Examples Of Jealousy In Othello

The Themes and Issues in: OTHELLO by William Shakespeare

Jealousy
I think that this is one of the main themes in Othello and the play focuses on the dangers of jealousy. The play is a good example of how jealousy can be fueled by circumstantial evidence and how it can destroy lives. For example in this play: Othello succumbs to jealousy when Iago convinces him that his wife is having an affair with her friend Cassio which leads to Othello murdering his wife for her betrayal and then commits suicide.
In my opinion it is interesting that Iago uses jealousy against Othello because jealousy is the source of Iago's hatred in the first place. The play takes on many forms of jealousy such as sexual suspicion, professional competition with
the result being destructive in all cases. Here is an example of Iago's professional jealousy.
Quote

One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,
Wherein the toged consuls can propose
As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,
Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election:
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds
Christian and heathen, must be be-lee'd and calm'd
By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,
He, in good time, must his lieutenant be (1.1.2)

Here Iago claims that he hates Othello because Othello passed him over for a promotion and gave Michael Cassio the job as his military lieutenant instead. In this paragraph Iago claims he's far more qualified than Cassio, who lacks Iago's experience on the field of battle which comes across as jealous as instead of being pleased for Cassio he can only criticise him.
Quote

I hate the Moor:
And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if't be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety.
(1.3.12)
In the beginning of the play Iago states that he hates Othello because 'the Moor' passed him over for a promotion yet here Iago says he hates Othello because he's heard a rumour that Othello has been having an affair with his wife Emilia. Even though Iago says he doesn't know if the rumour's true he continues with his plan to destroy Othellos life anyway.
I think at this point Iago has listed a couple of incompatible motives for seeking to destroy Othello such as Othello failing to promote him and a suspected affair however I think planning to destroy his life shows how overcome with jealousy Iago is.
Quote
Cassio's a proper man: let me see now:
To get his place and to plume up my will
In double knavery--How, how? Let's see:--
After some time, to abuse Othello's ear
That he is too familiar with his wife.
He hath a person and a smooth dispose
To be suspected, framed to make women false.
The Moor is of a free and open nature,
That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,
And will as tenderly be led by the nose
As asses
are.
I have't. It is engender'd. Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light. (1.3.12)

Iago claimed that he suspects Othello has been sleeping with his wife and here he shares his plot to destroy Othello with the audience. He plans on making Othello believe his wife is having an affair with Cassio by planting seeds of jealousy in Othello however he sees his plan as a 'monstrous birth' and a thing that he will bring 'to light' which doesnt make sense as he is using a dark trait of his own and planning to use it against Othello.
Quote
Why, why is this?
Think'st thou I'ld make a life of jealousy,
To follow still the changes of the moon
With fresh suspicions? No; to be once in doubt
Is once to be resolved: exchange me for a goat,
When I shall turn the business of my soul
To such exsufflicate and blown surmises,
Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous
To say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company,
Is free of speech, sings, plays and dances well;
Where virtue is, these are more virtuous:
Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw
The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt;
For she had eyes, and chose me. No, Iago;
I'll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove;
And on the proof, there is no more but this,—
Away at once with love or jealousy! (3.3.31
I think this is an important speech from the play as Othello claims that he won't be destroyed by jealousy. He reasons that Desdemona 'had eyes, and chose' despite the fact that he is black, but then Othello reveals that he may in fact be a bit more jealous and suspicious of his wife than he lets on as he says he wants some 'proof' of Desdemona's infidelity.

Race
Race is an extremely important theme as it has a great amount of influence on characters regard Othello for example some people distrust black people based on their looks such as Iago. I think that race also determines how Othello perceives himself as a rough outsider which sets him apart and makes him very self conscious. This is why he looks carefully as his reputation so that he can be regarded as an equal to the white people that surround him.
Othello is one of the first black heroes in English literature as he is a military general who has risen to a position of power and influence however at the same time his status as a black-skinned foreigner in Venice marks him as an outside and exposes him to some overt racism especially by his wife's father who believes his daughter's interracial marriage can only be the result of Othello's trickery. I think Othello the play portrays fears of miscegenationBecause the play portrays fears of miscegenation.
Quote
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise;
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you.
Arise I say! (1.1.9)

Here Iago uses racist slurs when he wakens Brabantio with the news that his daughter Desdemona who is a white Venetian, has eloped with Othello who is an older black man. I think that when Iago says an 'old black ram' he plays on Elizabethan notions that black men have an animal like, hyper-sexuality which seems geared at manipulating Brabantio's fears of miscegenation.

