Othello as a Tragic Hero Essay Sample free essay sample

One of the most obvious focal point of dissension about Othello is whether Othello was a tragic hero or non harmonizing to the authoritative construct of a tragic hero ; whether his word picture. personal properties make him fall into the sphere of Aristotelean construct of tragic hero ; Whether or non he possessed a tragic defect. To Swinburne. Othello was â€Å"the baronial adult male of man’s making† . ( Swinburne ) But T. S. Eliot. on the other manus spoke unfavourably of his â€Å"cheering himself up† . ( 153 ) and came out with a famed critical term â€Å"Bovarysme† . Robert H. Heilman ( 1956 ) comes really close to repeating the Eliot place when he says ; â€Å"Othello is the least heroic of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes. † ( p. 166 ) The designation of Othello’stragic flawdiffers from reader to reader and from critic to critic. Some critics are of the position that inordinate Egotism and assurance of Othello remain the chief cause of his calamity. He harbors undue intuitions against Desdemona. He had a trusting nature and he is thorough in his trust of Iago. ( Bradley. 1965. p. 213. Jealousy overpowers him and he lacks self-denial. It is barely likely that even a combination of all these would be equal to what Aristotle considered to be a serioustragic flaw.and he exhibited any of the weakness mentioned above. It would barely be logical to state that the Othello was punished for offense in the yes of the Godhead. Another position is that the present weaknesss of Othello may be taken to agencies that he was he was ever like that. and his calamity comes due some built-in or unconditioned unsoundness in his character. However we get no indicant of this in the drama. The construct of the tragic hero that we gather from Aristotle’sPoeticssis that he is a extremely esteemed and comfortable adult male who falls into bad luck because of some serioustragic flawi. e. tragic defect. Aristotle gives the illustration of Oedipus and Thyestes. which means that harmonizing to him. it was Oedipus’tragic flawthat was straight responsible for his autumn. Although the significance oftragic flawis far from certain. its most frequent applications is in the sense of false moral judgement. or even strictly rational mistakes. Among Greeks no crisp differentiation between the two existed. It is by and large believed that harmonizing to Aristotle thetragic flawoff Oedipus consists in some moral mistakes and it has been tried to place assorted moral mistakes in Oedipus. Othello besides possessed these moral defect and his calamity merely comes due to these moral defects. So harmonizing to Aristotelean construct. Othello is a tragic hero as he is a larger t han life character and has tragic defects that conveying his devastation. Distinguished Professor Butcher has identified four possible scope of significance of Aristotle‘s Hamartia i. e. tragic defect. The foremost of these intensions is an mistake due to ineluctable ignorance of fortunes whereas an mistake caused by unknowingness of conditions that might hold been identified and for that ground to some extent morally blamable is another manifestation of the sense in which the termtragic flawwas used by Aristotle. The 3rd sense is â€Å"A mistake or mistake where the act is witting and knowing. but non consider. Such Acts of the Apostless are committed in choler or passion. † Where as 4th one is â€Å"A mistake of character distinct. on the one manus. from an stray mistake. and. on the other. from the frailty which has its place in the perverse will†¦a defect of character that is non tainted with a barbarous intent. † [ 1 ] This essay will seek to analyse all these manifestation of tragic defects present in the character of Othello to attest that he was a tragic hero. The character of Othello possesses an aura of personality that makes him distinguished every bit good naif and unprocessed as compared with other characters in the drama and other Shakespearian supporters. That is the exclusive ground that why he fell a quarry to Iago’s secret plan. Iago told Roderigo. â€Å"O. sir. content you. I follow him [ Othello ] to function my bend upon him â€Å" ( I. I lines 38-9 ) . Iago explains that merely follow Othello to certain extent. A fundamental guess is that as the slaying of Othello’s married woman Desdemona is the consequence of craftiness of Iago. so himself remained a victim to the evil mastermind of Iago. Othello’s wrath was a merchandise of his impulsiveness. the built-in defect in his character. but that was utilised and triggered by the intrigue of Iago. The discourtesy of Iago – to cabal the death of the Moor – is worse since it is embedded in a shrewd head with organized effort whereas the error of Othello was the consequence of his naivete . He was blindfolded by a irritant in the bosom and head. But his wickedness can non be justified merely on this land as there were assorted methods to look into the culpability. However. it can be illustrated that Othello permitted himself to be influenced by Iago’s proposition of the infidelity of Desdemona. Iago merely provides a justification that was needed by Othello. Some critics are of the position that Desdemona’s slaying is an result of Othello’s inordinate haughtiness and his impulsiveness to decision-making. A. C. Bradley ponders over the temperaments and nature of Othello and says in this respect ; â€Å"The beginnings of danger in this character are revealed but excessively clearly by the narrative. In the first topographic point. Othello’s head. for all its poesy. is really simple. He is non observant. His nature tends outward. He is rather free from self-contemplation. and is non given to contemplation. Emotion excites his imaginativeness. but it confuses and dulls his mind. On this side he is the really opposite of