Othello, the tragic hero.

       The idea of a tragic hero varies throughout literature; Aristotle’sPoetics states that a hero within a piece of literature must incorporate the following; a peripiteia, anagorisis, hamartia and catharsis in order to be considered tragic. Each of these components collates to create a tragedy which in turn leads to the downfall of a great man, often resulting in his or her death. 

      Aristotle stresses that a tragic hero must be that of a great man and the question to whether Othello can be seen as a great man is questionable.

     The debate to whether the hero Othello has both the characteristics and fortune of a tragic hero has been discussed by a variety of critics including A.C Bradley and F.R Leavis. These two critics have portrayed their views of the play Othello and questioned the extent of Othello’s representation of a tragic hero; Bradley, for example believes that the villain Iago is the main cause of Othello’s downfall whereas Leavis claims that it is due to Othello’s character and Iago is merely a catalyst who speeds the process up.

     In the essay, “Shakespearean Tragedy” A.C. Bradley states that Othello is “the most romantic figure amongst Shakespeare’s heroes” through the way in which he presents himself throughout I, iii as both noble and dignified. Bradley sees this nobility and makes the conclusion that Othello, therefore cannot be wrong in the sense that his hamartia is within his character, rather than his judgement. Bradley continuously supports his opinion that Othello retains his grandeur throughout the play in that even his short speeches, along with his soliloquies, convey this nobility – Othello’s language does not deteriorate, but becomes simplified. However, it can be seen that Shakespeare wants to make Othello’s degeneration apparent;

Lie with her? Lie on her? We say lie on her

When they be-lie her. Lie with her: ‘Zounds, that’s

Fulsome; Handkerchief: Confessions: Handkerchief.          (IV, i   43-45)

  Shakespeare himself is denying Othello’s dignity; his language is clear in that no noble man can be manipulated to the extent where he is unable to construct a sentence in the way Bradley depicts; later on, Othello’s language regresses further to single words. The repetition of “lie” conveys Othello’s sense of confusion; he refuses to accept the concept of his wife with anybody else yet still, eventually, believes Iago. The rhetorical device ‘ploce’ is used to show that Othello is stuck on this train of thought. The deterioration of Othello’s nobility is emphasized when he refuses his wife one last prayer before he kills her,

But while I say one prayer

It is too late                                                                            (V, ii   105-106)

Desdemona’s innocence and purity shines through at this particular part of the play, creating a huge contrast to Othello’s state of mind; in Bradley’s case, this is proof to show the impact Iago has had upon Othello’s reasoning. 

    Bradley argues that the hamartia of which contributes to the tragedy of Othello is Othello’s judgement of the other characters, “his trust, where he trusts, is absolute” which is true when compared to his relationship with Iago, yet not so with Desdemona or Cassio – the two characters closest to him at the beginning of the play. Bradley suggests that Othello has been manipulated by Iago resulting in the loss of trust in those he loves. This is through no fault of his own, but through his openness to Iago’s suggestion; Bradley, however he may romanticise the character of Othello, refers to him as ‘simple minded’ and his nature open and trusting.   

   Othello seems to have a romantic view of himself, which Bradley shares; his speech is full of powerful and poetic imagery which itself romanticises Othello and to the audience creates the illusion of a natural hero.

Wherein I spoke of most disastrous chances:

Of moving accidents by flood and field,

Of hair-breadth ‘scapes i’ th’ imminent deadly breach;                      (I, iii   159-161)

  Othello clearly romanticises his past in order to persuade Brabantio to accept him as a son-in-law and also to convince to audience to consider him a tragic hero; what tragic hero has not had ‘most disastrous chances’? Othello is aware that he is being judged and, as A.C. Bradley points out, when he becomes “emotional, his imagination becomes excited”.

  Desdemona’s murder, according to Bradley, was a sacrifice made by Othello to save her from herself; Othello here is under the same illusion fogged by his emotions yet at this time with a negative effect. Bradley argues that Othello’s actions are not made out of jealousy or anger but out of love; if this, however, is the case then his hamartia would be that Othello’s love for Desdemona is too great and, therefore renders the anagorisis of his realisation of Iago’s betrayal, irrelevant. 

   Leavis, opposed to Bradley, argues, in the “Diabolic Intellect and Noble Hero” that it is not due to Iago but the nature of Othello that contributes his name to the list of tragic heroes. Iago is “merely ancillary” and is not successful due to his effective manipulation, as Bradley suggests, but because Othello is so susceptible to Iago’s actions. Leavis clearly argues that Othello is the “main personage” and that Bradley places too much of the focus on the Iago-devil and his role in the downfall of Othello.

  Othello’s character is, fundamentally, egotistical and lacks the self knowledge in which Aristotle refers to for a classic tragic hero. Throughout the play, the audience is led to believe Othello’s love and trust for Desdemona is complete; yet, as Leavis clearly points out, Othello’s openness for suggestion proves this to be incorrect – Iago successfully alters Othello’s perception of his wife and, although Othello asks for proof, Iago having obtained the handkerchief presents the fact he had seen Cassio use it and this, itself completely changes Othello’s direction of trust.

