Othello is then taken to the Duke and the Venetian senators who consult him about a war taking place in Cyprus. The fact that Othello is being told directly about this event from the senators gives him real authority and dominance over his followers. Brabantio, protesting that Othello has taken his daughter, Desdemona, and forced her to marry him, interrupts the Duke’s speech. Othello stays cool and waits for an appropriate time to speak. His patience gains approval from the senators during this time, because unlike Brabantio, he learns the etiquette in front of the Duke and is persistent. Othello declares his argument, “For such proceedings I am charged withal – I won his daughter.” He admits to the Duke that he is rude when he speaks, which demonstrates his honesty, “Rude am I in my speech…” He then asks for Desdemona to be brought there to prove to Brabantio that Othello’s confession is true, “Send for the lady to the Sagittary, and let her speak of me before her father.” Othello’s self-confidence is so high, that when he speaks it seems that everything is believable with the use of his clever diction. Othello begins to get slightly angry when Brabantio throws horrible remarks at him, “To fall in love with what she feared to look on!” Although Othello doesn’t show it, he is hurt by this comment but holds his dignity and continues with his defence on his love for Desdemona, “She loved me for the dangers I had passed and I loved her, that she did pity them.” When Desdemona proves that Othello’s love is genuine, the senators take into account that he spoke the truth and he shows his honesty and may well believe him again. The Moor is the sort of person who sets a good example and never falters in front of respected people. His solid character is what makes him so successful as a general in war and a husband to Desdemona. Although Brabantio insulted Othello, trying to make his strength crack, he didn’t succeed as verbal abuse won’t get to Othello, only mental abuse which will be revealed deeper into the play.
In Act II, Othello is in Cyprus, far from his home in Venice, but he is with Desdemona, which gives him some support. Because Othello is in an alien surrounding to him, he might feel not as respected and welcomed compared to Venice. Black generals weren’t common in the 17th century, but Othello was seen as a hero in Italy so the people of Venice have looked him at from a different point of view. He may start to feel insecure and restless. When a fight breaks out between Cassio and Roderigo, which was provoked by Iago, Othello consults witnesses to find out what happened. He doesn’t ask the two culprits what happened, he gets a neutral report from someone else. This gives Othello a sense of logic and understanding, although he thinks he is getting an unbiased view when he asks Iago. However, Iago wants revenge on Cassio because he took Iago’s place as Othello’s lieutenant, so he tells the story in favour of Roderigo. Iago relates it in such a fashion that Othello is forced to remove Cassio of his office, “Cassio, I love thee, but nevermore be officer of mine.” Othello doesn’t do this in a dramatic style, which shows that Othello is not a man for violence. Because Othello asked Iago for his view on the brawl, he feels he can trust Iago in the future. Originally, the Moor would seek advice from Cassio, but now because of the current circumstance, he will refer to Iago. Everything up until now Othello is in control of himself, but as Iago gets more and more involved, Othello slowly looses grasp of his life.
Now closely monitored by Iago, Othello is hidden from the real truth concerning him and his wife. As the Moor and Iago come to terms with each other more often, they become best of friends, with Iago giving him slight nudges of information which aren’t wholly true. Now away from his home, and the loss of his apprentice, the only thing that Othello has to keep himself together is Desdemona. His fragile state of mind enables him to be fooled. Surprisingly, Iago tells Othello that Cassio has been seen alone with Desdemona. Because Othello’s love for Desdemona is so strong and is incredibly protective about her, doubt is struck into his mind. As time continues, this uncertainty about her destroys his sensitive and romantic nature, which is replaced with spite and resentment. Sometimes this is used against the wrong people, shown by, “Excellent wretch!” Othello is currently half good and half evil minded, not sure whether to believe Iago as his fake reports on Cassio and Desdemona get more and more extreme. Iago’s speech, which is based on style over content, manipulates Othello’s mind into turning against Desdemona. It’s the way Iago tells his accounts rather than what he says. Othello’s mind was based on truth, but now it has turned to possibility. Although he still dearly loves her, Othello is upset at what he is hearing and doesn’t want it to be true. Towards the end of Act III, he wants to seek true from other people, as what Iago is saying to him is getting too much for Othello to cope with. Iago is giving the Moor more answers than Othello is asking him questions. His suspicions begin to overwhelm his emotions as he is continuing to wonder how his wife could be so unfaithful. Soon his distress is transformed into anger, as he follows Iago’s ‘wise’ words on his mental roller coaster of denial and fury.
