Othello

The works of Shakespeare have always run the emotional gamitt on heroes and villians. Hamlet embodied the tragic hero on a vengence quest, King Lear the flawed but learned leader and even Juliet represented passion and love. In Othello the hero is very noble in presence but can also be viewed as sympathetic because his actions are not entrirely of his own fault but have been cohersed by another. For a character to posses both virtue and empathy is an important part of a flawed hero type, but if they can be manipulated by a villian into evil deeds, how sympathetic can they be? Yes Othello's past suffering and endeavors makes him virtuous and helps win Desmedona's heart, but perhaps Othello is more flawed than most heroes if he can be lured into blind jealousy by the villian Iago. This flaw makes Othello more human and thus more relatable, especially to today's audience, but it also makes him less of a true hero because the hero must not be seduced so easily, which is why heroes are looked up to and praised. The snake in the grass Iago has all the qualities of an opposing manipulator like The Joker from Batman or The Emperor from Star Wars, and his overall success makes Othello less of a true hero and more of a tragic good guy. The overall reason Shakespeare allows such flawed characters to be called heroes is to make them relatable and sympathetic, but I view Othello as the lesser of all heroes previously discussed and would say he fell too easily.