Othello Act III

Othello
William Shakespeare

Here we finally see the important symbol of a handkerchief, which we knew was important though we hadn't seen it so far.  The handkerchief first appears in Act III when Des drops it--Othello had given it to her on their honeymoon, so it is very important to both of them.  This symbol of their love and unity is dropped both literally and figuratively.  Emilia then delivers the handkerchief to Iago, who sees a different meaning behind it.   Of course, word comes around that Cassio has it, which would greatly upset Othello.  I love the line "What will you do with "t, that you have been so earnest To have me filch it?" (Shakespeare, III.iii. 315-316) because it shows how others begin to see Iago.  He plays into the major theme of jealousy and hatred as he is the one to tell Othello.  While he appears to be the honest, loyal friend here, the audience knows his terrible, selfish motives behind his actions.  I still don't understand how Iago is supposed to be so evil, when he doesn't actually kill people or do terrible deeds.  I'm waiting for this terrible thing to happen, but he's just manipulating other people and trying to achieve his own ends.  I definitely would not call him the most evil villain.