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Tragic Hero in Othelo by William Shakespeare

Decent Essays

Conventions of Othello
Shakespeare has been a part of the American Society for many years. Compared to other Authors, he has a different style of writing but within his own writings, they are all very much alike. He has written many plays including Othello and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare was a man who wrote plays that followed the same literary conventions. These conventions included tragic hero, fallacy, irony, and also suspense.
A tragic hero is a male figure who is high in society and one who always has a tragic flaw. Most of them are rich and intelligent men. In the story of Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. He was a character of nobility. He was a high in class and had high standards. He was also the focal point of society. …show more content…

Suspense in the story is something that makes us worry, or become questionable. There are two different types of suspense; Intellectual and emotional. At the end of Othello, the suspense level is high. The audience wants to know what is going to happen next and who it is going to happen to. Most people want to know if Iago’s plan will follow through. After all the tricks and schemes, someone, at least Othello, should recognize that Iago is being a manipulator and a liar. With that being said, while Iago was being manipulative he convinced Othello that Desdemona cheated on him and as a result he wanted her dead.
In Romeo and Juliet you don’t know what to expect next. The audience wonders will Juliet marry someone else since she cannot be married to Romeo. The audience also wonders will Romeo really kill himself because he thinks that Juliet is dead.
Many people today don’t realize how many literary conventions Shakespeare has included in his plays. He has included fallacy, tragic hero, irony and also suspense. Becoming familiar with these conventions will help one understand the play more. Mostly all of Shakespeare’s plays included the same literary devices. His plays left you begging to know more and how everything will turn out.

Work cited:

Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. Gerald F. Else. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1967. Dorsch, T. R., trans. and ed. Aristotle Horace

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