SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDY AND ITS REFLECTION IN VOLTAIRE’S PLAYS. OTHELLO AND ZAIRE, THE DEPICTION OF JEALOUSY
SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDY AND ITS REFLECTION IN VOLTAIRE’S PLAYS. OTHELLO AND ZAIRE, THE DEPICTION OF JEALOUSY

Summary/Abstract: The Enlightenment can be considered the era of great change in the entire Europe from a social, political, religious and literary point of view. In literature, more specifically, in drama, it highlights the necessity of a new genre, the time of tragedy coming to its end, after an era of great literary value and rise of theatre. In England, Shakespeare was the most important literary figure during the Elizabethan era, inspiring Voltaire in his attempt to revitalise tragedy and prevent the emerging new trends of the 18th century. Our paper aims to highlight the influence of William Shakespeare’s artistic jealous on Voltaire’s attempt to revitalise the tragedy, by analysing the similarities between „Othello”, a tragedy in 5 acts, and „Zaire”. Starting from the fight between the traditional dramatic forms and the new genre attempt, we intend to the analyse of the common elements between „Othello” and „Zaire” at the level of action, the source of tragic and characters.The interpretation of the human strong feelings and how they determine the destiny of the individual and the ones surrounding him, the tragic guilt and the innocence are key facts of the tragic evolution of the characters.

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