Loss is presented in a number of different forms in the play. At the beginning of the play, we become aware of Iago's failure to attain a promotion. He loses the opportunity for betterment and a title which would afford him greater status and authority. He is bitterly resentful toward Othello, his general, for denying him the opportunity to improve his situation and tells Roderigo:
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds
Christian and heathen, must be be-lee'd and calm'd
By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,
He, in good time, must his lieutenant be,
And I—God bless the mark!—his Moorship's ancient.
Iago's bitterness is born from the fact that he felt he deserved the appointment since he had been loyal to the general. He had fought by his side and was an experienced soldier. He is angry at Othello's audacity in appointing an inexperienced outsider, Michael Cassio, in his stead, even though three senators had made an appeal on his behalf.
This decision informs Iago's desire for revenge, and he tells Roderigo that he will appear loyal to his general, for:
I follow him to serve my turn upon him . . .
Appearing loyal will give him an opportunity to take revenge, for Othello will not suspect him of any malice.
The issue of loss is also evident in the character Brabantio. He has been a doting, loving and possessive father to his beautiful daughter, Desdemona. When Othello and she elope, he is devastated, especially since Iago and Roderigo had painted a maliciously lurid picture of Othello with her, using animal imagery and stating that the general had abducted her and was abusing her.
Brabantio is absolutely distraught when Desdemona later chooses Othello over him. She tells her father:
...I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband,
And so much duty as my mother show'd
To you, preferring you before her father,
So much I challenge that I may profess
Due to the Moor my lord.
He feels betrayed and later tells Othello:
Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceived her father, and may thee.
This comment serves to plant a tiny, pernicious seed in Othello's mind which later informs his thinking and the devastating results thereof. We also later discover that Brabantio has died of a broken heart brought on by what he believed to be Desdemona's treason.
Othello experiences loss. He loses his trust in Desdemona and loses her. He loses his self-control, his sanity, his integrity and, eventually, his life. He loses all these because he is gullible enough to trust the malevolent Iago and, like a fool, is manipulated by him. Iago convinces him that his wife is having an affair with his handsome lieutenant and presents him with all kinds of made-up proof of her deceit. The general swears revenge and first plots with Iago to have his lieutenant murdered, and he eventually kills her. Cassio escapes his wrath, but is injured in the process.
The depth of his loss is expressed by Othello himself, at the end of the play:
. . . then must you speak
Of one that loved not wisely but too well;
Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought
Perplex'd in the extreme; of one whose hand,
Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe . . .
Michael Cassio loses not only his position as lieutenant, but also his reputation. He, too, is a victim of Iago's manipulation and is coerced into drinking alcohol by the sly ancient. Since he is easily inebriated, he later gets into a brawl with Roderigo (all planned by Iago) and a confrontation with Montano. Othello is awoken by the noise and, after an "honest" report of the incident by Iago, dismisses Cassio. Cassio is overwhelmed and distraught and later painfully cries out:
Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost
my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of
myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation,
Iago, my reputation!
Iago, who, one feels, should be the one who loses most because of his perfidy, actually wins more than he loses. He got his revenge, for both Othello and Desdemona are dead. He ensured Cassio's dismissal, although he is later appointed to Othello's position. Although he loses Emilia, he is entirely responsible, for he killed her for what he believed was her betrayal. He loses his freedom and will face justice, but one cannot help but feel that his punishment can never be enough for the devastation he has caused. Lodovico says of him:
. . . For this slave,
If there be any cunning cruelty
That can torment him much and hold him long,
It shall be his. You shall close prisoner rest,
Till that the nature of your fault be known
To the Venetian state. Come, bring him away.
Desdemona also suffers great loss. She loses Othello's trust and later her life. She also loses her father in that he rejects her for her marriage to Othello, and her loss is emphasized when he later dies of a broken heart. More devastatingly, though, she loses her life at the hands of the one she loved and trusted the most, her first and only love, Othello.
One may also refer to other losses: Roderigo loses his money, integrity, self-respect, and he loses the chance to ever engage with Desdemona. He also loses his life at the hand of Iago, who had made him his puppet. Furthermore, there is the loss regarding Emilia. In trying to please Iago, she lost some of her integrity, for she stole her mistress' handkerchief and later lied to her about it. There is also the loss that Bianca, who was infatuated with Cassio, suffers. She eventually falls out with him because of the incident with the handkerchief.
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