According to my historic research Othello was a Christian and when Iago calls him 'the devil' he is playing on a sixteenth century idea that black men were evil and that the devil often took the shape or form of a black man. I think that this supports Brabantio's view on Othello and why he accuses him of using black magic to woo Desdemona.
Quote
BRABANTIO this is Venice;
My house is not a grange.

IAGO
Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse; you'll have your nephews neigh to you; you'll have coursers for cousins and gennets for germans.
I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs. you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse; you'll have your nephews neigh to you. (1.1.7)
This is another example of how Iago uses animal imagery in his racist diatribe against Othello which comes from the idea that black people are inhuman. Brabantio objects to Iago's assertions that Desdemona has eloped by saying his house isn't a 'grange' which means a farmhouse.
Iago takes the opportunity to emphasise on the term 'grange' and claims that Desdemona is having sex with a 'barbary horse' with the result that Brabantio will have relatives 'neigh to him'. He says that Desdemona and Othello are 'making the beast with two backs' which is another example that Iago has implied it is Othello's animal like sexuality that corrupts Desdemona.
Quote
Her father loved me; oft invited me;
Still question'd me the story of my life,
From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes,
That I have passed.
I ran it through, even from my boyish days,
To the very moment that he bade me tell it;
Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances,
Of moving accidents by flood and field
Of hair-breadth scapes i' the imminent deadly breach,
Of being taken by the insolent foe
And sold to slavery, of my redemption thence
And portance in my travels' history:
Wherein of antres vast and deserts idle,
Rough quarries, rocks and hills whose heads touch heaven
It was my hint to speak,--such was the process;
And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders. This to hear
Would Desdemona seriously incline: (1.3.4)
I think that this passage is significant because it reveals that Brabantio 'loved' Othello only when he was a military hero defending Venice and not in a romantic relationship with his daughter Desdemona. Here Othello explains to the Duke and Senate how Desdemona fell for him when Brabantio would invite Othello to tell stories about his past and that Desdemona had paid serious attention and fell in love. Othello's stories about travel, adventure and his enslavement give him a romantic and exotic quality which I think also appealed to Desdemona.
In my own opinion it is tragic that by the end of the play, Othello ends up fulfilling a racist stereotype that black men are savage murderers when he kills his wife in her bed. Othello ends up becoming similar to the murdering exotics he talks about in his adventure stories which I think is a good point raised from Shakespeare as he may have been trying to provoke his sixteenth century audiences into rethinking about racial identity.
Women and Sexuality
I think that Shakespeare's play explores some common sixteenth century anxieties about miscegenation by examining the relationship between a black man who marries a white woman, accuses her of being unfaithful, and then strangles her on her wedding sheets.
In Othello most of the male characters assume that women are inherently promiscuous which explains why all three women characters in the play are accused of sexual infidelity. It also explains why it is possible for Iago to easily manipulate Othello into believing that his wife is having an affair.
Quote
Come,
My dear love
The purchase made, the fruits are to ensue:
The profit's yet to come 'tween me and you.
Good night. (2.3.2)
At this point in the play Othello talks about sex in positive terms, as a fruit to enjoy or something that 'profits' both man and woman. I think that Othellos tendency to use financial metaphors such as 'purchase' and 'profit' shows that his view on marriage is that his wife is his possession.
I think it is also clear that Desdemona an Othello havent consummated their marriage since Othello says it is 'yet to come' however when Othello says good night to his attendants it appears that him and Desdemona are going to have sexual relations but their evening is interrupted when Cassio gets drunk and gets involved in a brawl to which Othello is called upon to mediate.
In my own opinion I believe Othello and Desdemona do end up consummating their marriage which may leave Othello feeling as though he has contaminated his wifes sexual and racial purity. After Othello sleeps with his wife she suddenly becomes a 'whore' in his mind which I think may support the fact that Othello is so quick to believe she is capable of having an affair with Cassio.
Quote
Why do you speak so faintly?
Are you not
well?
OTHELLO
I have a pain upon my forehead here. (3.3.2)

