Who is to blame for the tragedy of Othello
Who is to blame for the tragedy of Othello? It is easy to say that the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello is Iago but it is harder to lay all the responsibility at Iago’s feet. There is no doubt that he did take a role in how the tragedy occurred, but what about the other characters? Othello changed his standards every time he spoke to Iago. ... Ninety lines into Act III Scene III, Othello is confessing his love for Desdemona to Iago: “Excellent wretch! ... ” [ III iii 90-92 ] Eighty lines later Othello is saying “Oh misery! ... By line 245, Othello is asking “Why did I marry? ... Through Iago’s cunning manipulation Othello is changed from the fearless general of Venice to a miserable old man who believes the worst of his wife, his wife of only a few days. Othello says: “. ... Othello says he will search for proof but he only looks to Iago who spins his web of lies. Othello trusts Iago too much, much more than he even trusts his wife, the woman that he supposedly loves so much. Othello promoted Cassio over Iago when it appears that he trusts Iago more. Iago knew of the secret marriage between Othello and Desdemona before anyone else knew and also it is he that Othello sends to bring Desdemona to the Venetian Council in Act I Scene III. So why did Othello promote Cassio when Iago was there, a very ‘honest’ man. By doing this, Othello augmented the hatred Iago already had for the Moor. ... So, evidently, it would appear that he had some sort of proof, which Iago felt justified his actions for the poison that he seeps into Othello’s ears. Othello can only see things in either black or white. ... “I took you for that cunning whore of Venice That married with Othello.” [ IV ii 91-92 ] Othello, like everyone else in the play trusts Iago. In Act III Scene III Iago and Othello kneel together and vow to kill both Cassio and Desdemona. Othello lets Iago dominate his mind, he is of a ‘free and open nature’ that causes him to trust Iago without a doubt, but when logic re-enters the man’s mind, all say is that it is Iago’s fault that everything happened.