Othello, the Moor of Venice: A Tragic Hero

Miller’s Willy Loman exemplifies the core elements of a tragic hero who experiences a shift in understanding, fears that result in failing, and belief that any man, even a Lo-man, can experience that which is tragic.

In Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of Venice, Othello is considered a tragic hero because he undergoes a

Othello possesses both a noble birth and displays heroic qualities. One might argue, that he is a “Moor”, so this automatically places him on a lower level than most of society, and can’t classify as being born noble. This idea is contradicted because he is also born a prince, which means that he was indeed born of nobility. His position as a general in the army is due to his own hard work, and in the play we mainly hear about this position, and not his royalty. This makes his nobility self-made due to his leadership and hard work in the army, and not his birth. While Othello was not of noble birth, Othello is introduced to the reader in the theatrical work as a noble man, serving Venice as a high-ranking military official, with plenty of respect from others. (FIND A QUOTE)

Hamartia is Greek for ‘fault, failure and guilt'. It is the fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero, and Othello exemplifies this characteristic by appearing at the beginning of the play as a noble well-meaning man. As Othello says in the tragedy, “Think'st thou I'd make a life of jealousy, to follow still the changes of the moon 
With fresh suspicions? No; to be once in doubt Is once to be resolved: exchange me for a goat,
 When I shall turn the business of my soul To such exsufflicate and blown surmises,
 Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous” (3.3.31). Here, Othello claims that he won't be destroyed by jealousy. He r...

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...teia, anagnorisis and catharsis throughout the dramatic piece. (EXPAND)

Works Cited

"Aristotle - Poetics." Aristotle - Poetics. Ed. S. H.. Butcher. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. .

"Elements of a Tragic Hero in Literature." N.p., 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

Heilman, Robert B. "Tragic Hero." Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"Poetics / by Aristotle; Translated by S. H. Butcher." EBooks@Adelaide: Free Web Books, Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. .

Reeves, Charles H. "The Aristotelian Concept of the Tragic Hero." JSTOR. N.p., 1952. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

Shakespeare, William. Othello (Folger Shakespeare Library). Ed. Paul Werstine and Barbara A. Mowat. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.