Miller's Willy Loman illustrates the fundamental elements of a tragic hero who experiences a shift in understanding, fears that result in failure, and the belief that everything man, even a Lo -man, can experience what is tragic. In Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of Venice, Othello is considered a tragic hero because he suffers an Othello possesses both noble birth and displays heroic qualities. One could say that he is a "Moor", which automatically places him at a lower level than most in society and cannot be classified as being born noble. This idea is contradicted because he was also born a prince, which means that he was indeed born of nobility. His position as a general in the army is due to his own hard work, and in the play we mainly hear about this position, not his kingship. This makes his nobility self-made through his leadership and hard work in the military, not his birth. Although Othello is not of noble birth, Othello is presented to the reader in the theatrical work as a noble man, serving Venice as a high military official, with much respect from others. (FIND A QUOTE) Hamartia means “fault, failure and guilt” in Greek. This is the fatal flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero, and Othello exemplifies this characteristic by appearing at the beginning of the play as a noble and well-meaning man. As Othello says in the tragedy: “Do you think I would live a life of jealousy, to still follow the changes of the moon with new suspicions? No; to have a doubt once is to be resolved once: exchange me for a goat, when I turn the affairs of my soul towards such exsufflical and exaggerated conjectures, which correspond to your inferences. It’s not to make me jealous” (3.3.31). Here, Othello claims that he will not be destroyed by jealousy. It r...... middle of paper ......teia, anagnorisis and catharsis throughout the dramatic piece. (Enlarge) Works Cited "Aristotle - Poetics." Aristotle - Poetics. Ed. SH. Butcher. Np, and Web. December 17, 2013. “Elements of a Tragic Hero in Literature.” NP, 2008. Web. December 17, 2013. Heilman, Robert B. “Tragic Hero.” Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on file, and Web. December 17, 2013. “Poetics / by Aristotle; translated by SH Butcher. » EBooks@Adelaide: free, online web books. Np, and Web. December 17, 2013. .Reeves, Charles H. “The Aristotelian Concept of the Tragic Hero.” JSTOR. NP, 1952. Web. December 17, 2013. Shakespeare, William. Othello (Folger Shakespeare Library). Ed. Paul Werstine and Barbara A. Mowat. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Printed.