Cressler, Loren. “Malcontented Iago and Revenge Tragedy Conventions in Othello.” Studies in
Philology, Volume
116, Number 1, Winter 2019, pp. 73-100.
In “Malcontented Iago and Revenge Tragedy Conventions in Othello,”
Loren Cressler makes the argument that Othello
can be considered a revenge tragedy in a manner unique to its contemporary
works of the same genre by offering “successful scaffolding” with which to
build a new dramaturgical category that combines the traditional model with
domestic tragedy. Cressler focuses on the play’s principal revenger, Iago, and
his role as a type required of revenge tragedies—that of the Malcontent. Cressler
claims Iago has many motivations for his vengeful actions albeit few specifically
defined goals, contrary to what some scholars have referred to as Iago’s “motiveless
malignity.” The article argues that Iago’s lack of moral obligation for his
revenge makes him a more human villain than the stereotypes presented in other plays
of the genre (hence, the “scaffolding” of a new kind of drama), and outlines
Iago’s reasons for retribution, explaining how they fit within the
characteristics of the revenge tragedy as outlined by Wendy Griswold.
--Leslie Leffers
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In “Malcontented Iago and
Revenge Tragedy Conventions in Othello”, Cressler writes that “Shakespeare’s Othello began its textual and dramatic life as a thoroughly typical revenge plot,” and
that he will argue that “it is because of, not in spite of, the formulaic plotting of the revenge play that the genre succeeds and suggest, moreover, that revenge tragedies enable the development of new genres by providing a functional and successful scaffolding on which to build dramatic innovation” (Cressler 74). Or in other words, in Cressler’s essay, he is going to argue how although Othello does not match how we traditionally view the classic revenge plot, the revenge tragedy actually helps the genre succeed and provides a place for new genres to develop. Cressler first fleshes out the character of Iago, and how he believes that he is the beginning of malcontents, before showing the fall and end of malcontents. He
then goes into detail about the black tragedies in Othello stating why Shakspeare probably made Othello black.
Priscilla Adams
