How To Play The Game

Love, revenge, betrayal, and jealousy. This is a list of the main topics discussed throughout Othello. Othello is a tragedy of the Moor of Venice. It follows the Moor who is a general in the Venetian army and his wife Desdemona. Iago who is upset that Othello gave the position as his lieutenant to the inexperienced Cassio instead of him, seeks revenge through deception. Iago’s plan for revenge leads to a tremendous amount of tragic events. However, is he really the one to blame? The focus of blame is to find fault. In this Tragic play, Iago constantly lies in order to manipulate certain situations. As a result, Othello who trusts Iago and believes his lies acts out irrationally which cause events that are usually permanent. It’s hard to depict who is truly at fault however through long consideration I would say that Othello is the one to blame here.
One of the most negative qualities the Moor has is his impulsive nature. The Moor constantly makes decisions without considering future consequences. Also, the Moor is very gullible. Throughout the play, Othello completely trusts Iago because he believes that Iago is a honest and loyal man. Othello is oblivious to Iago’s deceitfulness. As evidence, “So please your grace, my ancient; a man he is of honesty and trust” (7). Othello has a misconception of Iago and what his true intentions are. Iago states, “Though I do hate him as I hate hell pains,yet for necessity of present life, I must show out a flag and sign of love, which is indeed but a sign” (5). Here, Iago is presenting his true intentions which is to act like he is showing Othello signs of loyalty when in reality he really despises Othello. The whole play is based on Iago’s master plan to destroy the Moor. With Othello’s full trust, Iago is easily able to manipulate him into believing that stuff were happening behind his back even though they were not.
Othello allows others to influence his judgement even if they may not have to credentials to do so. This can be seen when Iago first plants this idea in Othello’s head that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Iago says, “Look at your wife: observe her well with Cassio; Wear your eye thus, not jealous nor secure: I would not have your free and noble nature abused” (46). This phrase completely changed Othello’s outlook on his wife. Now anything that might show Desdemona's interest in Cassio, Othello would believe. Also, due to his impulsive nature Othello lashes out and makes irrational decisions instead of asking Desdemona about the situation which eventually leads to unnecessary and permanent tragic events.
Iago knew how to play the game. He made all the right moves in order to get what he desired. Knowing each person’s character traits helped Iago manipulate each situation he was in. Was this right for Iago to do? Of course not! However, the biggest reason his plan worked was because Othello fell for it. If Othello had just took the time to further investigate the situation with Desdemona and Cassio, things could have ended differently. Othello would have found out what was really going on and be enlightened of the deceitfulness that was happening right before his eyes. However, because he was so credulous, he allowed himself to be manipulated and ultimately betrayed his wife by remaining more loyal to Iago.