Feb-14-2019 Othello (Pt 2)

The last two acts of Othello build upon the lies told from Iago about an “affair” between Desdemona and Cassio. Iago continues to create a dramatic love story between Desdemona and Cassio which causes Othello to slowly go crazy, “Lie with her? Lie on her? We say lie on her when they belie her.” (608). From that passage, Othello is trying to understand if these are all lies about Desdemona or if she really is disloyal because he has come to be so conflicted about the matter. Clearly, Iago has started to diminish the trust Othello once had with Desdemona. Othello then encounters Cassio and is convinced of his mischievous doings so Othello seeks to murder Cassio, “How shall I murder him, Iago?” (611). Moments later, Othello talks about wanting to kill Cassio because he has stolen the sweetness of his love, “I would have him nine years a-killing!- A fine woman, a fair woman, a sweet woman!” (612). Othello is most evidently dismayed by the constant manipulation from Iago and has now come set upon murder in order to fix the problem he thinks is currently going on without his knowledge. As the play continues, Othello is constantly conversing with other characters in order to understand the possibility of an affair to which his mind is not settled. At the end of the play, Othello can no longer stand the thought of losing his Desdemona as well as the constant negative spoken statements about him, “Then must you speak of one that loved not wisely but too well; of one not easily jealous but, being wrought, perplexed in the extreme…” (635). Othello is emphasizing that he wants to be remembered as someone who loved honestly even if he felt it was a blinded honesty. Then, Othello kills himself. Looking at the events that lead to Othello’s suicide, this play, in one aspect, shows that the usage of slander and word manipulation can be so reinforced that it can alter the truths that an individual believes about himself and his life.