Literature is most successful when it is dealing with the big issues of the world As humans we are prone to suffering and to causing others to suffer. By nature we are easily upset by the emotion of jealousy. When we see someone have something we do not or take something away from us that we want, we respond by acting in a way that may not always be acceptable. William Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’, explores the dangers of jealousy and the brutal effects it can have on those involved. The play revolves around the antagonist, Iago, who is angered and jealous by the fact that Othello chose Cassio as his lieutenant over him, and is therefore set to destroy Othello’s marriage with Desdemona. Iago understands human nature and emotion very well, which is why he sparks feelings of jealousy in Othello and uses these feelings to destroy him and his marriage. It can be agreed that ‘Othello’ is a piece of very successful literature, because it is able to make readers learn a lot about themselves and the world. The reason why ‘Othello’ does this so well is because it explores an emotion, something that each and every one of us can relate to, something that can be considered to be a big issue of the world. Shakespeare is able to achieve such success with this text by the use of animal imagery, a temptation scene and a range of soliloquies. In order to explore the emotion of jealousy Shakespeare firstly had to introduce this emotion in the text to readers. He does this very creatively by the use of animal imagery. In the play Iago uses animal imagery several times to describe Othello. When not in the presence of Othello, Iago says to Brabantio (Desdemona’s father), “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” (Act 1 Scene 1) and “you’ll have your daughter covered in a Barbary horse” (Act 1 Scene 1), creating an illusion that Othello is perverted, having no control over his sexual urges. This also creates the idea that he is lustful, immoral and selfish to take the virginity of a young white woman as an old black man. Iago uses these words to reduce Othello and his actions to that of an animal, creating the idea that Othello’s desires are primarily animalistic. Brabantio, who is already furious about Othello and Desdemona marrying in secret is further angered by the contrast between the ‘illusion’ and his daughter. The fact that Iago talks about Othello (who he pretends to be a friend to) in such a way reinforces the idea that he is jealous of him. When faced with jealousy people react in different ways, some react by talking poorly about the person who has caused their jealousy, which is what Iago does. Although Iago aims to create a disturbing image of Othello, the selection of words he uses actually gives us the idea that he is the perverted one as he manages to compare everything, even animals, to sex. In Act 3 Scene 3 Iago compares Cassio and Desdemona to animals to bring horrific and terrible images into Othello’s mind, “Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves in pride and fools as gross as ignorance made drunk”. This shows how Iago’s mind works and shows his perversion and disinterest in love, and obsession with lust and fantasy. This further shows his jealousy as it shows the extent to which he is making up lies. When we consider the Elizabethan chain of being we can see that animals are perceived further down the chain that humans. The fact that Othello is referred to in animal terms shows that he is looked down upon and is not considered to be equal to the others living in his society. Animal imagery conveys immorality and a bestial desire or illicit passion. Iago compares Othello to a “Barbary horse” coupled with Desdemona, reinforcing a lustful image of Othello. Iago’s statement not only condemns Othello for his alleged lust but also plays on Brabantio’s misgivings about Othello’s colour and outsider status. The juxtaposition of black and white, in connection with the animal imagery is meant to make this image very repellent and to inflame Brabantio into anger and action. Iago wants Brabantio to take action against Othello, which further shows his jealousy and hatred as he is trying to destroy his ‘friends’ marriage. When reading Iago’s dialogue we feel shocked and horrified that he can talk about Othello in such a way. Iago’s hatred and jealousy towards Othello helps us understand that sometimes people only appear to be our friends, while in reality they thrive on our misfortunes. Shakespeare then uses a soliloquy to reveal to us Iago’s cunning plan for revenge. In this soliloquy made at the end of Act 1 Scene 3 ​Iago uses figurative language to express his thoughts, his devious plan and the reasons behind his devious plan. Iago begins by saying, “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse” (referring to Roderigo). Through