues that new historicist critics, who seek to place literary works within a historical framework, have recently sought to unravel. The present essay, "Archetypes of Literature," is taken from the book. A tragic hero is a hero nonetheless, but it all comes down to how they hold themselves together in the face of. When he realizes the grave mistake he had made by taking an honest Desdemona's life he can no longer live with himself.