Deception In Othello Essay

The source of confusion and violence stems from Shakespeare’s Machiavellian character, Iago. There is no room for coincidences in the play, almost all the circumstances surrounding Othello’s downfall from a noble clearheaded solider to a susceptible rage filled avenger, originate from the ever manipulative Iago and his own thirst for revenge. Iago drives in the nail at every chance he gets, he exploits every ounce of doubt Othello holds. Iago makes use of a simple handkerchief and friendship to instill the seed of suspicion and eventually provide the supposed concrete evidence of weak fidelity. Othello is too trusting of “honest” Iago and holds too little appreciation for himself, an easy prey to insecurities. Othello’s self confidence dwindles are he considers himself an old black man, not enticing enough for a young wife of the upper class and so it’s easy to believe that she would betray him. Othello becomes wild with jealousy and self-doubt at the false realization that Cassio must be sleeping with Desdemona.

Deception is defined as “the act of tricking someone by telling them something that is not true”. In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, deception is always present and things are not always what they appear to be. In this great work of literature, the three witches; the Thane of Cawdor; and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the very embodiments of trickery and show us the true effects deception can have on man.

He gloats about the easy in which he can manipulate Roderigo (the fool) into giving him money. Directly after this, you hear of Iago’s feelings towards Othello (the Moor). You learn of Iago’s suspicion about his wife having an affair with Othello. This gains pity from the audience, because you feel that Iago is a man deeply distraught over the idea of his wife cheating on him. Iago then begins to contemplate how he would seek vengeance on Othello and gain his title. Iago plans to use Othello’s trust and opinion of him to his advantage. He speaks about how he will use Cassio as his pawn to lure Othello into believing his wife, Desdemona is being unloyal to him. Iago discloses that Othello’s character is naive and will be easy to manipulate. As his closing statement he states that, with a little help from the devil, his monstrous plan will be a success.

     One may readily perceive the theme of Shakespeare’s “Othello” as deception. Deception appears many times in Othello, but in almost every incident the degree of deception is different. Deception is to “deceive another, illusion, or fraud” (Webster’s New World Pocket Dictionary 69), which is seen as a wrongful act. However, deception may be used to protect someone from getting hurt therefore being used with good intentions.

“The Duke does greet you, general, And he requires your haste-post-haste appearance, Even on the instant.” (1.2.37). Michael Cassio first enters Othello when delivering a message to the general, Othello. He is a young, highly educated lieutenant. Though he is inexperienced in battle, he is truly devoted to his governor. Unfortunately, his gullible and blind ways unintentionally lead to Othello’s death. Since he arrives to Cyprus before Othello and his wife Desdemona, he is there to greet Desdemona who arrives a bit before Othello. She has a conversation with Iago, Othello’s ensign. It consists of him speaking poorly of women and Cassio speaking up by saying Iago is more of a soldier than a scholar. Othello’s ship makes land and they celebrate that night. Iago knows that if Cassio has too much to drink, he will be intolerable. This is true, and Cassio picks a fight with Roderigo and Montano, a former governor of Cyprus. This leads to Othello’s firing of Cassio, “. . . Cassio I love thee but never more be officer of mine” (2.3.211-212).

Othello is caught in between two different relationships that give him two different opinions about his life. Iago and Desdemona provide Othello with two different stories in regard to his relationship with Desdemona. Therefore, Othello becomes confused as who to believe, so he shapes his beliefs against the theme of truth and lies. In other words, Iago uses what he sees to push Othello to believe what he says is true opposed to Desdemona. As a result, Iago causes Othello to ultimately questions Desdemona’s fidelity. For that reason, the relationships in Othello revolve around questions without answers because Othello only questions Desdemona but does not question anyone else. Iago has Othello initially brainwashed to believe what he witnesses, but it is deemed ‘false’. Thus, the theme of truth and lies shape the Othello’s relationships with others when he questions Iago about Desdemona.

William Shakespeare’s Iago is often thought of the devil in the story. As the villain, Iago manipulated multiple characters countless number of times, used his intelligence to slip away from problematic situations and to create illusions for many characters, as well as having dreadful intentions for reasons that don’t justify his purpose. For many viewers, this causes a stir of emotions, including hate, disgust, sorrow, and surprisingly, admiration for Iago. How can a man with Iago’s intentions and his cold-hearted soul could be admired in this story? Why should the audience applaud the villain, instead of looking-down upon with shock? In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago‘s immoral character compels the audience to acknowledge his ambition through

