Although a Moor and an outsider in Venice, Othello's military prowess has earned him the respect of many—and the seething animosity of one.
Othello's long-time underling Iago is resentful of the Moor's success, and when Othello elopes with a Venetian's daughter, Iago sets in motion a devious plot to exact revenge.
With an insinuation here, a whisper there, and the duplicitous deployment of a purloined handkerchief, Iago masterfully plays on the virtues and vulnerabilities of our tragic hero, weaving with Machiavellian glee "the net that shall enmesh them all."