Irregularities in Othello The Shakespearean tragedy Othello contains various irregularities of time and events that leave the audience scratching their heads in wonder and doubt. We analyze some of these shortcomings in this essay. In the introduction to The Riverside Shakespeare Frank Kermode explains one of Othello's difficulties: Othello kills his wife on the second night in Cyprus. The difficulty, of which Shakespeare was clearly aware, arises from the fact that this leaves her no time to have "stolen hours of lust", certainly not to have enjoyed them repeatedly, as Iago claims. In allusions to frequent adultery such as III.iii.340-43 and V.ii.211-12, Shakespeare moves from the short to the long tense with great success; the audience is not asked to consider that Othello is forgetting that Desdemona was not on the same ship as Cassio, and has never had a chance since. We accept as much as possible that she was unfaithful, even if we know she wasn't. (1199)Consider the basic plot and what a “house of cards” it is. Without extreme luck, such a plot would not be possible. AC Bradley, in his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, describes the important “accidents” that befell the antagonist during the general's deception: Iago's skill was extraordinary, but so was his luck. Again and again a chance word from Desdemona, a chance meeting of Othello and Cassio, a question rising to our lips that anyone but Othello would have asked, would have destroyed Iago's plot and ended his life. In their place, Desdemona drops the handkerchief at the moment most favorable to him, Cassio mistakenly presents himself before Other...... middle of paper ...... ally to move in the right direction. (329)WORKS CITEDBradley, AC. Shakespearean tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991. Heilman, Robert B. “Spirit and Witchcraft: An Approach to Othello.” Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. Rev. Ed. Rpt. from The Sewanee Review, LXIV, 1 (Winter 1956), 1-4, 8-10; and Arizona Quarterly (Spring 1956), pp.5-16.Kermode, Frank. Introduction. The bank of the Shakespeare River. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974. Mack, Maynard. Everyone is Shakespeare: reflections especially on tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.Wilson, H.S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.