![]() ![]() Clearly Othello trusts Iago, but Iago, as the audience knows, is anything but trustworthy, as he plans to destroy Othello for not promoting him to lieutenant and for a rumor that he slept with his wife. Othello refers to Iago as “honest Iago,” relying on him to expose the details of the scuffle between Cassio and Montano. He is not literally blind, but he fails to see Iago’s true motives to destroy him and is instead very trusting. Othello is blind, which could be his tragic flaw. ![]() It is difficult to conclusively determine which flaw will be the cause of Othello’s downfall at this point in the play, but it is clear that Othello has tragic flaws which will aid in his fall. Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero also includes hamartia or a tragic flaw which leads to the demise of the character. Othello has multiple flaws-blindness, hubris and jealousy- which could potentially be tragic. Othello has a great reputation as a general and got the girl- so according to Aristotle, Othello is undoubtedly a tragic hero because of his noble birth. He is considered to be a “valiant general” with wondrous stories of war and recently married, Desdemona, the fair daughter of Brabantio. Clearly, Othello is well respected and liked, especially by well-off individuals in the Venetian government. Even Brabantio, a senator of the Venetian state, held Othello in high regard, “oft ” to his home to listen to Othello’s “battles, sieges fortunes” (13). Othello was personally called upon by the Duke of Venice for matters of the state, meaning he was very important in the government that even the Duke knew him by name. The Duke “ haste-post haste appearance/ Even on the instant” (7). Essentially, such a “noble birth” ensures that the tragic hero has somewhere to fall from and Othello has it all. Without a full reading of the play, it is hard to determine conclusively which flaw will actually lead to his downfall.Īristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero include a noble birth- Othello, at the start of play is of high standing as the general of the Venetian army and just married Desdemona. Othello functions as a tragic hero according to the rules described by Aristotle in the Shakespearean play of the same name because he is of high standing at the beginning and possesses flaws including: blindness, hubris and jealousy, which could easily be tragic and lead to his downfall. ![]()
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