Is Othello a Tragic Hero? Essay

A “tragedy, for Shakespeare, is the genre of uncompensated suffering” (Dutton and Howard, 2003, p. 9). To really understand the play Othello is to truly understand a tragedy; thus, this researcher will analyze Aristotle’s view point and compare it to phrases (or quotes) from Shakespeare’s Othello.

​Rudolph Shaw discusses the role of Othello in Shakespeare's play Othello, where Othello is presented as an African man who negates the stereotypical views of the British during the Elizabethan era.

‘Othello’ was written between 1601 and 1603. It was first performed in the Elizabethan courts during the Christmas season. The idea of a ‘perfect’ tragedy is the idea that the tragedy is faultless; it does what is expected; so makes the audience feel empathy and sympathy for the characters who suffer. There are two different types of tragedy: classical tragedy and Shakespearean tragedy. The tragic hero in this play is the main character, Othello. Othello's misfortune comes about because of his jealousy, trust, and his pride. This essay aims to look at, and compare, how Shakespeare wrote his tragedy, and how other tragedies are written. I will mainly compare ‘Othello’, for Shakespearean tragedy, and ‘Oedipus Rex’, by Sophocles, for

Even if Othello was not as trusting or corrupt, he still would not realize Iago was lying. Othello commits his first act of violence against Desdemona by hitting her. This shows now Othello's tragic flaw. He made himself susceptible to Iago and the jealousy within him begins to lead to the end of others. By his actions, Othello has isolated himself from everyone except Iago. This gives Iago the perfect opportunity to complete his course of action. Finally, Othello's breakdown

When first introduced to the play, Othello, I had been told that Othello was a tragic hero driven insane by a villain. The person who described him to me had led me to believe that Othello was a victim. However, when reading the play Othello, I did not feel he was a victim at all. On the contrary, Othello demonstrates all of the classic signs of a wife abuser:, interference in the relationship between his loved one and her family, prior use of violence, elevating his loved one to an unreasonable standard, unreasonable jealousy, and the use of physical force against his wife. Taken together, these factors highlight that Othello is not a tragic hero, but simply a wife-abuser.

There is no denying that Shakespeare is a definitive playwright. He has presented us with classic works that have set the precedent for drama and the theatre. Among Shakespeare’s more notable plays are his tragedies. In the tragedy his protagonists are often given flaws in their character and hence, are suitably named tragic heroes. The downfall of these protagonists is often a result of their own character flaws and unfortunately, they suffer a doomed and unhappy ending. While the tragic hero is flawed they must also be honorable and worthy of the audience’s understanding and sympathy. On a quest for righteousness the tragic hero often goes through immense suffering which is why the audience can feel bad for him. For the most

These instances heighten his nobility as a character. He is in great demand by the duke and senate due to his honorable qualities. This is evidenced by Cassio's comment that the senate "sent about three several quests" to look for Othello (I.ii.46). Othello is a noble man who is well known and respected for his position as a general. He is experienced in battle and shows great courage and demonstrates high levels of dignity. Othello shows immense respect for his fellow man, we see this in his initial relationships with Casio an Iago. Othello's valiant personality is a major part of his success in the military as well as with his marriage, to Desdemona. Because of his exotic qualities, he is able to woo his wife in an art of story telling, reflecting his nobility and honor. Such a storey seduces Desdemona, causing a strong bind to Othello made from a mixture of love and lust. The Venetian government trusts Othello enough to put him in full martial and political command of Cyprus; indeed, in his dying speech, Othello reminds the Venetians of the "service" he has done their state (V.ii.348). However noble or revered by his peers Othello may be, it is his honor, aided by his naivety and insecurity that lead to his destruction.

In Shakespeare?s play Othello, Othello himself is the tragic hero. He is an individual of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. His destruction is essentially precipitated by his own actions, as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not a fault of a single person, but is rather the consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments, misjudgments, and attempts for personal justification revealed by the characters.

Othello has spent most of his life in battle, which makes him good at some things. Othello says "Rude am I in my speech,/ and little bless'd with the soft phrase of peace,/ for

Shakespeare's play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is a powerful example of a tragedy and it’s main character, Othello, is an excellent illustration of what Aristotle constitutes as a tragic hero. The play imitates life through basic human emotions such as jealousy and rage. In addition, Othello is far from being a perfect character - another quality that meets Aristotle's requirements. Othello also matches Aristotle's ideas of tragic hero because our Othello realizes the error of his ways, causing us to feel sympathy for him. If we carefully examine the third scene in the third act, we can see how Othello fits into Aristotle's definition of tragic hero. This passage reveals how much Othello has deteriorated as far as his ability to reason

There are many instances throughout the play where Othello’s mind goes to his reputation before it goes to the matters at hand. For example, when initially presented with the idea that Desdemona was unfaithful to Othello, his mind goes to what others will think of him. In not seeing the issue between a married couple his insecurities killed him. In another instance, when Cassio is discharged due to his fight with Montano, Othello refuses to give Cassio a fair trial and a platform to defend himself upon. This is because Montano is a reputable man, and if Othello were to treat Cassio fairly, people would further look down on him.

Othello is a tragic hero because of his greatnesses and his weaknesses. He is a noble man who possesses all the qualities of a military leader, which he is. He has control over himself and shows courage as well as dignity. Just as Othello is a virtuous man there are some flaws within him, these flaws complete him ff as a tragic hero. Othello is often blinded by trust and can not see a person for who they really are. He trusts the people around him even when they mean to afflict harm upon him. Through this, it can be seen why Othello is one of the most tragic hero out of all the characters from Shakespeare’s many plays.

In order to gain a proper perspective on the concept of what a tragic hero is, we must synthesize information from the following play’s, “The Death Of A Salesman”, and “Oedipus The King”. Both plays takes the stance on the idea that validates the ultimate notion,  “tragic hero. From Willy’s hubris personality to his questionable and mysterious death, to Oedipus dynamic and complex choices and kingly personality that determines his fate. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement that leads to his/her downfall. In other words, even though both characters made incredible contributions and left a very noble legacy, their choices and decisions determined their ultimate fate. In today’s world tragic heroes are commonly present,

saying he will “tear her all to pieces” and he tells Iago to let him

As the reader reaches the end of this play, we see that Othello trades in his faults for his heroism, and loving status. As Othello kills himself by his own terms and under the veil of honour, we see a true hero become enshrined. The ultimate deed of sacrificing one’s life to show their love and honour is truly the greatest form of respect he could have shown to Desdemona and the most un-cowardly, and selfless thing he could have done for his men, as he admitted his faults and paid with the most valuable price. This memento is perfectly described by another critic with the same view, “beginning, then, with this passion, it is the art of Shakespeare to place his characters under those conditions that will show the true nature of their passion and develop it to its fullness and to its fated end. It is one of Shakespeare's supreme excellences that he realized that "every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed," and that every man's condemnation comes from the development of his own passions” (Crawford, Tragic Hero). As this critic alludes, when a man is tempted by love, there is no just cause for action, it is a raw and extremely powerful emotional experience.