Hamlet. with whom. nevertheless. he portions a great openness and trustingness of nature. In add-on. he has small experience of the corrupt merchandises of civilized life. and is nescient of European adult females. † ( p. 217 ) Despite this major defect. he possessed some distinguishable personality traits. His has the capacity to construct positive and mutual relationships and to take a figure of stairss to carry. He possesses the capableness to orient an attack to appeal to the demands of a peculiar audience and an illustration of this relationship edifice is his echt company with Iago. But once more this trait of Othello is used against him as Iago takes advantage of his trust and design more evil secret plans against him. Although Othello possesses some evil leanings but he is capable of forestalling these base and evil inherent aptitudes to rule him. In order to turn up the grade and gravitation of his wickednesss. his motivations fro his evil actions must be taken into consideration. It can be argued that his wickednesss are merchandise of weak mental modules and some built-in defects in his character. It was further enhanced by the use of Iago alternatively of his pride. His action of slaying Desdemona was besides non due to lack of assurance as he was a strong leader as manifested by his ability to command military and assorted other provinces personal businesss. But his leading does non intend that he was forfeited against personal phantasies and caprices of imaginativeness. Othello’s basic quandary was that he was in a wholly new socio-cultural surroundings. He was in a new metropolis with a new bride who was graceful and immature. Furthermore. Othello was in deep love with her does non cognize her well. He was unsure about Desdemona determination to choose him as her hubby. and can merely grok one elucidation. â€Å"She lov’d me for the dangers I had pass’d. † ( I. three. 167 ) He is cognizant of the prevalent environment of bias and prejudice in Venice and without uncertainty must ask why Desdemona would against her ain norms and values and associate white Venetians by get marrieding an foreigner. All these added intuition in his heads before Iago begins his conniving secret plan. Although Desdemona was an prototype of love and attention for her. but his preconceived impressions can non enable him to believe in her love unreservedly. His response to his skeptic head is to set Desdemona on a base. doing her an â€Å"emblem of pureness and trustworthiness† ‘Tis non to do me jealous/ To state my married woman Is just. provenders good. loves company. Is free of address. sings. dramas. and dances good. / Where virtuousness Is. these are more virtuous. Nor from mine ain weak virtues will I draw/ The smallest fright or uncertainty of her rebellion. For she had eyes. and chose me. ( 3. 3. 180 ) Othello arrived at the decision that Desdemona’s consideration and virtuousness merely capacitated her to experience fondness for the unlovable — an unstable apogee arising from his low dignity. When Iago cast away this fabricated idealism with his evil designs. he is simply beef uping what Othello considers deeply to be exhaustively possible i. e. that Desdemona could love another adult male. Iago is on manus to verify Othello’s primary uncertainties: Ay. there’s the point! as ( to be bold with you ) / Not to impact many proposed matches/ Of her ain climate. skin color. and degree. / Whereto we see in all things nature tends †¦ Her will. flinching to her better opinion. / May autumn to fit you with her state signifiers. / And merrily repent. ( 3. 3. 228 ) So all these facts. statements and supported grounds clearly manifest that Othello was a lager than life character and his tragic defect contributes toward his calamity. It is both an amalgam of self-infliction and fortunes beyond his control. He is a baronial character but when things go incorrect and force per unit areas builds up. Othello’s insufficiencies are revealed like the clefts in the dike. This makes him a tragic hero harmonizing to really construct of Aristotle. A. C. Bradley refutes the point of position that Othello was non baronial and has no features of a tragic hero. He is of the position ; This character is so baronial. Othello’s feelings and actions follow so necessarily from it and from the forces brought to bear on it. and his agonies are so heart-rending. that he stirs. I believe. in most readers a passion of mingled love and commiseration which they feel for no other hero in Shakespeare. and to which non even Mr Swinburne can make more than justness. Yet there are some critics and non a few readers who cherish a score against him. They do non simply think that in the ulterior phases of his enticement he showed a certain dullness. and that. to talk pedantically. he acted with indefensible abruptness and force ; no 1. I suppose. denies that. ( p. 221 ) Mentions Bloom. Harold.William Shakespeare’s Othello. New York: Chelsea House. 1987. Bradley. A. C.Shakespearian Calamity: Lectures on Hamlet. Othello. King Lear. Macbeth. 2nd erectile dysfunction. London: Macmillan. 1905. Butcher. S. H. Aristotle’s theory of Poetry and Fine Arts. Hell and Wang: New York. 1961. Elliot. T. S. The Hero Cheering Himself Up. Shakespeare and the Stoicism of Seneca. ED. Leonard F. Dean. Thomas Y. Crowell Company. 1961. 153-155. . Heilman. Robert B. Magic in the web ; action A ; linguistic communication in Othello. Lexington. University of Kentucky Press. 1956. Shakespeare. William. Othello. Penguin Books. New York. 1993 Swinburne. A. C. A Study of Shakespeare ; Edited by Goose Edmund. Website ; lt ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Gutenberg. org/ebooks/16412 gt ; gt ; [ 1 ] For elaborate treatment on these manifestations of the termHamartia.delight see Aritotle’s theory of Poetry and Fine Arts by S. H. Butcher ( pp. 310-315. )