Othello's Flaw in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Othello
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 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. Throughout the play, Othello?s character changes from a flawless military leader, to a murderer. He has certain traits which make him seem naive and unsophisticated compared to many other people. Iago knows Othello is a proud man, Othello?s open and trusting nature in the beginning of the play lets Iago, whom is cunning, untrustworthy, selfish, and plotting, use him as a scapegoat.
Othello, the Moor, as many call him, is a strong character. He is very proud and in control of every move throughout the play. The control is not only of power but also of the sense of his being, who he is, a great warrior. In Act I, Othello has a fight with Brabantio, who has come to kill him, but before anything could happen, Othello said: "Hold your hands, both of you of my inclining and the rest. Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it without a prompter" (I, ii, lines 97-100). The power shown here is quite surprising.
The nature of Othello's character is of a dark man. Not only because he is black, but also because he...
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...hat's a fable If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee? (V, II, Lines 333-334) He couldn't handle the anguish of knowing he had murdered in jealousy rather for justice. He carried out his sentence, by taking a knife and stabbing himself. He then said: "I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss" (V, ii, line 413-414).
Othello was jealous. He thought his wife was cheating on him and he thought he was killing for justice. He said that he loved not wisely but too well. It was not very smart of him to believe another man about something he should know more about. This is why I think of Othello as a tragic hero in this play. His character was brought to light of a horrible situation by a deceitful devil named Iago.
Bibliography:
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Alfred Harbab. Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1970.
1.) In the play “The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice” written by Williams Shakespeare, he reveals the main themes in Othello’s final speech. The two main themes Othello illustrates in his final speech are reputation and jealousy. In Othello’s speech he says, “When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, speak of me as I am.” (Shakespeare 355), showing the importance of his reputation. He is unable to cope with criticism due to his low-self-esteem and therefore, cares what other individuals have to say about him. Othello’s dark skin is the reason why he does not have high-self-esteem and becomes jealous when Iago tells him about his wife having an affair with Cassio. Othello loves Desdemona but he feels that he is not good enough for her
Northrop Frye once said, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Othello is the pillar of tragic heros, first playing the part of a loving husband with a beautiful wife, then being manipulated into believing his wife was cheating on him and killing her. Throughout the play, he played the part of the protagonist, everyone hoping he would figure out Iago was lying to him. Othello being the protagonist made the fact he was also a villain bittersweet. His apparent love for his wife Desdemona, his ‘just’ reasoning for killing her, and Iago’s deserving end all contribute to the tragic work as a whole.
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Races were viewed differently during the past, specifically the Elizabethan era. It was unexpected for the readers when they discovered the race of Othello. The protagonist, or the “good guy”, was usually portrayed as a light-skinned character in literature works. However, the main character in the play Othello was a black army general who is powerful and well respected by other characters. The critic G.K. Hunter looked further into the race of Othello and discovered the difference of races during the Elizabethans, “Hunter reviews the notions Elizabethans held about foreigners in general and blacks in particular, finding that there existed a widespread association of blacks with sin, wickednes...
How Othello Follows the Rules of Tragedy Tragedy is not just simply one sad event, in ancient Greek plays and in Shakespeare's tragedies it usually follows a number of common ingredients or rules. Firstly it involves a conspicuous or exceptional personality. For example in the occurrence of Princess Diana's death she was the exceptional character. She was a woman who had done an astonishing amount of work for charities and a Princess. The second rule of tragedy is that it must be unexpected and constructed with previous happiness or glory.
Nick Potter states: “Othello is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level of intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello comes to understand himself or anyone else.” Within Shakespeare’s Othello, no character fully understands themselves of one another. This is especially true in human dealings, where the intentions of characters and how others interpret them are often misaligned. Conflict, and eventually, tragedy arises in Othello due to the incomprehension between characters, as well as within the characters themselves. From the reader’s perspective, it is tragic to understand the reality behind all the incomprehension, since the characters are oblivious to what the readers are aware of.
Othello is the Cultural Other in Venetian society, and while he is very learned, it is probable that he is not fully aware of the social and cultural mores that govern Venice. As a Moor, Othello was reared outside Venice, and thus remains separate and exoticized. Although a great military man, and accepted by the elite of Venice, there is still a foreign-ness to him. The characters in the play, for the most part, call Othello "the Moor" (1. 1. 37, 1. 1. 161, 1. 2. 56). By calling Othello "the Moor," his proper name is taken away and he is left as an object. He is only accepted because of his military prowess, and seems to be used almost as a commodity; he is sent to Cyprus, with little warning--almost at the whim of the Duke. It is only because he is valuable to Venice that he is not punished for marrying the white Desdemona; Brabantio's anger is a clear indication that miscegenation is not an acceptable practice. Therefore, being a stranger to Venetian society, even a vague inkling that he is only a body used to fight may lead to insecurity that only exacerbates the deep-seeded, pre-existing ...
