Othello: A Tragic Hero Othello is the epitome of a tragic hero. He starts out as a rather respectable and rational General, but was eventually consumed by jealousy and anger. A tragic hero must start out high in power and have tragic flaws that lead him to ultimately a tragedy. Othello’s tragic flaw is that he is easily manipulated, leading him to trust the wrong people. The play begins by showing the readers that Othello is a noble General.
Is Brutus the hero or villain of the play? To be precise, the question is not if Brutus was good or bad but rather is the place hero or villain better for him. It’s a mixed opinion but the majority of people will have to agree the Brutus is indeed the tragic hero of the play. Sure Mark Antony is the first obvious answer but Brutus has done things that even though might be unforgivable, if people were to closely examine his actions more carefully then indeed, Brutus is the hero of the play and this can be proven. Brutus is a loving character that over the play is well known by everybody and his love and caring trait is known through the following quote: “O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts; / and that which would appear offence in us, / his countenance, like richest alchemy, / will change to virtue and to worthiness.” (I, iii; 157-160) In this scene, Caska wants Brutus to be in the conspiracy as he complements him because Brutus was well known and definitely a great leader.
Statement: ''According to Aristotle, the tragic hero should not be entirely good nor evil. Instead, he should possess a fatal flaw, which will incite pity and fear in the audience. Critics are divided about Othello. Some feel that he is flawless, while others think that he is too easily moved to jealousy. What is your view on the matter?''
Honest Iago,” (Act 1, scene 3, 293) The authority of his command reflects not only supreme confidence in his military prowess but also a great self-control and rationality. He is articulate and confident in himself and of his role in society. Othello defends his marriage in a sophisticated approach, speaking in an ardent manner to defend his position. His faith is absolute and he is prepared to stake his life upon his certain knowledge of Desdemona’s love. Nevertheless despite his self-control and his noble image, Othello
Although Othello is wildly respected because of his hard work to become general, Iago uses Othello’s skin color to try and destroy his reputation. Othello is portrayed as a passionate and noble hero. He is represented as an honest man and holds a high rank as general in the Venician Army. Although Othello is portrayed as a great man, he is also treated as an outsider because he is a Moor. For example Brabantio says to Othello “You’re something to fear, not to love.
While Shakespeare does use Iago’s soliloquy to encourage the audience to admire him, the soliloquy also highlights his incredible aptitude for malice. The continued metaphor of Iago’s jealousy being an ailment to him, “doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards” and expressed further on where he vows to give Othello “a jealousy so strong/that judgment cannot cure”, brings a sense of paranoia and mania to him. This paranoid side to Iago is further emphasized when he alleges Othello of having “leaped into my [his] seat”, his
Here he is saying that is Desdemona claims that her fathers accusations are right then they may not only take his position buth is life included. Othello in the play is very respected as well as respectful toward others.This is seen when he takes control of the fight that occurred between Cassio and Rodrigo.He greets Montano saying “worthy Montano” and in return Montano greets Othello saying “worthy Othello”.This shows his good natured character and how highly he was thought of and how highly he thought of others. Even though Othello is clearly a good man we notice how naive he is.We see this when he arrives back from Turkey and Othello says “Iago is most honest”, we see Othello mention how honest he thinks Iago is throughout the play.This shows how gullible and naive Othello is and how this ultimately leads to his downfall. Iago started telling Othello lies about Desdemona and Cassio how he thought they were having an affair. He did this by changing the appearance of things and making them look opposite of the actual reality.For example telling Othello that Desdemona gave her hankerchief to him and how they have already slept together.Othelle responds to the hankerchief situation saying “ farewell tranquil mind farewell content..Farewell!Othellos occupation is gone”.
Additionally, the Duke confirms his confidence in Othello’s military prowess by asking, “Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you against the general enemy Ottoman.” Othello is clearly aware of his authority, and even refers to himself as one of the “great ones.” (3.3.274). His personality radiates a noble aura that, along with
To what Extent is King Lear a Tragic Hero? Aristotle said that tragedy is characterised by seriousness and dignity and involving a great person who experiences a reversal of fortune. Aristotle’s definition can include a change of fortune from bad to good, but he says that the change from good to bad is preferable because this affects pity and fear within the audience. Tragedy results in catharsis (emotional cleansing) or healing for the audience through their experience of these emotions in response to the suffering of the characters in the drama/play. According to Aristotle a tragic hero must be a noble person and also hold a “high” status in society.
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? Nothing. Iago even gives himself away in 3.3.127 by responding “Men should be what they seem” Othello ignores the hint and allows Iago to continue to “pour his pessimist.” Throughout the play Othello goes through many changes one which is his trust. One of the biggest flaws that Othello had was that he lacked trust in