is playing upon Othello’s insecurities by lecturing him on how Venetian women are deceitful and treacherous by nature.The seizure of the handkerchief is a great achievement for Iago in his quest to destroy Othello and was aided by his wife, who apparently has no scruples about betraying her mistress in small matters. Shakespeare will eventually transform Emilia into a voice of moral outrage, and by the final scene the audience will applaud her role in Iago’s destruction, but for now she is Iago’s accomplice. It will take a great shock to inspire outrage against him-a shock that comes to late. Othello’s accusations and refusal to accept Desdemona’s denials are brutal and unfair, but his language recovers some of the nobility that it had lost in previous scenes. Iago’s like sorrowful laments for what has been lost replace curses, and the audience is reminded of the heroism and dignity that Othello possessed at the beginning of the play. His cry ”o, thou weed, / Who art so lovely fair, and smell’st so sweet, / That the scene aches at thee-would thou hadst ne’er / been born!” (Act IV, Scene 2, line 69-72) is a powerful expression of the love that he still holds for his wife, which has been ruined for ever by Iago’s poisons. Othello is terribly wrong, but Shakespeare demands that we sympathize with his error. Othello’s words as he prepares to murder Desdemona reveal the extent to which he has allowed Iago’s logic to dominate his own thinking. His fury has abated, but he is left with a sense of being an instrument of divine justice. Desdemona must die, because she has betrayed him. Othello’s self-delusion is so strong that he believes himself to be merciful. He will not scar her body and he will allow her to pray because he says, “I would not kill thy soul” (Act V, Scene 2, line 34). The actual murder is one of the most painful scenes i...