After Iago plants the seeds of jealousy in Othello's mind, Othello complains of having a headache which is a sign that the suspicion of Desdemona being unfaithful is affecting Othello's mind.
According to my historic research in sixteenth century literature any time a man had a headache or there's some kind of reference to a man having horns growing out of his head, it is a reference being made to cuckoldry. A 'cuckold' is a man who has been cheated on by his wife and 'cuckolds' are frequently portrayed as having horns which is why Othello says that married men are 'fated' to suffer the 'forked plague' (3.3.42).
Two contrasting images of womanhood dominate Othello: the virtuous and loyal woman embodied by Desdemona and the whore embodied to a certain extent by Bianca yet over the course of the play it becomes clear that these two different ways of describing women don’t actually apply to real women.
Instead I think that these are male fantasies imposed on women for example Desdemona often describes her devotion to Othello in front of other people even though she does love him very deeply she is to a certain extent playing the role of the virtuous wife. Iago then provokes Othello’s jealousy in part by forcing Othello to realise that there is no way for a man to tell the difference between a truly virtuous wife and one who is just playing the role of virtuous wife while actually acting as a whore and being unfaithful.
Meanwhile Emilia complicates the simple contract because initially she wants to please her husband and does so by stealing Desdemona’s handkerchief knowing that he desires it yet she is not completely loyal and even tells Desdemona that she believes many women including she herself would cheat on their husbands under certain circumstances.
In conclusion she proves her own, independent virtue by defending Desdemona’s virtue and revealing her husband’s crimes in the process which shows while womanhood in Othello is often defined by men in terms of pure virtue or voracious and deceptive sexuality, the play ultimately shows that real women are far more complex.
Marriage
I think that Shakespeare's portrayal of marriage is bleak in Othello. The play begins with a conflict between Desdemona's husband and her father who sees his daughter's elopement as a theft of his personal property. In the play Desdemona and Emilia are both unfairly accused of infidelity and both are murdered by their abusive and jealous husbands.
Based on my historic research I think that Shakespeare examines the sixteenth-century audiences anxieties about interracial couplings for example in Othello the marriage of a black man and white woman allows Shakespeare to explore attitudes about race and gender.
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O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow'd my daughter. (1.2.2)
When Brabantio confronts Othello for eloping with Desdemona without his permission he accuses him of being a 'foul thief' as if Desdemona is piece of property that has been unlawfully taken away from him. We see this same attitude earlier in the play when Iago awakens Brabantio in the middle of the night proclaiming loudly 'Awake! what, ho, Brabantio! thieves! thieves! thieves! / Look to your house, your daughter and your bags! / Thieves! thieves!' (1.1.7).
Based on my historic research it was common in sixteenth to seventeenth century England for daughters to be considered as their fathers property. This is also common in Shakespeares plays such as in 'Taming of the Shrew' when Baptista Minola bargains with his daughters suitor and treats Bianca like a possession and even refers to himself as a 'merchant' who is undertaking a risky business deal.
Quote
Now, I do love her too;
Not out of absolute lust, though peradventure
I stand accountant for as great a sin,
But partly led to diet my revenge,
For that I do suspect the lusty Moor
Hath leap'd into my seat; the thought whereof
Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards;
And nothing can or shall content my soul
Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife,
Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor
At least into a jealousy so strong
That judgment cannot cure. Which thing to do,
If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trash
For his quick hunting, stand the putting on,
I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip,
Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb—
For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too— (2.1.22)
I think it is clear from this passage that Iago is completely obsessed with infidelity. Earlier in the play we heard him say that he suspects Othello has slept with his wife Emilia which is a sentiment he repeats in this passage. He also says he 'fears' that even Cassio is sleeping with his wife.
In my own opinion it is his false insecurities about his wife and jealous nature that fuel his evil plan as he says he will either have an affair with Desdemona which will allow him to get even with the 'lusty Moor' or make Othello believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.

