A Study on Othello’s Character

William Shakespeare wrote another tragedy about a Moor of Venice named, “Othello. ” The story started when Othello appointed Cassio to be his lieutenant. This made Iago very angry. At that time, Othello was seeing a beautiful woman named, Desdemona, the daughter of senator Brabantio. This gave an opportunity for Iago to get back at Othello for not appointing him as lieutenant. Iago then convinced Rodrigo, who has a deep desire for Desdemona, to tell Brabantio about her relationship with Othello.
At first, Brabantio didn’t believe them, but was convinced at last. Enraged, he ordered Othello arrested, but Othello was summoned by the Duke of Venice on “urgent matters. ” Brabantio ended up accusing Othello of using “spells and potions” to win Desdemona in front of the Duke. Othello, of course, denied bewitching his daughter. So Brabantio blessed their marriage. Desdemona loved Othello very much that she offered to go with him when the Duke ordered Othello to defend Cypress from the coming Turkish fleets.
This made Rodrigo very jealous, but still hoped to win her one day, wishing that Othello too, will eventually get tired of her. Iago advised Rodrigo to make money by “selling his lands and fighting in wars,” to be able to impress Desdemona. Fortunately, a tempest wrecked the Turkish fleet, “eliminating the threat” and people rejoiced. While rejoicing, Iago told Rodrigo how Desdemona was “flirting” with Cassio. Iago then advised him to provoke a fight with Cassio to get him in “trouble” with local authorities.

In reality, all Iago wanted to do was to make Othello jealous of Cassio and Rodrigo. To make this happen, Iago made Cassio drunk, and therefore being drunk, he had a fight with Rodrigo. Othello then dismissed Cassio from his post as lieutenant. Iago then advised Cassio to meet secretly with Desdemona, to help him convince Othello to reappoint him as lieutenant. Knowing that Cassio will heed his advice, Iago, one day, brought Othello with him so Othello could witness the “secret meeting. ” This helped spark Othello’s jealousy and suspicion.
Iago had continuously worked on Othello’s jealousy, and he even used his wife, Emilia, to his advantage. He asked Emilia to steal the beloved “handkerchief” Othello gave to Desdemona as a gift. He placed the handkerchief in Cassio’s room, and told Othello that he’d seen Cassio use it. This totally enraged Othello, so he appointed Iago to be the new lieutenant, and told him to kill Cassio, but the Duke already appointed Cassio to be in charge. (Jalic Inc. ). With his rage, he was able to strike Desdemona: Othello: I am glad to see you mad. Desdemona: Why, sweet Othello…
Othello: [Striking her] Devil! Desdemona: I have not deserved this. Lodovico: My lord, this would not be believed in Venice, Though I should swear I saw’t: ’tis very much: Make her amends; she weeps. Othello: O devil, devil! If that the earth could teem with woman’s tears, Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile. Out of my sight! Desdemona: I will not stay to offend you. Lodovico: Truly, an obedient lady: I do beseech your lordship, call her back. (Shakespeare, Act IV, Scene I). Confused and hurt, Desdemona tried to understand her husband.
Iago then led Rodrigo to kill Cassio, but Cassio lived and Rodrigo was killed instead. Othello, on the other hand, killed Desdemona. Brabantio killed himself upon knowing what happened to his daughter. In the end, Bianca and Emilia told the truth, and Iago “killed Emilia” for revealing it. Due to despair, Othello eventually killed himself. Iago was left under “Cassio’s hands” to be punished. (Jalic Inc. ). Othello started as a strong character. He is the “Moor” of Venice, a very handsome Berber-Arab, and Muslim origin.
The evil character, Iago, first tried Othello by making his relationship with Desdemona known to Brabantio, but Othello won since he eventually married her. The Duke of Venice even appointed him to defend Venice from invaders. However, he has one great weakness: his jealousy. He loved his wife so much that jealousy attacked him enough to believe his right-hand man, Cassio, was really involved with his wife. The greatest problem here is the lack of communication between Othello and Desdemona. Othello got mislead by the malicious taunting of Iago.
The sad part is, his character entirely changed that he became so hostile towards his “beloved” wife. His very weak character leads him to be defeated when he killed his own wife. He even became more pathetic when he killed himself. In reality, are we like Othello, easily defeated by rumors? There were a lot of ways to prove somebody’s innocence and Othello didn’t do it. There were a lot of couldas, wouldas, shouldas that Othello might have done, but he let jealousy overcome his being. We can learn a lot of things from this tragedy, as these tragedies are real experiences of the past, too.