Is It Power of Words Which Destroy Othello or His Own Hubris

Is it power of words, which destroy Othello or his own hubris? Othello is one of Shakespeare’s finest plays, as it concentrates on a courageous’ general’s demise, physically and mentally. It could be argued that Othello bought his destruction on himself, by allowing himself to be poisoned by â€Å"Honest† Iago’s fluent rhymes of lies. However I will argue that it is infact his hubris, his overwhelming pride which infact causes his inevitable demise. Harmatia is a term which was developed by Aristotle and is essentially the main principle when making a tragedy, it is usually translated as â€Å"Tragic flaw† it is the idea that the hero’s downfall is partially his fault, in this case Othello’s, it comes from free choice. And not of accident nor†¦show more content†¦No, I think Shakespeare meant for Iago to be seen as a significant part in Othello’s down-fall, but not the sole reason for his tragic demise. As Iago states the reason behind his hatred of Othello, it’s Othello’s hubris which is being described, how he â€Å"Off-capp’d† the three great ones of the city. Which shows that is is Othello’s hubris which leads him to his downfall, and not the power of words. Shakespeare shows his audience Othello’s hubris, the Achilles heel in the marvelous, war mongering general. In Act 1, traitorous Iago ‘warns’ Othello of the on coming men, seeking to harm him. However Othello replies back, boasting about his title, â€Å"My services which I have done the signiory shall out-tounge his complaints† This statement shows Othello has a lot of pride in himself, and his title, to the extent which he believes he is untouchable by the law and that the council of Venice won’t allow anything to harm him, as he is Othello. â€Å"My parts, my title, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly† This pride, is the actual downfall in Othello, as he didn’t choose to promote his ‘loyal friend’ Iago which in turn hurt Iago’s pride, and forced him to act upon Othello by poisioning his naà ¯ve mind with treacherousShow MoreRelated The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello Essay47 56 Words   |  20 PagesThe Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy which should have been a love story speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final sourceRead MoreAnalysis of how Macbeth changes2776 Words   |  12 Pagesï » ¿Macbeth by William Shakespeare is the story of how one mans hubris destroys him. From it, we can extrapolate and comment on how in society people have a choice. We can live a life of altruism, valour and nobility or one fuelled by ambition, greed and violence. Macbeths journey from the former to the later showcases to the audience the dangers of selfishness. It prompts us to question our view of life – do we succumb to the false promises of evil, as tempting as the y are, or do we remain defiantRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare and Macbeth8813 Words   |  36 PagesFall of Man The ancient Greek notion of tragedy concerned the fall of a great man, such as a king, from a position of superiority to a position of humility on account of his ambitious pride, or  hubris. To the Greeks, such arrogance in human behavior was punishable by terrible vengeance. The tragic hero was to be pitied in his fallen plight but not necessarily forgiven: Greek tragedy frequently has a bleak outcome. Christian drama, on the other hand, always offers a ray of hope; hence,  Macbeth  ends