Othello Act Iv Essay, Research Paper

Othello Journal Act IV

In Act IV of Othello, by WIlliam Shakespeare, Iago continues his torture of

Othello. Iago torments Othello until Othello pratically faints. He keeps pushing

and pushing Othello saying that Cassio has layed with Desdemona. It is noticed

by the reader that Othello has gone from his once artiqulate to an Iago-like

crude speech. “Lie with her! lie on her! We say lie on her, when they belie her.

Lie with her! that’s fulsome. –Handkerchief–confessions–handkerchief!–To

confess, and be hanged for his labour;–first, to be hanged, and then to confess.-

-I tremble at it. Nature would not invest herself in such shadowing passion

without some instruction. It is not words that shake me thus. Pish! Noses, ears,

and lips. –Is’t possible?–Confess–handkerchief!–O devil!–” He begins to talk

in a broken up speech. He is very troubled by the whole ideal about his wife and

Cassio.

Iago later tricks Cassio into talking about his relationship with Bianca

while Othello watches. Othello interprets that Cassio is talking about

Desdemona when infact he isn’t. Later Othello strikes Desdemona in front of

Lodovico for no apparent reason. This clearly shows that Iago has changed

Othello’s character very greatly. Othello used to be a great and noble man.

Now he is just enraged and bitter over the alleged affair. Iago says to Lodovico,

“He is much changed.”

Othello still loves his wife but he has been poisoned by the medicine of

Iago, “O thou weed, Who art so lovely fair and smell’st so sweet That the sense

aches at thee, would thou hadst ne’er been born”.

Iago has ruined many lives over his treachory. Cassio is attacked by

Roderigo and left for dead in the street. Desdemona is doomed to be murdered

when In fact she still strongly love Othello,”So would not I my love doth so

approve him, That even his stubbornness, his cheques, his frowns– Prithee,

unpin me,–have grace and favour in them”. Othello has been ruined by Iago’s

eveil medicine. Overall, Iago seems to control the lives of everyone in Cyprus

with his evil deciet.