Love is the root of jealousy; if one has no feelings for someone, then one is not saddened at its loss. Before there is jealousy, there has to be love. Shakespeare's Othello, depicts the fall of a valiant soldier, who proves to those who know him his strength and nobility both on and away from the field of battle. Othello is by far, the most romantic figure among Shakespeare's heroes, and he is so partly from the strange life of war and adventure. The villain, Iago, facilitates the fall of Othello through his deceptions and masterful manipulations, but one aspect of Iago's insidious assault on Othello seems more inventive than the rest: his choice of Desdemona as the means by which he engineers Othello's destruction. Othello's relationship with Desdemona provides him with a security and serenity, which now serves as the foundation upon where his strength is built. By attacking the foundation of Othello and Desdemona's relationship, allows Iago the means to destroy him by un!
             Just as the strongest fortress will fall if its foundation crumbles, so too does Othello when the foundation of his very being is attacked and corrupted by Iago's scheming. Othello succumbs to Iago's plot because Iago attacks beneath his armor, at the very essence of his armor-his new bride, Desdemona. When Brabantio questions the validity, and even the very existence of their marriage, Othello's response reveals his devotion to his new wife: I do beseech you, Send for the lady to the Sagittary And let her speak of me before her father. If you do find me foul in her report, The trust, the office I do hold of you Not only take away, but let your sentence Even fall upon my life. (I.iii.114-119) Othello's confidence in the strength of Desdemona's loyalty to him, a loyalty which he believes stems from their mutual love, prompts him to offer not only his position of General, but also his very life as compensation if...