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Othello's downfall is the consequences of his circumstances

The play Othello is a chilling narration that shows the power of love, rise to power,

vengeance, and jealousy that leads to a tragic ending. The protagonist suffers as a result of

havoc, confusion, and manipulation of those around him. Othello is constantly at odds which

slowly culminates in his downfall. He suffers from hamartia, which contributes to his fatal flaws

and, finally, the tragic ending. Othello's downfall is the consequences of his circumstances

because of jealousy, doubt over Desdemona's fidelity, his open nature, and the murder of

Desdemona.

Jealousy emerges as the driving factor that propels Othello to his downfall. The imagery

that paints the picture of jealousy is extremely overwhelming. It suggests a terrific and

destructive effect and increasingly very unnatural qualities that drive jealousy as a central

emotion. Jealousy is described as a "green-eyed monster, which doth mock / The meat it feeds

on  (III.3.168–9), a monster / Begot upon itself, born on itself" (III.4.161–2). This description

clearly paints a picture of Othello's downfall as a victim of his circumstances. The quote portrays

the monumental jealousy that the protagonist has for Desdemona once he conceives the idea that

Desdemona is having a secret affair with Cassio, which pushes him to commit the heinous act.

Furthermore, Lago acknowledges the same by saying that it is "a passion most unsuiting such a
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man as the noble Moor of Venice (IV.1.78). All this demonstration shows the magnitude of

Othello's sexual jealousy and how it is a consequence of his circumstance.

Doubt over Desdemona's fidelity is a devastating aspect that directly leads to immense

consequences hence contributing to Othello's downfall. Othello and Desdemona's marriage

emanates from true love regardless of their color, nationality and extreme age factors. Their love

transcended all barriers that could easily wreak havoc. They have mutual awareness and true

appreciation of each other worth. However, all the trust, love and happiness is short-lived once

doubt sets in and Othello begins to feel insecure. Lago orchestrates an overarching strategy that

brings out doubt over Desdemona's infidelity. In act (iii) scene 3, Cassio decides to converse

with Desdemona, asking her to intercede following the nasty events of the previous day so that

Othello can restore him. She agrees with a strategic understanding that Cassio is Othello's

longtime mutual friend. Coincidently, Othello and Lago arrive; feeling unease over her previous

night's antics, he decides to leave. Immediately Lago conceives the idea that Cassio wants to take

away Desdemona, "steal[ing] away so guilty-like" (39).

The situation is made worse as fate takes over when Desdemona introduces Cassio as the

topic. Othello is further disrupted by his private thoughts immediately the doubts sets in. he is

irritated and sighs,  "Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, / But I do love thee! and when

I love thee not, / Chaos comes again" (90–92). This aspect clearly shows the conflict that

culminates into unnecessary tension resulting in downfall due to the consequences of his

circumstances. Additionally, due to doubt, Othello voices his previous fears that he had. He

presumes Brabantio was right, implying that it is truly unnatural for Desdemona to fall in love

with a person of his caliber. Their love would not last.

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Othello emerges as an open and free man who believes that men are honest. He is

kindhearted to trust Lago easily without imposing any doubt. This particular trait directly

contributed to his downfall. Lago seizes this particular opportunity knowing very well that

Othello believes in him as an honest man. He decides to manipulate him through Cassio. At the

celebratory gathering following the defeat of the Turks, Cassio becomes extremely drunk

quarrelsome, and offensive "as full of quarrel and offense [like his] mistress' dog". Cassio

eventually gets into a scrimmage with his counterpart Roderigo which prompts Othello to strip

him of his rank of lieutenant. Lago further creates a rift between the two when he brings in the

allegation of fidelity between Cassio and Desdemona. Nonetheless, Desdemona had good faith

and intentions of reuniting Othello and his fired lieutenant. However, because of his open nature

and kind heart, to believe in Lago's word, he has intense displeasure when Desdemona is

extremely vouching for Cassio. Othello then links Lago's comments regarding Cassio's ability to

take away his wife. As a result of his belief and kindheartedness, Othello draws a lot of

conclusions over the growing secret affairs between Desdemona and his fired lieutenant, thus

becoming a victim of his circumstances emanating from his consequences.

The final consequence of his circumstances that sums up Othello's fall is choosing to

murder Desdemona. Evidently, he was contemplating the best way to render her lifeless. He is

entirely raged by the two characters, Desdemona and Cassio. He remarks, "I will chop her into

messes" (4.1.210); he also decides to use poison, but Lago suggests otherwise "strangle her in

her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated" (4.1.217–218). He suffers as a result of

circumstances that project the consequences of murdering her lovely wife. Unable to

comprehend the reality that her wife is innocent, he decides to take his own life, which marks his

final fatality.
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To sum up, Othello's downfall is the consequences of his circumstances. He suffered

because of Jealously, which proved to have devastating consequences throughout the play.

Jealously utterly corrupted the lives of the protagonist and other villains within the play. It not

only brought out the true character of Lagos but immensely contributed to Othello's downfall as

a consequence of his circumstances. Othello's doubt over Desdemona's fidelity marked a major

turning point that contributed immensely to his downfall since it became the consequence of his

circumstances. His innate openness and kindness to believe the villain's word arguably cemented

his downfall due to the deception that Lagos orchestrated and executed smoothly.
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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. The tragedy of Othello,  the Moor of Venice: 1622. Oxford

Clarendon Press, 1975.