Krisis Eksistensial: Tragic Triad Viktor Frankl dalam Tokoh-Tokoh Utama Drama Othello = Existential Crisis: Viktor Frankl’s Tragic Triad in the Main Characters of Othello

This study examines the existential dimensions of William Shakespeare’s Othello through Viktor Frankl’s Tragic Triad: guilt, suffering, and death. The research aims to analyze how the three main characters, Othello, Iago, and Desdemona, embody distinct existential crises and how their responses reflect either the failure or refusal to find meaning. Using a qualitative textual analysis and Frankl’s logotherapy as the theoretical framework, the study focuses on selected dialogues and character developments. The findings show that Othello fails to transform his guilt into responsibility and instead chooses despair. Iago externalizes his suffering through manipulation, revealing a nihilistic worldview. Desdemona, while graceful in facing death, lacks existential awareness or resistance. All three characters ultimately fail to achieve redemption or meaning, illustrating Frankl’s argument that human collapse arises not from suffering itself, but from the absence of meaning within it. Thus, Othello becomes not only a tragedy of jealousy and betrayal, but of existential failure.

Keyword : Othello; Viktor Frankl; Tragic Triad; existential analysis; guilt; suffering; death.