Othello

He said, she said, they said I heard. In the play Othello, Othello is being told many lies by Iago. These horrible lies transform Othello's actions into total madness. In the play,Iago convinces Othello that his wife Desdemona cheated on him with.. which caused Othello to becomes crazy with jealousy and murder his faithful wife.
-Hearing a rumor is one thing, but hearing it from a trusted friend is another. If a close friend of mine told me something and was positive it was true, I would definitely consider what they had to say. In the play, Othello trusted Iago. Iago seemed like an honest man because he had never been caught in a lie, or even disrespected... so it was completely considerable for Othello to listen to what he had to say, and even, believe him. Since Iago painted this image in Othello's mind.. Othello could see it, therefore it was true to him.
-Othello also thought it was true because of the handkerchief. He had given Desdemona his handkerchief because it was very important to him. The sneaky Iago takes the handkerchief and leaves it in Cassio's room for Othello to suspect Desdemona had left it there.
-Also, Iago (being the good friend he is) said he would talk to Cassio about his relationship with Desdemona while Othello was outside of the room listening. Iago knew Cassio was with another woman and could get Othello to believe that he was talking about his wife. This was another step for Othello to believe that this rumor is true.
If Desdemona were to cheat on her husband- she would be most likely to lie and deny the situation.. so how else would Othello discover the truth? He had evidence... so all he needed was to hear it, and witness small proof.
Result- How would you feel if you were 99% sure you were right... but were wrong. Total guilt. If everything your loved one said was true and you refused to believe a word they said.. she was right all along and you were wrong... Life Ending Pain.