Essay Database

"The Green-Eyed Monster" Othello has killed himself after he realizes that he has "loved not wisely but too well (5.2.404)." Why has he killed his young wife? It was jealousy. A web of jealousy that his formerly good companion, Iago, has spun for him. Yes, it was Iago who plotted the whole scheme which led to Othello killing his wife, Desdemona, because he thought she was cheating on him with Cassio. The clever Iago has got …

…he can't handle. His jealousy literally drives him mad. Anger and hate replace his wisdom and judgment, and the power of these destructive emotions leads to this sorry end. Othello represents how jealousy, particularly sexual jealousy, is one of the most corrupting and destructive of emotions. It is jealousy (fed by his innate sense of evil) that prompts Iago to plot Othello's downfall. Jealousy, too, is the tool that Iago uses to arouse Othello's passions.