Shakespeare develops the character Iago into an instigator and evil man. Iago attempts and succeeds to convince Othello that his wife has had an affair with his friend Cassio. We see Iago beginning his plans at the very start of the play. “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at, I am not what I am.”(Oth 1:1:64-65) He immediately tries to start trouble with Brabantio and Othello over the marriage to Desdemona. Iago want to get in Othello’s way because he was passed over for general and Cassio was chosen instead. We see from the start how he plots against Othello and he involves several characters in his plans. “And what’s he then that says I play the villain? When this advice is free. I give and honest, probal to thinking, and indeed the course to win the Moor again? For tis easy Th’ inclining Desdemona to subdue in any honest suit; she’s framed as fruitful…”(2:3:295-300).
After learning from Desdemona that Othello is upset, Iago response saying, “Can he be angry? I have seen the cannon / When it hath blown his ranks into the air / And, like the devil, from his very arm / Puffed his own brother—and is he angry? / Something of moment then, I will go meet him. / There’s matter in ’t indeed, if he be angry.” (3.4.154-159) He has seen Othello in battle, keeping his head when men were dying all around him. Iago is a habitual liar, but there is no reason for him to lie about how Othello has conducted himself in battle. He says that if Othello is upset then something must be a good reason behind his anger. Of course, Iago knows the reason but he can not let Desdemona or Cassio know of his plan. Lodovico, a member of Venice 's diplomatic service, makes a similar remark about the Moor’s composer after he smacks his wife. He is in utter disbelief at the man actions. “Is this the noble Moor whom our full senate / Call all in all sufficient? Is this the nature / Whom passion could not shake? Whose solid virtue / The shot of accident nor dart of chance / Could neither graze nor pierce?” he asks. (4.1.297-301) Othello is unravelling at this point. His jealous is so strong that he has lost the very nature of his being. Instead of being a calm, collected leader, he is now acting
One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers. From the beginning Othello is noble, quick to act, judicious, trusting, and gives much weight to the importance of duty. These are all traits that serve to make him great at the beginning of the play, and later, ironically become key elements in his downfall. These aspects can be considered the internal causes of Othello’s tragic flaw. “Othello's nature is all of one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute…. Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood.” Othello is pure an...
Shakespeare’s Othello consists of the themes betrayal, love and dishonesty. At the centre of this play is the tragic downfall of Othello at the hands of his so called friend Iago. In this essay I will be discussing the reasons for and against Othello being responsible for his downfall through looking at critical interpretations of his character and actions.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the antagonist and villain who causes all the trouble and disorder. Othello is the protagonist, and is the main person Iago’s destruction and revenge is aimed towards. Othello is naïve and gives everybody his trust even though he may not know them or they haven’t earned his trust yet. He often refers to Iago has “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289). Iago is so angry that Othello didn’t give him the promotion that was given to Cassio that he plans to seek revenge against Othello. He seeks his revenge against Othello by manipulating and lying to all of the people around him including his closest friend Roderigo, Cassio, Othello’s wife Desdemona and even his own wife Emilia. In the end, Iago’s lies and manipulation led to the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, Othello and Desdemona. This isn’t the first time many of these individual characteristics have shown up in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
Othello is a man who comes from a hard life. In the time period the play is set in, racism is common and Othello is a target for it due to his dark skin. He fought in many battles and was put into slavery for a time. Now he is a high ranking General in the army. Othello, for all that he has been through, is also kind, caring, and trusting of those close to him. He cares and trusts his comrades and is loving and kind to his wife, Desdemona. Othello is also r...
Tragic heroes tend to have very pre-determined paths; usually making the most virtuous of characters destined to suffer. The hamartia or ‘tragic flaw’ is the typical reason the hero falls. Shakespeare was noted to be one of the best writers of tragedies, one of his most prominent to be Othello. In Othello, we find a number of tragic flaws two including pride and ambition. In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, pride and ambition are used to identify the outcomes for the main characters in the play when seeing the resolution of the play, perceiving those who survive and those who don’t, and considering each character’s role in the turn of events.