Tragic Hero In Othello

The extent of which Othello is a tragic hero has been open to much debate; the basis on which he is judged falls to Aristotle’s established view of the crucial elements that distinguish whether a person is truly tragic. According to Aristotle, a tragic protagonist is a nobleman or person from high status, who contributes to his own demise and illustrates a flaw or weakness in judgment. The tragic protagonist must make a fall from a high state of being to a low state or death. The tragic hero’s downfall, said Aristotle, was brought upon by some error of judgement. Aristotle’s theory is not the final word on tragedy, however it can support in pinpointing the pivotal traits in

Iago is one of the most misunderstood villains in Shakespeare literature. We side with Othello from the start because his name is on the cover of our paperback, we read Othello when learning about heroes, so we expect Iago to be a villain, a ruthless manipulator. We don’t know why, he doesn’t state it plainly or in simple English, so we assume that he’s evil, that he’s just a disgruntled sociopath out to exact his exaggerated revenge on good and noble Othello. Iago’s misunderstood reputation is a result of not truly examining his character, and answering the “why” factor behind his actions. After all, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. His goal in the play was not just to destroy Othello for the fun of it. His objective,

Iago is the antagonist of the play, and one of the most evil Shakespearean villains. Iago is extremely clever in the way he uses unsuspecting power- especially psychological power. He gets into people’s heads in many dishonest ways- by spreading false rumours, telling lies and psychologically tricking people and secretly controlling certain situations. His power to manipulate is a key point in the play, as it results in major consequences and the deaths of some main characters. Iago’s schemes are multi-levelled- he conspires with roderigo, and makes him believe that Desdemona will take him back. On another level, he leads Othello to believe his wife is having an affair with Cassio. He uses his wife Emilia (unknown to her), to bring back the handkerchief he uses to deceive Othello. Iago is an extremely resourceful and talented man, but he uses these resources and talents in detrimental ways. Iago is constantly referred to by numerous characters as ‘honest’. He himself also refers to honesty. Numerous characters believe that they know and trust Iago and that he would not lie, nor deceive them. Iago’s soliloquies also provide invaluable insight into his wicked mind and evil schemes and plans.

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. He is a character 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 villain, but is rather a consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments and misjudgments, and attempts for personal justification exhibited by the characters. Othello is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. As the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Chronologically through the play, Othello’s character

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.

    Who can compare in depth of evil to the villainous Iago in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? His villainy is incomparably destructive on all of those around him.

This vicious search for revenge does not bode well for Othello. The core of Shakespeare’s tragedies is death. However, according to Pr. Lhousain Simour this cannot be just any death. “A tale of suffering and calamity conducting to a disastrous ending; a tale of a man worn to death on

In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the Iago is the most important character. It is his dreams, hopes and desires that turn him evil, bringing out the worst possible characteristics in order to achieve all the things he wants. Iago’s manipulative traits, deceitful actions and love for Othello eventually cause the death Emilia, Desdemona and Othello himself.

“Houston, we have a problem!” Hopefully in my own space exploration project we will not need to utter that infamous phrase. This trip is extremely dangerous, and it is not definite that we should ever return to Earth, our goal is to find proof of alien life. I am responsible for choosing my own compatriots that I feel would be the beneficial to my mission. To join me on my journey I am taking with me three very different people, all with a varying set of strengths. First, I chose Beowulf to accompany me due to his strong leadership and monster-killing qualities. Then, I decided I needed someone to serve as Beowulf’s second in command, the perfect candidate for this position would definitely be Sir Gawain, a chivalrous knight of King Arthur’s Round Table. For my third companion I am going to take Shakespeare’s character of Desdemona, from Othello.

Shakespeare is very well known for his inclusion of tragic flaws throughout the storylines of his novels. Hero’s, as courageous as they may seem, are just like any other person and go through flaws throughout their lifetime regardless of the extent of their situation. In Shakespeare’s novel Othello, with all the events twisting the readers mind from one side to another, there are many distinct qualities that portray Othello’s tragic flaw. Iago was portrayed as an honest character but with his careful deceptions jabbing in Othello’s mind, he is far from honest. Othello’s tragic flaw is that he trusts others opinions more than his own perceptions and Shakespeare develops this flaw by using convincing persuasive appeals and strong syntax throughout

Iago is one of the most interesting characters in the tragedy "Othello" by William Shakespeare. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits him and gets him closer to his goals. He is the driving force in this play, pushing Othello and everyone else towards the tragic ending.

As Othello came to his breaking point, desdemona foreshadows her own death and he lets jealousy take over. When Othello can’t dismiss his suspicions of his wife being unfaithful any longer he starts to lose his morality . After confronting Desdemona of her “crimes” he decides to carry out his overall plan to end his trues loves life. When he realizes the grave mistake he had made by taking an honest Desdemona's life he can no longer live with himself. Othello decides the only way to right his wrong is to take his own life.

The highly emotional scenes in Othello give the audience a means of catharsis for the audience. It is necessary for this to transpire within a tragedy. H.A. Kelly writes in his book “Ideas And forms Of Tragedy From Aristotle To The Middle Ages” that “the representation generates certain passions in souls that moderate themselves, to pitying or fearing.” The reader connects with the powerful emotions of sadness in the story. The overwhelming feelings allow the reader to let out the suppressed feelings in a way that is allegedly therapeutic. Furthermore, Professor W.A. Neilson of Harvard University says “This is in part due to the splendor of its poetry, the absorbing nature of the plot, and the vividness of the drawing of characters who marvelously combine individuality with a universal and typical quality that makes them appeal to people of all kinds and races.” In the tragic story of Othello and Desdemona, pain and heartache is a paramount emotion from the beginning through to the end of the play. For example, the story begins with Iago and Roderigo enacting their plan to tell Desdemona’s unknowing father, Brabantio, of her marriage to Othello. Brabantio then becomes irate with emotions of anger and betrayal. In scene III, he expresses these emotions while addressing the Duke and a handful of senators by saying “She is abused, stol’n from me and corrupted.” (Shakespeare) The reader can connect and

When reading a story, specifically a tragedy, what stands out? Tragedy often enables its audience to reflect on personal values that might be in conflict with civil ideas, on the claims of minorities that it neglected or excluded from public life, on its on irrational prejudices toward the foreign of the unknown (Kennedy & Gioia, 2103, p. 857). Readers feel sympathy for the characters, especially the tragic hero. Othello, the Moor of Venice is a prime example of a great tragic story which follows the example Aristotle brings to light in his Poetics (guidelines to drama). The Aristotelian definition of a tragedy and a tragic hero have certain requirements; these requirements are met in Othello, the Moor of Venice, as a story of imitation, incorporating pity, fear, perpeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis, Othello is also seen as an Aristotelian tragic hero as someone that is good, appropriate, lifelike, of noble birth, is of high character, and who has a tragic flaw which meets the Aristotelian definition.

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.