Othello has used military service to prove he is not a savage to white leaders, but his reliance upon the counsel of military officers and his over-valuing of military decision-making and life makes him descend into savagery. This is true even before Iago has begun to try to manipulate his mind. After marrying Desdemona, Othello's first thoughts are of war: "The tyrant custom, most grave senators,/Hath made the flinty and steel couch of war/My thrice-driven bed of down" (I.3). Even before Othello can enjoy his wedding night with Desdemona, he must leave her for the military field, and the two are separated. Othello cannot bear to look weak, and as for even a few nights with his bride before he begins to fight again. This is perhaps the true irony of Othello as a tragic character -- not that he trusts...

These defense mechanisms at first elevate him and win him love, and then finally debase him and cause him to kill what he loves.
Works Cited

Aristotle. "Poetics." Full e-text. January 18, 2009. http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.mb.txt

Bradley, a.C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.

London: Penguin, 1904. Full e-text. January 18, 2009. http://www.clicknotes.com/bradley/welcome.html

Shakespeare, William. "Othello." The Shakespeare Homepage. January 28, 2009. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/othello/index.html