Blog Entry 20: Othello Acts III-V

It's kind of sad that Iago encourages Othello's jealousy by telling him the truth about jealousy: "It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/The meat it feeds on" (III.iii.179-80). Iago's words mean that jealousy feeds on love and mocks it as it does. This means that jealousy in love should be avoided at all costs because it will destroy love. Instead of hearing this truth, Othello hears only the suggestion that he should be jealous. Rather than setting that suggestion aside and trusting to the fact that Desdemona "had eyes, and chose [him]" (III.iii.203), he says, "I'll see before I doubt" (III.iii.204), which sets him up to find all of the clues Iago sets up.