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Othello, a la Shmoop: Sex, Lies and That Pesky Handkerchief.

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We all know that jealousy can be a problem . . .

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. . . especially when it makes us lose control. And our hero Othello sure knows something

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about losing control. When his buddy Iago starts spreading nasty

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rumors . . . . . . about Othello's wife, Desdemona . . .

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. . . he goes a little nuts . . . . . . and the poor girl doesn't have a chance.

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But why would Iago do such a thing? Why would he go to so much trouble to bring

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Othello down? Maybe he's just a racist - angry about a

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black man's success. He does refer to him as a "black ram"

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and "the devil" when talking to Desdemona's father.

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No doubt, a black man in a position of power . . .

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. . . would have gotten more than a few people riled up.

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Speaking of hatred . . . . . . Iago makes his feelings for Othello

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pretty clear from page one. Right from the beginning, Iago complains about

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being passed up for a promotion. So was he ticked off enough about Othello

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giving his job to Cassio . . . . . . that he would actually destroy poor

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Cassio's life? Could be, but some people think Iago's lust

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wasn't just job related . . . . . . that he orchestrated Desdemona's death

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so he could have Othello for himself. After all, Iago tells Othello in Act 3, and

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we quote, "I am your own forever." Sounds like more than a dedicated employee

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to us. Could all that tragedy have sprung out of

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a simple case of unrequited love? Possibly. But Shakespeare's hints about

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Iago's motivation may have left out one other possibility.

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Maybe he's just a really, really bad guy . . .

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. . . a guy who loves stirring things up more than anything. . .

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. . . a complete sociopath . . . . . . who delights in others' misery . . .

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. . . and gets pleasure from being the smartest person in the room.

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From his comments to the audience, it's clear that Iago enjoys controlling every situation

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. . . . . . even if we're never really sure why

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he's doing it. So, what was behind Iago's master plan of

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destruction? And why did Shakespeare leave it for us to

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figure out? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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