"Othello" by William Shakespeare: Is Othello the hero or the "fool"?

William Shakespeare presents an excellent leader but a poor reasoner in "Othello". The eponymous hero has strength, charisma, and eloquence. Yet these ideals of leadership do not bode well in real world situations. The battlefield and Senate are, at least in Othello, depicted as places of honor, where men speak truly. In addition, the matters of war and state are relatively simple; no one lies to Othello, all seem to respect him. He never even …

…noble and strong soldier who falls only because Iago is so cunning and evil. One might say, because of this, Othello dies not as a tragic hero, but as someone destroyed by circumstance and evil. But the superficiality of his marriage and the fact that if he had only been honest to his wife and lieutenant he would have found out the truth point in another direction. Othello could lead, but he could not reason.