the use of this metaphor he is equating Roderigo, the fool, to his purse and is saying that he will benefit from Roderigo’s stupidity. Before this point we are made to think that Iago is a true friend to Roderigo, by the fact that he supports Roderigo and assures him that he will help him, however after reading this piece of dialogue we understand that Iago only really cares about himself and his desires, and that he is willing to manipulate anyone in order to get what he wants. This again shows us another glimpse of Iago’s jealousy and hatred as it shows us the extent to which he is willing to sacrifice his own relationships in order to get revenge. In this soliloquy Iago also says, “I hate the Moor”, which makes it clear that everything he says to Othello is not to help Othello, but to help himself. We also find out that Iago plans on using Othello’s personal characteristics to destroy his happiness, “The Moor is of a free and open nature that thinks men honest that but seem to be so, and will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are”. Here we begin to see that when Othello is not around Iago constantly refers to him as “the Moor”. The fact that Iago calls him “the Moor” several more times in the play than his actual name shows that Iago does not think that Othello is worthy of being called by his real name. The fact that Iago refers to Othello by his skin colour also shows that Iago believes that Othello is less worthy because he is “black”. He knows that Othello himself is insecure about this and realizes that Othello and Desdemona’s marriage is less than solid and seeks to use this to destroy their marriage. “He holds me well. The better shall my purpose work on him”, Iago recognizes that Othello believes he is honest. Through the play the term “honesty” is used several times, many in which it is in reference to Iago. Ironically Iago is the only person that Othello trusts to judge who is and who isn’t honest. Under Iago’s influence “honesty” becomes a tool used to speed the downfall of many characters. In the last two lines of the soliloquy Iago says, “Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light”. The word “hell” is used as a metonymy to mean the devil and the term “monstrous birth” is further used metaphorically to refer to Iago’s evil plan and “to the world’s light” simply means to bring the plan into existence so that it can visibly be seen. Iago understands people very well and knows what to do in order to instigate conflict. Through this soliloquy we learn exactly how determined Iago is to get revenge. We learn about his plan and feel disgusted that he is willing to wrong someone else in such a way, in order to make himself feel worthy. Through this soliloquy Shakespeare creates dramatic irony as he reveals to us Iago’s plan, but not to the rest of the characters. This makes us feel helpless and annoyed as we see Othello and Desdemona fall straight into Iago’s trap. Throughout the play Iago continues to use soliloquies to slowly reveal more of his plan to readers, making us feel even more frustrated and angered by him. Act 3 Scene 3 is known as the temptation scene, in which Shakespeare shows Iago planting the seeds of jealousy in Othello. ​In this scene Iago begins his scheme to make it look as though Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. He makes Othello start to think uneasy thoughts by saying “I like not that” about Cassio’s exit. Othello immediately seizes the bait and starts to become suspicious. ​Iago begins to echo Othello, which makes Othello even more uneasy. He asks questions that are fundamentally related to the issues at hand, such as whether Desdemona and Cassio have known each other for a while. In Othello's state, he believes Iago's empty statements to be a real attempt to hide the truth about what is going on, rather than lies crafted to stoke Othello's jealousy. "he echoes me, as if there was some monster in his thought, too hideous to be shown". This simile highlights the skill with which Iago operates. He does not need to plant emotions, he merely preys on the weaknesses that already exist in each man, allowing his victims to jump to their own worst conclusion.Iago says that he believes Cassio is "honest"; yet again, this word sets Othello off, and Iago's fake uncertainty in his tone makes Othello think that Cassio lies. Jealousy is then addressed specifically by Iago. "It is the green­eyed monster," the "green­eyed monster" becomes a symbol representing Othello's dark feelings. Iago's speech is also deeply ironic, since it points out Othello's flaws, and the root of his tragedy; Othello has no idea of the significance of these statements, and so neglects to take them to heart. Othello is deeply insecure about his personal qualities and his marriage, which weakens his sense of self. Othello comments on the color