Jealousy In Othello

“O, beware, my lord of jealousy; It is the green - eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” - Iago (Shakespeare, Othello, 165-167).

Jealousy is like a plague; it spreads throughout society and corrupts the lives of those with virtuous morals. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, the theme of jealousy is masterfully explored. In the play, Iago, a villainous mastermind destroys the protagonist by poisoning his ears with false testimony of his wife’s infidelity. The protagonist, Othello is an honest army general who is respected by society for his nobility and bravery. Iago, on the other hand, is a manipulative villain who uses the insecurities of innocent people to deceive them. Despite their contrasting personalities,it can

Throughout the play, both Othello and Iago are extremely jealous of Cassio. From the beginning of the play Iago is portrayed as a envious character. During a conversation with Roderigo, Iago states “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; … He, in good time, must his lieutenant be” (Shakespeare, I.I.). Through this conversation it can be seen that Iago is clearly jealous that Othello passed over him and had given Cassio the lieutenant position even though he had the required knowledge and experience, which Cassio did not have. As a result of Othello’s actions, Iago begins to envy Cassio because he is now of a higher rank, and has gotten the position Iago wanted. Iago also hints that he is jealous of Cassio during his soliloquy when he states “For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too” (2.3.233). Until this point Iago only mentions that he is jealous of Cassio because he was given the lieutenant position that Iago longed for. However, during his soliloquy Iago hints that he is also jealous of Cassio because he has heard a rumor that Cassio has been hooking up with his wife, Emilia. As a result of his emotions, Iago plots a plan that will ruin Cassio’s reputation and allow him to take over the position of lieutenant. Similar to Iago, Othello is jealous of Cassio. However, Othello

As the play comes to an end, other characters in the play start to realise that Iago is not who he portrays himself to be, which he himself hints to Roderigo when he says “I am not what I am” (1.1.65) Iago initially planned to ruin Othello for promoting Cassio as lieutenant instead of him, but in the process of destroying Othello he also hurts Desdemona, Cassio, Emilia, and even himself. Unlike Othello, Iago has been morally corrupted from the beginning of the play as he never worried about how his plan would affect the people surround him, instead he only worried about how he would ruin Othello. As a result of his hatred towards Othello, Iago ends up being the cause of the deaths of Desdemona, Emilia and Othello, and the cause of himself being arrested. Similarly, the effects of jealousy can be clearly see through Othello as it conceals his common sense, and his respect for justice. Because of Iago deceitful plan, Othello plots to kill his wife and ends up smothering the love of his love to dead. When Othello later finds out that Iago had deceived and manipulated him into believing Desdemona had had an affair with Cassio he states “Are there no stones in heaven, But what serve for the thunder?—Precious villain!”(5.2.248-249). At this point Othello faces his demonic epiphany; he finally learns the awful truth about Iago’s prudent plan, but has already killed his faithful wife. In the end, as a result of jealousy,