How Is Othello Respected

The character Othello in the play Othello by William Shakespeare displays three distinct traits. He is respected, trusting, and insecure. These things contribute significantly to the plot and make his downfall all the more realistic and tragic.

Othello is respected. Even though he is an outsider, a Moor, he is the general of the entire Venetian army. When Brabantio told the senate his daughter was stolen, the initial response was that Brabantio could choose any punishment and have the Senate’s support, even if it was one of their sons. But when they realized it was Othello, they were quick to second guess Brabantio’s claims. (I, iii)

The duke tells Brabantio, “To vouch this is no proof, without more certain and overt test” (I, iii, 107). While other blacks would likely have been lynched on the spot, Othello is given a chance to defend himself.

One would expect that, when heavily under the influence, most men would keep fighting. Othello, however, commands enough respect, that even in a drunken stupor, Cassio will stop and listen.

At the end of the play, this makes Othello’s downfall much greater, since he was well known and respected by others. Lodovico says, “O thou Othello that wert once so good, Fall’n in the practice of a damned slave, What shall be said to