Othello Rough Draft

1029 Words5 Pages
Othello Rough Draft #2 In the play Othello, the protagonist Othello is a highly ranked general in the Venetian army. William Shakespeare writes about Othello’s great love for Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator, Brabantio. As the play progresses, Othello’s ensign, the seemingly good and honest Iago, who aims to get revenge on Othello for not promoting him, and Roderigo, a man deeply infatuated by Desdemona and determined to have her for himself, plot to bring about the demise of Othello. Othello’s character flaws begin to unravel, bringing him down to the point where he loses everything he once had. Othello is the epitome of a tragic hero in that he rises to great heights and falls to great depths, has a tragic flaw, and learns…show more content…
A Moorish general in the Venetian army, Othello is very well known for his feats and accomplishments in his position. In the play, Othello is sent by the Duke to Turkey to fight the troops; “The Turk with a most mighty preparation makes for Cyprus. Othello, the fortitude of the place is best known to you, and though we have there a substitute of most allowed sufficiency...” (I,iii, 218-225). The Duke says that Othello is a very smart man, and although there is already somebody in charge in Cyprus, everyone, including him, believes that Othello is the better man for the job. This shows that Othello is trusted enough by his people to lead an army in order to defend his country, something of high honor. Othello continues to rise to greater heights when Desdemona, the beautiful daughter of a senator in Venice, falls in love with Othello and gets married to him, a major accomplishment for somebody of his ethnicity. He is trusted and respected by many even though he is black, which is a factor that comes into play because the play takes place when blacks were still not treated equally as whites. Othello, general of an army about to go off to battle and deeply in love, like a tragic hero, is at a great height in his life. Soon, however, Othello steadily falls as Iago, Othello’s mentor, brings him down through his manipulative ways, making him believe that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him. Othello no longer trusts Desdemona and kills her, only to find out all that Iago has told him is a lie. Othello is stripped of his title as a general and has killed the innocent love of his life, bringing him to great depths, a pattern following that of a tragic
Open Document