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Betrayal and Treachery in Shakespeare’s “Othello”
Introduction
People betray their friends, families, and colleagues for various reasons, but often, there
is no valid reason why a person should betray others. In the play "Othello," most of the
characters' downfall roots from betrayal and revenge (Rai 54). Betrayal and treachery go hand in
hand. They cause hurt, death, sorrow, and misery among the characters. In the play, Desdemona
and Othello suffer the most agonizing fates plotted by other characters in the play. At the same
time, the acts of betrayal, revenge, and treachery have a tremendous dramatic significance in the
play because they show that appearances can lie and reality is not usually what individuals see
but often what they do not see. Although the play contains several acts of betrayal, Lago’s
betrayal constitutes to the primary act of treachery and betrayal in the play. Lago is a powerful
Villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, who is almost single-handedly responsible for the downfall of
most characters in the play including Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Cassio by his
determination to revenge on any character who has disappointed or benefitted instead of him.
To begin with Lago’s betrayal leads to the destruction of Othello. Lago pretends to be
Othello’s friend. However, Lago’s is angry over his General for failing to choose him as his
Lieutenant. Lago begins to plot how to successful ruin Othello’s relationship with Desdemona.
Lago cunnings creates the tale of Cassio and Desdemona’s involvement by convenience in his
attempt to make Othello insane with jealousy. Lago also successfully initiates rage, envy and
desire for revenge in Othello, by narrating false tales of his wife’s unfaithfulness (Putnam 4).
When he Othello and Lago see Desdemona and Cassio together, Lago makes a sly comment
about their intentions, which makes Othello to pause and wonder their intentions. Lago plays his
game in a sly manner by using hints and suspicion affirmed by denying to increase curiosity and
jealousy in Othello. For instance, when Othello asks him about the relationship between
Desdemona and Cassio, he denies and says, “Ha, I like that not" and when Othello asks him,
“What dost thou say?” Lago replies, “Nothing, my lord” (Shakespeare 34-40). The above
scenario makes Othello more suspicious about his wife and Cassio. Lago achieves his mission by
managing to change Othello’s perception of Cassio and also leaves Othello desiring to know
more. Moreover, Lago’s implications make Othello become more possessed with knowing
whether the accusations were true or false. Lago insists that the general should not think about
any possible adulteries committed which makes him to constantly think of the possibility that his
wife is unfaithful. Othello however, gets easily persuaded by Lago’s accusations and never
actually asks his wife or Cassio about the alleged affair.
Other Victims of Lago’s betrayal include Roderigo, Cassio and Emilia. Lago betrays
Roderigo by using him to incite Brabantio into denouncing Othello before the Duke of Venice.
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By doing this Lago hopes to get Othello demoted or fired from being the military general
(Mardiha 24). However, his plan fails and Othello is handed command over the Duke forces in
Cyprus. Roderigo is deeply in love with Desdemona and gives Lago all his money because Lago
promises to help him win Desdemona’s love. However, Lago decides to use all his money for his
own benefits at uses him as a tool to help him get revenge over Othello. Lago betrays Roderigo
by using him in the plot against killing Cassio. Finally, when the plan to have Rodrigo murder
Cassio does not go as planned, Lago attempts to resolve the situation by attacking Cassio and
wounding him. When his plan is nearly complete, he wonders if Roderigo would claim back the
money, he had earlier given him. He says, “if Roderigo lives/ he’ll expect me to give back all the
gold and jewels I swindled him out of/ as gifts to Desdemona/ That must not happen”
(Shakespeare, 5. 114-117). In the above lines, it is clear that Lago plans to eliminate Roderigo in
order to silence him. Later on, he stabs him and pushes all the accusations on him, hence ends up
betraying him.
Lago also betrays Cassio, a trustworthy soldier that Othello appoints to become his
lieutenant. Lago’s betrayal for Cassio is as a result of the hatred he has for him, since Othello
chose him as his Lieutenant while Lago believed that he was best suited for the position. Lago
begins by inciting Othello’s jealousy towards Cassio by implying that he has been having an
affair with Desdemona. In this case, the act serves as a dual betrayal because he achieves his
mission of betraying Othello by making Lieutenant Othello change his perception about Cassio.
