Iago's Reputation In Othello

The most interesting character in the play Othello is the villain, Iago, commonly referred to as "Honest Iago".  Iago is smart, and well tuned to human behavior, and uses this knowledge to

Iago takes what most of us see as good and uses those traits against characters in the play. He is able to take something as pure as Othello and Desdemona’s love or Cassio’s loyalty as a weakness that he can pounce on. “He holds me well; The better shall my purpose work on him.” (I, iii, 381-382) Iago possesses no good qualities so as a jealous pay back he takes trust and turns it against the trusting and then tries to take it even further for himself.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is not an envious character, but he is just a clever man, who is able to decipher and magnify other characters’ flaws, to benefit him. To fulfill his selfish desires, he uses the most destructive weapon in the play; trust. Iago manages to manipulate Roderigo’s incompetence to think for himself, Othello’s insecurities and Cassio’s chivalrous nature to achieve is greatest intent.

Othello’s trust for Iago enables Iago to completely discredit Othello as the good guy of the play when Iago manipulates him into thinking Desdemona was unfaithful to him with Cassio. Even though Othello must know in his heart that Desdemona would not betray him, he is so caught up by Iago's efforts and has fallen for his manipulative lies, that all rational thoughts abandons Othello and he ultimately ends up murdering his wife since to Othello betrayal was immoral. At the end of play, even Othello can hardly believe what he has done because he thinks of himself as, "One not easily jealous, but, being wrought, perplexed in the extreme..." meaning that he has acted out of character and only in the interests of honor. Iago’s betrayal to those such as Othello and Desdemona, ultimately successfully destroyed everyone, himself included.

Iago is not the same when he is with Othello but Iago’s character totally changes when he is not with Othello. When Iago finds out that Othello appointed Cassio as his lieutenant, Iago is extremely envious and he plots a plan against Othello by deceiving the trust that they both carry. “I’ll put this pestilence into his ear.” (II.iii.334). This refers to Iago plotting to say his lies to Othello which demonstrates Iago being overwhelmed by jealousy. Iago puts all the falsehood into the general’s ear which becomes easier for him to do as Othello puts his full trust on the rival. Iago is a harsh and a coldblooded man that wants revenge through his master by plotting an atrocious plan and putting all falsehood into his ear just to obtain the higher position.

Othello is the character with whom most of Iago's methods have success. His weakness as a jealous lover is apparent early on, but only after Iago’s has planted the seeds of doubt within his mind. Such is Othello’s trust for Iago that he uses the misnomer of describing Iago as ‘honest Iago’ and irony considering the action held within the play.  The trust is obvious and implicit and thoroughly entrenched within the language. Othello surmises on the aforementioned doubts during the last act of the play when he says;

Iago is the antagonist of the play, and one of the most evil Shakespearean villains. Iago is extremely clever in the way he uses unsuspecting power- especially psychological power. He gets into people’s heads in many dishonest ways- by spreading false rumours, telling lies and psychologically tricking people and secretly controlling certain situations. His power to manipulate is a key point in the play, as it results in major consequences and the deaths of some main characters. Iago’s schemes are multi-levelled- he conspires with roderigo, and makes him believe that Desdemona will take him back. On another level, he leads Othello to believe his wife is having an affair with Cassio. He uses his wife Emilia (unknown to her), to bring back the handkerchief he uses to deceive Othello. Iago is an extremely resourceful and talented man, but he uses these resources and talents in detrimental ways. Iago is constantly referred to by numerous characters as ‘honest’. He himself also refers to honesty. Numerous characters believe that they know and trust Iago and that he would not lie, nor deceive them. Iago’s soliloquies also provide invaluable insight into his wicked mind and evil schemes and plans.

Iago is one of the most misunderstood villains in Shakespeare literature. We side with Othello from the start because his name is on the cover of our paperback, we read Othello when learning about heroes, so we expect Iago to be a villain, a ruthless manipulator. We don’t know why, he doesn’t state it plainly or in simple English, so we assume that he’s evil, that he’s just a disgruntled sociopath out to exact his exaggerated revenge on good and noble Othello. Iago’s misunderstood reputation is a result of not truly examining his character, and answering the “why” factor behind his actions. After all, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. His goal in the play was not just to destroy Othello for the fun of it. His objective,

William Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice is a play of great manipulation and jealousy. Iago is the antagonist character of the play Othello. Iago becomes irate and filled with jealousy when Othello names Michael Cassio as his lieutenant, because Iago believed he should have been the one promoted not Michael Cassio. By manipulating everyone around him, Iago portrays himself as an honest noble man whom can be trusted. Iago being known for the honest man he earns everyone’s trust and therefore learns their weakness for his ultimate plan of destruction. Iago’s greatest skill is disguising his manipulative schemes of destroying and betraying the ones around him with what he leads people to believe as honesty. Iago uses their

When Iago talks to Othello, he then starts to talk about Cassio, “What if I had said I had seen him do you wrong?” (Shakespeare IV.i.28). Iago acts as his alter ego, “Honest Iago,” yet he reveals his true nature by acting evasive but accusing at the same time. Only one perspective displays itself here, leading Othello to a jealous rage. If multiple perspectives revealed themselves, Othello could have trusted his friend Cassio, and doubted Iago, who does not live up to his nickname of “Honest Iago.” Iago continues talking to Othello, vividly describing what he wants Othello to believe, that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. After Othello falls into a fit, Iago says, “Work on,/My medicine, (work!) Thus credulous fools are/caught,/And many worthy and chaste dames even thus/All guiltless, meet reproach.--What ho! My lord!/My lord, I say. Othello!” (Shakespeare IV.i.53-58). Iago admits that his “work” includes convincing honest people to believe him so that innocent people seem guilty, showing that Iago himself understands the danger of a single perspective, and he uses that to his advantage. When Iago says “What ho!” he finally notices that Othello has fallen into a fit, because Iago displays his existence in his storytelling fantasy. Othello’s fit demonstrates that when only one side of the story shows itself, it leads people to doubt their

This is ironic because Iago is the person who is least likely to give a truthful response, but nevertheless he achieves his goal in Othello terminating Cassio as his lieutenant. Iago builds a trust with Othello. The trust that Othello has for Iago makes it easy for Othello to never imagine the possibility that Iago has evil motives. He believes Iago to be a person, "of exceeding honesty, knows all qualities, with a learned spirit" (III, iii). Iago uses the trust Othello has in him to turn Othello into a jealous man.

In William Shakespeare’s play, “Othello” Iago provokes the characters to secretly follow his iniquitous plans. With jealously running through his veins, due to the fact that he did not get promoted to Lieutenant, Iago wants to get revenge on Othello. Despite it seeming like an issue between two characters, Iago uses his cruelty to affect all those around him. Subsequently by the end of the play, most characters in the play reveal more about themselves than Iago does.

Iago weaves a web of lies, carefully tightening the silk with his deception. Iago is able to lie with ease and trick his victims because he is regarded as the “Honest” Iago and nobody has anything against him, except Rodrigo later on in the play. In Act I Scene I, Iago reveals his hatred for Othello because of not receiving the promotion. Later on in in Act III Scene III, Othello tells Iago that he is

Othello and Iago’s relationship, the most prominent relationship, represents the duality of the play. Othello believes that Iago is helping him and guiding him to be a better person; however, Iago is using Othello to get his way. “Iago is annoyed that he didn't receive promotion from general Othello” (“Relationships in Othello”). Iago is dissatisfied with Othello’s choice because he believes he deserves the promotion. Iago becomes vengeful and devises a plan to enact his revenge. “I follow him to serve my turn upon him” (Shakespeare). Iago is shown to only serve Othello for his own purposes. Othello cannot see through the facade that Iago has put up and follows him blindly. “Othello trusts Iago totally as Iago has a reputation in Venice for being very honest” (“Relationships in Othello”). Moreover, Othello calls Iago “Honest Iago” on multiple occasions in the play. Othello is shown to believe that Iago is honest and trustworthy by Shakespeare to emphasize the duality of the relationship between Iago and Othello. Their relationship is a major aspect in

Iago is seen by most of the characters as an honest and trustworthy man who is always willing to listen and give advice. Cassio, one of the characters who is fooled by the illusionary personality Iago has created, says "I never knew/ a Florentine more kind and honest" (III.i.38-39). The audience however knows that this is not the case, since at the beginning he says “I am not what I am” (I.i.62), meaning that he has created an illusion of himself to fool others into believing he is trustworthy. Iago states “I follow him to serve my turn upon him” (I.i.39), meaning that he only pretends to be loyal to Othello, acting as a good servant so that when the opportunity arises, Othello will not suspect him of sabotaging his marriage. Throughout the entire play, he pretends to be Othello’s friend, feigning reluctance in voicing his suspicions about an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. He gains Othello’s trust by being a good friend who is honest enough to tell him such horrible news. Iago creates the illusion of the affair by filling Othello’s mind