Othello and Desdemonas love at the beginning of the play is built on mutual trust and attraction. By the end of Act 3, however, Othello has become the green-eyed monster of jealousy. Explore this descent.

less innocent than the image of the opening scenes. Iago may manipulate Othello but it’s clear he is no mere puppet. Othello is simply the medium through which Iago works his plans, but he is a willing medium at that, by responding to Iago’s suggestions with pseudo rational justifications. Iago feeds on the errors that result from Othello’s self-deception, but he himself is deceived in his vision of the world. He sees mankind as corruptible, women as inferior and love as an illusion, and he acts on these assumptions in the same way that Othello acts on his warped vision of love, trust and honour. They both act on a false set of premises and thus the relationship established is reflected and magnified in the verbal patterns of the play.   In Scene 3, Act 3, Othello is the recipient, with Iago dominating the dialogue and controlling the content, in turn imposing his bestial and animalistic idiolect on Othello. Othello’s idiolect turns like his – he becomes inarticulate, short, blunt and animalistic. [Othello] Is he not honest?[Iago]                           Honest, my lord?[Othello]                                         Honest? Ay, honest. [III.iii. 103-105]In a scene which sees Iago’s plan set in motion, we see how they are echoing each other’s sentiments and becoming one. They are alternating between completing iambic pentameter which signifies the beginning of the role and power reversal between Othello and Iago. Iago has already understood Othello’s tendency to react without reason to a situation which touches him personally, and understands that his emotions feed on doubt. He realises that Othello has an in-built capacity for self-deception which can be utilised by Iago for his own ends. He works on Othello’s doubts planted in him by Brabantio’s statements earlier in the play which claimed ‘thou hast enchanted her’ [I.ii. 63]. By this he is suggesting that his marriage to Desdemona is a perversion of nature, and he plays on Othello’s ignorance of life and people (especially in Venice), and on his inability to distinguish between appearance and reality.   It is in Act III Scene 3 that Othello begins to show most clearly his Iago-like traits, attitudes and verbal patterns. Watching Cassio depart from Desdemona, Iago set things in motion by exclaiming ‘Ha! I like not that.’ [III.iii. 35] Iago may speak it but it is Othello who thinks it, as he adds ‘Was not that Cassio parted from my wife?’ [III.iii. 37]. Iago answers that it could not have been Cassio, for he would never ‘steal away so guilty-like’ [III.iii. 39], and Othello replies ‘I do believe ‘twas he’ [III.iii. 40]. This action in the climax of the play shows how Othello’s doubts in his own mind are beginning to be confirmed, although Iago here is actually the doubt in his mind. Othello suspects Desdemona and Cassio, and although Iago asks the questions, they are simply echoes of Othello’s own thoughts.   Previous to Iago’s machinations, Othello spoke clearly and purposely and conveyed a sense of danger and beauty with his military authority. His idiolect was in dignified and measured blank verse which indicated his high status in society and his heroism. He spoke in 1st and 3rd pronouns, such as ‘her’ [I.iii. 128], which conveys his nobility, status and egocentricity. He had always expressed abundant faith in the transcendent love that he shared with Desdemona. In Act 1 Scene 3, Othello used language effectively to defend his marriage and keep Desdemona, stating she was ‘half the wooer’ [I.iii. 177].  His speeches in the senate were grandiose and full of metaphor, hyperbole and traditional archaisms, claiming ‘She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her, that she did pity them’ [I.iii. 167-168]. This suggests how she was seduced by his storytelling powers and acknowledged his rhetorical power, whilst he was moved to love her by her sympathetic response.   Desdemona shared the same dignified and purposeful idiolect which is employed through Othello and Desdemona’s shared speech patterns, which served to convey their harmony and mutual affection. As Iago put it, they were ‘well tun’d’ [II.i. 195], which reflects the notion that lovers do things in symmetry. Othello used sensuous, cosmic, elemental and natural imagery, such as ‘Of moving accidents by flood and field’ [I.iii. 135] which emphasises his military might and power through the relation to size and movement.   The difference in Othello’s language after being subject to Iago’s diabolical plans is stark. Many discrepancies exist in the blank verse, and Othello and Desdemona no longer speak in tune. They are distanced and the dialogue is disjointed which portrays this idea that they are growing further apart. For example, the iambic pentameter is split up, such as here: [Desdemona] ‘Heaven bless us! [Othello]                Say you? [Desdemona]              It is not lost.’ [III.iiii. 74-76]     By Act 4 when Iago’s destructive plans have damaged Othello, he begins to use prose, such as in the paragraph ‘Lie with her – Zounds, that’s fulsome!’ [IIII.i. 38-44]. The use of prose exemplifies the sense that something has gone horribly wrong and evokes a sense of unhappiness, disjointedness and being rushed. His language has deteriorated to such an extent to show that he is now a damaged man – he has gone from high class and been reduced to speaking in prose. His ramblings are nonsensical and further emphasise the idea that he’s lost control as we become subject to his flowing and maniac thought processes. The use of hyphens also suggests how he is making digressions, which further reinforces this idea that he has no idea what he’s talking about, just before falling into his trance.   As an audience, we have seen Iago construct his plan and we now know he’s going to carry it out, but the fact that we are powerless to stop it makes us feel as useless as Othello is to stop the consequences. Act 3 Scene 3 is very quick and has no let up – the relentless action builds the tension for when Othello will carry out his murder. Our feeling of helplessness is mirrored in the role of Lodovico. He enquires casually about the situation on the island but immediately witnesses Othello strike Desdemona. He is shocked by Othello’s behaviour, asking the rhetorical question ‘Is this the noble Moor whom our full Senate/Call all in all sufficient?’ [IV.i.265-266]. As a neutral observer, much like us as the audience, his comment highlights the dramatic devolution that Othello has suffered under Iago’s spell. Furthermore, similar to us, Lodovico cannot prevent the tangle of evil which will ensue.   Iago’s manipulation of Othello is unquestionably the cause of the descent of Desdemona and Othello’s love. Othello’s change of heart is a result of the poisonous deceits that Iago pours into his ears, but there is also the sense that his insecurity about his marriage is rooted deeper than Iago’s intrigues. It is not so much the power of Iago’s deceit which transforms Othello into a jealous raging beast, but more his shortcomings masked by his role as the military hero of Venetian society. Iago advises Othello to look to Desdemona and Cassio, and reminds him of Brabantio’s words ‘She did deceive her father, marrying you/ And when she seemed to shake and fear your looks / She loved them most’ [III.iii. 207—209]. In this highly uncritical manner, Othello readily agrees to this, saying ‘And so she did’ [III.iii. 210]. Iago then expresses an insincere empathy toward Brabantio, ‘She that so young could give out such seeming / To seal her father’s eyes up close as oak/ He thought ‘twas witchcraft’ [III.iii. 211-213]. The memory of Desdemona’s betrayal of Brabantio links to the suspicions and insecurities of Othello. Not only is Iago his primary source of (fake) reports regarding Cassio and Desdemona, Iago is his sole guide as to what these events mean within the cultural framework of Venetian society.   Long before Othello succumbs to Iago’s treachery in Act 3 Scene 3, Othello himself displays fatal flaws in the armour of his social identity. He exhibits an unlimited self-confidence in his civic role, asserting that his name can ‘out tongue’ Brabantio’s complaint to the Duke [I.ii. 20]. However, Othello is actually insecure about his identity in Venetian society and uncertain about its ways. Roderigo describes him as an ‘extravagant and wheeling stranger’ [I.i. 135], which suggests Othello is exotic and isn’t a part of Venetian society. Brabantio is a representative of the Venetian aristocracy’s old guard and so naturally doubts the credibility and motives of those who are beneath them. This is why he actively challenges and insults the reports of his daughter’s elopement with Othello as they are relayed to him from the street by Iago and Roderigo.   However, Othello himself is all too willing to believe the word of his subordinates. His status in Venice is not of hereditary class but of military prowess, hence why Othello takes his cues about the marital customs of Venice from others as he is an outsider who must rely upon feedback from native Venetians to operate within that culture. This feedback and advice is cut off when Othello goes to Cyprus - an island beyond the scope of Venice’s values and placed under the full control of him, who has no experience in governance. The two orders that he gives in his capacity as governor is to jointly celebrate his victory over the Turks and his marriage to Desdemona, and his inspection of the island’s fortifications – these are orders of a military commander rather than civil authority ‘It is Othello’s pleasure…that upon certain tidings now arrived, importing the mere perdition of the Turkish fleet’ and ‘For, besides these beneficial news, is the celebration of his nuptial.’ (An exposition from the Herald) [II.ii. 1-11]. And ‘This fortification, gentlemen, shall we see’t?’ [III. ii. 6]. In Cyprus, Othello is all-powerful but is deprived of signals about the meaning of events in Venetian culture.   As a general, Othello was accustomed to assessing the meaning of a situation and making a decision based solely on his own judgement. Once that decision was made, Othello pursued its logical consequences. However, out of this military sphere, Othello is not able to appraise the meaning of situations and must rely upon others to lead him to it, i.e. Iago. Once they have done so however, Othello is committed to a course of action from which he cannot veer. Whilst Desdemona provides him with a highly plausible explanation for the loss of the handkerchief, Othello, in being a man of action who lacks critical faculties, does not pause to consider this alternative account of how the handkerchief came into Cassio’s possession and what his possession of the item actually means. He sees it as disrespect – he believed it was imbued with magical powers and was a token of their love and brings blessings of love to that person. Once she gives it to somebody else, she is bestowing her love to them instead of Othello. Iago works his designs upon Othello and is the active agent behind his jealousy, but the long-standing defects of Othello’s social identity are essential to Iago’s machinations.     The presence of Iago with his dreadful insinuations could mask the insanity of Othello to present him as a man reacting logically in the face of accumulating proof. By the end of Act 3 Scene 3, there is still no more than the slightest of evidence- a handkerchief which Iago may have seen Cassio wipe his beard with, and Cassio’s alleged and inconclusive dream. Othello has nothing but Iago’s word to go on, and without even seeking to confront either Desdemona or Cassio, he decides to kill them. Whilst it’s true that circumstantial evidences increased, such as Desdemona’s tactless pleading for Cassio, Iago’s statement of Cassio’s confession, and Bianca returning the handkerchief to Cassio before Othello’s eyes – it’s apparent that Othello’s conviction of Desdemona’s guilt is confirmed rather than established by such ‘ocular proof’ [III.iii. 365]. Othello used to believe that his marriage to Desdemona would transform his life – from one of primitive ‘chaos’ to one of civilisation and contentment. This naïve dream is shattered with his increasing jealousy and growing awareness that his newfound happiness is an illusion.   To conclude, Othello becomes completely preoccupied with the mission of avenging himself on Desdemona and Cassio for an adulterous affair of which they are entirely innocent merely due to the destructiveness of Othello’s jealousy. Othello’s feelings of inadequacy and his own shortcomings coupled with Iago’s persistent scheming transform Othello from trusting Desdemona to suspecting her of infidelity, and he does so by never reflecting upon it or asking Desdemona herself, but rather by believing everything Iago tells him.