Theme Of Trust In Othello

Many of us have heard the saying that too much of a good thing is not good for us. The literary masterpiece “Othello” by William Shakespeare is a perfect example of why this saying is true. In Shakespeare’s play, Othello is the well-respected general of the Venetian army, but he soon begins to lose his reputation due to his blind trust in Iago, who manipulates him to become a jealous and erratic man. In the end, Othello’s decline is caused by his overly trusting nature.
In Acts I and II, Othello is a brave and honest leader that everyone looks up to. He holds himself to high standards, as suggested by his reaction to Iago saying that he should hide from Desdemona’s father when Brabantio finds out about the marriage: “Not I. I must be found.
In Act IV when referring to his wife sleeping with Cassio, Othello says, “I tremble at it. Nature / would not invest herself in such a shadowing passion / without some instruction” (1.30-32). Othello then falls into an epileptic fit, which the audience soon learns is the second one he’s had in just two days, showing his physical deterioration. His mental decline is again accelerated by Iago when he gets Cassio to talk about his affair with Bianca. Othello thinks Cassio is talking about Desdemona and the things he hears Cassio say makes his blood boil beyond comprehension. He begins to plot both Cassio and Desdemona’s murders. Only after he kills Desdemona does he realize that she was being truthful all along. The guilt that he has for murdering her drives him to commit suicide, and the great Othello falls once and for all. Othello is obviously not thinking clearly near the end of the play. He blindly accepts everything that Iago says, and doesn’t pause long enough to think that the evidence does not match up. He is so out of his mind that he murders his own wife because of his jealousies and insecurities brought along by deceit, and when he realizes he was wrong, it proves fatal for him as