Introduction
Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary suggests the following definition of a tragic hero: it is “a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy” (Tragic Hero) We suppose that William Shakespeare’s character of Othello perfectly suits this definition.
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This character is not stable; he is constantly developing throughout the play which leads to his overall tragedy. If at the beginning of the play he absolutely trusts his beloved Desdemona, as the play goes, he gradually loses his confidence in her. His distrust is based on Iago’s assumptions about Desdemona; he cannot control his anger any longer and does not stop in front of disrespect towards her in public. Othello’s anger appears beyond his control, and being moved by Iago’s subjective attitude towards Desdemona he kills her. Enraged and hurt, he is mistaken in his judgments about Desdemona, it is anger that he is moved by and not his sound mind. He fails to resist the anger, or, to be more exact, he never even attempts to do it.
What also empowers us to call Othello a tragic hero is the tragic flaws that he has. The most outrageous flaw of his is his jealousy. We are inclined to think that one of the most significant values of Shakespeare’s play is rooted in his message that jealousy ruins not only people’s relationships, but their lives as well. Othello appears to be a very trustful person in terms of his intercourse with Iago. He never questions Iago’s suggestions concerning Desdemona, his gullibility results in his jealousy. Jealousy has never done any good to people and Othello’s tragedy is a good illustration of this fact. Jealous emotions made Othello lose his mind and ability to make any reasonable judgments. Another flaw of Othello is his anger. Actually, Othello’s anger is an outcome of his jealousy. The instances of Othello’s anger are numerous in the fourth and the fifth acts, this conduct of his contrasts sharply with his previous behavior. Though Othello regrets the outcomes of his anger, it is too late already. After killing Desdemona he commits suicide which contributes to his status of a tragic hero: he takes responsibility for his actions in this way.
We can also assume that this is not jealousy but Othello’s susceptible mind should be called his fatal flaw. The thing is that Iago makes use of Othello’s lack of self-awareness to provoke and intensify natural feelings of jealousy. Because of his weak character Othello fails to resist Iago’s poison suggestions concerning Desdemona and falls victim to Iago’s traitorous nature.
We cannot but speak about the emotions that Othello evokes with the readers. Some have a feeling of disgust towards his actions; others feel nothing but pity towards the tragic hero. We are inclined to think that the dubious nature of the reader’s feelings is a direct consequence of the tragedy that the whole play brings about.
Summary
Summarizing we should say that Othello demonstrates the qualities that define a tragic hero: his downfall results from drastic changes in his behavior, he conveys a number of flaws characteristic to a tragic hero, he provokes a wide range of feelings with those who witness his tragedy. Therefore, Othello can truly be called a tragic hero.
Works Cited
“Tragic hero.” Webster’s New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7). Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 2008.