Neil Bowen on
The Earl of Essex and Othello
If Essex can be seen as an historical analogue for Othello, quite obviously Iago fits snugly into the role of the Machiavellian politician. Though he cannot defeat Othello through military might or prowess, he can out think him, playing on Othello's code of chivalry. And Iago understands that at the heart of this code is the control and subordination of women. Hence if he can undermine Othello's sense of mastery of his wife, he can unman him and destabilise his sense of himself as noble hero; for Othello if he is unable to govern Desdemona, he is unfit to govern Cyprus. Othello calling his wife, 'O my fair warrior' as early as Act 2 is symptomatic of this conflation of the domestic with the military.