As the title of the play would suggest, Othello is the main character. And as is the case many of Shakespeare’s other tragic plays – Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, and so on – we can refer to Othello as our tragic hero. What is particularly important to note is that, due to the conventions of Elizabethan tragedies, we expect our hero to be a man of honour who suffers a downfall and eventual death due to a particular flaw or hamartia that he is unable to overcome. But, it is essential that we do not oversimplify Othello’s character development as merely the product of his own personality deficiencies or flaws, as he and his circumstances are much more complex than this. For one, Othello is plagued by feelings of insecurity regarding his race in a society that does not believe in interracial marriage. And though Othello seems to be relatively well-adjusted and respected by most people in society at the play’s beginning, Shakespeare is quick to reveal how fragile this is, as Othello’s composure is easily shaken by Iago’s manipulations, and other characters employ racial epithets to denigrate him behind his back. Specifically, his marriage to Venetian woman Desdemona, daughter of senator Brabantio, causes much conflict considering he is a Moor (of North African descent). Though this is not as much of a concern in our modern society, it is the cause of much tension in the play, particularly due to Shakespeare’s use of the motif of the colour black and associations to the Devil to imply that Othello is somehow evil, which contrasts greatly to Desdemona’s visage of purity and innocence.
For Shakespeare, this is the first time we see him challenging prevalent Eliza- bethan assumptions of the poor moral and intellectual qualities of men who were black. Shakespeare does so by pinning the white, Italian man Iago as the villain, and the tragic hero as the noble Othello, who is a Moor. Epithets of “brave” and “valiant” reveal the respect others give to Othello due to his military position and qualities of bravery and loyalty to his army. He is very much applauded as a fine soldier, who is loyal to his state and willing to make sacrifices to uphold his duties.