For instance, when guarding Othello in Cyprus, Lago makes Cassio to take a lot of alcohol as
illustrated in the lines, “At first Cassio refuses to drink. But soon Lago has everyone singing
songs and drinking. Cassio forgets his resolution, and drinks along with the rest just as Lago
planned” (Rai 55). In this event, Lago intends to show Othello that Cassio is a dishonest officer.
Cassio later on engages in a brawl due to his drunkenness. The next day, Othello demotes him
from his lieutenant’s post. Although Lago is happy that he has successfully achieved his mission,
he pretends to be worried. As if not fully satisfied, he decides to create another false tale by
convincing Cassio to seek help from Desdemona. Lago intentions in this situation is to harm both
Othello and Cassio by making Othello believe that something is going on between Cassio and
Desdemona (Adena 11). Lago succeeds in betraying Cassio by making him Othello’s object of
jealousy. Lago’s mission succeeds to the point where Othello plots to kill Cassio. In addition,
Lago, betrays his wife, Emilia. Lago does not care about his wife and uses him as a tool to
achieve his objectives. He sends her to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. As the play comes to an
end, Emilia decides to speak up and expose her husband. Since Lago is no longer sure whether
she can be trusted with his secrets, he stabs her, hence ends up betraying her and leading to her
destruction.
Lago’s acts of betrayal and treachery also lead to the destruction of Desdemona.
Throughout the play, Desdemona is just a pawn in Lago’s chess game. She is hardly his focus
point, not until latter in the play. She becomes a victim of circumstance in Lago’s plan to ruin
Othello, and Cassio (Alkoli and Ji 54). Although Othello is the main person who Lago intends to
take revenge against, Lago also takes advantage of more than his flaws. He recognizes how
much he loves his wife and realizes that in order to get him where it hurts the most, he needs to
focus on making him believe that his wife has been unfaithful. Desdemona therefore gets trapped
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in the revenge mix as Lago decides to exploit Desdemona. Although her innocence is more
valued and respected by Lago’s evil plots against Othello and Cassio, her presence is useful
because it strengthens Lago’s projects. Her presence also strengthens Othello’s jealousy of
Cassio. Othello in turn becomes full of rage and jealousy (Rai 57) In the end, Othello does not
give his wife the time to explain about the alleged affair. Even though Desdemona attempts to
explain to him that they had been innocently accused, Othello is more determined to kill her and
smothers her with a pillow. Therefore, with circumstantial arrangements of events, Lago
successfully exploits the good nature of Cassio and Desdemona.

Rebuttals
Some critics however claim that Othello’s destruction was as a result of his own
weakness and not due to Lago’s betrayal. According to them, Othello was too gullible and naïve
that he allowed himself to be easily tricked and manipulated by Lago. Some critics have noted
that Othello’s downfall was as a result of his flaws in his human nature. To them, he was just a
savage just awaiting to be exposed (Nahvi 510). For instance, his cold nature can be illustrated
by his ability to mercilessly murder his wife because of his disposition towards self-deception.
Instead of trying to investigate the matter, he fools himself and only sees what is there. However,
one might refute the claim and note that Othello’s actions are as a result of the intense jealousy
incited in him by Lago. If Lago did not attempt to insinuate that Desdemona was having an affair
with Cassio, Othello would not have began being suspicious of his wife. Lago for instance
strengthens the jealousy Othello feels for Cassio when he notes that, “In sleep I heard him say,
sweet Desdemona/ Let us be wary, let us hide our love!” (Shakespeare 420-421). His incitement
misleads Othello who can no longer tolerate the torture. He angrily yells at Lago, “I’ll tear her all
to pieces!” (433). In this statement, it is very clear that Lago is very angry with Desdemona and
plans to teach her a lesson. Lago does not intend to stop his malicious acts until he is sure that
the relationship between Desdemona is over. He pressures him by continuing to torment him
with more stories about his wife’s unfaithfulness until Othello can no longer maintain his cool
and plots to kill his wife. Othello as asks Lago to kill Cassio who pretends in false consolation
and asks him to remain calm.
At the same time, some critics argue that Lago, was against violence and murder.
