Othello: Characters Bring About Their Own Demise

As in almost all tragedies, especially those of William Shakespeare, the tragic hero always runs into misfortune. The play Othello is no exception. In this play, every character acquainted with the tragic hero appears to be unfortunate. While these misfortunes are oddly related to Othello, are they his fault or did each character attract them out of their own actions? To answer this daunting question, one must consider the three most unfortunate characters: Othello, Desdamona and Roderigo and analyse their downfall which eventually lead to their deaths. It is known from reading the play that Iago is the one who manipulates all three of them. Examinations of their connection with him before their deaths are necessary to answer this question. After scrutinizing those three characters it is apparent that all of the characters who experience misfortune in Othello bring it on themselves.

The protagonist and tragic hero of this play is Othello, the moor of Venice. From the beginning of the play, Othello’s actions or assumed actions have influenced, either directly or indirectly, his fate. In the first scene, we learn that Othello has promoted Cassio to be his new Lieutenant rather than the seemingly fit Iago, much to Iago’s disdain, “I have already chose