Quote
O curse of marriage,
That we can call these delicate creatures ours,
And not their appetites! I had rather be a toad,
And live upon the vapour of a dungeon,
Than keep a corner in the thing I love
For others' uses. Yet, 'tis the plague of great ones;
Prerogatived are they less than the base;
'Tis destiny unshunnable, like death:
Even then this forked plague is fated to us
When we do quicken. (3.3.42)
I think that this is an important point in the play because when Othello is convinced by Iago that Desdemona has cheated on him he reveals something interesting about himself: that he believes all men both 'great' and 'base' are 'destined' to be 'cuckholds' which means to be cheated on by their wives.
In conclusion of this theme if Othello believes that all mean are destined to be cheated on by their wives then this helps to explain why is he so easily convinced that Desdemona has been unfaith
So, if Othello believes that all men are destined, from the moment of their birth, to be cheated on by their wives, then this helps to explain why Othello is so easily convinced that Desdemona has been unfaithful, despite the fact that Iago never actually shows him any real evidence.
Hate
Hatred is supposed to have a cause from some concrete event or insult that inspires a lasting rage but in Othello, the play's villain is motivated by a hatred that seems to elude any reasonable definition. I think that Iago's hatred and determination to destroy Othello seems out of proportion with the reasons he gives for it which are: anger that Othello did not promote him or jealousy that Othello might have slept with Iago's wife.
In conclusion I can only think that Iago's loathing is a motiveless malignancy that redefines our understanding of hatred making it seem a self-propelling passion rather than the consequence of any particular action. A quote to support a part of his hatred is the suspiscion that Othello is sleeping with his wife:
Quote

Now, I do love her too;
Not out of absolute lust, though peradventure
I stand accountant for as great a sin,
But partly led to diet my revenge,
For that I do suspect the lusty Moor
Hath leap'd into my seat; the thought whereof
Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards;
And nothing can or shall content my soul
Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife,
(2.1.280-291)

Self-knowledge
I think that Othello's lack of self knowledge makes him easy prey for Iago because once Iago inflames Othello's jealousy and gets the darker aspects of Othello's nature into action, there is nothing Othello can do to stop it because he cannot even admit that he has these darker traits.
In my opinion Shakespeare explores factors that play an important role in the formations of identity in Othello, such as: race, gender, social status, family relationships and military service.
I think that Othello manages to show how an individual's sense of identity which can break down and be manipulated by others shapes his or her actions.
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For sir, it is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago.
In following him, I follow but myself.
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so for my particular end.
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In complement extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at. I am not what I am. (1.1.4)
This passage proves that Iago is all about not revealing his true identity or intentions to anyone, he tells Roderigo that he'll never allow his 'outward action' to show what's really going on inside of him because that would leave him vulnerable. When Iago says 'I am not what I am', he cryptically suggests that he's not what he appears to be.
I think that this phrase is an inversion of God's line, 'I am what I am' (Exodus 3.14), which is in keeping with the play's alignment of Iago with the devil.
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I saw Othello's visage in his mind,
And to his honour and his valiant parts
Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.
So that, dear lords, if I be left behind,
A moth of peace, and he go to the war,
The rites for which I love him are bereft me,
And I a heavy interim shall support
By his dear absence. Let me go with him. (1.3.2)
This passage shows that Desdemona is not afraid to express her desire for her husband and that she knows herself as a person in contrast to Othello who is constantly trying to act as an insider instead of being true to himself. Desdemona says she fell in love with the way Othello he sees himself as a valiant war hero not because of what he is. We also notice that Desdemona is bold as she not only defends her right to marry the man she loves but also her right to enjoy Othello as a husband which includes being with him when he leaves for Cyprus.
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Alas, thrice-gentle Cassio!
My advocation is not now in tune;
My lord is not my lord; nor should I know him,
Were he in favour as in humour alter'd. (3.4.32)

In the beginning of the play we get the impression that Desdemona is strong, confident and defiant but after being victimised by Othello's physical and emotional abuse she changes drastically. When Othello publicly abuses Desdemona calling her a 'whore' and slaps her, Emilia is outraged but Desdemona seems more confused than hurt.
Desdemona says she's 'sure' that she's done absolutely nothing to warrant Othello's behaviour however we can detect a note of uncertainty. When Othello strangles her, Desdemona blames herself for her husband's violence and when Emilia asks Desdemona who has harmed her, Desdemona replies 'Nobody; I myself. Farewell' (5.2.29).

