William Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’ is one of strange beauty and remarkable power. It is a tragedy in which the tragic hero has many weaknesses which lead to his downfall at the conclusion of the play. Othello’s high position and love of this high position, his fatal flaws such as being naïvely trusting of others and having little self love, and finally his tragic pride are all weaknesses that work to his disadvantage. At the conclusion of the play, we therefore feel a large degree of catharsis because of his tragic downfall.
The first weakness Othello has is that of the trust he places in his ensign, Iago. As the villain of the play, Iago disguises his immoral, manipulative and degrading persona behind a series of lies, equivocations and statements to woo the valiant Othello, commander of the Venetian fleet. In the first passage in the extract from Act IV, i, we see Iago planting the seeds of jealousy and “pouring this pestilence in his ear? as he alludes to in Act I. Iago’s blatant contempt for Othello causes him to think of a plan that will lead to the demise of Othello and all he sees around him and this is clearly shown in the extract. Iago hints to Othello about his wife, Desdemona’s, infidelity with circumstantial evidence about an affair with Cassio. “Disdst thou not see him paddle in the palm of her hand?? he asks Othello, indeed “lie? with her. Othello’s naïve trust in this person of “exceeding honesty…most bold? who “hates the slime that sticks on filthy deeds? is his first weakness or ‘fatal flaw’ because Othello’s open and trusting nature is exploited by this villainous character. Iago continually reminds Othello of his wife’s unfaithfulness and feeds him with self doubt saying she will drop him for someone younger, smoother and more attractive, like Cassio. Iago’s manipulative ability and aptitude for thinking on his feet in compromising situations leads to Othello’s downfall. Iago mixes up the syntax of his sentences such as in extract one, “Faith, that he did – I know not what he said,? and this confuses Othello who believes he is short of the courtly manners that Cassio possesses or the eloquent speech style of other distinguished generals.
