As Iago ends Act 1 with his soliloquy, we become sure that dishonesty is one of his most revered qualities. People may be good or bad or right or wrong, but we’re all just individuals made up of different parts. Some parts unique, but some are evidence of our inherent idiosyncrasy, proof that we’re all citizens of the world. Being maniacally brilliant, Iago lies to and manipulates the characters in Othello with hardly a second thought. He’s remarkably cunning at how he gets where he wants to go.
Him being drunk in this scene allows Shakespeare to develop his character both positively and negatively through an example of malapropism. He mishears a question asked of him by Olivia and ultimately confuses the word ''lethargy'' with ''lechery.'' Although the result of this is comic, it is also quite a crude joke and is an example of 'bad comedy'. This shows that Toby has a rude, inappropriate side to him. The reader second guesses their first opinion of him and sees a selfish side to him, as he is drunk at his cousins funeral with no regards to other peoples feelings.
Macbeth simply just let his ambition blind him. Ozymandias has the same mindset with that feeling of insuperability. “Look on my works ye, might and despair” (Ozymandias 11). This quote demonstrated the foolish arrogance of Ozymandias, and also holds some irony because everything around the statue or the so called “works” is in ruins. He wants everyone to know what he has done to show what a powerful man
Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles is one of the most famous tragedies ever written. The play centers on Oedipus the King of Thebes, who is cursed with an unfortunate prophecy. Though Oedipus is doomed by fate, his own qualities lead to his eventual ruin. Oedipus is in fact a tragic hero, because he embodies every aspect of the definition itself, the first part of the definition states the character/protagonist must be of noble birth and possess noble and moralistic character, the second portion of the definition explains the character is not perfect; he or she contains a harmartia or tragic flaw, and the third component of the definition states the character must recognize their role in their own demise and in turn experience great self realization. The character Oedipus accommodates the first aspect of the definition of a tragic hero.
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be a character of noble stature and greatness while embodying nobility as an inner virtue. Next, while tragic heroes are great, they are never perfect and always posses character flaws to make them more relatable to the masses. Continuing, a tragic hero’s fall from power is the fault of the hero; the result of free choice usually attributed to the heroes imperfection. Next, A hero’s actions result in an increase of self- awareness and self-knowledge. Finally, the fate of a tragic hero does not leave the audience in a state of depression, but draws solemn emotions of pity and sympathy.
Reasonable Eccentric Behavior of Dorian Gray . In the book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray is a handsome and proper man, but on the inside he is full of madness, guilt and misery. Initially he’s a melodramatic and petulant young man , but after realizing his true morals –his life skews toward the futile side. Instead of fixing his life, he lives for the pursuit of pleasure which makes him indifferent. Although his actions are very insane, they can be seen as rational to reader considering hedonism.
Shakespeare is a master at providing an audience with keen insight into the human psyche through the actions and words of his heroes, and even more so, his villains. Contained in Shakespearian plays are characters that are considered archetypes for much of today’s basis of judging a person malicious or malevolent. Two of the most infamous villains in all of Shakespearian literature are Iago in Othello and Claudius in Hamlet. Both Claudius and Iago are driven by immoral ambitions, such as jealousy. Unlike many of the "evil villains" in literature, Iago and Claudius are far more complex than may be seen at first.
While it may seem, that the tragedy of Othello was caused by the evil villain Iago, I believe that he was not the only one to blame. Although Iago played a big role in destroying his enemy, it was Othello’s character flaws that led himself to his own downfall. It is because of Othello’s gullibility, lack of trust in others, insecurity, and jealousy that he becomes a victim of his own tragedy. Othello is a very gullible person, and it is because of his gullibility that he is easily tricked into this situation by Iago. There many points in the play that show just how gullible Othello is***He trusted Iago; even after realizing Iago had a “monstrous” plan in mind Othello still trusted him, in 3.3.106-107 Othello says “by heaven, thou echoest me, As if there were some monster in thy thought.” Othello suspects Iago of having an agenda, in 3.3.118-119 when he asks Iago why he is weighing his words so carefully before he speaks, “And for I know thou’rt full of love and honesty and weig’st thy words before giv’st them breath.” In this quote we can see that Othello is on to Iago, he realizes how careful Iago is and even gets the feeling that maybe he is hiding something from him but what does he do?
Tragic heroes are, generally, the main character of a tragedy. Tragic heroes often error in their own actions and judgments of others leading them to their ultimate downfall, which commonly ends in their own death. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as, “a man of noble stature. He is not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him” (Aristotle). In order to be a tragic hero, the audience must be able to understand the character, and to feel pity and fear for him.
Characters like Iago with little pride let their thirst for pride overtake their judgment about what is right. Characters like Othello with a great deal of pride are easily manipulated, because they are so proud. Othello lets pride get the best of him, and this clouds his judgment to such an extent that he ends up murdering his wife because he falsely believes that she has been unfaithful to him and he feels humiliated as a result. Throughout Othello, an ordered structure is placed on this play to convey a sense of order as was required in an Elizabethan context owing to the significance of order, hierarchy and class. This can be seen at the end of the play when there is a need for Othello to be redeemed in the audiences’ eyes hence even Othello as a