Honesty
The word 'honest' is usually used in an ironic way throughout the text and most characters in the play go through a crisis of learning who and who not to trust. Unfortunately most of the characters trust in Iago's honesty which leads to the downfall of many characters as this trust in Iago's 'honesty' becomes a crucial contributor to their undoing.
I think that honesty has a wide range of meaning in the play because at times it refers to chastity, the question of whether a woman is 'honest' or whether she is promiscuous. At other times the word refers to personal honesty, whether or not a person is telling the truth. These meanings come together in some ironic ways throughout the play.
The clearest example of this is how Iago uses personal dishonesty to convince Othello that his wife is sexually dishonest whilst pretending to be looking out for the best interests of his 'friend'. A quote to support this is:
Quote
O wretched fool.
That livest to make thine honesty a vice!
O monstrous world! Take note, take note, O world,
To be direct and honest is not safe.
I thank you for this profit; and from hence
I'll love no friend, sith love breeds such offence.
OTHELLO
Nay, stay: thou shouldst be honest.
IAGO
I should be wise, for honesty's a fool
And loses that it works for.
OTHELLO
By the world,
I think my wife be honest and think she is not; (3.3.52)

The Incompatibility of Military Heroism & Love
From the earliest moments in the play Othello's career as a soldier affects his married life although Desdemona accompanies her husband to Cyprus. She is unperturbed by the tempest or Turks that threatened their crossing and is genuinely curious rather than irate when she is roused from bed by the drunken brawl in Act II. She is Othello’s 'fair warrior' and he is happiest when he has her by his side in the midst of military conflict or business.
I think that the military provides Othello with a means to gain acceptance in Venetian society. The Venetians in the play are generally fearful of the prospect of Othello’s social entrance into white society through his marriage to Desdemona but all Venetians respect and honour him as a soldier. In my own opinion Othello predicates his success in love on his success as a soldier by wooing Desdemona with tales of his military travels and battles.
When he suspects Desdemona of having an affair he is desperate to cling to the security of his former identity as a soldier while his current identity as a lover crumbles and begins to confuse the one with the other. His expression of his jealousy quickly devolves from the conventional 'Farewell the tranquil mind' to the absurd:
Farewell the plum’d troops and the big wars
That make ambition virtue! O, farewell,
Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, th’ear piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!”
(III.iii.353–359)

Gender
I think that gender relations are antagonistic in Othello mainly because unmarried women are regarded as their fathers' property and the play's two marriages are marked by male jealousy and cruelty. Most male characters in Othello assume that all Venetian women are inherently promiscuous which I think explai s why female sexuality is such a huge threat to men in the play. Othello is easily convinced his wife is cheating on him and feels emasculated and humiliated as a result.
Based on my research in the play it is impossible to discuss gender and sexuality without considering race because several characters in the play, including Othello believe that black men sexually contaminate white women which may partially explain why Othello sees his wife as soiled.
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Awake! what, ho, Brabantio! thieves! thieves! thieves!
Look to your house, your daughter and your bags!
Thieves! thieves! (1.1.7)
This quote supports that Iago is looking to stir trouble for Othello when he awakens Brabantio with the news that Othello has eloped with Desdemona. He says 'thieves' because Brabantio's unmarried daughter, Desdemona is basically considered her father's property. Since she has married Othello without her fathers permission, Iago suggests that Othello has stolen her from Brabantio.
Quote
My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs:
She swore, in faith, twas strange, 'twas passing strange,
'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful:
She wish'd she had not heard it, yet she wish'd
That heaven had made her such a man: she thank'd me,
And bade me, if I had a friend that loved her,
I should but teach him how to tell my story.
And that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake:
She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd,
And I loved her that she did pity them. (1.2.4)
In this passage Othello explains that Desdemona fell in love with him while listening to his life stories which were romantic tales of travel, adventure, and danger. When Othello recalls that Desdemona said 'she wish'd that heaven had made her such a man' we can interpret that it seems Desdemona wishes heaven 'had made such a man' for her to marry especially given the fact that she suggests that Othello's stories could 'woo' her. I think that Desdemona's a character who craves action and adventure and she's not content to sit at home and a fact that supports this is that she would rather go to war alongside Othello in Cyprus.

