Othello: Theme & Dialogue

Act III Scene III of Othello, the Moor of Venice, by William Shakespeare, had a unique metaphor used by Iago in his dialogue with Othello. "Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss . Who, ceratin of his fate, loves not his wronger. But, oh, what damned minutes tells he o'er. Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves,"(Shakespeare, III.iii. 167-171 pg. 1409-1410)! The metaphor at the beginning of this line comparing jealousy and a monster holds some similarity, being both evils, and this shows Iago recognizes himself as horrendous and has a sick pleasure in his scheming. When he talks of the two different types of men who discover that their wives are cheating on them, he speaks first of the one who is not friends with the man the wife is having an affair with, and the other, loves his wife and though she cheats, continually loves her. Upon hearing this, Othello is moved to pity. I find this whole passage to be extremely clever in Iago hinting at and mentioning infidelity from a wife to her husband, and I also saw this as perhaps diplaying the theme. The theme of the wretchedness of jealousy and the role it plays in the relationship between husband and wife, and falseness tormeneted or not by suspicion.