Othello

After reading Othello, I noticed many similarities between Medea and Iago. The first thing I noticed was their need for revenge. Medea wanted revenge because Jason was marrying Creon's daughter. Iago wanted revenge because Othello promoted Cassio instead of him and because he suspected Othello of sleeping with his wife, Emilia.

Medea and Iago are also very good at manipulating others to do what they want. Roderigo is easily manipulated by Iago into doing things such as telling Brabantio that Othello and Desdemona eloped and near the end of the play killing Cassio because he is in love with Desdemona. Iago knows this and convinces Roderigo that doing what he says will help him win over Desdemona. Othello is also manipulated by Iago. Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Othello is so convinced by Iago that he smothers Desdemona in their bed. These are what I think are the main examples of Iago's manipulation in Othello, but there are many more in the play. The fact that Iago has this power to manipulate everyone around him is what I think is the main driving factor of this play.

Poetics

Aristotle has a lot of interesting things to say about what a tragedy should and shouldn't have in Poetics. He has six elements that he feels are important to a tragedy. The first and most important element is the plot itself. This was a new thought to me. I have always thought that it is ultimately the characters that are the most important, because portray the actions and emotions of a play. However, Aristotle points out that the plot is the foundation of a play and the characters build off of it. I might have overlooked the plot as the most important element because all of the other elements of a play are built on top of it. Aristotle makes a good point that even if a play had the best actors, props, and scenery, but if the plot was not constructed correctly the play could not elicit the reactions of pity and fear from the audience.

Also, I liked Aristotle's comparison of history and poetry. This comparison is interesting, because I have thought the two to be the story of events that may or may not have happened. I like Aristotle's explanation of the poet's job as writing about what might happen if these events actually did occur. On the other hand history is just accounts of what happened. I suppose a poet or play writer is the person who gets to ask and answer the question "What if this happened?"

Medea

While I was reading Medea I was constantly wondering if was realistic for a woman that was so scorn to actually plot and execute revenge so extreme to taking the lives of others, including the lives of her own children. This made me think about what I would do in Medea's situation. What if I met a guy and moved to a different country for him and after years of marriage and having a few kids, he decides to leave me and our kids for a younger woman? I would probably be like Medea in the beginning of the play and cry and threaten revenge. Medea then goes on to poison King Creon and his daughter and then kill her two children to leave her husband, Jason, with nothing. My rational thought would be to take my kids and leave. I would want revenge in some way, but I cannot see myself killing to get that revenge. The idea that Medea would kill her own children perplexes me. I would think that it would prolong her suffering, but I have to remember that Medea is from a different time. Also, I am not a mother and a wife and can only empathize with her. In the end, I think it comes to one question. Have you ever been so crazy in love that you do irrational things?