Othello A Tragic Hero
William Shakespeare's famous tragedy "Othello, the Moor of Venice" (c.1604, as reprinted in Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Literature: Structure Sound and Sense, 6th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993]1060-1148) is arguably one of the finest, if not the finest, tragedies in the literary history of Western civilization. This paper discusses Othello as a "tragic hero" and compares him to the great Aristotle's concept of what a "tragic hero" actually is. First, we need to understand the characteristics of a so-called "tragic hero" as defined by the Greek critic, Aristotle. He indicates that a tragic hero must have these characteristics: (1) Be a nobleman, prince, or person of high estate; (2) Have a tragic flaw, and a weakness in judgment; and (3) Fall from high to low estate. (Hubele). Using the Aristotle criteria, we can easily classify Othello, the Moor, as a tragic hero. At the time, it was common practice for the Italian city-states to have a foreigner, with proven military capabilities, serving as the head of their Army. Othello, an African Moor of noble birth, is just such a character and held the highest ranking military position as Governor-General of Cyprus. The city of Cypr
Othello displays his trust and confidence in both his wife and his ensign [Iago] when he remarks to Iago "to his [Iago] conveyance I assign my wife" (286). In other words his positive aspects are responsible for bringing out his negative side, his flaws in character. He also refers to him as the "brave Othello" (38). He now sees himself as a man deceived, by both Desdemona and Cassio, a man full of jealousy, and a man whose honor is now in question. School of Lifelong Learning, Liberty University, Publications Division. Bibliography Shakespeare, William, "Othello, the Moor of Venice" (reprinted in Lawrence Perrine and Thomas R. Shakespeare also shows a soft side when he displays Othello's love and confidence in his wife Desdemona. , Shakespearean Tragedy, 3rd edition, New York, St. Othello is clearly emanating pangs of jealousy here, he is hurt and his suffering is evident. It's in Act 3, Scene 3, the "temptation scene", that the turning point in this romantic tragedy appears. In one of his last speeches to Desdemona in Act 3, Scene 3, Othello chides himself for becoming angry with his wife and following her departure remarks to himself "Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul / but I do love thee! And whom I love thee not, / Chaos is come again" (90-91). Following Othello's trust for his good friend Iago he clearly demonstrated flaws in the forms of bad judgments, jealousy, loss of self control and his lack of self confidence in himself All this eventually led to the murder of the wife he continued to love through the end and his own eventual self inflicted death. the final Othello is not a pretty sight to watch.
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