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OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS
‘Othello’s fatal flaw is his sense of honour’ Do you agree?
(Extract: Act 3 Scene 3)
INTRO
Honour is defined as a ‘quality combining respect, being pride, and
honesty’, key characteristics that permeate Othello’s character
throughout the play
In Othello, Shakespeare presents the first black hero in English drama,
departing from theatrical convention
FOR 1 - Othello’s fatal flaw is honour in the extract as it depicts Othello as a
tragic hero
EXTRACT: ‘O, now forever…pride, pomp, circumstance of glorious war!
- high melodrama of Othello’s monologue, listing of his losses denotes
the extent of his honour
AO3: Othello’s depravity on account of his excessive honour depicts
him as a tragic hero. An Aristotelian tragic hero is a man of noble
background, who’s key trait makes them both great and contributes
to their downfall - honour
ELSEWEHERE: Noble background depicted in, ‘My parts, my title and
my perfect soul/ shall manifest me rightly.’ - characterisation of Othello
in the exposition of the play as having excessive pride and honour from
the onset. Triad of aspects of character provide early indication that
honour will be critical in Othello’s downfall. Strengthened by parallel
between this and the very ending of the play in Othello’s death where
he recounts his honourable deeds in war, ‘An honourable murder, if you
will; For naught did I in hate, but all in honour’, cyclical structure,
downfall!
FOR 2 - Fatal flaw is honour as it is because of this excessive honour that
he so willingly accepts the lies of Iago
OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS 1
, EXTRACT: ‘Farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content! Farewell the
plumed troops… Farewell! Othello’s occupation gone’ - repetitious
farewells convey Othello’s bemoaning of his loss of honour due to the
supposed infidelity, by detaching himself to the third person,
Shakespeare suggests he has become a shell of his former self and
now unable to effectively control his own mind, a mere outsider
observing from a distance
AO3: It could be argued that honour is not only Othello’s fatal flaw
but his hamartia - an error of judgement that leads to a character’s
downfall and precipitates his disaster, which the hero cannot
ultimately control. This is a key aspect of the Shakespearean
tragedy
ELSEWHERE: Honour not only evident in his acceptance of
Desdemona’s unfaithfulness but with his actions towards other
characters in the play and notably in the play beginnings following his
successes in war, ‘Our wars are done; the Turks are drowned’. This
pride in his warfare victories transfers to his personal life also,
exacerbating the pity of his character when it is this fatal flaw that will
cultivate his character’s downfall
FOR 3 - Honour is further depicted as Othello’s fatal flaw through his
absolute protection of Desdemona and thereby his disgust when her
adultery is suggested
EXTRACT: ‘Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore; Be sure of it.
Give me the ocular proof’ - imperatives towards Iago and sight imagery
demonstrates how it is Othello’s honour that catalyses his descent into
mental anguish, therefore fatal flaw.
AO3: Shakespeare continues to suggest honour is Othello’s fatal
flaw through the catharsis of the audience, a key characteristic of
the Shakespearean tragedy, namely Othello’s suicide at the end of
the play due to his hubris
ELSEWEHERE: ‘Why should honour outlive honesty?… I killed thee ere I
killed thee: no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss’ - rhyming
couplet denotes Othello’s deep sense of torment and regret, sense of
poetic justice evoked by Othello’s question, examining the morality of
Desdemona, an embodiment of justice, outliving he, the epitome of
excessive honour
OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS 2
, AO3: Literary context - Ancient Greeks and Romans saw suicide as
patriotic and noble; a means of preserving one’s honour and
integrity and this was a common component of their contemporary
plays. Perhaps this action of suicide confirms that honour is
ultimately Othello’s fatal flaw
COUNTER 1 - It is Othello’s gullibility as a result of Iago’s scheming that is
his fatal flaw, not his honour
EXTRACT: ‘The Moor already changes with my poison: Dangerous
conceits are in their natures poisons’ - Iago’s soliloquy at the beginning
of the extract establishes his malevolent motivations towards Othello,
poison imagery which is repeated throughout play ('I'll pour this
pestilence into his ear’) is indicative of his malicious intent
AO3: Iago is a Machiavellian villain - an archetype based on Niccolò
Machiavel’s work ‘The Prince’, a treatise of power. Iago is the
embodiment of the ‘motiveless malignant’ as describe by Coleridge
and therefore it is his cunningness in the play that contrives its
central tragedy
ELSEWHERE: Iago’s malevolence transcends his relationship with
Othello but also pertains to his treatment of Desdemona, ‘she shall undo
her credit to the Moor. / So will I turn her virtue into pitch’ - soliloquy,
staging alone on stage, characterisation of Iago has deceitful,
juxtaposition, ultimately this scheming nature that brings about the
denouement and is Othello’s fatal flaw
COUNTER 2 - Othello’s fatal flaw is sexual jealousy
EXTRACT: 'What sense had I of her stolen hours of lust?… Cassio’s
kisses on her lips’ - direct question denotes Othello’s excessive
protectiveness towards Desdemona as he suggests he is infatuated
with notions of her infidelity, conveyed through theft imagery
AO3: There is a clear distinction between Shakespearean tragedy
and Classical tragedies in that for Shakespeare, the hero’s downfall
must be attributed in part to his own actions, and in this case own
innate jealousy, namely of a sexual nature and this is his tragic flaw
ELSEWHERE: Sexual jealousy also conveyed in the climax of the play
through Othello’s violent language, ‘I’ll tear her all to pieces!… O blood
blood blood!’ The violent and gruesome imagery employed here
OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS 3
OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS
‘Othello’s fatal flaw is his sense of honour’ Do you agree?
