Iago's Importance and his Role as Othello’s Poisoner that

Leads to his Downfall

At the start of the play the audience is introduced to Othello, and he presents himself as a man of
honour and dignity he is called ‘valiant Othello’ symbolizing that he is a brave and courageous, but
Iago speaks of Othello in a hasty manner, he calls him an ‘old black ram’ he describes him as ‘tupping
your white ewe’ when he wakes up Brabantio with reports about Desdemona's marriage with Othello.
Othello starts to lose his confident and dishonour himself throughout the play saying ‘rude am I in
speech’. The loss of confidence puts a dent In his relationship with Desdemona and that dent cannot
be repaired.

The move to Cyprus presents another side of Iago, he is free to witness and destroy without
interference. Iago does not jump into ruining Othello’s marriage and reputation he takes his time, he
does everything properly and does not leave any tracks. Iago plans a few tactics into trying to
convince Othello that his wife is cheating on him with Cassio. He never gave up easily if his plan did
not work he would try to use different tactics to prove that Cassio and Desdemona had a proper
relationship, and so othello can believe it, and it eventually worked out, and he managed to persuade
Othello into thinking that Cassio and Desdemona were in a relationship, and this made Othello angry
and jealous, even though Iago had warned Othello about jealousy because ‘it is the green-eyed
monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on’ but Othello does not pay too much attention to what
Iago had said , therefore seeking for revenge, and not willing to listen or hear Desdemona or anyone
out he had planned to kill both.

Othello would kill Desdemona and Iago kill Cassio. Othello believed Iago because of how Iago was
always there and how Iago had been honest to othello throughout meanwhile Iago specifically said “I
am not who I am” but othello was too blinded and also because of how Iago used his insecurities
against him knowing that Othello isn’t from Venice, and he isn’t like everyone else, and we hear this
when Roderigo and Iago belittling Othello by calling him “Barbary horse “and “thick lips”, by iago
calling Othello that proves to us the audience that othello wasn’t fully accepted into the society he was
in, he was respected but not fully, he would still be a black man, different from the Venetian men.

At the end of the play, when everything has gone down Othello describes himself as “one that loved
not wisely, but too well 'which meant that his love is so intense and passionate that he has a dramatic
weakness for making mistakes, and he is extreme in whatever course of action he chooses and that
leads to regret he loves and adores Desdemona and would do anything for her ’”And I when I love
thee not, chaos is come again” this means that without Desdemona’s love it would be the end of the
world for him. Othello didn’t love Desdemona “wisely” he loved her too much and it turned out to be
toxic for both. This leads to the downfall of everyone but mainly othello because he was able to be
manipulated even though he loved Desdemona very much, he let his insecurities and weaknesses get
into the way, he wanted to be perfect for Desdemona, but Desdemona loved him for being perfectly
imperfect but he didn’t know that and that didn’t even very well for both.