Othello: The Tragedy of an Aristotelian Tragic Hero

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Shakespeare's play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is a powerful example of a tragedy and it’s main character, Othello, is an excellent illustration of what Aristotle constitutes as a tragic hero. The play imitates life through basic human emotions such as jealousy and rage. In addition, Othello is far from being a perfect character - another quality that meets Aristotle's requirements. Othello also matches Aristotle's ideas of tragic hero because our Othello realizes the error of his ways, causing us to feel sympathy for him. If we carefully examine the third scene in the third act, we can see how Othello fits into Aristotle's definition of tragic hero. This passage reveals how much Othello has deteriorated as far as his ability to reason or consider things with Desdemona logically. Humanity seems to unravel in this scene as we watch Othello experience a myriad of emotions that only push him closer to the proverbial edge. We feel fear, sympathy, and pity as we watch the man transform before our eyes.

The tragedy of Othello has all of the different qualities that a play must have to be considered a tragedy. What defines a tragedy? Basically, a tragedy consists of the ultimate downfall of a tragic hero by his own error. In this play we are presented with Othello, the tragic hero of the play, whose character is defined as “a black man of courage and dignity - and yet insecure, capable of being fooled, a pushover for bad advice.” (Kennedy and Gioia, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing.; Shakespeare) This depiction of Othello tells us that he is naïve and all too quick to trust an individual, namely, Iago. Othello becomes so absorbed in Iago’s lies he loses sight of everything that he once va...

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...low the idea of what Aristotle had for the perfect tragedy. Greek tragedies had a musical element that “Othello, the Moor of Venice” lacked.

Works Cited

Aristotle. Poetics. 350 B.C.

Goode, William J. Marraige among the English Nobility in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Vol. 3. Cambdrige University Press, n.d. 2 vols.

Kelly, H. A. Ideas And Forms Of Tragedy From Aristotle To The Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 6th Compact Edition. New York: Longman, 2010.

Neilson, W.A. "Drama: III. The Elizabethan Drama." Lectures on the Harvard Classics (1909).

Shakespeare, William. "Othello, the Moor of Venice." Kennedy, X.J and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 6th Compact Edition. New York: Longman, 2010. 912-1012.

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