The protagonist Othello, of Shakespeare’s Othello, is a tragic hero in one of the purest forms. What bring about Othello’s demise are his tragic flaws. Othello arguably has a multitude of flaws from his trust in others to jealousy. His most prominent flaw towards the end of his life is his steadfastness and confidence in his beliefs. Just before killing his wife, Desdemona, Othello cries,
“Othello: It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul.
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars.
It is the cause…
Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men” (V.II.1-6).
Here Othello makes it clear that he cannot compromise the deed he plans to commit neither can he contemplate it because of the moral weight that it carries within him. Othello believes that killing Desdemona is a moral and good thing to do. In preparing for the murder he repeats that it is a cause. His repetition of “the cause” emphasizes that his deed is something in which he strongly believes in. He will not allow himself to rethink it because he is steadfast in his belief. Yet in reality, Othello plans to shed innocent blood. His moral crusade is directed in the wrong direction. The woman he wishes to kill has done him no wrong and would never betray any man save her own father. Had Othello not been so steadfast in his belief he may have mulled over the subject and found out the truth. Othello’s steadfastness allows him to kill Desdemona. In the end when he realizes that he is wrong he must in turn kill himself. Throughout the story Othello is confident and steadfast from his belief in Othello’s honesty to his trust that the nobles of Venice will do him no harm because of his love for Desdemona. This seemingly virtuous quality only demotes Othello. It allows him to be easily manipulated and deceived. With the correction of this trait Othello could have avoided jealousy, doubt in his wife’s faithfulness and in the end the murder of a loved one. Such is the tragedy of a tragic hero.
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