of his skin, turning it into a symbol for how poorly spoken and unattractive he is; he is plagued by self­doubt. Othello doubts that Desdemona could love him, because of his misconception of himself as being uncouth, poorly spoken, and old; because he begins to believe that Desdemona cannot love him, he starts to believe her guilty of infidelity. How Othello sees himself directly influences how he views Desdemona's love. Iago's "proofs" also rely on the animal imagery which has run throughout the play; he makes Desdemona and Cassio seem like lustful lovers, describing them as "prime as goats, as hot as monkeys". This comparison is made on purpose, since Iago knows that thinking of Desdemona as lusting after another man disturbs Othello greatly. The handkerchief, the most important symbol and object in the play, first appears here. The handkerchief, to Desdemona, symbolizes Othello's love, since it was his first gift to her. Othello thinks that the handkerchief, quite literally, is Desdemona's love; and when she has lost it, she has thrown away his love. The handkerchief becomes Othello's "ocular proof" of her dishonesty. "Proof" is a key word in this scene; Othello demands that Iago prove Desdemona unfaithful through tangible, visual evidence of her guilt. But Iago, being ever so clever, manages to work around this completely; he plays off of Othello's jealousy, telling him stories that damn Cassio and mention the handkerchief, which make Othello angry and distract him from the fact that he has seen no evidence at all. Othello trusts Iago's words to convey proof, and does not question his honesty. This act represents the beginning of Othello's giving up language; until this point in the play, Othello has spoken with beautiful images and used his language to express the eloquence and beauty in his soul. From this point forward Othello's use of imagery and story become less and less frequent, and he begins to rely upon Iago for speech and explanation. Othello is reduced by Iago and his own jealousy to single lines of speech. And just as language is the power with which Othello was able to woo Desdemona, his loss of it is a resignation of this power which attracted her to him. Othello begins to lose his power over himself, and over others, when he loses his beautiful language; and this resignation marks a huge shift in the balance of power between Othello and Iago, as Iago becomes more dominant in the relationship, and begins to steer Othello. By this point in the play we feel utterly disgusted by Iago and his actions. We begin to see Iago as a monster and start to despise him greatly. The lies which he tells about Desdemona show us that no matter how truthful someone may appear to be, we should never take their word for anything, especially if they have not provided any proper “ocular proof”. It is finally clear to us how powerful of an emotion jealousy really is, it is something that can destroy us and all those around us. Throughout the play ‘Othello’ Shakespeare teaches us a lot about ourselves and the world that we live in. By exploring the emotion of jealousy he helps us understand how truly powerful of an emotion it is. Jealousy is something all of us feel, in one way or another, an emotion that we do not always have control over. However, what we do have control over is the way we react to it. Through the misfortunes of the characters in the play he makes us evaluate our own actions and encounters with jealousy, and makes us realise that no matter how we may feel, we must never let emotions cloud our judgement. The fact that Othello ends up taking Desdemona’s life because of the lies that he is told by Iago, shows us jealousy from two perspectives, from Iago’s and from Othello’s. Through this we learn that no one can truly be trusted. We also learn that if more people began to take responsibility for their actions the world would be a better place. If Iago had realised that what he was doing was wrong and had taken responsibility for what he was doing, the entire tragedy could have been avoided. As an individual he could have decided to be more responsible, to be honest, and to have owned up to the person he had wronged. He could have admitted to Othello that he had made a mistake, asked for forgiveness and possibly inspired Othello to do the same to Cassio, but he did not. And that is where, we as readers can learn from Iago. We must learn to never make decisions when in the heat of emotions, as this is when we make decision that we may later regret. ‘Othello’ is a play that manages to do something that not all pieces of literature are able to do, it helps us understand true human emotion and teaches us a lot about ourselves and the world which we live in. This is why ‘Othello’ has proven to be such a successful piece of literature, and why decades later we are still reading it!