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The character analysis of othello
The character analysis of othello
How is the play Othello a tragedy
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Conventions of Othello
Shakespeare has been a part of the American Society for many years. Compared to other Authors, he has a different style of writing but within his own writings, they are all very much alike. He has written many plays including Othello and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare was a man who wrote plays that followed the same literary conventions. These conventions included tragic hero, fallacy, irony, and also suspense.
A tragic hero is a male figure who is high in society and one who always has a tragic flaw. Most of them are rich and intelligent men. In the story of Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. He was a character of nobility. He was a high in class and had high standards. He was also the focal point of society. People looked up to him. He was more of a good man than an evil man, until the end of the play.
Tragic Heroes have flaws that vary. Some men may have a weakness for being jealousy, for some men it might be arrogance, and for others it may be one’s own appearance. Othello’s main flaw was jealousy, which is what led him to the death of his wife, Desdemona (cliffnotes) . He also had another flaw, which was gullibility. Gullibility leads him to believing Iago and his misleading about Cassio, Desdemona, and etc… Without a flaw, a character cannot be a hero. This flaw leads to the downfall of the hero. Othello’s flaws are what made him seem to be a bad person. It is also what leads him to killing Desdemona.
In the story of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo was the tragic hero. His flaw was relying more on passion and love than common sense. He did not think before he made actions. Much like Othello, a death happened because of misleading and no understanding of what was really happening.
Besides Tragic ...
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...?" In Romeo and Juliet, What Are the Different Types of Irony Used? Um, What's Irony? N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2014.
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3 Dec. 2013. Kerschen, Lios. A. A “Critical Essay on ‘Romeo and Juliet’. ” Drama for Students. Ed.
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Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1997. Print.
The first rule that is met in Shakespeare’s play is that Othello is considered a tragic hero, which every tragedy must contain. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must be a man in a position of power who is a good person and makes a mistake during the timeline of the play due to a tragic flaw. Othello’s major flaw can be seen as jealousy: “Othello has often been described as a tragedy of character, as the play’s protagonist swiftly descends into a rage of jealousy. that completely destroys his life”("Othello"). Othello is shown to be a good man within the first few scenes of the play: “She wished she had not heard it; yet she wished that heaven had made her such a man” (1.3.162-163).
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55)
A tragic hero is a character born of noble birth who shows great qualities but has a major downfall due to their tragic flaws. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, both Romeo and Juliet have tragic flaws. Though Romeo shows clear signs of tragic flaws, Juliet Capulet is the tragic hero because she meets the characteristics perfectly.
William Shakespeare’s drama Othello is one concentrated contest between the forces of the morally good and the morally bad. Let us analyze this contest in detail in this essay.
Othello’s true flaw is not vile, destructive jealousy, but rather pure and prevailing love. He has a very strong character of virtue and nobility that is intact up to the horrid end. Iago’s deceit and trickery are more the cause of Othello’s tragic fall than any fault of Othello himself. This innocence and greatness of the tragic hero unequaled in any other Shakespearean tragedy is what gives the play its terrible irony and passion. Othello plays on the most powerful of all human emotions: faith and love, both embodied to the fullest in the great and honest Othello.
William Shakespeare masterfully crafted Othello, the Moor of Venice as an Aristotelian tragedy play. The main protagonist of the play, Othello, is the perfect example of a tragic hero. Shakespeare was influenced by Aristotle’s concept of a tragic hero and used Aristotle’s principles to create Othello. William Shakespeare attempted to create an Aristotelian tragedy play with a tragic hero and succeeded in Othello, the Moor of Venice by weaving in pity and fear into each line and action. The power of pity and fear creates the upmost tragic situation and follows in accordance of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. Othello makes the ultimate act as a tragic hero by killing himself at the end of the play. “Othello, more than any play in the canon, has a fascinating and contentious performance and reception history,”
"Othello." Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 649-87. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. .
Barthelemy, Anthony G. "Introduction" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 1-19)
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.
In many instances in literature, the flaws of characters lead into conflicts that arise and that the characters must attempt to overcome over the duration of the storyline. In some cases, the character facing these problems, typically the protagonist, is unable to triumph over such issues. This can cause their major character flaws to overwhelm them, and they can encounter even more troubles or even their own downfall. A comparable situation as the aforementioned is found in the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello, where the character flaws of the protagonist, Othello, cause weakness in his character, which ultimately leads to his downfall and death. One of the flaws that lead Othello to his downfall is the fact that he has very poor judgement, which is indisputably seen through the consistent trust that he finds in Iago. His downfall also occurs due to his overwhelming struggle against jealousy, which materializes primarily from the relationship that his wife has with Cassio. Furthermore, Othello’s insecurities cause weakness in his character, allowing the antagonist of the story, Iago, to use them in order to lead Othello into his downfall. With these faults in his character, it is evident that Othello’s downfall comes about due to his major character flaws.
In conclusion Othello’s jealousy is the one flaw that brings him down the most as he had succumbed to the pernicious influence of revenge which was embodied by the character Iago. If Iago hadn’t been so manipulating and Othello so naïve, the event which resulted in the downfall of Othello could have been avoided; so I believe the reason for his downfall ultimately lies with weaknesses of his character.
- - -. Othello. 1968. Ed. Kenneth Muir. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996.