Now do I see ‘tis true. Look here Iago,

All my fond love thus do I blow to Heaven. ’Tis gone.                  (III, iii   464-465)

Othello’s new found trust for Iago exceeds that for his wife; it is now, ironically, Othello who is being disloyal to Desdemona. It is this reason; therefore, that Leavis believes that Othello and Desdemona’s love is based on lust rather than love and full of ignorance thus supporting Bradley’s statement that since Othello was newly married he must have had very little knowledge of her.

    The Aristotelian idea of tragedy states that the protagonist’s learning through suffering is essential but Leavis argues against Othello’s learning, he suggests it is not the fact that Othello has a moment of anagorisis but the theatrical aspect to Othello in that he dramatises his journey so poetically that makes him a hero in the eyes of the audience. The “faultless hero” of whom Bradley identifies Othello to be, Leavis sees him as egotistical and “self-approving” and his love for Desdemona simply self love. Othello’s final soliloquy conveys Othello’s simple nature to begin with, but the description soon alters once again into the self-dramatisation of which he portrays at the beginning of the play. Leavis’s interpretation of Othello’s anagorisis is that he may have discovered his mistake but there is no tragic self-discovery of which is vital for a tragic hero.

Of one, not easily jealous, but being wrought,

Perplex’d in the extreme: Of one, whose hand
Like the base Indian threw a pearl away                                  ( V, ii   529-531)

   The audience is able to see clearly Othello’s regret; he realises he has thrown away something precious and only now sees Desdemona’s innocence. The feelings of regret overcome Othello’s feelings of anger or betrayal, it there are in fact any, towards Iago; he only reflects on his mistake of distrusting Desdemona, not for trusting Iago. Here, his language improves showing some signs of recuperation, the audience is again reminded of his feelings for Desdemona and also supporting Bradley’s argument that at the end of the tragedy the audience are presented with a nobler Othello; perhaps he does not become nobler, just simply attempts to regain his dignity. How the audience perceive Othello depends upon the text they see. In the quarto Othello compares himself to a “base Indian” whereas Othello in the folio is a “Judean”. The change of this single word is significant in the audience’s view of Othello; the word ‘Indian’ in the Quarto gives the impression that Othello is attempting to justify his actions. This being that the Indian is not aware of the true value of the pearl (Desdemona) whereas Othello comparing himself to a ‘Judean’ signifies his immense remorse; that Judas himself felt at the betrayal of Jesus.

  Other characters throughout Othello are significant to the play as a tragedy other than Othello; firstly, it can be seen that Emilia is the character with the role of providing the catharsis for Othello. Throughout Act Five it is Emilia who strives for Othello to see the truth; she is the first character to see Iago’s evil and for that she loses her life. Scene two shows Othello’s anagorisis in which he reaches his moment of realisation through Emilia’s catharsis; it can be seen that she is the character responsible for Othello’s realisation.  

Are there no stones in heaven,

But what serves for the thunder?
Precious villain.                                                        (V, ii     278)

This is the first time throughout Othello where Othello sees Iago as the villain and clearly sees his mistake in trusting him. The tragic hero, in effect, could be seen as Emilia in that she incorporates some of the factors necessary to be considered as one; she has her catharsis when confronting her husband’s use for Desdemona’s handkerchief and figures Iago’s ploy out. Although Emilia does die she does not seem to have a great downfall, which is necessary for a tragic hero.

   The peripiteia of Othello may be in the setting of the play; the reversal of fortune occurs after the characters leave their homes in Venice to travel to Cyprus. The symbolism of Venice being the island of love relates to the fact that Iago’s plan only becomes apparent to the other characters after they have left as is their feelings of love in Venice have clouded their senses – Iago uses this to his advantage. Shakespeare conveys the fact that Cyprus is so far away from Venetian society by showing that their arrival initiates the decline of the relationships between the characters.

  The theme of jealousy mainly relates to Iago; the only reasoning to Iago’s actions of which the audience is aware of is the fact that he wants to take revenge on Othello for the promotion of Cassio. Shakespeare retains all other information about Iago and the introduction of his wife only occurs later in the play. The audience are therefore unable to relate to Iago; his enigmatic character is sophisticated and he cleverly uses language to manipulate Othello. However Leavis believes that the reason for Iago's success in the sense that he gains control over Othello is his great knowledge of him, Iago is aware of Othello’s weaknesses and uses them to his advantage; he also argues that any character with this particular knowledge is able to manipulate Othello in the same way.

    The numerous arguments for and against Othello’s status as a tragic hero express valid   points; Othello, in one way does not represent the idea of a tragic hero in that he never seems to have a catharsis and only a moment of anagorisis endorsed by the character of Emilia. Yet on the other hand Othello shows signs of a hamartia, either being his natural trust in people or his over-dramatisation and openness to suggestion. The play is   successful as a tragedy as it does involve the fall of a great man and evokes pity within the audience but Othello himself perhaps cannot be classed as a tragic hero as, although he does represent some of the traits required, he does not fit fully into Aristotle’s idea of a classic tragic hero. Also, the audience at the end of Othello is left feeling pity for Desdemona, not Othello therefore the role of the tragic hero within the play does not fall entirely upon the protagonist but shared amongst the various characters.