Othello The Tragic Hero

A detailed Summary of Othello The Tragic Hero


In William Shakespeare's Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. He is a character of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. His destruction is essentially precipitated by his own actions, as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not a fault of a single villain, but is rather a consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments and misjudgments, and attempts for personal justification exhibited by the characters. Othello is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. As the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Chronologically through the play, Othello's character changes from a flawless military leader, to a murderer. He has certain traits which make him seem naive and unsophisticated compared to many other people. Iago knows Othello is a proud man, Othello's open and trusting nature in the beginning of the play lets Iago- cunning, untrustworthy, selfish, and plotting; use him as a scapegoat.

Othello, the Moor, as many Venetians call him, is of strong character. He is very proud and in control of every move throughout the play. The control is not o


nly of power but also of the sense of his being who he is, a great warrior. In Act I, Othello has a scuffle with Brabantio, who has come to kill him, but before anything could happen, Othello said:

"I look down towards his feet -- but that's a fable If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee" (V, II, Lines 333-334)

"Hold your hands, both of you of my inclining and the rest. Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it without a prompter" (I, ii, lines 97-100).

"So please your grace, my ancient; A man he is of honesty and trust. To his conveyance I assign my wife, with what else needful your good grace shall think, To be sent after me" (I, iii, lines 306-310).

"I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss" (V, ii, line 413-414).

The power shown here is quite astounding.

Even if Othello was not as trusting or corrupt, he still would not realize Iago was lying. Othello commits his first act of violence against Desdemona by hitting her. This shows now Othello's tragic flaw. He made himself susceptible to Iago and the jealousy within him begins to lead to the end of others. By his actions, Othello has isolated himself from everyone except Iago. This gives Iago the

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Approximate Word count = 832
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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