In scene II of Act V, the final scene and crescendo of the opera, we see the character of Othello truly reveal himself, falling into the depths of tragic heroism and desperation. In this scene we finally see the action resulting from Iago's words “poison,” as Othello kills Desdemona and then takes his own life. It is my opinion that this scene shows Othello as the epitome of a tragic hero; his fall from grace unfolded with the same consequences we knew, in dramatic irony, would occur. This scene is the most touching of the play, made even more bitter because we see Iago, a figure we perpetually hate, having carried out his plan of manipulation perfectly until its horrific conclusion, Desdemona dying "a guiltless death" at the hands of her husband. I believe Othello develops more as a character in this scene, as we clearly see him go through three phases: anger, desperation, and finally, clear-eyed realization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In this scene, and in the play as a whole, we see Othello transform into the ultimate tragic hero. In plays ranging from Sophocles' Oedipus Rex to Shakespeare's Hamlet, we see the emergence and denouement of a tragic hero – usually, as in the case of Othello, a respected man of high social standing. The crucial characteristic of such a protagonist is hamartia; the fatal flaws inherent in the hero's character. Othello's hamartia is probably his naivety or overconfidence and impulsiveness (hubris). Othello's naivety is innate, being dark and perhaps unaware of the finest qualities of Venetian society - a fact of which Iago, who claims to know "the nature of our country" well, takes full advantage of to convince him of his wife's infidelity. wife. This is catalyzed by Othello's overconfidence and impulsiveness: we see him, and indeed he himself sees, as a man of powerful action and honour, evidenced in his attitude as a general. Indeed, this attitude will accompany him until the end, when he dies remembering his military successes. Ironically, it is the same character trait that led to his military prowess that leads to his downfall: his preference for direct action. This also shows that Othello is a tragic hero par excellence in Aristotelian terms, as Aristotle wrote "tragedy is the imitation of an action... ...and all success or failure depends on actions". One of the reasons why Othello is such a tragic hero is that his hamartia is probably an excess of virtue: his trusting and self-assured nature leads him to place his trust in a man who has the "face of Janus" and , as Coleridge famously declared, unmotivatedly malignant. Shakespeare takes the audience through a series of emotions towards Othello; and at the end of Act V, Scene II, we feel a sense of intensity and inevitable downfall on Othello's part. He is no longer the grief-stricken man who cried “O fool! Stupid! You fool!”, nor the enraged man who proclaimed “I will tear her to pieces”. He has accepted his situation and, being the man of action that he is, feels he must do something to reach some sort of solution. At this point in the play, we no longer feel the disgust for Othello that we felt when he publicly struck Desdemona in Act 4. Othello himself claims that he is acting out of duty in smothering Desdemona – not because of the anger that previously afflicted him, but because otherwise “ he will betray more men.” The character of Othello at the end of Act 5, scene 2 resembles the man with the "perfect soul" we saw earlier in the play, and so we feel no disgust”.