According to them Lago tells Othello, “Though in the trade of war I have slain men, / yet do I
hold it very stuff o’conscience / To do no contrived murder” (Shakespeare 1.3). According to
such critics although Othello might have said that to fool the General, there might have been
some truth hidden in the statement. Others add that two of his murders were unplanned. For
instance, he only killed Roderigo and Emilia because he was afraid that they would betray him
and reveal his secrets However, this argument is incorrect because Lago is a great advocator of
violence. He maliciously schemes murder plans and devises plan in a manner that each character
does the actual deed. For instance, he hopes that Roderigo and Cassio will slay each other. When
the plan fails, he ends up killing Roderigo. At the same time, he incites Othello to kill his wife.
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Othello was truly a noble leader and his desire for revenge was only cultivated by the endless
adulterous stories that Lago kept on bringing up. Also, Lago pushes Othello to murder his wife
when he suggestively says, “Do it with poison; strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath
contaminated.” (Mukhtar et al. 1255).). However, Othello resorts into something else instead of
strangling his wife and the preservation of her loveliness is still an illustration that he still adores
her. This is illustrated in the lines, “Yet I’ll not shed her blood, / Nor scar that whiter skin of hers
than snow, / And smooth as monumental alabaster (3-5). It would also be argued that it is not
jealousy but Othello’s hallucinations that made him believe and act out of his will. Killing his
wife was not a murder for him but a sacrifice he made for the sake of his honor.
F.R. Leavis notes that Othello does not acknowledge his downfall at the end of the play.
Moreover, he notes that, his naiveness causes him to trust the wrong person. According to
Leavis, Othello is a tragic fool who, “trusts to the friendly professions of a man whose promotion
he had obstructed…” (Wine 9). He further adds that although Othello is a trustful man, “We
must add that this is true only of his trust of Lago, and not of his wife” (9). He also further claims
that Othello is not a noble naïve character as other critics might view him, but instead, he is full
of arrogance and self-pride that ultimately led to his destruction. This can be illustrated by the
fact that he easily gets convinced by Lago’s accusations but never gets to ask Desdemona or
Cassio about the alleged affair. Instead of taking time to investigate the accusations, he only
takes into account Lago’s words and the premeditated evidence presented before him. On the
other hand, however, A.C Bradley responds to Leavis’s claim and says that Othello is a
blameless hero, and was not the primary cause for his tragic fall. According to him, Othello was,
“the most romantic figure among Shakespeare’s heroes…(he) does not belong to our world.’
Bradley describes Othello as a man of mystery, passion, noble trustful and exoticism, qualities
that none of Shakespeare’s other heroes were able to inspire. He notes, “Othello is the most
romantic figure among Shakespeare’s heroes’ moreover, his very nature is romantic (Charbeneau
30). He justifies Othello’s jealousness and notes that Othello’s newlessness in marriage made his
jealousy credible. He also notes that the hero does not completely fall and as the play comes to
an end, the audience feel admiration and love for him.
In conclusion, betrayal and treachery go hand in hand, because they ultimately lead to
misery and sorrow. In Shakespeare’s Othello, acts of betrayal and treachery led to the downfall
of most of the characters including the tragic downfall of the hero, Othello and his lovely wife,
Desdemona. Othello’s acts of betrayal and treachery not only help build the tragic ending of the
play, but also helps drive the play’s events. By the end of the play, Lago’s malicious and
deceitful acts manages to make all characters to lose their loyalty to each other. His plan to make
sure that everyone falls takes a tragic turn as Othello kills Desdemona and Lago is left to kill
Emilia after she tells Othello that Desdemona had been falsely accused. Othello can hardly come
into terms with his selfish act and decides to end his life rather than having to live a life full of
guilt. Although Lago attempts to escape, he is caught and turned in for judgement. At the end,
Lago’s betrayal leads to the destruction of the lives of innocent individuals. In his attempt to
tarnish Othello’s reputation, his actions end with the murder of Emilia, Roderigo and Desdemona
and the suicide of Othello. His reign is short-lived as his selfish acts soon catch up with him and
he is captured, a clear example that betrayal should not be considered an option for revenge.
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