(Extract: Act 3 Scene 3)
INTRO
Honour is defined as a ‘quality combining respect, being pride, and
honesty’, key characteristics that permeate Othello’s character
throughout the play
In Othello, Shakespeare presents the first black hero in English drama,
departing from theatrical convention
FOR 1 - Othello’s fatal flaw is honour in the extract as it depicts Othello as a
tragic hero
EXTRACT: ‘O, now forever…pride, pomp, circumstance of glorious war!
- high melodrama of Othello’s monologue, listing of his losses denotes
the extent of his honour
AO3: Othello’s depravity on account of his excessive honour depicts
him as a tragic hero. An Aristotelian tragic hero is a man of noble
background, who’s key trait makes them both great and contributes
to their downfall - honour
ELSEWEHERE: Noble background depicted in, ‘My parts, my title and
my perfect soul/ shall manifest me rightly.’ - characterisation of Othello
in the exposition of the play as having excessive pride and honour from
the onset. Triad of aspects of character provide early indication that
honour will be critical in Othello’s downfall. Strengthened by parallel
between this and the very ending of the play in Othello’s death where
he recounts his honourable deeds in war, ‘An honourable murder, if you
will; For naught did I in hate, but all in honour’, cyclical structure,
downfall!
FOR 2 - Fatal flaw is honour as it is because of this excessive honour that
he so willingly accepts the lies of Iago
OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS 1
, EXTRACT: ‘Farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content! Farewell the
plumed troops… Farewell! Othello’s occupation gone’ - repetitious
farewells convey Othello’s bemoaning of his loss of honour due to the
supposed infidelity, by detaching himself to the third person,
Shakespeare suggests he has become a shell of his former self and
now unable to effectively control his own mind, a mere outsider
observing from a distance
AO3: It could be argued that honour is not only Othello’s fatal flaw
but his hamartia - an error of judgement that leads to a character’s
downfall and precipitates his disaster, which the hero cannot
ultimately control. This is a key aspect of the Shakespearean
tragedy
ELSEWHERE: Honour not only evident in his acceptance of
Desdemona’s unfaithfulness but with his actions towards other
characters in the play and notably in the play beginnings following his
successes in war, ‘Our wars are done; the Turks are drowned’. This
pride in his warfare victories transfers to his personal life also,
exacerbating the pity of his character when it is this fatal flaw that will
cultivate his character’s downfall
FOR 3 - Honour is further depicted as Othello’s fatal flaw through his
absolute protection of Desdemona and thereby his disgust when her
adultery is suggested
EXTRACT: ‘Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore; Be sure of it.
Give me the ocular proof’ - imperatives towards Iago and sight imagery
demonstrates how it is Othello’s honour that catalyses his descent into
mental anguish, therefore fatal flaw.
AO3: Shakespeare continues to suggest honour is Othello’s fatal
flaw through the catharsis of the audience, a key characteristic of
the Shakespearean tragedy, namely Othello’s suicide at the end of
the play due to his hubris
ELSEWEHERE: ‘Why should honour outlive honesty?… I killed thee ere I
killed thee: no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss’ - rhyming
couplet denotes Othello’s deep sense of torment and regret, sense of
poetic justice evoked by Othello’s question, examining the morality of
Desdemona, an embodiment of justice, outliving he, the epitome of
excessive honour
OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS 2
, AO3: Literary context - Ancient Greeks and Romans saw suicide as
patriotic and noble; a means of preserving one’s honour and
integrity and this was a common component of their contemporary
plays. Perhaps this action of suicide confirms that honour is
ultimately Othello’s fatal flaw
COUNTER 1 - It is Othello’s gullibility as a result of Iago’s scheming that is
his fatal flaw, not his honour
EXTRACT: ‘The Moor already changes with my poison: Dangerous
conceits are in their natures poisons’ - Iago’s soliloquy at the beginning
of the extract establishes his malevolent motivations towards Othello,
poison imagery which is repeated throughout play ('I'll pour this
pestilence into his ear’) is indicative of his malicious intent
AO3: Iago is a Machiavellian villain - an archetype based on Niccolò
Machiavel’s work ‘The Prince’, a treatise of power. Iago is the
embodiment of the ‘motiveless malignant’ as describe by Coleridge
and therefore it is his cunningness in the play that contrives its
central tragedy
ELSEWHERE: Iago’s malevolence transcends his relationship with
Othello but also pertains to his treatment of Desdemona, ‘she shall undo
her credit to the Moor. / So will I turn her virtue into pitch’ - soliloquy,
staging alone on stage, characterisation of Iago has deceitful,
juxtaposition, ultimately this scheming nature that brings about the
denouement and is Othello’s fatal flaw
COUNTER 2 - Othello’s fatal flaw is sexual jealousy
EXTRACT: 'What sense had I of her stolen hours of lust?… Cassio’s
kisses on her lips’ - direct question denotes Othello’s excessive
protectiveness towards Desdemona as he suggests he is infatuated
with notions of her infidelity, conveyed through theft imagery
AO3: There is a clear distinction between Shakespearean tragedy
and Classical tragedies in that for Shakespeare, the hero’s downfall
must be attributed in part to his own actions, and in this case own
innate jealousy, namely of a sexual nature and this is his tragic flaw
ELSEWHERE: Sexual jealousy also conveyed in the climax of the play
through Othello’s violent language, ‘I’ll tear her all to pieces!… O blood
blood blood!’ The violent and gruesome imagery employed here
OTHELLO ESSAY PLANS 3
