Sympathetic Characters In Macbeth And Othello

Macbeth and Othello as Sympathetic Characters In his tragedies Macbeth and Othello, Shakespeare presents two protagonists, Macbeth and Othello, as characters who easily sink to irreversible depths, making both characters significantly unsympathetic. Both protagonists start off as noble warriors, but each faces an antagonist that fertilizes a seed in the protagonist’s mind that results in his moral collapse and ultimately his death. This essay will be juxtaposing the moral decline of both Macbeth and Othello, the factors that contribute to their destruction, and why the anagnorisis that both reach is not adequate enough to make them sympathetic characters, meaning that the reader can relate to them. From the start, both Macbeth and Othello …show more content…
Although this situation is similar to Macbeth, Iago and Roderigo are not discussing Othello as a noble man. Contrastingly, Iago is open about disliking Othello and is seeking to get him in trouble with Brabantio, the father of Desdemona, who is the woman Othello just eloped with. When accused by Brabantio of using witchcraft on Desdemona, Othello stays calm and behaves as a virtuous man. In act one scene three, Othello explains how he won Desdemona’s heart, and shows that Brabantio admires him when he says “Her father loved me, oft invited me,/ still questioned me the story of my life” (1.3.130-131). The story of his past is a daunting and brave adventure that reveals that he is foreign to Venice, showing that he earned his position as a general. Othello being a Moor is also a critical factor because his race is another obstacle that he has to overcome to hold a noble position in society. After hearing his brave story and taking into account what he overcame to hold his position of general, the reader can comfortably find Othello noble. Although both Macbeth and Othello are painted as grand men at the beginning of Macbeth and Othello, they do not remain that way for …show more content…
In Othello, Shakespeare does not give any serious motivation for Iago to influence Othello in such a negative way. Iago goes above and beyond to destroy Othello. He constantly feeds him lies and sets up multiple situations that present a false reality. For example, in act three scene three, Iago has his wife, Emilia, steal the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona and later gives it to Cassio. Othello seeing Cassio with the handkerchief confirms in his mind the lie that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him with Cassio. Although he is influenced by one of Shakespeare’s most evil antagonists, Othello is still accountable for his own moral decline. Iago feeds him lies, but Othello believes them quickly and without strong evidence. Othello truly believes Desdemona is unfaithful to him and kills her in a very brutal and personal way, which greatly subtracts from his morality and