This essay is about William Shakespeare's Othello. It focuses on Iago's words to Othello, "O, beware, my lord, of Jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster." in act 3, scene 3 and just how important this warning was not only for Othello, but also for Roderigo and for Iago.Before considering the importance of Iago's words, it is important to define what jealousy means. According to The New Lexicon Webster's Encylopedic Dictionary of the English Language, "jealousy is a state of fear, suspicion, revenge or envy caused by a real or imagined threat or challenge to one's possessive instincts. It may be provoked by rivalry, in sexual love, by competition or by desires for the qualities or possessi ...view middle of the document...
By using Iago, Shakespeare has shown just how powerful jealousy really is. Iago is cunning, crafty, intellectual and intelligent. Despite seeming to be impermeable to negative emotions such as jealousy, the exact opposite seems to happen. Iago can not accept the fact that Othello overlooks him and appoints Cassio as his lieutenant. Iago finds it appalling and is jealous that he wasn't promoted. Iago fits the definition of jealousy because he is in a state of revenge which is provoked by competition. This jealousy made Iago the villian or as was put in the play, "the green-eyed monster." The play focuses on his plot to ruin Othello because he wasn't chosen.Near the end of the first act, Iago explains to Roderigo that Othello and Desdemona will be undone by his wit. As he states it, separating Othello and Desdemona becomes a challenge to him and the forces of evil:If sanctimony and a frail vow betwix an erring barbarianand a supersublte Venetian be not too hard for my witsand all the tribe of hell, thou shalt enjoy her.Iago uses his wit, his scheming or cunning , to make Cassio lose his credibility in Othello's eyes, initially by coercing Cassio to lose control at the party and begin to fight. Then by making it appear that Desdemona is having a secret romance with Cassio. But in the end, minor errors (but very important errors) contributed to his downfall. The first being that Roderigo was unable to kill Cassio and the second being his wife, Emilia, who in the end can no longer keep quiet and lets Othello know that he has been deceived by Iago. From this point on, there was a different view of Iago. He could no longer uphold his "honest Iago" image. He was now evil Iago. Perhaps Iago's plan would have been successful if he wasn't so persistent in destroying Othello and Desdemona. He was already successful with destroying Cassi...
