Othello Tragic Hero Essay

Shakespeare’s play Othello is often criticized as being one of the most limited and bland of his great tragedies. This is most often the case because the character of Othello is often seen as flat and one dimensional, not a true tragic hero. We see his actions as predictable, his blind loyalty to Iago as foolish, and his mistrust of Desdemona unwarranted. I feel that it is very easy to fall into this trap as readers because we have the whole picture of what is going on, we see everything and we are distanced from the events. We have no stake in the outcome of the play, we will not lose anything over one outcome or another. Othello and the other characters are right in the midst of these events with a limited view of what is happening and

In the tradition of the Shakespearean tragedy the ultimate punishment is death. This is the point where Othello appears to fall short. Many readers of the play feel Othello got what he deserved and this undermines the tragic nature of what happens. The source of most of the audiences animosity towards Othello is the fact that he kill Desdemona. As readers we know that Desdemona is almost laughably innocent and we want to dislike anyone that would dare harm such a pure heart. This fact however makes events even more tragic because she would have forgiven Othello had he chosen not to murder her. Another source of animosity is the fact that Othello is seen as jealous, and as Bradley point out “Jealousy, especially sexual jealousy, brings with it a sense of shame and humiliation” (Bradley, Lect. 5, 178). We like to think that we are above jealousy, especially sexual jealousy because such emotions seem petty and unwarranted. As people we like to be in control of ourselves, but jealousy is something we cannot control, something that just happens to us. Othello’s jealousy makes him seem to be a monster who strikes down a pure, fair maiden. It is this characterization, often associated with the villains, that make us dislike Othello and forget it was really Iago who brought out this dark side of