William Shakespeare presents an excellent leader but a poor reasoner in Othello. The

eponymous hero has strength, charisma, and eloquence. Yet these ideals of leadership

do not bode well in real world situations. The battlefield and Senate are, at least in

Othello, depicted as places of honor, where men speak truly. In addition, the matters of

war and state are relatively simple; no one lies to Othello, all seem to respect him. He

never even has to fight in the play, with the enemy disappearing by themselves. This

simplistic view does not help him in matters of the heart. His marriage is based on tall

tales and pity and his friendships are never examined; he thinks that anyone who

knows him love him. Thus the ultimate evaluation of Othello must be that, although he

leads well and means well, he lacks good judgement and common sense. This becomes

most plainly obvious in his final two speeches, where even though the play ends

properly, and in a dignified way, Othello never fully realizes or takes responsibility for

These two last orations of Othello are noble in speech and purp

gullible, he does buy Iago's tale of deceit based on a handkerchief and words. (V.2.405)

Desdemona an "ill-starred wench" - is hardly a gallant course of action. (V.2.316, 323)

is at a loss with what to do with his power: "Do you go back dismayed? / Man but a

comprehension. He uses the first to attack himself for his horrible deed; certainly this is

must be drawn from the lack of negative sentiment from anyone in the play). He speaks

Some common words found in the essay are:
Indeed Othello's, Senate Othello, Turk Venetian, V2320-322 Giving, V2405 Othello, William Shakespeare, Beat Venetian, Wisely Essay, marriage based, noble speech, othello's final, takes responsibility, final words,
Approximate Word count = 1335
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)