The Importance Of Blindness In Othello

In Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello in the beginning of the play appears as calm, confident, collected, and is known for his bravery and strength in battle. Othello understands the importance of being able to see, however, because of his “noble nature” Othello only sees the best in people. This then causes Othello to be too trusting in his relationship with Iago and he begin to accept his lies as reality. An attribute like being trusting would commonly be a good characteristic; however, in the end it leads to Othello’s ultimate downfall.
In the play, Othello is renowned for being calm and clear even in the chaos of war, and Othello notes the importance of being able to see clearly. In the opening scenes of the play, Brabantino heeds …show more content…
Othello is unable to see the snake blending into the garden and as a result, he gets “bitten.” Othello’s lack of awareness of Iago ultimately leads to his downfall. If Othello would have heeded Brabantio’s words in the beginning of the play and applied the sight he uses in battle to his personal life, Othello would have been able to avoid this situation. Othello says in the beginning that love won’t cause him to be blind (1.3.269-273), however, his love towards Iago causes everything to spiral out of control. While Othello is renowned for the work he does in battle, his novice skill regarding relationships and people reading damages him in the end. Othello’s dependency and belief in Iago’s good nature is what ultimately kills Othello. Shakespeare shows the reader the overall importance of not being too trusting and to not believe in appearances. It’s important to read people and be mindful of people’s intention. Everyone has their own agenda, and people commonly put on facades to allow them to complete these agendas. Othello’s inability to see through Iago’s facade and intentions lead to his end. If Othello was able to properly read Iago, he wouldn’t have put so much trust in Iago’s words. In life things are commonly lost in translation and information is presented to draw the reader to one conclusion. The media frequently uses information in a bias way to help one party and often tries to lure people into one view. Even politicians commonly say things that sound good, but most time, it’s an act to help strengthen their campaign or have voters re-elect them for office. The overall message is to not believe in appearances and be able to assess situations properly to make the best course of action. If Othello was able to keep these two things in mind, the outcome of Othello would have not been a