Othello and Oedipus: Tragic Heroes

The word hero comes from a Greek word for someone who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage when in danger. However, he sometimes faces downfall too. When this happens, he is known as a tragic hero. These downfalls come from a flaw in the hero’s character, and it can lead to a bad ending for the hero. In two stories, Othello and Oedipus Rex, we see the main character become a tragic hero. Here are some characteristics of these two heroes that prove them tragic heroes.

The first characteristic of these characters is hamartia, the tragic flaw. In the story of Othello, his hamartia is his gullibility. Othello fell for every lie Iago told him, and this lead to his downfall. For Oedipus, his hamartia is his fear. Oedipus asks the oracle at Delphi about his parentage, and the oracle tells him he will kill his father and marry his mother, which happens and leads him to his downfall.

The second characteristic is anagnorisis, the important discovery. For Othello, his anagnorisis his at the end of the story, when he learns that Iago was lying the whole time. This discovery drives him to wound Iago and kill himself. For Oedipus, his anagnorisis is the thing he is afraid of: the prophecy. When the oracle at Delphi tells him the prophecy, he decides to leave home, thinking he can change his destiny.

The third characteristic is catharsis, the feeling of pity for the protagonist. In Othello, the catharsis comes at the end, when we see Othello learn the truth and kill himself. It makes you feel pity for him because he has suffered a terrible loss. In Oedipus Rex, this comes when he sees his dead mother and gouges his eyes out. We feel pity for him because he has lost his parents, and he has blinded himself out of sadness.

The characteristics of hamartia, anagnorisis, and catharsis occur in both of these stories, and both of these characters become tragic heroes. However, they could have avoided these fates. The easiest would be for Oedipus: don’t leave home. Just staying at home would have prevented the entire thing. For Othello, he could have just reinstated Cassio as his lieutenant. Doing that would have given Iago no way to make it look like Cassio and Desdemona were having an affair.