Chapter I. William Shakespeare’s biography 1 W. Shakespeare’s life

OPTIMISM IN SHAKESPEARE’S WORKS
"Othello as a tragedy of deceived trust"
The source of the plot of "Othello" was D. Cintio's novella "The Moor of Venice" from the collection "One Hundred Stories" (1566), where the story is presented as "the story of the ensign's wife". While preserving the general plot line, Shakespeare still significantly reworked the original material, especially in key moments. The writer modified the motive of revenge of the scoundrel Ensign (Iago), according to the novel, in love with Desdemona and rejected by her, and Shakespeare also gives an exalted character to the love of Desdemona and Othello, whom she "fell in love with an anxious life", and she to him "with the fervor of the soul". The writer changed the very essence of this story by changing the motive of Othello's jealousy: in Shakespeare, it is not dictated by a wounded sense of honor or an insulting feeling of her husband, but is the fulfillment of the real duty of the hero, striving to destroy evil in the world. This is evidenced to some extent by these lines (Othello's answer to the question of what to call him now, after the murder of his wife):
"....As you wish. A wife-killer out of blind love. I made a sacrifice of honor, as I thought."
Thus, the drama here loses its personal, loving meaning and rises to the highest tragic motive - the clash of personality with the environment.
The death of the heroes makes the play one of Shakespeare's most difficult tragedies.
Nevertheless, this work does not leave the conviction that good is initially and inevitably doomed to defeat with evil. Before his death, Othello regains his sight, faith in high ideals, loyalty, honesty, dedication, love returns to him again. The true triumphant in this play is Desdemona, who initially, contrary to all the views and
19
principles of life that reigned in the world of Iago, was honest and loyal, who
refuted them only with her being. Shakespeare shows that the ideals of truth and nobility are reality, however, it is difficult for her to survive in the conditions of the Venetian civilization. So the problem of optimism develops into the problem of utopia, in which the representative of the highest values is a black warrior, both by the nature of his soul and by origin alien to such a society, where the main principle is expressed in the words of Iago: "Pour money into the wallet." And the only true ally of the Moor is a woman who has broken with Venetian society. Their happiness, the harmony of their truthful, honest relationships are possible. But the sphere of such happiness and their high ideals is not a civilized Venice, but a utopian environment of "natural man". Shakespeare's tragedy causes readers (viewers) to hate the society where Iago reigns, but also instills pride in humanity, capable of giving birth to people like Othello and Desdemona. This is the great power of Shakespeare's tragedy, which opened before her a centuries-old triumphal path through the scenes of the whole world.