A tragic hero is a main character that is the protagonist in a tragedy and who is affected by what happens in the narrative. Tragic heroes are the type of character that comes with a bond, who are lonely, and/or blunder upon their death, and they suffer more than they have too. Most tragic heroes are undone buy their own actions. “Othello” written by William Shakespeare is one of the prominent tragic heroes ever who allowed his jealousy to overcome him lead him to killing his wife, Desdemona and himself. They’re still many prominent tragic heroes in today’s modern world. Othello, is considered a well-known tragic hero for being an imperial man. He was a moor living in Venice, serving as a general of Venetian army. He was highly socially ranked …show more content…
Othello is quite the jealous and gullible type of character. Iago started to cause trouble between Othello and his wife Desdemona. Iago decided that he would tell Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful, by cheating on him with Cassio. While at Cyprus Iago spreads the rumor about Cassio and Desdemona seeing each other to Roderigo. “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?” This quote by Lodovico, Desdemona’s cousin, is asking if this is the same moor, who the senate considers capable? A man who is supposed to never get emotional and who never gets rattles, no matter when a disaster happens. This is where is downfall begins. Iago thought he would make Othello jealous by using Cassio. When Iago tells Othello that his wife is cheating on him, he asks for proof. Othello started to treat his wife poorly thinking that this rumor is true. After hearing a staged conversation between Cassio and Iago, Othello became jealous. He loses his mind and strangles Desdemona. Iago’s wife, Emilia had realized what Iago has done, she goes to tell Othello, but she is already dead. She explains the whole situation to everyone who was in the room that Iago is the one to blame. Othello tried to kill Iago, but when he went to stab him, …show more content…
Othello is an imperial man, even though he was black, some people had much respect for him. But Othello falls when he lets Iago get to his head, convincing him that an affair was happening between Cassio and Desdemona. When he finds out about the rumor he suspects it is true and strangles her to death. Later, after finding out it was all a lie, he feels sorrow and stabs himself, allowing him to lie next to Desdemona. Othello came from a rough past but he became an honorable war hero; a general of Venetian Army. Just like Othello, Jay Gatsby another tragic hero, coming from no money to being wealthy. Lived to love Daisy, only finding he was too poor to be with her. He did anything in his power to become wealthy enough to marry her. Mr. Wilson thought the person who killed his wife was her lover and they were the ones driving the car, but it was Daisy. When Mr. Wilson got out of the garage he saw the car at Gatsby’s house. He assumed that Gatsby was her lover, and shoots him while he lays in the pool. A tragic hero is described as a noble man and that Othello
Dictionary.com defines a tragic hero as “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat,” Othello is the obvious contender for the tragic hero in Othello, but Iago could also be considered a tragic hero. He starts off as a possible protagonist, but we quickly learn due to his antagonistic qualities that he is destined to be defeated in a grand way. Iago was eventually defeated in a grand way, he was sent to jail for
Othello, a play by William Shakespeare, takes place in Venice during the invasion of the island of Cyprus by the Turks. The protagonist of the story, Othello, is a newlywed, Moorish general with a very gullible nature. The antagonist of the story is Iago, an officer under Othello who wishes to be promoted to lieutenant, but the position was given to the young and attractive Cassio. Other major characters in the play are Desdemona, Othello's wife who is accused of having an affair with Cassio. In addition, there are Roderigo, a Venetian who is deeply in love with Desdemona; and Emilia (Iago's wife) who could have prevented the death of Desdemona.
While Othello murdered his wife Desdemona, he did it purely from misunderstanding and jealousy. Iago made Othello believe Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio even though she never did such actions. Iago’s persistence and villainous intentions made Othello become jealous of Cassio and break down his emotions towards Desdemona and want to kill her with fierce rage. Othello would not do such a crime if he have known it is was a
Iago wanted Othello’s position and used others to shame Othello and gain stature. Iago dressed himself up a trustworthy man and worked his way into Othello’s trust with tricks and lies. He wore a very convincing mask; often temporarily defending the person he was trying to ruin to further his honest visage. He says to Othello, “Men should be what they seem…” (3.3.127) through these methods, Iago convinces Othello that Cassio, an officer, was having an affair with Othello’s beautiful wife Desdemona. As a vicious result, Othello is driven mad with anger and sadness and throttles Desdemona in their bed. The death and want left by Iago’s deception is vast hurting everyone involved most frequently on a mortal level. When the truth finally comes out, Othello, in his grief and remorse, ends up stabbing himself with a dagger. In the end, many die due to Iago’s deception, through villainy or despair, and none gain what they truly want because of it. This just goes to show that the mask of deception that a man wears can cause an unbelievable amount of harm, bodily and worse,
...o he murders his wife. Then, he does not want to be made to look like a murderer so he begs to be remembered as a different man than the one he actually is. In the midst of trying to save his reputation, Othello reveals his subconscious fears of not being accepted and always looking like a foreigner no matter what he accomplishes. Out of all his accomplishments in the military, Othello wants to be remembered for one specific story – the time he saved a Venetian from being abused by a Turk. It is as if he is forcefully portraying himself as a contributing member of Venice by saying that he protected it from outside forces. At the same time, he equates himself to the Turk and kills himself in the same way he killed the Turk. Othello, in trying to save his reputation, loses everything he has ever cared about or worked for – Desdemona, his reputation, and his career.
