The Destruction Of Jealousy In Shakespeare's Othello

Jealousy is regarded by the majority of people as the most logical and straightforward reason behind the tragic downfall of one of the play’s most prominent characters; Othello. However it has also been said that the more subtle emotions such as racial mistrust and lack of self confidence contribute the most to Othello’s tragic downfall. In my opinion, Othello has a powerful inner battle between his love for Desdemona and the “green-eyed monster which doth mock” (Act 3 Scene 3), with jealousy prevailing, thus causing his tragic downfall. Emilia is of the opinion that men are “jealous for they’re jealous: it is a monster” (Act 3 Scene 4) meaning that she believes jealousy to be a natural occurrence in man. Shakespeare places this opinion into the play to demonstrate his belief that jealousy cannot be controlled. No matter how strong of a person someone is, they are still susceptible to being jealous. Emilia doesn’t think that jealousy is something that builds up; instead it
Ian McKellan says “As Iago confides the truth to the audience (as always in Shakespeare), they are privy to his deceit and the gulling of Roderigo, Cassio, Desdemona and Othello himself. It is an unfair advantage and early on Willard (actor playing Othello) accused me of trying to get the audience on my side against him. I explained that I didn’t need to try – Shakespeare had organised it that the villain’s part should be the audience’s portal into action”, meaning he believes that Shakespeare’s decision to have moments when Iago solely interacts with the audience gives an advantage to craft them against Othello; in a way which disregards the danger of