Othello is a man who is respected as a General in the Army. Brabanzio even considered him a friend. Thanks to Iago planting a seed in Brabanzio ear about his daughter, Desdemona, Brabanzio accused Othello of taking his daughter away from him by means of drugs or poision. Othello has fought on the battle-field and now finds himself on a very different kind of battle-field. He finds himself in a position of being forced to defend his honor, friendship and his love. There has been accusations made against Othello, so in a room filled with signors, masters, the Duke, and Brabanzio, Othello has a strategy of battlement in his own way. He tells the Duke to send for Desdemona, “Send for the lady to the Sagittary, And let her

When Othello first enters the room at the start of Act III Scene III, Cassio hurriedly leaves the room after speaking with Desdemona. Cassio does this completely innocently: he leaves because he doesn´t want to enhance Othello's rage any more than he has already. Iago succesfully twist this situation- ""That he would steal away so guilty like- seeing you coming.

Honesty is a concept that is constantly used in The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice, although used for the wrong people. The theme of appearance vs. reality in this certain play is easily confused due to the deception of honesty, frequently because of Iago. The notions of loyalty/dishonesty as well as love/lust, rich/poor, and witty/dumb are also used as a dramatic irony to help the drama progress. The characters in the play used cunning tactics to achieve their ultimate goal, whether it was to win the woman they love or trying to bring down a powerful man. Honesty is a term used very loosely due to the fact that no one knew what was actually happening behind the scenes.

Firstly, Othello has major influence over his wife, Desdemona, and political figures due to his compassionate yet authoritative manner. Specifically, when Brabantio visits the Duke of Venice to complain about Othello marrying his daughter, he claims that “she is abused” and “corrupted by spells and medicines” (Shakespeare I.iii.60-61). Here, although Othello later denounces Brabantio’s accusation, it is clear to the reader that Othello’s charming manner and heroism led Desdemona to pursue him. Moreover, Othello highlights that “[Brabantio] loved [Othello]; oft invited [him]” to dinners in which Desdemona was present (I.iii.127). Through his tales of warfare, Othello catalyzes his path to marriage with Desdemona, which even the hostile Brabantio eventually accepts- though bitterly. In the same manner, even the Duke recognizes that Othello’s tale “would win [his] daughter too” (I.iii.170). Nonetheless, despite Brabantio’s stereotype of Othello using dark magic on Desdemona, he successfully gains the respect of his superiors through his unwavering honesty and pride for his accomplishments as a general. Moreover, Othello also exhibits authority in the discipline of his soldiers. This appears prominently when Cassio fights Montano- governor of Cyprus- the night of Othello’s celebration of victory in Cyprus. Angrily, Othello enters the scene, crying, “Are we turned Turks,” behaving in a way “which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites?” (II.iii. 169-170). In his state of

Like many of the plays written by William Shakespeare, betrayal is what drives the story of Othello. Betrayal, being the main theme in Othello, is revealed through the actions and behavior of the characters. The main character centered around the theme of betrayal is Iago. At the very beginning of the book Iago says, “I am not what I am” ( I. i.11) which is ironic; setting the tone for his role throughout the rest of the story. Iago’s jealousy is what drives the deception of the other characters.

Alongside this chain of events triggered by the avarice of Iago is another chain of events springing from innocence and morality. They center around the characters of Desdemona and Othello: She leaves her selfish father to share her love with the ideal man. He calmly rebuts the accusations, some prejudicial in nature, against his conduct toward Desdemona. She defends the Moor’s moral integrity and her own in front of the council; he does likewise. She unselfishly agrees to live with another family while her husband is busied in the war with the Turks; he concurs in this sacrifice. While waiting with Emilia and Iago at Cyprus, she heroically calls the ancient a “slanderer” and comes to the aid of his wife, who has been repeatedly downtrodden and hit upon by Iago. When the general’s ship arrives safely into the Cyprus port, he immediately greets his wife before anyone else, “O my fair warrior!” and “O my soul's joy!” When Governor Montano asks Cassio if the Moor is wived he responds with: “Most fortunately: he hath achieved a maid

saying he will “tear her all to pieces” and he tells Iago to let him

First performed in the court of King James I on November 1 1604, The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice was written by William Shakespeare between 1601 and 1604. The basic premise of the play is the protagonist’s (Othello’s) marriage with the daughter of the senator, Desdemona: Their marriage, unfortunately, is sabotaged by the envious Iago, insinuating to Othello of his wife’s alleged infidelity. The play reaches its climactic peak when the general’s jealousy vows to exact bloody revenge on the perpetrators (Desdemona and Cassio) that caused him to be a ‘cuckold’. All of Iago’s schemes come into fruition when the noble Moor smothers his wife to death: The play spirals further downhill with most of the cast either dead, severely injured or in Iago’s case, on the process to be tortured.