The term "hero" is much abused in criticism of Shakespeare's works, and has generated, especially when qualified as a "tragic hero" some pretty strange criteria. But basically, it is like this: there are two main characters in this play, Othello and Iago. At the end of the day, does anyone feel even slightly sorry for Iago? He is a villain and no hero. That leaves only Othello. If tragedy is a sadness for the loss of what might have been, it is Othello's and Desdemona's tragedy--we feel sorry for them because they have lost their love, their marriage, their hopes and their lives. What has Iago lost that is comparable? Nothing. The only people who doubt that Othello can be the hero of this play, if anyone is, are racists and feminists, the former because they refuse to accept a hero who is black and the latter because they refuse to accept a hero who treats his wife like that. For them, I guess the play has no hero.
Othello
Hamartia is a fatal flaw in a character, usually a hero/heroine. An example of hamartia would be Othello's jealousy in the Shakespearean play Othello.
Othello, the Moor of Venice, is the tragic hero of Shakespeare's play of the same name. In the twentieth century, some theaters refused to stage the play because it showed a Black man married to a White woman.
There are three Shakespearean characters who are African and are called Moors. Some if not all of them were intended to be North African types, not sub-saharan. They are: Aaron in Titus Andronicus who is a villain of the melodrama type, The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice who is somewhat comic, and Othello in Othello who is a tragic hero.
Because of the way the term "tragic hero" has been treated by AC Bradley and those who followed him, it has almost become a term of art, with an arcane meaning quite divorced from the actual way that Shakespeare's tragedies work. But really a tragic hero is the main character in a play which ends with the destruction of that main character, which usually means his death. If the play is well-written, we feel a sense of regret and sadness that someone for whom we had some sympathy has come to a sticky end. This is certainly the case with Othello.
Othello
Hamartia is a fatal flaw in a character, usually a hero/heroine. An example of hamartia would be Othello's jealousy in the Shakespearean play Othello.
Probably you are alluding to Don John's plan to discredit Hero by showing Claudio what appears to be Hero making love to another man. Of course it is Borachio and Margaret but Claudio doesn't know that. I don't know if I would call this a comedic device--Iago in Othello does about the same thing by showing Othello what appears to be Cassio talking about his conquest of Desdemona. Of course it is really Bianca he is talking about but Othello doesn't know that.
Othello, the Moor of Venice, is the tragic hero of Shakespeare's play of the same name. In the twentieth century, some theaters refused to stage the play because it showed a Black man married to a White woman.
There are three Shakespearean characters who are African and are called Moors. Some if not all of them were intended to be North African types, not sub-saharan. They are: Aaron in Titus Andronicus who is a villain of the melodrama type, The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice who is somewhat comic, and Othello in Othello who is a tragic hero.
Because of the way the term "tragic hero" has been treated by AC Bradley and those who followed him, it has almost become a term of art, with an arcane meaning quite divorced from the actual way that Shakespeare's tragedies work. But really a tragic hero is the main character in a play which ends with the destruction of that main character, which usually means his death. If the play is well-written, we feel a sense of regret and sadness that someone for whom we had some sympathy has come to a sticky end. This is certainly the case with Othello.
Othello
othello
They had a good relationship - Othello trusted Cassio and Cassio respected Othello
The classification of Shakespeare's plays as "Histories" "Comedies" and "Tragedies" was done by the publishers of the compilation known as The First Folio. In this edition, the full title of the play is "The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice", and it is classed among the tragedies.Some people will want to discuss whether this play falls within the conventions and definitions of tragedy drawn from Aristotle by later critics. It is important to know that this is a highly artificial and academic definition which Shakespeare himself does not use, and which hinges on whether there is a "tragic hero" as described by Aristotle (Basically, Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex).Some will say Othello is not a tragedy. Othello is not a tragic hero, Iago manipulates him. Othello falls for it because essentially he has to, he is an outsider. Also, Iago has about 200 more lines than Othello. If Iago is considered the central character, then he can in no way be considered a tragic hero.Others will say that 'Othello' is a tragedy as he follows the conventions of a 'tragic hero'. A tragic hero is someone who has a flaw, and that flaw leads to his downfall. Othello's flaw is that he is naive and believes "honest Iago" to be exactly that, honest. Becuase of his trusting nature he declines and he ends his life realising he has nothing to live for. Iago does maniplulate Othello. But just because Iago has more control over the characters before the final scene in Act 5, doesn't mean he is the main character.Another point of view is that the definition of 'hero' in literature has changed, and there may be better ways of deciding whether something is a tragedy than seeing how close the main character comes to Oedipus. Keep in mind that Shakespeare was a man who was beyond his time. He wrote in a very modern way. He isn't called the father of literature for no reason. In short, do we not feel like our guts are kicked out when we see this man, torn between his brain and his heart, who destroys the one he loves and who truly loves him only to find out minutes later that it was all a con job? I think so, and if that's not tragedy I don't know what is.To conclude, 'Othello' is in fact, a tragedy. It is known as "Shakespeare's greatest tragedy".
In the beginning of the play Macbeth, Macbeth could be considered the hero. However, by the end, he has become the villain and Macduff has become the hero.
The address of the Othello Branch Library is: 101 E. Main Street, Othello, 99344 1039