Othello's Tragic Flaw Research Paper
Othello’s Tragic Flaw
For every Shakespearean tragedy there is a grossly unfortunate sequence of events that eventually leads to a bloodbath. The reason for this bloodbath is the tragic flaw. The tragic flaw is the small character defect in the protagonist that, in most circumstances, wouldn’t have been a big problem if not for said events. People frequently mistake Othello’s tragic flaw. They jump to the seemingly obvious choice of jealousy or naivety. The actually tragic flaw will be revealed in this essay.
One of the first things that people say, and I myself said, when they are asked about Othello’s tragic flaw is something regarding how much he trusted Iago. It is an understandable thought at first because without that level …show more content…
They certainly share very few similar characteristics. Physically, they are polar opposites. Hamlet is a well-educated and highly intellectual prince and Othello has spent his entire life on the battlefield. So mentally they are practically opposites too. The merit of this juxtaposition is in analyzing the situations they were both in. Hamlet was beckoned by the Ghost of his father to avenge him and Othello was simply given information on which he acted. Simply put, Hamlet was told exactly what to do and Othello was left to do exactly what Iago knew he would do. They are still sounding like opposites but here is where it gets interesting. Hamlet’s tragic flaw was that he simply thought too much. Hamlet had a perfect chance to kill Claudius and thereby avenge his father but he decided it wasn’t the right time because Claudius was praying. Hamlet’s intellectual nature caused him to miss the best opportunity. Hamlet, along with many others, would have lived had he acted quickly and decisively instead of over-thinking. The opposite statement, as it applies to Othello’s situation makes a lot of sense. It would say, “Othello, along with many others, would have lived had he not acted quickly and decisively instead of under-thinking.” This makes sense for a number of reasons mainly that everything spiraled out of control so quickly. It tends to feel like it is over an extended period of time while you read it when the entire timeline is only a few days. Another reason the statement makes sense is that if Othello had stepped back and simply examined things a little more carefully he might have figured the trap
For every Shakespearean tragedy there is a grossly unfortunate sequence of events that eventually leads to a bloodbath. The reason for this bloodbath is the tragic flaw. The tragic flaw is the small character defect in the protagonist that, in most circumstances, wouldn’t have been a big problem if not for said events. People frequently mistake Othello’s tragic flaw. They jump to the seemingly obvious choice of jealousy or naivety. The actually tragic flaw will be revealed in this essay.
One of the first things that people say, and I myself said, when they are asked about Othello’s tragic flaw is something regarding how much he trusted Iago. It is an understandable thought at first because without that level …show more content…
They certainly share very few similar characteristics. Physically, they are polar opposites. Hamlet is a well-educated and highly intellectual prince and Othello has spent his entire life on the battlefield. So mentally they are practically opposites too. The merit of this juxtaposition is in analyzing the situations they were both in. Hamlet was beckoned by the Ghost of his father to avenge him and Othello was simply given information on which he acted. Simply put, Hamlet was told exactly what to do and Othello was left to do exactly what Iago knew he would do. They are still sounding like opposites but here is where it gets interesting. Hamlet’s tragic flaw was that he simply thought too much. Hamlet had a perfect chance to kill Claudius and thereby avenge his father but he decided it wasn’t the right time because Claudius was praying. Hamlet’s intellectual nature caused him to miss the best opportunity. Hamlet, along with many others, would have lived had he acted quickly and decisively instead of over-thinking. The opposite statement, as it applies to Othello’s situation makes a lot of sense. It would say, “Othello, along with many others, would have lived had he not acted quickly and decisively instead of under-thinking.” This makes sense for a number of reasons mainly that everything spiraled out of control so quickly. It tends to feel like it is over an extended period of time while you read it when the entire timeline is only a few days. Another reason the statement makes sense is that if Othello had stepped back and simply examined things a little more carefully he might have figured the trap