Iago In Othello

While he is flawed by his paranoia and pride, Othello is only unstable and destructive after intricate deception. Indeed, he seems maddeningly perfect to his adversaries. Even Othello's greatest enemy,

Towards the end of act 2, scene 1 Shakespeare illustrates Iago’s detrimental persona - throughout his soliloquy - by lacking rhythm and writing in prose. By interrupting the regular rhyming patterns of the text earlier on in the scene (‘fair, heir’ ‘gay, may’), Shakespeare is deliberately showing the reader how irregular and therefore corrupt Iago is compared to the other characters of the play - another interpretation for Shakespeare’s usage of prose, however, is the differentiation of those in the upper and low classes, which shows that Iago is not of high status: which is highlighted by the fact that Iago is said to be a ‘flag bearer’ - this is further highlighted by Iago’s xenophobic references to Othello: ‘him’, ‘the Moor’, which is

Iago is very notorious for his villainous acts throughout the play “Othello”, by William Shakespeare. Iago’s motives drive him to manipulate and deceive other characters so his “monstrous” (I, iii, 395) plot would succeed. Iago manages to con Roderigo to take his money. Iago also tries to ruin Othello and Desdemona’s relationship by using Cassio as a bait. In this passage, Iago explains how he will manipulate Rodrigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello to achieve his goals.

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.

Shakespeare’s Othello is a play consistently based on jealously and the way it can destroy lives. One is quick to think this jealously is based on Othello’s lack of belief in Desdemona’s faithfulness to him or his suspensions over Desdemona’s affair with Cassio, Othello’s honorable lieutenant. Upon closer inspection of the jealously that exists throughout the play it becomes clear that his jealously is not the sole start and reason for all of the destruction that occurs. Iago, a good friend of Othello, is not who he appears to be. Iago’s own jealously of those around him pushes him over the edge. He begins to deceive all those who believe he is a true, honorable, and faithful man. Throughout Othello, Iago incites his own jealously in

In any story with a recurring dark theme there always must be an outsider from humanity who somehow stands out from the seemingly equal community. In the case of Shakespeare’s Othello the outsider from humanity would be Iago for he truly stands out from the rest of society. Although Othello may be physically put out of the community, it seems that on an emotional and egotistical level Iago puts himself out of society further then Othello’s blackness does. He is not merely manipulative, as other villains are; he turns aspects of truth and good qualities, which he does not possess, and uses them as weakness for his own scheme. He deceives people to follow his plans by telling them the truth and what seems to be good advice. By standing on

By using short, choppy sentence structure and weak diction, he seems less of a threat to Othello and his innocence is enhanced through it. Also, by always using rhetorical questions, he never does address what it is Othello is talking about. Iago distorts Othello’s thoughts and gets him to think he knows much more than he is telling him about the entire affair. This becomes especially clear when Othello asks for “ocular proof” and Iago confirms he has it using statements like “I should be wise; for honesty’s a fool and looses that it works for,” Act III Scene iii line 378-379, meaning he should not tell Othello what he knows or it would ruin Iago’s reputation. This sets Othello’s suspicions aflame and soon Iago is relaying to him the story about Cassio’s dream about he and Desdemona, and finally, he closes with the handkerchief, the most powerful thing which Othello held as a sacred gift of love to his wife. He is then completely overcome with jealousy and scorn for his former lover and friend, wanting death for the both of them.

In any story with a recurring dark theme there always must be an outsider from humanity who somehow stands out from the seemingly equal community. In the case of Shakespeare's Othello the outsider from humanity would be Iago for he truly stands out from the rest of society. Although Othello may be physically put out of the community, it seems that on an emotional and egotistical level Iago puts himself out of society further then Othello's blackness does. He is not merely manipulative, as other villains are; he turns aspects of truth and good qualities, which he does not possess, and uses them as weakness for his own scheme. He deceives people to follow his plans by telling them the truth and what seems to be good advice. By standing on

Further in Act II we learn more of how manipulating Iago is and how he is willing to do anything to get his way without anyone realizing it. He continues to use his so called "honesty" to his advantage, when he is lying and using others to achieve his desire, per say. After watching the movie in class I was able to get a better see of the way Iago acts through the play. By Iago sharing his thoughts with the audience, I was able to get a more in depth understanding of Iago as opposed to the other characters. When Iago shares his thoughts there's a better understanding of his motives behind whatever he is planning to do, and it helps us understand his purpose and to what extent he will go in order to fulfill his purpose. He is giving his personal

This character made up by Shakespeare is a villain mastermind hiding under the appearance of a military veteran from Venice. His attempt to manipulate and deceive the other characters in this play revolves around his obsessive, relentless, bold and ingenious personality. In various points in the play, he claims to be motivated by different reasons. Some of the reasons are: resentment that Othello passed him over a promotion in favour of Michael Cassio and he thinks Othello and Cassio both slept with his wife Emilia.

     Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, is a round character of great depth and many dimensions. Iago works towards an aim that is constantly changing and becomes progressively more tragic. Yet, at times, "honest" Iago does actually seem honest. This essay will explore the complex character of "honest Iago.

Tragedy can expose humans fallibility and weaknesses. Traditionally, a tragic hero is established into three parts: hamartia, a hero’s tragic flaw; peripeteia, the change in the hero’s fortune; and catharsis, a hero’s tragic ending. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare illustrates how a General, Othello get manipulated by his subordinate, Iago.Iago tells Othello that his wife, Desdemona is having an affair with his friend, Cassio. Othello deeply believes in Iago’s lies, and kills Desdemona and Cassio. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare uses hamartia, peripeteia and catharsis to show that Othello is a tragic hero. Ultimately, through Othello’s tragedy the audiences learn that one’s gullibility can lead their tragedy.

As in almost all tragedies, especially those of William Shakespeare, the tragic hero always runs into misfortune. The play Othello is no exception. In this play, every character acquainted with the tragic hero appears to be unfortunate. While these misfortunes are oddly related to Othello, are they his fault or did each character attract them out of their own actions? To answer this daunting question, one must consider the three most unfortunate characters: Othello, Desdamona and Roderigo and analyse their downfall which eventually lead to their deaths. It is known from reading the play that Iago is the one who manipulates all three of them. Examinations of their connection with him before their deaths are necessary to answer this

While filling Othello’s ears with lies and hatred, Iago says that “I know not that: but such a handkerchief I am sure it was your wife’s- did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with” (Shakespeare, 67). Iago is poisoning Othello’s ears by telling him about the ocular proof that Othello was asking for all along. Furthermore, Iago uses another excellent technique to manipulate Othello by making remember the past events. Iago says to Othello that, “she did deceive her father, marrying you, and when she seemed to shake, and fear your looks, she loved them most” (Shakespeare, 59). Iago is explaining to Othello that if Desdemona can deceive her father by marrying Othello, she can deceive him too. Iago also tells Othello that Desdemona fell for his looks because he is an outsider. Iago is excellent at manipulating the situation and filling others’ ears with lies, which makes his plan successful without anyone suspecting him.

At all points of one’s life, one has desires; what separates and defines a person is determined by how that person goes about dealing with those desires. Some believe in working honestly towards his or her aspirations and others in seizing it at any cost. Iago, the antagonist of the play Othello is one of those people who would do anything in order to get what he wishes. Because Othello names Cassio lieutenant instead of him, he begins to device a plan in vengeance to bring Othello and Cassio down, which ends up tragic for all of the major characters. Iago’s obsessive need for revenge stems from jealousy and ambition, and because he is a master manipulator, the plan goes extremely smooth for the majority of the play.