Othello is furious after hearing the "confession" and kills Desdemona. In the minutes before her death, Desdemona insists that she is innocent and begs Othello to let her live so that she can prove her innocence: DESDEMONA. Kill me tomorrow: let me live this night! OTHELLO. No, if you try... DESDEMONA. But half an hour! OTHELLO. Once finished, there is no break.DESDEMONA. But while I say a prayer! OTHELLO. It's too late. (5.3.96-101)The fact that Othello did not even let Desdemona live a few minutes to prove his innocence demonstrates the extent of Iago's manipulations of him. Iago managed to convince Othello to murder the woman he loved. Similarly, in Macbeth, the witches were able to lure Macbeth into killing the king (with the help of Lady Macbeth) and many others in order to seize and protect his position as king. Additionally, both characters' crimes were also partly motivated by wounds to pride – Lady Macbeth taunted Macbeth with her manhood to convince him to kill the king, and Othello kills Desdemona because he feels she has hurt his manly pride (even though he was reluctant to kill the king). her at the beginning), and she must therefore be punished. In Macbeth, Macbeth's tragic lack of ambition is the greatest contributor to his downfall. Macbeth's ambition is what allowed him to believe what the witches told him, despite Banquo's warnings – Macbeth believed what the witches because he desperately wanted what they said to be true. As soon as he hears the prophecies, he begins to consider murdering Duncan to seize the throne: "The stars hide your fires/Let not the light see my dark and deep desires" (1.4.57-58). Macbeth himself states that the only reason he has for murdering Duncan is...... middle of paper... out of grief and commits suicide. Similarly, in Macbeth, Macbeth was too late to discover that he had been tricked by the witches and was killed by Macduff. Their flaws also cause them to lose touch with reality: Othello believes that his wife – who has always been faithful and loving to him – is cheating on him, and Macbeth is suspicious and kills anyone who he believes poses a threat to his throne. In both cases, it is the tragic flaw of the characters that leads to their downfall and makes them see things that do not necessarily exist. Shakespeare's Othello and Macbeth show how easy it is to manipulate someone by playing on their weakness. Both Othello and Macbeth start out as brave and honorable people, admired by their acquaintances, but are slowly led to their downfall by the wrong people knowing their weaknesses and playing on them..