Othello as Tragic Hero

Othello as Tragic Hero

William Shakespeare has written many plays. His most tragic play is Othello. Othello is also the name of the main character in the play, he is quite hard to understand. Othello is a noble man, one who has grace with the ladies but also possesses all the virtues of a military leader that he is. Yet Othello has many traits and tragic flaws that make him a tragic hero.

Othello is a noble man who is well known and respected, for his position as a general. He is a general that is experienced in battle and shows courage and dignity. He also has a lot of respect for his fellow men like Casio and Iago and is reliable to them. Othello’s valiant personality is a major part of his success in the military as well as with the ladies, especially his wife Desdemona. Because Othello was who he is it made Desdemona fall in love with him and go through tough times, like facing her father Barbantio after getting married without his consent.

Although Othello seems like a good husband general he possesses a lot of tragic hero traits and flaws that bring up the tragedy. Othello’s flaw in all this is that he trusts too easily. Othello is used to dealing with military people and on the battle field, a place where you put your life in hands of others, therefore trusting another military friend is not uncommon. Yet Othello has trusted his friend Iago to interfere with his personal life. Iago is also respected in military and his reputation is not tarnished, which is why Othello has no reason not to believe Iago. In this case Iago is not who says to be or as honest as he says he is. Iago is portrayed as a villain in the play, because he misled so many people, especially Othello. Iago holds a grudge on Othello, thinking that Othello has had an affair with Iago’s wife Emilia. Now Iago is set to get his revenge by planting the idea in Othello’s head and corrupted him to think That Desdemona has cheated on him with another respected military lieutenant Casio, Providing proof and evidence he has set up. It set Othello now in one direction to now punish Desdemona for being unfaithful. It is the groundwork for the tragedy and conflicts both external and internal. Othello has chosen easily believe