One might think of a tragedy being a terrible and destructible event in one’s life that causes great pain and may contain great loss. One particular play written by William Shakespeare – one of the most well known poets in history, happens to be a tragedy-filled story. Othello, the Moor of Venice, set during the captivating renaissance era portrays a character named Othello who reveals characteristics of a tragic hero. The brilliant philosopher Aristotle from the fourth century B.C. developed his own definition and idea of what a tragic hero is. Eric Engle, author of “Aristotle, Law and Justice: The Tragic Hero,” said, Due to Aristotle’s influence, his tragic flaw has distorted western thought ever since its conception” (Engle). “The enquiry of whether Othello is a true tragic hero is debatable. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero was a protagonist who is socially superior to others, but then has a downfall due to a “tragic flaw,” typically caused by the character’s solitary weakness. Due to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, Othello possesses the qualities from his definition that fulfill the role of being a tragic hero.
The first quality that Aristotle believes tragic heroes acquire is character of noble status and greatness. Othello was not essentially born into wealth, but he is described as someone that was dignified and a leader and well respected among the citizens of the town. Shakespeare is often known for creating characters that are dominating leaders, such as Hamlet and Macbeth. Othello is one of Shakespeare’s great leaders, and one prime example of this in the story is when he arrives towards the beginning of the play of Act I. One of the senators said, “Here comes Brabantio and the valiant Moor,” (Kennedy ...
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... ultimately recognizes the goodness of Desdemona. The play’s antagonist, Iago, is finally put to shame as the terrible person that he was, and the power of evil was revealed. In the last act the guards took him away to be executed and he was put to death. Othello’s character is shown at the end when he commits suicide due to the enormous amount of regret and pain that he experienced. His love for Desdemona and the outcome of the play was truly tragic. He realized his faults and as a result, no longer wanted to remain living. In conclusion, Othello the Moor is a tragic hero due to his self-centered nature and his innocence. He allowed himself to be controlled by someone instead of trusting his heart in the process. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is embraced through the character of Othello, the moor, and the play is indeed considered an Aristotelian tragedy.
Northrop Frye once said, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Othello is the pillar of tragic heros, first playing the part of a loving husband with a beautiful wife, then being manipulated into believing his wife was cheating on him and killing her. Throughout the play, he played the part of the protagonist, everyone hoping he would figure out Iago was lying to him. Othello being the protagonist made the fact he was also a villain bittersweet. His apparent love for his wife Desdemona, his ‘just’ reasoning for killing her, and Iago’s deserving end all contribute to the tragic work as a whole.
Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary work that describes the downfall of an honorable, main character who is involved on historically or socially significant events. The main character, or tragic hero, has a tragic fault, the quality that leads to his or her own destruction. In reading Aristotle’s point of view, a tragedy play is when the main character(s) are under enormous pressure and are incapable to see the dignities in human life, which Aristotle’s ideas of tragedy is based on Oedipus the King. Shakespeare had a different view of tragedy. In fact, Shakespeare believed tragedy is when the hero is simply and solely destroyed. Golden (1984) argued the structure of Shakespearean tragedy would be that individual characters revolved around some pain and misery.
The first rule that is met in Shakespeare’s play is that Othello is considered tragic hero, which every tragedy must contain. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must be a man in a position of power who is a good person and makes a mistake during the timeline of the play due to a tragic flaw. Othello’s major flaw can be seen as jealousy: “Othello has often been described as a tragedy of character, as the play’s protagonist swiftly descends into a rage of jealousy
Othello is the tragic hero, because Othello is a character of nobility. He is good at the beginning but at the end he starts to become evil. ‘‘Othello’s downfall is jealousy (Othello’s Tragic Flaw) Iago tells Othello not to be jealous when Othello thinks his wife is cheating on him. Iago says to Othello, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds (Othello Act 3 Scene 3).” The meaning of this quote is not to be jealous, but because Othello is jealous that brings his downfall. It destroyed him and caused him to become gullible.
According to Aristotle, tragedy requires an admirable hero with power and in a high state, but more importantly, he or she possesses a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. This tragic flaw most closely relates to a character’s hubris, excessive pride in themselves or their judgment. But sometimes a character cannot be categorized as tragic, and one can argue whether or not the tragic character violates the requirements. In Sophocles’ Antigone Creon and Antigone serve as tragic characters in the play; however, Creon’s character exemplifies Aristotle’s theory of tragedy.
In Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of Venice, Othello is considered a tragic hero because he undergoes a
A tragic hero is defined as “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat”. Someone who is the hero of the story but with at least one fatal flaw or “Achilles’s heel”. (Kennedy & Gioia, p905, 2016) Othello is one of these characters. He was a great warrior and leader as well as passionate and strong. He also exuded a great confidence in his abilities and his mere existence. His response in finding out that Desdemona’s father was on the war path was “Not I. I must be found. My parts, my title, and my perfect soul Shall manifest me rightly.” His overconfidence is exactly what led to his downfall though. He was aware of and took great stock in appearances. He believed himself to be the best and had to keep his reputation intact even at the cost of his wife’s life. “Othello presents himself as a man of complete self-assurance not only in himself but also in how others will perceive him”. (Macaulay, 2005) Aristotle also noted that the audience was not left feeling depressed after watching a tragedy but actually feeling a sense of relief. It’s the realization by an individual that their life, their problems are not really as bad as they think they are. Those pent up emotions give way to a sense of release which spills over into a feeling of relief by the time it is
This leads to Aristotle's next observation: the main character in every great tragedy has a fatal flaw that will inevitably lead to his/her downfall. As previously mentioned, Othello was too easily duped by the trickery of his untrustworthy sidekick, Iago. Naivete blinded him from the deception of his inferior until, of course, it was far too late. Iago spoke of his gullible nature: "The Moor is of a free and open nature that thinks men honest that but seem so, and will as tenderly be led by th' nose as asses are." (I, iii, 442-445). Othello recognized his own folly at the conclusion to the tragic tale, left only with grief and repentance as his sole companions: "Then must you speak of one who loved not wisely, but too well." (IV, ii, 403-405).
Othello is like a hero of the ancient world in that he is not a man like us, but a man recognized as extraordinary. He seems born to do great deeds and live in legend. He h as the obvious heroic qualities of courage and strength, and no actor can attempt the role who is not physically impressive. He has the heroic capacity for passion. But the thing which most sets him apart is his solitariness. He is a stranger, a man of alien race, without ties of nature or natural duties. His value is not in what the world thinks of him, although the world rates him highly, and does not derive in any way from his station. It is inherent. He is, in a sense, a ‘self-made man’, the product of a certain kind of life which he has chosen to lead. . . . (140)
Shakespeare's Othello clearly demonstrates a tragic hero, with multiple deep rooted causes leading to a downfall. Othello is a complicated and troubled character who is manipulated into heinous acts. However, there are faults in his own traits that make him so easily overcome. Othello is overly passionate, both in love and anger. When he falls, he falls spectacularly. His emotions are explosive, his pride is toxic, and his security is fragile. This incapability to separate delusions from reality makes him susceptible to a horrific lapse in judgment, where he undermines himself.
The common definition of a tragedy, in theater terms, involves an unhappy though relieving ending. The evil has passed, the hero has fallen, a number of people have surely died, and so on. Though this definition focuses primarily on the final act or scene of a play, it is important to also remember what makes the tragic conclusion: the descent. It is the regression or deterioration of the protagonist that establishes the sorrowful finale. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the audience watches on as a seemingly loving and noble character is misled to commit acts of violence. Our tragic hero, Othello, is marred by jealousy as
Having captivated man for thousands of years, throughout numerous civilizations, tragedies give the audience an opportunity to identify with the main character, or tragic hero, and give them an opportunity to experience a full catharsis, which is the purging of emotions such as pity and fear and the figurative purification of the conscious. According to Aristotle, a basic tragic hero must be noble, have a definitive flaw that eventually causes their demise, and suffer a punishment that far exceeds their crime. Heroes such as these are very evident in the works of famous playwrights such as William Shakespeare. The tale, Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare, follows the tragic story of two lovers; one of which who was, in some way or another, a tragic hero. Based on Aristotelian ideals, Romeo is considered a tragic hero because he was noble of both spirit and bloodlines, he possessed a dangerously tragic flaw, and, although his end was inevitable, he ultimately died with honor. With this said, even though a tragic hero’s existence is centered around unwarranted suffering and bad decisions, they must be admirable in some way - and in Romeo’s case, as with the typical tragic hero, this admirable trait was his high social ranking.
Disappointment is absolutely crushing in a manner that a simple sad story cannot be, so it follows that The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, is that much more tragic because initially it does not appear to be a tragedy at all. Until the moment Othello murders Desdemona, the play, though commonly thought of as one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies, is structured more like those in what the First Folio would categorize as a comedy or what more modern scholars would call a romance. Othello is framed as a hero, his relationship with Desdemona is shown to be one that can stand up to just about anything and they travel to a new land, Cyprus, that is different than that which initially questioned
Aristotle's 'The Poetics', is a work in which he tried to define what tragedy was. Aristotle decided that the hero, or at least the main character in a tragedy must be centrally good, but must bring about himself his demise, due to a fatal flaw, known as 'hamartia'. The character must show traits of nobleness . Were the character not noble, the audience would not care about the person, and would not notice his fall. In all classical literature this rule hold true but in modern literature playwrights have proven that and audience can care less about productive heroes. All heroes of tragedies were noble and tried to do good but failed themselves.
Every tragic play must have a tragic hero. The tragic hero must possess many good traits, as well as one flaw, which eventually lead to his downfall. A tragic hero must be brave and noble. In Othello, Othello had one fatal flaw, he was too great.