In Acts IV and V of ShakespeareÆs (1997) Othello, we see a steady and quick destruction of Othello. In Act IV, Iago works his evil on Othello, driving him to jealous rage through a series of ploys. In Act V, we see Othello ôLike the base Indian, [throw] a pearl away/Richer than all his tribeö when he kills Desdemona (Shakespeare V.ii.349-350). Act IV and Act V bring to light two main themes of the play. The first is the total evil of Iago and the second is the gullibility of the warrior, Othello, who ôloved not wiselyö (Shakespeare V.ii.346). This analysis will explore these two themes in the final two acts of ShakespeareÆs tragedy, Othello. For the tragedy of Othello is not only that Iago is pure evil but also that Othello is unwise in the ways of human interaction.
Othello is a great warrior. He is unparalleled in his feats of battle. However, because he is viewed as an outsider in Venice, a ôblack Moorö, he is already sensitive about his reputation. He has caught the jewel in the Venetian crown, in the lovely, white and pure character of Desdemona. However, Othello is unwise in the ways of love. His professional reputation is without parallel but the glory and honor of this reputation makes him susceptible to jealousy and fear when he thinks Desdemona has cheated on him. As Harold Bloom (1998) maintains, ôTo be cuckolded by his own wife, and with his subordinate Cassio as the other offender, would be a greater, metaphorical death-in-life, for his reputation would not survive it, particularly in his own view of his mythic renownö (449).
That Othello is of a ôfree and open natureö that thinks that most men are honest. This makes him ripe for IagoÆs treachery. Iago is perhaps the most evil character in all of Shakespeare, one without redemption or remorse. As Bloom (1998) notes, ôNo villain in all literature rivals Iago as a flawless conception, who requires no improvementàthe most perfect evildom...