From age to age, traditions and lifestyles change. Clothes, hairstyles, jobs, technology and social conventions evolve with society; however, one thing that will never change is human emotion and pain that is suffered, sometimes daily. Jealousy is the most universal, recurrent sentiment that every single person on earth experiences. People are wired to compete with others – to push the hardest, gain the most assets, and accomplish the greatest feats. Jealousy is a main theme in Othello, a play written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500’s. While jealousy was important enough to write about back then, it is still considered significant today; its magnitude is reflected in two modern products of media – the song “Jealousy” by Darren Criss and the novel The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.
“Jealousy” describes raw envy; it portrays the destructive and irrational nature of the emotion, and it can be directly connected to Othello. One of the most relevant lines in the song is “And I don’t know what to do, it’s changing me, it’s killing you.” This connects to Othello and Desdemona’s relationship and its progression throughout the play. Because Iago has convinced himself that Othello slept with his wife Emilia, he persuades Othello that his wife Desdemona has been sleeping with his colleague Cassio (IV.i.104-157). Othello then becomes extremely jealous, and his demeanor oscillates severely because of his envy. Othello was once considered a level-headed and lucid man, even in the midst of war; now, he makes assumptions and lets his emotions violently consume him. The second half of the quote “it’s killing you” relates to Desdemona because Othello kills her out of jealousy(V.ii.83-123). A second relevant quote is “In absolutely no position to be needlessly unkind, when I’m the one writing this fiction, make it real in my mind.” When Othello heightens and imagines the lies Iago planted in his head, he does absurd things like slapping Desdemona. He becomes cruel and he submits to his rampant feelings. However, because Othello creates “this fiction,” he justifies his extreme behavior.
Not only is jealousy exposed in contemporary songs, but it is also in novels. J.R.R. Tolkien depicts jealousy throughout his fantasy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. One scene in particular mirrors Othello well. Young hobbit Frodo Baggins suddenly acquires an omnipotent, corrupting ring from his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. He ventures with a group of warriors from various lands and races of Middle Earth to destroy the ring before it acts as a catalyst to unleash great evil and an age of darkness upon the world. During the journey, Frodo faces the tribulations of transporting the ring to Mont Doom; these trials not only include physical ailments and stress, but they also involve dealing with mental obstacles, such as the jealousy others harbor for him and the power of the ring. In one scene, Boromir physically attacks Frodo in attempts to get the ring; he thinks he could use its power for good and save his kingdom of Gondor. While this does not clearly relate to Othello, there are several key correlations. Both Boromir and Othello are influenced by a separate, evil entity – the ring for Boromir and Iago for Othello. The ring and Iago motivate the conflict in both stories; in the Fellowship, the ring’s power is so great that it annihilates any logic or reason men have – they only desire the ring. Iago similarly does this to Othello by obliterating his rationale with lies that lead to a desire for revenge against Desdemona (V.i.1-22). Jealousy stimulates Boromir and Othello to attack those that they love, and they ultimately destroy their relationships. 
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