Green With Jealousy

This image describes basically every death in the play. They may not have been directly by jealously, but Othello’s jealousy is the reason everybody dies. Othello, who he and his wife never even consummated their marriage, is one of the most jealous characters around. He believes the words of Iago so blindly that he cannot see basic details in front of him. Like I noted in another blog entry, there is a scene where Othello sees Desdemona in possession of the handkerchief that he gave her, but moments later is believing Iago when he says earlier in the day he saw Cassio holding the handkerchief to wipe his beard. Othello should have right there been suspicious of Iago because he just saw the handkerchief with his own eyes. In Act 4 Scene 1 Lines 40-41 “It is not words that shakes me thus. Pish! Noses, / ears, and lips. Is’t possible? – Confess? Handkerchief? O devil!” In these lines Othello seems to be saying that words aren’t what is making him jealous but his senses. In reality there are no reasons for Othello’s jealously other than his belief of Iago’s lies. He hears Iago tell the lies and then believes them over his senses. If he was not so overwhelmed by hearing those lies, he would have noticed that Desdemona had her handkerchief and it was not in Cassio’s possession yet.