The irony in 'Heaven doth truly know you are false as hell' conveys how Desdemona's 'heavenly true' innocence ultimately suffers under Othello's misplaced trust in Iago. Through examining the consequences of Iago's deception upon the innocent, Shakespeare highlights how duplicity undermines innocence. .
In Othello, Shakespeare demonstrates how a loss of pride develops jealousy which impedes reason and rationality. Shakespeare discusses this concept as a response to the pervasive influences of the Great Chain of Being, a social paradigm which dictated hierarchical order for all forms of existence and pressured individuals to retain their status in the chain. Othello's eloquent, poetic language as he claims 'my parts, my title and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly' establishes him as a figure of confidence and loyalty. However Othello begins to believe that Desdemona's disloyalty was due to his lack of the qualities of eligible European suitors such as 'clime, complexion and degree'. Soon, Othello's pride is cast away, as evident in the imagery in 'haply for I am black.I had rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon' demonstrating his self denunciation at the realisation of his racial insecurities. Meanwhile, the dramatic irony within Iago's warning 'jealousy is the green eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on' foreshadows how jealousy will consume Othello's vulnerable state. Through the complete deterioration of Othello's language which becomes littered with powerful imagery 'Like to the Pontic Seaeven so my bloody thoughts shall ne'er look back', Shakespeare emphasises the transition of Othello's character from the former proud, noble man to one consumed by jealousy. He is, as critic Christopher Reaske described, an 'egotistical and immediately jealous' (Shakespeare's Othello, 1966) man who paradoxically justifies himself as 'cruel yet merciful' at killing Desdemona, indicating his lack of rationality.
