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Othello Tragic Hero Analysis

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Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. Shakespeare based the play on a story “of the Unfaithfulness of Husbands and Wives.” The story revolves around its two central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army and Iago, his unfaithful ensign. This play has withstood the test of time, and because of its lasting themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and repentance, it is still preformed and appreciated by many until this day. Jealousy is the heart of this play. At the beginning of the play, we can see jealousy has twisted Iago just as badly as it will eventually warp and corrupt Othello. Apparently once a good and honest soldier, Iago allows jealousy to lead him down a dark path from which he does not or cannot turn back.
As defined by Aristotle, Othello does fit the description of a tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of the tragic hero is: "a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake." Tragedy depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some combination of hubris (defined as excessive pride or self-confidence), fate, and the will of the gods. In our Textbook, they list Aristotle’s three tragic flaws as follows: he must be a person of high estate, he must fall from that position into unhappiness, and his

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