Victory of Dionysus.docVIP

Victory of Dionysus 　　Abstract：The problem of blindness pervades throughout Shakespeare’s play of Othello. And the search for the truth and freedom exists all the time with Othello’s story going on. To reach the ecstasy，Othello suffers and endures as the rebellion against the convention and gradually shifting to nirvana as an awakening Dionysus. With the ultimate victory of Dionysus over Apollo，the tragic spirit sets Othello free and bestows him the significance of returning to the primitive nature. The essay aims to interpret Othello’s tragic spirit by virtue of Nietzschean aesthetics. 　　Keywords：Othello；Dionysus；nirvana；tragic spirit；Nietzschean aesthetics 　　1.Introduction 　　Othello has been so far，and will be，remaining its prestigious reputation since its publication. The essay is about to perceive in an Apollonian and Dionysian manner. Resorting to Friedrich Nietzsche，the essay attempts to analyze through Nietzschean aesthetics the tragic spirit of Othello as well as his nirvana. 　　The idea of Friedrich Nietzsche is very much employed in order to expound the tragic spirit of Othello. Nietzsche is a German philosopher whose influence remains substantial. In his great book The Birth of Tragedy，Nietzsche renders the respective features and significances of both Apollo and Dionysus，the two Greek deities. In Nietzschean depiction，the whole world and humanity are in the charge of Apollonian and Dionysian spirit，an alternative way of addressing the “idea” and the “will”. Both the gods find expression in Greek Mythology in which Apollo is the God of sun，of dream and of reason，while Dionysus the God of wine，of ecstasy and of intoxication. 　　2.Dionysus in Othello 　　From a Nietzschean perspective，Othello is overwhelmed by Dionysus. It is true to say that he is of dual personalities，the alleged Apollonian and Dionysian spirits. However，Dionysus gradually comes to awakening as the tragic fate goes on，and therefore，Othello finally achieves his epiphany. 　　2.1 Othe