Oedipus the King & Othello Rage

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EN121 November 6 2013 A tragic hero is defined as: a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Othello in William Shakespeare’s Othello and Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King are prime examples of tragic heroes. They have multiple traits in common such as pride, and passion that is uncontrolled. One that will be looked at here is their common trait of wrath. Throughout the play of Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello is tricked and fooled into getting angry with his love. In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus’ wrath aids the prophecy that he is doomed to fulfill come true. In both cases, the tragic hero in the play unleashes their wrath upon their fellow characters affecting their relationships with them. Othello is a black man whom this tragedy is named after. This soldier has a large flaw, his wrath. Throughout the play, Othello proves himself to be an angry man, often jumping to conclusions, greatly affecting his relationship with his love, Desdemona. This flaw also proves to be fatal to him in the end of the play. After some provocation and insinuations from Iago, and a comment from Desdemona that was took out of context. Othello believes that Desdemona has been unfaithful and he slaps her. This would not have been a big spectacle during that time period, for a man to discipline his wife, but they were in public and in the presence of Lodovico, who is of political power and Desdemona’s cousin. Othello also refers to Desdemona as “devil” (4.1. 242) Othello took Desdemona’s comment of "By my troth, I am glad on't" (4.1.238) out of context. She meant that she was glad that Othello no longer had to deal with the problem in Cyprus, however Othello thought that she meant that she was glad and was flaunting her relationship with Cassio. This caused him to lash out and slap

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