Othello A Tragic Hero
William Shakespeare's famous tragedy "Othello, the Moor of Venice" (c.1604, as reprinted in Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Literature: Structure Sound and Sense, 6th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993]1060-1148) is arguably one of the finest, if not the finest, tragedies in the literary history of Western civilization. This paper discusses Othello as a "tragic hero" and compares him to the great Aristotle's concept of what a "tragic hero" actually is. First, we need to understand the characteristics of a so-called "tragic hero" as defined by the Greek critic, Aristotle. He indicates that a tragic hero must have these characteristics: (1) Be a nobleman, prince, or person of high estate; (2) Have a tragic flaw, and a weakness in judgment; and (3) Fall from high to low estate. (Hubele). Using the Aristotle criteria, we can easily classify Othello, the Moor, as a tragic hero. At the time, it was common practice for the Italian city-states to have a foreigner, with proven military capabilities, serving as the head of their Army. Othello, an African Moor of noble birth, is just such a character and held the highest ranking military position as Governor-General of Cyprus. The city of Cypr
As you move through the play, Shakespeare intriguingly begins to show Othello's faults and negative character traits, which eventually lead to his destruction. His position as Governor-General, the allegiance from both the people of Venice and his soldiers and his confidence in himself can all be considered major contributors to his overall negative character flaws. In other words his positive aspects are responsible for bringing out his negative side, his flaws in character. The end nears as Othello's portrait of himself is weakened. "...the final Othello is not a pretty sight to watch... Consider his whimpering, his refusal to be himself, his uncontrolled screaming." (Kirschbaum, Leo, "The Modern Othello", (reprinted in English Literary History II, ([Dec 1994] pages 283-296). He now sees himself as a man deceived, by both Desdemona and Cassio, a man full of jealousy, and a man whose honor is now in question. Even as the final climatic murder takes place Othello deceives himself by telling himself it is his duty to kill her, it is not an act of revenge. His mythology in killing her is "...she must die, else she'll betray more men" (Act 5, Scene 2, line 6). "The murder of Desdemona acts out the final destruction in Othello himself of all the ordering powers of love, of trust, of the bond between human beings". (Bloom, Harold, Modern Critical Views, William Shakespeare The Tragedies, New York, Chelsea House Publishers, c1985], page 85).
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Approximate Word count = 2188
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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