Who Was Responsible For Othello's Downfall

Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy involving the downfall of Othello, a Venetian general. Othello, before the play begins, marries Desdemona, a fair lady and daughter of Senator Brabantio. The general is commanded to go to Cyprus to fight invading Turks. However, after the Venetians reach Cyprus, news has reached that the Turks have been “ravaged by sea”. Yet, a new problem arises: a vengeful captain, Iago has crafted a plan to cause Othello’s downfall. Though he is known to be valiant and intelligent, Othello has a critical flaw: his susceptibility to be easily swayed. The antagonist of the play, Iago, identifies this weakness and uses it as his main vehicle to drive Othello insane. Throughout the course of the play, Iago uses Othello’s susceptibility to make him think his newly-wed, Desdemona, is becoming unfaithful to him. In multiple instances, Iago makes it seem as if his wife is having an affair with Cassio, a gentleman that begins the play as his lieutenant. In the beginning, Iago plants the idea that Desdemona is cheating on him and tells Othello to watch her actions carefully. Suspicious Othello’s mind is further moved when Iago makes it seem as if Desdemona has secretly been meeting with Cassio, using nothing more than a handkerchief. After Desdemona unintentionally leaves her handkerchief on the …show more content…
The reason for Othello’s gullibility, however, relates to his insecurity in society. Although is known to be a great general, he is conditioned to think he is not well-suited by Desdemona. Most people refer to him as a barbaric Moor, which causes him to doubt himself. Because is prone to doubt himself, he is also prone to doubt others, including Desdemona. Although Othello did doubt Iago at first, Iago uses Othello’s gullibility to make it seem as if Desdemona is the unfaithful