Othello:

A Classic Example of a Tragic Hero

October 28th, 2011

ENG3UE


        A tragic hero is an exceptional human being of public importance; they are of a virtuous nature often being able to generate the sympathy of others and their actions often affect whole communities and countries. Most of all, they have a hamartia; a fatal character flaw that causes the hero’s downfall. It the tragic hero’s hubris in the cases of Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and King Lear; and Hamlet’s indecisiveness in Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, this is no different. The tragic hero, Othello, is the general of the armies in Venice, and a Moor. He is an eloquent and exotic man who commands the respect of those around him. He has lived through many hardships as a soldier, which has elevated him to the position he holds now, as a general and the husband of Desdemona, whom he loves deeply. While the chaos that ensues at the end of the play is due to Iago’s malicious manipulation of characters, Othello’s individual downfall can be specifically attributed to his own weaknesses and character flaws. The three most dominant weaknesses in his character that causes this downfall are his misplaced trust, his jealousy and anger, and his lack of critical thinking when his emotions are involved.

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The first of Othello’s character flaws that led to his downfall is his misplaced trust –especially in Iago. “Honest Iago;” (I.iii.294) as he is referred to by many of the characters in the play, especially Othello, is a master of manipulation. After Iago convinces Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity, Othello says that he is “bound to [Iago] for ever,” (III.iii.214) before ever hearing Desdemona’s side of the story. Even after murdering Desdemona, Othello tells Emilia that it was “[Othello’s] friend…honest, honest Iago,” (V.ii.154) that had told him of Desdemona’s alleged impurity. This proves that Othello trusts Iago so much, that even ...

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