As Othello begins to breakdown mentally, he starts looking for the answers he wants to hear. Othello wants to be told that Desdemona and Cassio have been having an affair, so has more reason to angry with her. As his madness deepens, Iago gives him more and more excessive tales of the ‘secret’ couple. This keeps the Moor’s antagonism high throughout each day. His actions become heavier, as he seeks advice from Iago for severe exploits, shown by, “How shall I murder him, Iago?” Iago gives him pointers at things Othello has missed that Iago thinks that might interest the Moor, when he states, “And did you see the handkerchief?” Othello now becomes completely honest with Iago, telling him how he feels about everything Iago says. This helps the troublemaker in what to say next and how believable he is to Othello. His unreasonable behaviour towards Desdemona (for example, when he slaps her) leads her to suspect that something has gone very wrong as the Moor always treated her with the best of respect. When Desdemona talks to Emilia about Othello’s strange actions, Othello is lead to believe that she is talking behind his back. This adds to his tornado of perplexity, which will soon spin out of control.
Othello’s language begins to sound similar to Iago’s. This could be because the Moor is experiencing the same trauma as Iago when he was turned down as Othello’s lieutenant. The fact that the tragic hero’s mind is full of raging unhappiness and prejudice, he has to express his emotions in his speech. This wildness is articulated as animal imagery by referring to creatures in his speech. When he consults Emilia, he uses persuasive orders to get the answers he wants to hear. After striking Desdemona, Othello talks badly to her using impassion swear words, due to his anger with her believing she has had an affair. He continues to seek answers that he wants to hear rather than being told the truth. Although he has doubt in his mind, this is over-ruled by his determination to hunt for revenge. Now Othello has turned against Desdemona and Cassio, Othello is all he has left and used as an implement of damage by his ancient. Because Othello is so out of control, they have no reason to suspect Iago. Now most of the Moor’s time is spent with Iago, his attitude and language has been inherited by Othello and used to destruction on others, just like Iago used it on the tragic hero. Earlier in the play, Othello’s language was mostly spoken in verse which gave him power over most people using his clever rhymes and jokes. But now he stops speaking in verse, this transition puts him into a lower class position and becomes just like all the other normal people. His rank temporarily fades away whilst Iago takes full advantage.
When Othello gets to his peak of frustration with the world, he vows to murder Desdemona. This shows his love for Desdemona because he is so upset with her betrayal; he is willing to kill his wife out of despair. He also wants to kill her because he believes she is evil, trying to get to grips with the fact that she has done this and he would never do such a thing. Although he speaks about his true and deep feelings for Desdemona, he continues to feel that he has to kill her. From this point his anger weakens and turns into disappointment and depression. When she wakes from her sleep, he feels guilt, but is angry that he feels guilty because he feels it should him being the one who is responsible. He begins to talk to her pleasantly, but the sight of her and Cassio torments his minds and unleashes an irritated tone and spite. After everything that has been going on, Desdemona fears for the worse but still worries for Othello. After their argument, Othello based his actions to kill her on the handkerchief happening, which is the only real evidence Othello uses against his wife. He claims that witnesses have seen Cassio and Desdemona together but she doesn’t believe him. When Desdemona admits to the handkerchief saga, Othello assumes everything is true. Othello chooses to ignore the possibility of misunderstanding and takes every reply from his wife as an offence. Once killed her, Othello’s guilt returns to him and haunts him until he stabs himself. He feels the only way of gaining respect again is by killing himself. After Iago confesses to his troubles he has cause, Othello is surrounded with disbelief and a tremendous sense of anxiety fills the atmosphere.
To conclude, Othello is a man who needs to be in control. He needs to know everything what is going on around him otherwise he changes, as the story demonstrates. Although he is a witty character, Iago is one step ahead of him, and uses Othello constantly throughout the play.