My Perception Of William Shakespeare's Othello

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tear her to pieces" (line 447) and says that his mind will never change
from the "tyrannous hate" (line 464) he now harbors. Does Othello make the
transition just because he is so successfully manipulated by Iago? Or is there
something particular about his character which makes him make this quick
change? I believe that "jealousy" is too simple of a term to describe Othello.
I think that Othello's rapid change from love to hate for Desdemona is fostered
partly by an inferiority complex. He appears to be insecure in his love for
Desdemona (as well as in his position in Venetian society). Othello's race and
age ("Haply, for I am black . . . for I am declined into the vale of years," 3.3.
279-282) and his position as a soldier contribute to his feelings of inadequacy.

Othello admits to Desdemona that he doesn't have "those soft parts of
conversation" possessed by well-bred Venetian noblemen, those to which (as a
senator's daughter) she has become acclimated (3.3.280-281). ...

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seen when he marries
Desdemona and enters Venetian society -- the rules are different, the enemy has
more cunning, and words are used for weapons. Military service and marriage are
not incompatible -- Othello has the potential to make a perfectly suitable
husband (as well as lover) to Desdemona. Othello only self-destructs because he
and his inferiority complex fall victim to the duplicitous and vengeful Iago on
society's battlefield.

Perhaps Othello's precipitous change from ordered general to chaotic
killer occurs because he is black. Africans were starting to appear in London
at the time of Shakespeare and were viewed with suspicion, to say the least. It
is not inconceivable that ...

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