Character Analysis Of Othello: The Moor Of Venice

Introduction

In William Shakespeare’s play “Othello: The Moor of Venice” we are introduced to a man named Othello, a foreign solider in the Italian army. He is a solider of high rank and leader of the Venetian army who leads the troops to battle in Cyprus against the Turks. Despite his high opinion of himself and his character he has a few ultimately fatal character flaws that bring him to make some very poor decisions. These decisions take him down a path he doesn’t return from. In a fit of jealous rage, and because of his own feelings of embarrassment and insecurity, he chooses to end the life of his new wife and then ultimately himself. He elopes with Desdemona who is the only daughter of a senator, Brabantio, and promotes Cassio

Iago has somewhat of a God complex and begins to use others as his puppets to bring about the result he desires for himself. “The fact that Iago extensively employs imperatives goes to the notion that Iago is an agent in the play directing others to do as he say or bids.” (Macaulay, 2005) They begin to concoct a plot to bring about Othello’s undoing beginning with revealing to the senator that Othello has taken his only daughter in marriage without his knowledge. He is outraged to find this out and sets out to remove Othello from his station however before he can do so war breaks out and Othello is called into battle. He takes Desdemona with him on his journey as well as Emilia, Iago’s wife. Iago plots to spread rumors that have Cassio and Desdemona as the plot of a torrid love affair. The result is that things escalate into a chaotic downward spiral that does not go as planned. What should have been the death of Cassio at the hands of Iago as Othello killed Desdemona ended up in the deaths of Othello, Desdemona, Roderigo, and Emilia. Cassio lives and Iago is

A tragic hero is defined as “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat”. Someone who is the hero of the story but with at least one fatal flaw or “Achilles’s heel”. (Kennedy & Gioia, p905, 2016) Othello is one of these characters. He was a great warrior and leader as well as passionate and strong. He also exuded a great confidence in his abilities and his mere existence. His response in finding out that Desdemona’s father was on the war path was “Not I. I must be found. My parts, my title, and my perfect soul Shall manifest me rightly.” His overconfidence is exactly what led to his downfall though. He was aware of and took great stock in appearances. He believed himself to be the best and had to keep his reputation intact even at the cost of his wife’s life. “Othello presents himself as a man of complete self-assurance not only in himself but also in how others will perceive him”. (Macaulay, 2005) Aristotle also noted that the audience was not left feeling depressed after watching a tragedy but actually feeling a sense of relief. It’s the realization by an individual that their life, their problems are not really as bad as they think they are. Those pent up emotions give way to a sense of release which spills over into a feeling of relief by the time it is