Othello as a Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a person who initially is well-respected and holds a high esteem within society. They are of high moral worth and are highly ambitious in what they set out to achieve. A single mistake or character aw can, however, bring them to ruin, with a loss of everything that they possess. n the discussion of whether Othello !ts the role of a tragic hero, the following concepts need to be considered. "irstly, as be!tting a tragic hero, Othello holds an important role. He is well-respected and admired by all. #econd #econdly, ly, throug through h a charac character ter aw and the added added compli complicat cation ion of e$ter e$ternal nal force forces s working against him, he su%ers a dramatic fall from grace. He loses all that he held dear- his wife, his status, his position, and the respect held by others of him. "inally, despite his actions, there is a lesson to be learnt and the audience is compelled to maintain some feeling of sympathy towards him. The sympathy of the audience towards othello&s character is largely due to his lack of understanding of the unforseen evils in the world around him. These evils are person personi!e i!ed d by ago. ago. Othel Othello& lo&s s nobili nobility, ty, moral morals, s, values values'id 'ideal eals, s, all play play a part part in the unraveling of his personality. ago whose e(uivocal but evil manipulation of Othello&s emotions presents the audience audience with a strong-wi strong-willed lled but fragile fragile character character.. Othello Othello appears appears ill-e(uipp ill-e(uipped ed to understand a character such as ago, and this gains the audiences sympathy. f we are to accept that a tragic hero is one that possesses the image of valour, nobility and honour, but in weakness cannot contain the manipulation of those mannerisms, then in the end we must come to the conclusion that he is indeed a tragic hero. Othello was blinded towards ago&s manipulating words and believes his false accusa accusatio tions ns of )esdem )esdemona ona&*s &*s adulte adultery ry with with +assio +assio.. Othell Othello&s o&s blindn blindness ess is clearl clearly y illust illustrat rated ed in the followin following g words words " ...My friend thy husband; honest, honest Iago....." ven those around around Othello such as milia milia were able able to see ago&s lies, that Othel Othello lo could not see. see. This This is evide evident nt in the followi following ng (uote (uote "You told a lie, an odious damned lie Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie. She false with assio! id you say with assio!" Othello took the love that he had for )esdemona for granted because he trusted one of his men ago/ more than his own beloved wife. " She#s like a liar gone to burning hell, t#was i that kill#d her" 0y killing )esdemona, whom he loved, Othello cert certai ainl nly y lose loses s some some of the the sy symp mpat athy hy of the the audi audien ence ce and and we !nd !nd it di1c di1cul ultt to recognise such actions as heroic. To To be a tragic hero, the hero 'character must be considered worthy, and he must hold a position of authority and respect. The tragedy takes place when he falls from this position. Through the te$t, it is clear Othello was revered as a man who was a worthy soldier and highly respected. The )uke calls him 2the 3aliant Othello2 and one of the senators refer to him as 2the brave moor2. t can also be seen that the men under his command hold him in high esteem, with +assio referring to him as 2Our 4reat +aptain2. n the end the view of Othello is very di%erent, due to his tragic aw of 5ealousy and pride, Othello was adressed as a viper by 6odovico, and was thought to be cowardly.
"$h then $thello, that were#t once so good, and fallen in the practice of a damn sla%e". The way he was referred referred to before his fall, and then after, shows that he was once of noble birth, but then fell. This unfortunate fall meant that Othello himself has lost his high position, and respect from his men, and even the people who commands him. Othello Othello had fallen fallen so far that a man that he had previously previously commanded commanded was the man who took that authority away.
+ourtesy of 7rof. Ali 8a9a "ahad 4ovt. 7ostgraduate +ollege, 4o5ra
"&hat#s he that was $thello' here i am where is the %iper! (ring the %illain forth". Othello&s loss of respect can be seen by )esdemona&s pleading with him, while she lay on the bed 5ust as her beloved husband is about to kill her. ")nd yet i fear you, for you are fatal then". #he has lost all the respect that she once held for him, and now no longer trusts him, but fears him. These points display that Othello has ful!lled a re(uirement of a tragic hero. The personal problems of Othello overwhelmed him and so became one of the causes of his blindness. Othello is oblivious to the fact that ago is taking advantage of his fatal aw of 5ealousy.
"$h beware *ealousy' it is the green+eyed which doth mock that which meet it, feed on. &he cuckold lies in bliss". This utterance of ago proves that he knows Othello more than Othello knows himself, and so, takes advantage of his personal aw, using it to his own, deadly advantage.
&he following is a summary of )ristotle#s- basic ideas regarding the tragic hero' The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness. This should be readily evident in the play. The character must occupy a 2high2 status position but must A6#O embody nobility and virtue as part of his'her innate character.
Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently great, he'she is not perfect. Otherwise, the rest of us--mere mortals--would be unable to identify with the tragic hero. :e should see in him or her someone who is essentially like us, although perhaps elevated to a higher position in society.
The hero&s downfall, therefore, is partially her'his own fault, the result of free choice, not of accident or villainy or some overriding, malignant fate. n fact, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of 5udgment or some character aw that contributes to the hero&s lack of perfection noted above. This error of 5udgment or character aw is known as hamartia and is usually translated as 2tragic aw2 although some scholars argue that this is a mistranslation/. Often the character&s hamartia involves hubris which is de!ned as a sort of arrogant pride or overcon!dence/.
The hero&s misfortunate is not wholly deserved. The punishment e$ceeds the crime.
The fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in selfknowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero..
Though it arouses solemn emotion, tragedy does not leave its audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argues that one function of tragedy is to arouse the 2unhealthy2 emotions of pity and fear and through a catharsis which comes from watching the tragic hero&s terrible fate/ cleanse us of those emotions. t might be worth noting here that 4reek drama was not considered 2entertainment,2 pure and simple* it had a communal function--to contribute to the good health of the community. This is why dramatic performances were a part of religious festivals and community celebrations.
+ourtesy of 7rof. Ali 8a9a "ahad 4ovt. 7ostgraduate +ollege, 4o5ra