Manipulation
I think that Iago may be one of literature's most impressive master of deception because he plots with consummate sophistication, carefully manipulating Othello without any proof into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful.
In my own opinion his understanding of the human psyche is phenomenal, as is his ability to orchestrate a complicated interweaving of pre planned scenarios. Iago's deception is potent because of his patience, his cleverness, and what seems to be his intrinsic love of elegant manipulation.
Quote
Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceived her father, and may thee. (1.3.10)
Brabantio suggests that because Desdemona deceived her father when she eloped with Othello she will be likely deceive her husband however we the audience know that Desdemona is faithful to Othello.
The problem is that Othello seems to buy into the stereotype that unruly daughters make for unruly and promiscuous wives which I think is part of the reason why Iago is able to manipulate him so easily. Shakespeare seems to be critiquing this unfair attitude toward women in the play just as Othello's distrust in his wife leads to a terrible tragedy when he murders Desdemona.
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If I can fasten but one cup upon him,
With that which he hath drunk to-night already,
He'll be as full of quarrel and offence
As my young mistress' dog. (2.3.9)
Here Iago schemes to get Cassio drunk because he knows Cassio will end up getting into a fight this is another way of showing how Iago is able to predict other characters so well in the play. He wants Cassio to get in trouble with Othello so that Desdemona will try to intervene on Cassio's behalf, which will make Othello jealous and suspicious which I think is another elaborate and intelligent plan. Iago is able to gain trust and manipulate other people and is able to appear to be 'honest' in order to deceive and misdirect people.
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IAGO
Ha! I like not that.
OTHELLO
What dost thou say?
IAGO
Nothing, my lord: or if--I know not what.
OTHELLO
Was not that Cassio parted from my wife?
IAGO
Cassio, my lord! No, sure, I cannot think it,
That he would steal away so guilty-like,
Seeing you coming.
OTHELLO
I do believe 'twas he. (3.3.1)

After watching Desdemona and Cassio talk, Iago suggests that something is going on between Cassio and Othello's wife however he never comes right out and says it but he implies it and when Othello tries to press this point, Iago acts like his innocent friend.
Warfare
The play's protagonist is a military general so war is always hovering in the background but the only actual battle the play promises is avoided due to bad weather. I think that the real battleground of the play is with the mind.
I think it is possible to see Iago's machinations as the strategic planning of a general, individual victories as minor battles, and the three resulting deaths the casualties of psychological combat. The play also dwells on the relationship between masculine identity, war, and sexuality.
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Despise me, if I do not. Three great ones of the city,
In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp'd to him: and, by the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worse a place:
But he; as loving his own pride and purposes,
Evades them, with a bombast circumstance
Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war;
And, in conclusion,
Nonsuits my mediators; for, 'Certes,' says he,
'I have already chose my officer.'
And what was he?
Forsooth, a great arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,
Wherein the toged consuls can propose
As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,
Is all his soldiership. (1.1.2)
I think that this passage speaks to the way warfare is considered a mans realm as Iago claims that he hates Othello because Othello passed him over for a promotion and chose Michael Cassio as a lieutenant instead. Iago also says that Cassio doesn't know any more about warfare than a housewife does because he's never been on the battlefield. This also raises the question of whyIago hates Othello so much as Othello's refusal to promote Iago is just one of several reasons Iago sets out to destroy the general.
Quote
The tyrant custom, most grave senators,
Hath made the flinty and steel couch of war
My thrice-driven bed of down: I do agnise
A natural and prompt alacrity
I find in hardness, and do undertake
These present wars against the Ottomites.
Most humbly therefore bending to your state,
I crave fit disposition for my wife.
Due reference of place and exhibition,
With such accommodation and besort
As levels with her breeding. (1.3.5)
Here Othello puts aside his new bride to dash off to the war without any hesitation which seems to suggest that he values his position in the military above his love on the other hand we could also point out how Othello goes out of his way to make sure his new wife will be taken care of while he's away.
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That I did love the Moor to live with him,
My downright violence and storm of fortunes
May trumpet to the world: my heart's subdued
Even to the very quality of my lord:
I saw Othello's visage in his mind,
And to his honour and his valiant parts
Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.
So that, dear lords, if I be left behind,
A moth of peace, and he go to the war,
The rites for which I love him are bereft me,
And I a heavy interim shall support
By his dear absence. Let me go with him. (1.3.2)
This passage proves that Desdemona doesn't want to remain behind while her new husband runs off to Cyprus to fight against the Turks. I think it is because she loves Othello and simply wants to be with him but its also important to note that Desdemona seems drawn to the action and adventure of warfare which is a realm that's only available to men.

