Othello as Victim of Hamartia

                                        


HAMARTIA AND TRAGIC FLAW:

               There are two definitions of hamartia. One definition is synonymous with 'tragic flaw'. The other definition is 'fatal mistake.' Characters who make a fatal mistake do so not because something is fundamentally wrong with their personalities, but because they do not have all of the necessary information.









OTHELLO A TRAGIC HERO:


      Othello is the play by William Shakespeare in which Othello is the protagonist and also a tragic hero. In the end of the play Othello kills his wife on suspicion of cheating on him which he later finds that it was all conspiracy of lago (antagonist of the play). Othello felt utter regret and guilty of his deeds and commits suicide.so, Othello is a tragic hero and the play follows the Aristotelian literary tradition.

                                                            


HAMARTIA IN THE PLAY OTHELLO :

      Othello, the protagonist of the tragedy, is a tragic figure because he is a man of great character and some virtues but brings about his own doom due to a tragic flaw. He is great as a military leader, as a man of stern morality, and he even has the gentleness of behavior and the powers of speech and understanding. But, as a typical tragic character, Othello has the terrible fault (hamartia) in that he is disturbingly gullible, madly jealous, and irrationally quick in his wrong judgments and actions. As a tragic character, Othello's 'error of judgment' lies in his faulty understanding of innocent people like his wife as guilty, and his pigheaded trust of villains like lago. He is a complex character. His sexual jealousy, which rouses in us terrible hatred, would be something ordinary and tolerable if it was reasonable. But his jealousy is based on his disgustingly gullible nature. Othello is noble, but turns out to be a disgusting rogue, killing his innocent wife and trying to justify his horrible crime at the end. As he transforms, his weaknesses flourish and the nobility of a great soldier vanishes. In short, his fall is tragic and even shocking. The only thing that prevents him from being regarded a bad and hateful man is that he does understand and regret his mistake at the end. His suicide also atones for his sin and arouses in us some sympathy.



Conclusion:


     Othello considered a tragic hero because he was great warrior and an extraordinary man but he became the victim of Hamartia . Othello was too quick to believe his friend Iago's lies about his wife, and he killed her thinking they were true. His other fatal flaw could be his inexperience with relationships which causes him to trust the wrong person. He realizes his mistake after it is too late, and amidst his tragic downfall he shows remorse in his final lines before killing himself.


Source:


Wikipedia   -   Click here


The play Othello 


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