Othello is the central character of the story and Shakespeare emphasizes his nobility and charisma. He has "magic" in the words he uses and the stories he tells and his ability to speak towers above other characters. He is an excellent officer and possesses the virtues of honesty and fortitude.
Hamlet. Romeo. Othello. These men not only star in some of Shakespeare’s finest plays, but they are all classic examples of tragic heroes. A tragic hero is one who is courageous and admired but who has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. Othello was one of the greatest military men of the time. He was highly respected among his superiors for both his military prowess and level headed nature. This was a man who could be in the heat of a battle and would remain collected. Though this great hero also had great shortcomings. Othello was naive, jealous, and concerned with public appearance. Othello is truly a dynamic character. As the play continues and his jealous increases, Othello gradually changes from a flawless military general into
By definition, a tragic hero is a protagonist that due to some tragic flaw loses everything he has. Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters possessing some tragic flaw. In Macbeth, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his enormous ambition to become king. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his need for revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s tragic flaw is his need to be remembered. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, Beowulf also has a tragic flaw, excessive pride and the search for fame, which ultimately leads to his demise.
In The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the “noble Moor” whose honor and innocence bring about his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this play Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othello’s embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding without any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal. He makes Othello believe that his new wife, the innocent Desdemona, is committing adultery with his newly promoted officer Michael Cassio. After this seed of jealousy has been planted, Othello’s mind takes its course in determining the true outcome, with a little more nudging from Iago. The course of action he proceeds to follow is one that not only ends his own life, but also the life of his wife and others. In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, Othello is a man who is still truly honorable, despite the course of action he takes to resolve his perceived problem.
Othello is a classic Greek tragedy because it abides by Aristotle's definition of great tragedies, the place, time, and focus of a single plot throughout the entirety of the play. Othello is a tragic hero whose demise is brought forth by his own tragic flaw. He is susceptible to the manipulation of others do to his own insecurity with himself, and ultimately leads to his irrational murder of the only thing he treasured, Desdemona. Through manipulation and deception, Iago is able to become the puppeteer of Othello's life, controlling the course of his fate in a sense simply through the power of words. Iago proves to be a crucial factor in the destruction of Othello's world.
Othello, the Moor of Venice is one of the major tragedies written by William Shakespeare that follows the main character, Othello through his trials and tribulations. Othello, the Moor of Venice is similar to William Shakespeare’s other tragedies and follows a set of specific rules of drama. The requirements include, following the definition of a tragedy, definition of tragic hero, containing a reversal of fortune, and a descent from happiness. William Shakespeare fulfills Aristotle’s requirements in this famous play.
Othello as 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 Cyprus was a city-state in the great state of Venice. His title alone, Governor-General, exudes an air of nobility, confidence, and strength. It defines someone who is held in tremendously high esteem by the people of Venice. During Act 1, Scene 3, the Duke and a few Senators are discussing issues around a table when Othello enters the room.
Othello's character in the duration of "The Tragedy of Othello", by the world's greatest writer, William Shakespeare, is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. The other main characters in the play all form their own opinions of him and, as the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Othello's character changes from a flawless military leader, to become a barbaric murderer.
Othello being very easily manipulated led him to make choices that would later on kill his wife and even kill himself. Othello having poor judgment lead him to trust the wrong people and this tied to him making the wrong decisions. His jealousy and obsession with Desdemona was what lead him to kill her. If Othello did not possess these traits the drama would have ended completely different. Othello let himself believe everything Iago told him, if he chose to trust his wife the whole conflict would have been averted. His obsession with his wife was so strong that he could not help think about what she did with Cassio and the only way out was to kill her.
Shakespeare wrote different types of plays such as comedies, tragedies, and historical plays. The play Othello is one of his tragedies. It is about a character named Othello who is a Moor, in the service of Venice. Throughout the play Iago, Othello's lieutenant, manipulates Othello to believe that Desdemona, Othello's wife, is cheating on him. Various characters in the play Othello appear to be virtuous, upstanding individuals, but their actions reveal that they are not as they appear to be.