ABSTRACT

Shakespeare there seems deliberately to exploit pathos as much as possible, as appropriate to the nature of the tragic story. Othello is by nature given to romantic love and sentiment, just as he is to the romance and mastery of war. Othello’s death reenacts a deed of suicidal daring, making amends to himself and the world for the murderous passions and jealousies that have been sated with an equal swiftness upon Desdemona. The death of Cordelia appears to overwhelm the other characters in the play, because of the irrelevance that brings home its finality. Cordelia’s death is as unassuming as her whole being, her marriage to the King of France and her reappearance in England to help her father. For different reasons both Cordelia and the Fool are on the outside of the play. The joy of Dover cliff and the desolation of Cordelia dead are both outside the tragedy as such, and so is the fate of the Fool.