Elements Contributing to Othello's Role of the Tragic Hero

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Elements Contributing to Othello's Role of the Tragic Hero

What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is the protagonist in the play who usually is faced with some opposing force whether internal or external. In order to be a tragic hero, one has to have the following characteristics: (1) be a nobleman, prince, or person of high estate; (2) have a tragic flaw, and a weakness in judgement; and (3) fall from high to low estate. These can be seen in Shakespeare's "Othello" which discusses the downfall of a noble man because of his flaws that are not actually defects in itself, but rather the excess of a virtue. All throughout this paper, I will discuss how Othello was being said as a nobleman and how his attributes became his tragic flaws that caused his downfall.

We can say that Othello is a nobleman because of the respect brought forth by the people of Cyprus in the first scene of the second act, when Montano, the Governor of Cyprus, is awaiting the arrival of Othello's ship, he remarked:

" Pray heaven he be,

For I have served him, and the man commands

Like a full soldier…

As to throw out our eyes for brave Othello…"

(II.i.36-40)

In this text, we can see that he is a proven leader of men and known for his military knowledge and skills. As a matter of fact, his soldiers hold him in awe, and throughout the play he is referred to as a captain whom do his comrades respect.

On the other hand, his noble attributes such as self-confidence, generous trust and love became the perfect concoction which eventually lead to his destruction. In other words his positive attributes are responsible for bringing out his negative side, his flaws in character. In the case of his self-confidence, it is clear at first that...

... middle of paper ...

...struction in Othello himself of all the ordering powers of love, of trust, of the bond between human beings.

Obviously Othello portrays the characteristics of a tragic hero. He clearly was a man of nobility, of noble character and held in a very high estate. He was discussed in this play by displaying his positive traits which man continues to search for in order to fulfill a happy life. His traits quickly came crashing down because of character flaws in other people such as deceit, fraud, selfishness, hatred, and a deep desire for revenge. Following Othello's trust for his good friend Iago, he clearly demonstrated flaws in the forms of judgments, jealousy, loss of self-control and his lack of self confidence in himself. All this eventually lead to the murder of Desdemona whom he continued to love through the end and his own eventual self inflicted death.

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