Othello is a tragic hero because he is noble, he suffers from a fatal tragic flaw and he goes through a tragic downfall. All these traits that Othello exhibits lead him to be known as one of the most well-known tragic heroes in all of literature.
Holding a candle, Othello stands over the sleeping Desdemona and prepares to kill her. He bends down to kiss her once before he does the deed, she wakes, and he tells her to prepare to die.
Wrestling with her as she begs to be allowed to live just a little longer, Othello finally succeeds in smothering his wife. She would never cheat on Othello. Desdemona is a lady of spirit and intelligence. For all the claims of military straightforwardness of some other characters, Desdemona is the most direct and honest speaker in the play. Her speeches are not as lengthy as those of the men, but with Desdemona, every word counts.
Othello slaps Desdemona because she is not admitting to being unfaithful to him and he is getting increasingly frustrated with her. He keeps telling himself that he has to kill her. He is trying to justify it with himself. What does Othello try to get Desdemona to do before he kills her?
Othello tries to get her to admit to sleeping with Cassio. Why does Othello think Cassio is crying out? Iago is murdering him. Roderigo is beating him. As she dies, Emilia tells Othello that Desdemona loved him.
Othello realizes, too late, that he had been tricked and manipulated. Iago is caught and brought back. Othello and Cassio demand to know why he did it, but Iago refuses to explain and says he will never speak again. Othello, watching his world unravel, asks the men to remember him clearly, his good points and his bad, as "one that lov'd not wisely, but too well. Lodovico takes charge, giving Othello's house and property to Gratiano, his next of kin by marriage. Cassio will be commander and have the power to sentence Iago, and Lodovico will return to Venice with the sad news.
Desdemona is asleep in her bed as Othello enters, carrying a candle. He is no longer the angry, vengeful husband. His soliloquy is quiet, and he seems to be more an agent of justice than the jealous cuckold. He speaks repeatedly of "the cause. At last, Othello assumes the posture of the tragic hero, grossly wrong in his determination, yet steeling himself to do what he must. Here is what has become of the Othello of earlier acts — a man admirably self-possessed, the master of the situation.
In this soliloquy, there are no references to strumpets or whores, nor to coupling goats or monkeys, nor to any other images which once racked him with jealousy. No longer is he possessed with revenge for his grievously injured pride. There remains, however, a passionate conviction of righteousness in his words — despite his monumental error.
He is convinced that he is being merciful in performing a deed that must be done. Thus he will not shed Desdemona's blood instead, he will smother her ; nor will he scar her physical beauty; nor would he, as we learn later, kill her soul.
Yet he will kill her; Desdemona must die, "else she'll betray more men" 6. And there is devastating irony as he says, "Put out the light, and then put out the light" 7 ; Desdemona was once the "light" of his life and, also, light is often equated in Elizabethan dramas with reason, especially right reason, the aim of all men.
Here, however, Othello means to act righteously, but he fails to use his sense of logic or reason; he has condemned Desdemona without proof, without reason. He is torn between his love for her evidenced by his kiss and his resolve to accomplish justice. Desdemona is a "pattern of excelling nature" 11 , yet she is also "cunning" He compares her to a rose which, once plucked, can bloom no more and must wither.
For a moment, his love for her almost persuades "justice" meaning Othello "to break [his] sword" He weeps, but he regains his purpose; Desdemona's beauty is deceptive, he realizes, because it masks her corruption. When Othello's words awaken Desdemona, she begins an agonizing attempt to reason with her husband. The Moor then urges her to pray for forgiveness of any sin within her soul, and she becomes increasingly terrified. This he mistakenly concludes to be additional evidence of her guilt.
He is as convinced of this as she is convinced that Othello is absolutely serious about killing her. After recovering, he orders Iago to kill Cassio. Desdemona cannot understand Othello's change of attitude towards her.
Othello even strikes her in the presence of her relative, Lodovico, who has arrived as an ambassador from Venice. As she prepares for bed, she talks with Emilia, singing to relieve the distress she feels at losing the trust of her husband. Meanwhile, Roderigo has begun to suspect Iago is not quite the friend he seems.
Still Iago persuades him to attack Cassio that night again, to be able to court Desdemona. In the fight that ensues, Iago goes undetected and wounds Cassio. He then enters again as himself to accuse and kill Roderigo for the act of wounding Cassio. Othello comes to his sleeping wife's bedroom to murder her as punishment for her supposed adultery. He smothers her with a pillow as she asserts her innocence.
Emilia alerts the household, causing Iago and others to come to the scene. Othello defends himself, mentioning the handkerchief as evidence. Iago, reacting to his wife's accusations, stabs and kills her. Iago is arrested and sent to trial after Othello wounds him he doesn't even die. Othello, facing the inevitability of his own trial, uses a hidden weapon to commit suicide.
The play ends with Cassio reinstated and placed in command as Governor of Cyprus. Iago darts out in the commotion, stabs Cassio in the leg, and exits.
Not knowing who has stabbed him, Cassio falls. At this moment, Othello enters. They can see nothing because of the darkness, and they are wary of helping the crying men in case it is a trap. Iago enters carrying a light. Graziano and Lodovico are still unable to see Iago, and they are unaware of what he is doing.
Finally, the three men come face-to-face, and they question Cassio about his injuries. Bianca enters and begins to cry out when she sees the wounded Cassio. Iago questions Cassio about his assailant, but Cassio can provide no explanation for what has happened. Iago suggests that Roderigo is to blame. Cassio says that he does not know Roderigo. He and Emilia chastise Bianca, at whose house Cassio had dined that evening. Iago takes Bianca under arrest, and sends Emilia to tell Othello and Desdemona what has happened.
See Important Quotations Explained. Holding a candle, Othello stands over the sleeping Desdemona and prepares to kill her. He bends down to kiss her once before he does the deed, she wakes, and he tells her to prepare to die. Growing frightened, Desdemona asks her husband why he means to kill her, and Othello responds that she has been unfaithful to him with Cassio—he has seen the proof in the handkerchief.
Desdemona begins to weep for Cassio, which only drives Othello into a greater rage. Wrestling with her as she begs to be allowed to live just a little longer, Othello finally succeeds in smothering his wife.
Thinking himself to be merciful, and not wanting to have his wife linger in pain, he smothers her again. Othello draws the bed curtains and lets Emilia in.
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