Othello’s language is a central part of his nobility. He often speaks in a calm and measured way, with excellent delivery. Even Iago, a man hell-bent on destroying Othello, admits that Othello has a ‘bombast circumstance’. Othello’s self-dramatised and impassioned language makes him sound important and heroic – so much so that apparently, when talking to Desdemona, ‘she gave [him] for [his] pains a world of sighs’. Othello’s ability to rouse the emotions of the people he meets shows his ability to connect to people on an emotional level, which is a very noble quality.
Othello’s lack of cynicism, and unfailing trust for others may indicate a level of foolishness. However, it’s undeniable that his trust is a noble quality. Othello has a total faith in humanity, and it becomes apparent that he believes that everyone who surrounds him will treat him with the same level of honesty as he injects into his own life. He defies Brabantio’s undeniable logic (‘She has deceived her father, and may thee’), laying his ‘life upon her faith’. Several times through the play, he says ‘honest Iago’ – which is ironic, because the two words contradict each other in many senses. He also says, amidst Iago’s powerful methods of manipulation, ‘I do not think but Desdemona’s honest’. These qualities are noble as well as heroic, because not only is he trusting, but this also reflects his own honest qualities.
When Othello kills Desdemona, we also understand that despite his actions, he kills her for honourable reasons. His actions are not induced by rage, but rather, a strong belief that ‘she must die, else she’ll betray more men’. Is this not the ultimate heroic act? Othello is obviously, wrong in thinking that Desdemona betrayed him, but his intentions of killing her in order to save the honour and dignity of more men is incredibly heroic. He believes that his actions are justified in order to save others in society.
Literary critic A.C. Bradley also contends that Othello is a noble hero. Othello has an Agnorisis at the end (one of Aristotle’s four parts to a tragic hero). Because he has the humility to admit that he was wrong, the audience can sympathise with Othello and feel a sense of pathos at the end. He punishes himself, wailing, ‘O fool, fool, fool!’. Bradley writes that Othello’s actions are ‘to save Desdemona from herself, not in hate but in honour; in honour, and also in love.’ This is true, as he says after the murder, ‘this sorrow's heavenly: It strikes where it doth love.’ His grievance here shows a human side of Othello – he realises he has done something wrong and now feels a deep remorse. It’s obvious that he still loves Desdemona, and it’s tragic that he could only appreciate this after her death. This is what makes him noble.
All the evidence presented shows that Othello is indeed a noble hero. However, he is regularly foolish. Part of the reason however, that he is so heroic is because of his foolishness. His trust makes him vulnerable. When Iago gives Cassio the handkerchief of Desdemona, Othello doesn’t think to question whether this was proof of her disloyalty. Right up until the end of the play, he claims that the ‘pledge of love which I first gave her; I saw it in his hand’. The fickleness of the evidence that Othello has shows us that he can be incredibly foolish. The only other evidence supporting his belief that Desdemona has had an affair is what Iago had told him. Othello says to Emilia, ‘Cassio did top her. Ask thy husband else.’ Othello’s trust in others makes him incredibly gullible, and in this sense, foolish.
Othello’s foolishness is not limited to his death though. His choice of Cassio to be his lieutenant is arguably a foolish one. Iago claims that he knows ‘[his] prince’ and knows that he is ‘worth no worse a place’. However, Othello picks Cassio, who is not Venetian, he is ‘a Florentine’, who ‘never set a squadron in the field’. Othello’s decision to make Cassio his lieutenant instead of Iago shows his lack of judgment. Iago has plenty more experience, ‘the proof’ of which was seen ‘at Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds’, and would be a much better candidate. Iago suggests that the reasons for Othello’s selection were ‘pride and purposes’. Othello is particularly foolish, because if he had not chosen Cassio, Iago may have not built up the bitter resentment that results in Othello’s demise in the first place.
Ultimately, Othello is heroic and foolish; noble and credulous. Ironically a lot of his foolishness spurs on the sense of heroicness. His lack of judgment when killing Desdemona may be foolish, but it also shows his dedication to protecting others – thus building the image of a hero. Indeed, his foolishness, coupled with his jealousy, serves as his fatal flaw. He is in many ways a tragic hero, and like other tragic heroes, he makes mistakes. This does not diminish however, his heroic qualities. By the end of the play, Othello recognises and repents for his mistakes. And in this sense, he is truly a noble hero.