Love/Hate Othello Essay

In honey comes an exponentially vast array of emotions that brush aside all show themselves at one time or another. One of those emotions that comes with love is hatred. Walter Raleigh once said, Hatreds ar the cinders of affection. If you can find feelings of hate towards somebody you love, it is because you truly love them. This is why Othello has so much hate towards Desdemona in act III.In act III, Iago plants the thought in Othellos head that his wife, Desdemona, is having an participation with Cassio. Iago acts reluctant to answer Othello when he asks him if he feels Cassio is trust seemly, but it is all a performance put on to get in Othellos head. Thoughts race through Othellos head on why Desdemona would ever cheat on him, bringing out his deepest insecurities. Haply for I am black,And have not those cushioned parts of conversationThat chamberers have or for I am declinedInto the vale of yearsyet thats not muchShes gone. I am abused, and my reliefMust be to loathe her. O curse of marriage,That we can call these delicate creatures oursAnd not their appetites I had rather be a toad frogAnd live upon the vapor of a dungeonThan keep a corner in the thing I loveFor others uses. Yet tis the plague of great onesPrerogatived are they less than the base.Tis destiny unshunnable, like death. (III.iii.267279)The thought of these self proclaimed flaws makes him bring up feelings of anger and hatred, making him question if Desdemona ever truly loved him or lied to him all along.However, deep down, he still has nothing but love for her.Othello only wants to kill Desdemona and not Cassio because he feels as if she betrayed him. There was neer any real relationship between Cassio and Othello aside from the military, so he doesnt feel the same hatred towards him as with Desdemona. Othello feels that if he is not worthy to be with Desdemona, then nobody is. He loves her so much that he wants her all to himself. Selfish? Yes. Does it mean Othello doesnt love Desdem ona? No, the exact opposite. It is his great love for Desdemona which drives him to do such crazy things and have such insane thoughts.In the end, regardless of his actions, Othello loves Desdemona with all of his heart. Never before this was there any trouble in their marriage, only romantic, gleeful times. This shows that hatred and love can, in fact, coexist. Hatred and love may be polar opposites, but as they say, opposites attract.