Appearance vs. reality
Appearance vs. Reality is a crucial theme in Iago's story as he enacts a series of roles from advisor to confidante and appears to be helping people though he is only acting out of his twisted self-interest. Although he is called 'honest' by almost everyone in the play he is treacherous, deceitful, and manipulative.
I think that this issue also applies to Desdemona as Othello believes that she is deceitful and impure although we know she is really blameless and innocent and has never had an affair with Cassio like Othello suspected.
The tragic plot of Othello hinges on the ability of the villain Iago to mislead other characters particularly Roderigo and Othello by encouraging them to misinterpret what they see. Othello is susceptible to Iago’s ploys because he himself is so honest and straightforward. As Iago puts it:
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The Moor is of a free and open nature,
That thinks men honest that but seem to be so; and will as tenderly be led by th’ nose As asses are. (2.1.391-4)
In my own opinion Shakespeare plays with the idea of unreliable reality in a number of ways such as the language of the play which repeatedly refers to dreams, trances, and vision constantly highlights the way in which what seems to be real may actually be fake.
In addition Shakespeare extends the theme of appearance vs. reality to include the art of playwriting and acting. As he develops his plot against Othello Iago creates scenes within scenes. He sets up encounters between two characters and putting a third in the position of a spectator for example: he has Othello watch Cassio and Desdemona speak, and he has Othello watch him speak with Cassio about Bianca, in each case Iago manipulates Othello so that Othello sees the appearance that Iago wants him to see rather than the reality of what is actually happening.
I think that Iago also takes on the role of a director as he directly directly addresses the audience through his many soliloquies and Shakespeare draws attention to the way that a playwright and actors create an appearance onstage that tricks the audience into seeing something other than reality.
Magic
Othello is charged with using magic to woo Desdemona which I think has something to do with his heritage and merely because he is black and therefore, 'pagan'. However Othello does have real magic but only in the words he uses and the stories he tells. Magic also reappears when Desdemona's handkerchief cannot be found and because Othello has too much trust in the symbolism and charm of the handkerchief, this is why the object is so significant to him.
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O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow'd my daughter?
Damn'd as thou art, thou hast enchanted her;
For I'll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy curled darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, to incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou, to fear, not to delight.
Judge me the world, if 'tis not gross in sense
That thou hast practised on her with foul charms,
Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals
That weaken motion: I'll have't disputed on;
'Tis probable and palpable to thinking.
I therefore apprehend and do attach thee
For an abuser of the world, a practiser
Of arts inhibited and out of warrant.
Lay hold upon him: if he do resist,
Subdue him at his peril.
Brabantio assumes that Desdemona must have been 'enchanted' to marry Othello, this assumption is made on the basis of Othello being black and Desdemona being white. Brabantio ignores all of Othello's good qualities and gives into his racist feelings. Magic is linked to stereotypes of African people as knowing the black arts of magic and this is why he assumes Othello has used magic to win over his daughter.
Order vs. chaos
As Othello begins to abandon reason and language, chaos takes over. His world begins to be ruled by chaotic emotions and very shady allegations, with order pushed to one side. This chaos rushes him into tragedy, and once Othello has sunk into it, he is unable to stop his fate from taking him over.
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Now by heaven,
My blood begins my safer guides to rule, And passion, having my best judgment collied,
Assays to lead the way (2.3.204-207),
This quote shows that Othello's fabled equanimity and calm is breaking. He begins to rage and even though this rage apparently only lasts until he has stripped Michael Cassio from his lieutenancy I think that it opens the door to the blind fury that fully develops in and eventually leads to him killing Desdemona.
In conclusion it is that his wrath emerged because of an inability to deal with a matter under his direct control and that Iago is practising on Othello through his dissimulation in order to discover the vulnerability that he knows must be there somewhere in Othello's personality.
Iago is a very good judge of human nature and easily able to manipulate people in ways that will benefit him most. I think that his cleverness also means that he is a source of wisdom in the play as Iago's metaphor is particularly applicable to many in this play apart from himself meaning that characters do have voices that they allow to grow in themselves. They also have aspects of themselves which balance these vices out. Iago's knowledge of this allows him to do away with this balance and set chaos into motion.
Pride
One of the most relevant themes of this play besides jealousy is pride which also relates to reputation. This play has an abundance of characters that progress alongside the theme pride and reputation. This includes Othello, Brabantio, Cassio and Iago. All of these characters depict that their reputation is as important as their pride through the way they react towards the situations that arise to them.
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That handkerchief which I so loved and gave thee, Thou gav’st to Cassio." Act V, Scene II, 54

