Othello, written by William Shakespeare, is a classic play that toys with the emotions of both the characters within the play and the audience members. This tragedy centers around Othello, a war hero turned general, and the way his decisions affect the world around him. Othello’s assistant, Iago, schemes against Cassio, the newly appointed and fired lieutenant, by feeding lies to Othello. Iago tells Othello that Othello’s new wife, Desdemona, is cheating with Cassio. Act III provides Othello’s emotional transformation from love and trust to a misguided hatred and mistrust towards Desdemona with each time they interact. The three conversations between Othello and Desdemona in Act III thoroughly demonstrate Othello’s loss of trust in his wife,
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Othello, within his verbal assault on Desdemona, declares her hand as, “A liberal hand!” (III, 4, 41). In more common language that could be described as Desdemona giving her hand or being used in generous amounts. Taken into context with what Othello believes to be the truth, he is calling his wife a whore. Desdemona, not fully understanding what Othello is saying, switches conversation to Cassio’s reinstatement, which angers Othello even further. Othello demands to see the handkerchief that was his very first gift to Desdemona. Iago had said that he had seen Cassio with the handkerchief, so Othello wanted to see that his wife was still in possession of it to ease his mind. Othello demands the handkerchief repeatedly, no matter what Desdemona says. This handkerchief is an accurate representation of Othello’s love and trust in Desdemona. At this point, Desdemona has lost the handkerchief and Iago has gained possession of it. With that change of possession, Desdemona has lost the love and trust her husband originally gave her. He believes that she has given the handkerchief to Cassio and discarded his love along with it. Because the audience knows Iago has the handkerchief at this point, it makes the vow of loyalty between Othello and Iago occurring before this interaction even more legitimate. Othello has blindly
Othello, within his verbal assault on Desdemona, declares her hand as, “A liberal hand!” (III, 4, 41). In more common language that could be described as Desdemona giving her hand or being used in generous amounts. Taken into context with what Othello believes to be the truth, he is calling his wife a whore. Desdemona, not fully understanding what Othello is saying, switches conversation to Cassio’s reinstatement, which angers Othello even further. Othello demands to see the handkerchief that was his very first gift to Desdemona. Iago had said that he had seen Cassio with the handkerchief, so Othello wanted to see that his wife was still in possession of it to ease his mind. Othello demands the handkerchief repeatedly, no matter what Desdemona says. This handkerchief is an accurate representation of Othello’s love and trust in Desdemona. At this point, Desdemona has lost the handkerchief and Iago has gained possession of it. With that change of possession, Desdemona has lost the love and trust her husband originally gave her. He believes that she has given the handkerchief to Cassio and discarded his love along with it. Because the audience knows Iago has the handkerchief at this point, it makes the vow of loyalty between Othello and Iago occurring before this interaction even more legitimate. Othello has blindly