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His Own Worst Enemy

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His Own Worst Enemy
His Own Worst Enemy

In William Shakespeare 's Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the Moor of Venice tells a tragic story of a noble hero who is undone by his own fatal flaws. These fatal flaws are exploited by a supposedly loyal friend and Othello’s trusting nature and inability to separate what is in his heart from what is in his mind, dramatically result in tragedy for The Moor of Venice. He is a character of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. His destruction is precipitated by his own actions, as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not caused by a single villain, but is rather a consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments and misjudgments, and attempts for personal justification exhibited by the characters.
Othello is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. As the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Chronologically through the play, Othello 's character changes from a flawless military leader, to a murderer. He has certain traits, which make him seem naive and unsophisticated compared to many other people. “ Not I, / I must be found. / My parts, my title, and my perfect soul/ Shall manifest me rightly” (I, ii, 29-31). Iago knows Othello as a proud man, Othello 's open and trusting nature in the beginning of the play lets Iago’s cunningly take advantage of him. Much like Othello is one of the most beloved tragic heroes of Shakespeare; Iago is remembered as one of Shakespeare’s most heinous villains.

Othello, the Moor, as many Venetians called him, has a strong character. He is very proud and in control of every move throughout the play. The control is not only of power but also of the sense of his being who he is, a great warrior. In Act I, Othello has a scuffle with Brabantio, who has come to kill him, but before any actions could take place, Othello



Cited: Arthos, John. "The Fall of Othello." Shakespeare Quarterly 9 (1958): 94-104. Arp, Thomas R., and Greg Johnson. Perriane 's Literature. 10th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 02210. 1273+.

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