Can Othello be described as a tragic hero? The story is certainly tragic but?
In classical literature, a tragic hero is several things. He is important. Othello is a general in the Venetian army, so he fits that one. The hero has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall. Othello has two flaws. He is easily manipulated by Iago and Othello is jealous of Desdemona. The hero falls from his place of importance and he suffers. Othello is arrested for Desdemona’s murder and is no longer a general. He sees what he has done and realized that his jealousy has cost him his wife whom he did love, so he fills the last criteria as well; he has learned from his experience. It is not necessary that the classic hero die at the end of the story, but just about all of them do. Othello is a classical tragic hero. The tragedy is his doing and undoing.
