MD Ziaul Haque

Othello's Murder [not Suicide] by Iago! MD Ziaul Haque

This book deals with the character Othello, who becomes mad in William Shakespeare's "Othello," and endeavours to reveal the ins and outs behind his destruction by Iago. General Othello's trustworthy companion and advisor Iago causes the ruin of quite a few characters in the play because of his uncontrollable jealousy and a feeling of revenge. He becomes successful in making Othello doubt and murder his chaste wife Desdemona. Iago takes the help of his ally named Roderigo in order to translate his own destructive dreams into reality. Once Othello is in Cyprus, Iago decides to work on his central plan. He wants to make Othello believe that his wife is in an adulterous relationship with the new lieutenant, Michael Cassio. Hence, Iago tries to poison Othello's mind by providing false information about Desdemona. For instance, the plot of the handkerchief and his reference about Cassio that he had a dream where he talked of his emotions for Desdemona. Unfortunately, Othello somewhat believes Iago's words. Iago keeps on playing with Othello's mind through the process of having Othello listen to Cassio speak generously about his mistress, Bianca, even as Othello thinks that the mistress must be Desdemona. Othello blindly sees coincidences as evidences. It is true that the fire of jealousy in Othello's heart and his unjust trust in Iago lead to his ultimate tragedy where we find him murdering Desdemona and committing suicide later. Nonetheless, it must also be stated that Iago is the one who is entirely responsible for igniting the spark of jealousy in Othello's mind. The Moor would not lose his sanity and commit such a heinous crime and take his own life away if Iago did not deceive him so cunningly. As Iago can be regarded as the primary cause of Othello's downfall, he can also be called a 'murderer' because Othello and Desdemona are led towards the valley of destruction only by Iago himself!