The Play Othello by William Shakespeare shows how easily jealousy can destroy relationships, and turn tokens of love into symbols of infidelity. The setup of the play is somewhat confusing: who is the main character? The play mostly focuses on Iago and his plans to ruin Othello's life and it is hard to tell if Iago was meant to be the protagonist or antagonist. The play starts with Iago letting Brabantio know that Othello “the moor” has married the man's daughter in secret. Thus the game begins: Iago pretends in front of Othello, that he is his friend while he secretly plots against him. Over time Othello come to trust Iago and exclaims how honest he is. Iago uses this misplaced trust to convince him that his wife has cheated on him. Othello enraged kills Desdemona his “whore” of a wife and then a few minutes too late finds out from Iago’s wife that there was never any sort of affair.
As common with Shakespeare's plays almost all of the main characters suffer because of their own stupidity, a motif of the story. Iago’s does not view the women as threats to his plan and this oversight gets him ousted by his own wife . Othello does something even stupider and trusts Iago (a man he
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“O, beware my lord of jealousy!/ It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock/ the meat it feeds on. That Cuckold lives in bliss/ Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger;/ But O, what damned minutes tells he o’er/ who doubts suspects, yet strongly loves!”(pg 62) Iago gives Othello a warning of the dangers of jealousy but, he acts exactly as Iago predicted and does not follow his advice. Later Othello even makes the assumption that Desdemona is sleeping with his best friend because she lost the handkerchief he gave her. Instead of verifying that Cassio was talking about his wife he decides to kill him and Desdemona immediately