Theme of Jealousy in Shakespeare's Othello Essay Example

Jealousy is one of the most powerful characteristics which can lead to the ultimate downfall or upbringing of someone. In the book Othello by Shakespeare, the author uses jealousy to create a dramatic, rising conflict between the characters which leads to a tragic ending. With Iago, the true extent to which jealousy corrupts himself is shown through his actions such as his manipulation of Brabantio, 

Jealousy significantly influences Iago when he manipulates people for his own good, such as when Iago tells Brabantio that Othello had stolen his daughter. Iago’s envy of Cassio’s position as lieutenant which Othello gave him and his love for Desdemona whom Iago also loved was enough for him to attempt to sabotage Othello. Despite the failed attempt to frame Othello, the moment in the book marks the first point where Iago will make attempts at manipulating others for his own gains as the length in which he goes drastically increases from then on. With the way Iago’s jealousy is utilized, Shakespeare is able to create a conflict between Iago and Othello. Furthermore, this conflict progressively becomes more prevalent as Iago’s methods start to become more desperate and twisted. As this happens, an overarching message about humanity and the extent to which people will go for their own selfish desires can be seen. Not only are people willing to hurt others for these desires, but in extreme cases, the most envious ones are also keen to jeopardize the lives of others.

With Iago’s failed method of directly framing Othello, he decides to undermine Cassio instead to destroy his reputation and strip him of his role of lieutenant. He does this by getting Iago drunk while having Roderigo get into a fight with him. Iago now is willing to ruin the standing of someone else forever all in favor of his own jealousies. On the other hand, Iago, still not content with the situation, plots against Othello by getting him to believe Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. This says a lot about people and their envy with how even when they are successful in their endeavors, they will never be truly satisfied and will always want more. What this comes down to is simply human nature as people will always be self-centered because we naturally find our endeavors more important than that of others. In the character Roderigo, we can see exactly this in how the primary reason he follows Iago is due to the promise of Desdemona’s love. So, not only can jealousy make you hurt others, but it can also make you blind and susceptible to the manipulation of others who also have the same mindset as you. Iago is able to do a lot of what he does due to him taking advantage of the envy of Roderigo who does is unbeknownst to the fact that he is being used like a pawn.