Exception and Deformity in Shakespeare: A Psychoanalytical approach to Richard III and Othello

The interest in the beautiful and the ugly and, consequently, the unique markers of the latter existed throughout history. The Elizabethan era is marked by Queen Elizabeth I’s preoccupation with beauty and artists' attentiveness in portraying evil characters suffering from physical deformity. Unlike the general impression that outlines people with deformity as the inferior, this paper studies the uniqueness of two characters in William Shakespeare’s plays, i.e., Richard III and Othello, as examples of Exception, to explain how the distinction in appearance is not always an obstacle and could, in times even, be the source of power and freedom. Besides, we aim to investigate the reason behind Richard III and Othello’s morally and socially unacceptable deeds in the play. To do so, after discussing the concept of the ugly in literature, we will discuss the Freudian notion of Exception and the Lacanian module on the structure of the psyche in order to explain the reason behind Richard III and Othello’s different and cruel behaviors. Besides, it will be discussed how that distinct behavior is the reason behind Richard III’s and Othello’s attractiveness.

Keywords:

Deformity , Exception , Freud , Lacan , Ugly , William Shakespeare.