Othello is defensively proud of himself and his achievements and especially proud of the honorable appearance he presents. The allegations of Desdemona's affair hurt his pride even more than they inflame his vanity and jealousy because he wants to appear powerful, accomplished, and moral at every possible instance and when this is almost denied to him his wounded pride becomes especially powerful.
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Ay, to me. She is abused, stol'n from me, and corrupted by spells and medicines bought of mountebanks For nature so prepost'rously to err, Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense,
Sans witchcraft could not." Act I, Scene III, 65

Barbantio is a proud father who worries that his daughter’s elopement will mark him as a careless father despite his rank as a senator. Also he is very pleased of his well-raised and obedient daughter Desdemona and when she takes Othello's hand in marriage he feels very disappointed at first but in the end he accepts the fact that she found something that makes her happy.
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Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation!
I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago my reputation!" Act II, Scene III, 245

Cassio is worried about his reputation after getting drunk and fighting with Roderigo, and he is very upset and worried that Othello would take his place.

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How to respect you. You are the lord of duty.
I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband.
And so much duty as my mother showed
To you, preferring you before her father,
So much I challenge that I may profess
Due to the Moor my lord." -Act I Scene III, 185

Desdemona's pride lies in her love for Othello, no matter what her father says and she stands by his side and she feels very proud to have a successful and brave husband.

In conclusion, pride is a very important theme of this play. Everyone of the characters potrays that their reputation is as important as their pride through the different scenarios that arise to them.

Good vs. Evil
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"I am not what I am." - Iago

In Othello the audience is presented with the classic battle between the deceitful forces of evil and the innocence of good. It is these forces of evil that ultimately lead to the breakdown of Othello which results in the muder of his wife Desdemona. Desdemona is representative of the good in nature. Good can be defined as forgiving, honest, innocent and unsuspecting. The evil contained within Othello is by no means magical or mythical yet is represented by the character Iago.

Iago is cunning, untrustworthy, selfish, and plotting and he uses these traits to his advantage by slowly planning his own triumph while watching the demise of others. Not only is it in his own nature of evil that he suceeds but also in the weaknesses of the other characters.
Iago uses the weaknesses of Othello specifically jealousy and his devotion to things as they seem, to conquer his opposite in Desdemona. From the start of the play, Iago's scheming ability is shown when he convinces Roderigo to tell about Othello and Desdemonda's elopement to Desdemona's father, Brabantio. Confidentally Iago continues his plot successfully making fools of others, and himself being rewarded. Except Roderigo, no one is aware of Iago's plans. This is because Iago pretends to be an honest man and loyal to his superiors.

I think that the fact that Othello himself views Iago as trustworthy and honest gives the evil within Iago a perfect unsuspecting victim for his schemes. The opportunity to get to Desdemona through Othello is one temptation that Iago cannot refuse. He creates the impression that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio in order to stir the jealousy within Othello. It is this jealousy and the ignorance of Othello that lead to the downfall of Desdemona who is the one truely good natured character in the play.
Iago's battle against Othello and Cassio certainly counts as an embodiment of this theme. Iago and his evil battle to corrupt and turn the flawed natures of other characters and he does succeed to some extent. By the end of the play neither has won as Desdemona and Emilia have both been murdered, Othello has committed suicide and Iago is revealed and punished.