According to Aristotle a tragic hero is a person, usually a man, of high position with outstanding qualities and greatness about him. In the plays Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare the main characters are classified as tragic heroes. Oedipus grew up with his adoptive parents as his biological parents did not want him fearing a prophecy that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. Othello was betrayed by a soldier, Iago, because the soldier did not get the position he wanted. Iago began to spread lies about Othello’s wife, Desdemona, as well as other people he trust. When Othello heard these lies, he believed them which only hurt himself. Both the hand of fate and the fault of men caused the two tragic …show more content…
Iago tells Othello “observe her well with Cassio. Wear your eyes thus, not jealous nor secure” (Oth. 3. 3. 198-99). By telling this to Othello, Iago hopes that Othello will continue to believe the lies about Desdemona and hopes to ruin their marriage and strip Cassio of lieutenant. When desdemona tries to figure out what is wrong with Othello she turns to Emilia. Emilia then says to Desdemona “But jealous souls will not be answered so. They are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they are jealous,” (Oth. 3. 4. 153-55). Othello is beginning to believe the lies Iago is feeding him. When with Desdemona, Othello begins to act differently, and Desdemona talks to Emilia who informs her that Othello is being jealous. As Othello believes the lies he eventually killed his wife and nearly Cassio. He then found the truth of Iago’s plans and prosecuted him. The tragic downfall of Othello was brought upon himself, because he should have ignored Iago and trusted that his wife was faithful. In listening to Iago, Othello ruined his life, killed his spouse and hurt others as