Justice and Injustice in Othello
In the Tragedy of Othello, by William Shakespeare, a great injustice is done to the main character, Othello the Moor. Othello is manipulated by the villain Iago to satiate Iago’s need for control and his desire for revenge. Othello the General has promoted another, Cassio, to hold the position that Iago feels he deserves. For the injustice that Iago feels has been committed against him, he brings about the destruction of Othello and his wife, Desdemona, using Cassio as his tool for doing so.
Iago is the master villain in Othello, and is indeed a prototypal villain; that is, he is the mould for many other villains in their own deeds. He appears to be cunning, decisive, and able to take
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Iago plants ideas in Othello’s head, uses the innocent actions of others as his proof; and Othello, who is not practiced in worldly matters, believes his the misnomer of the “honest Iago”, and eventually is consumed by the lie.
Shakespeare portrays the character of Othello as a man who is calm and steadfast, as shown by reactions of Othello in Act I, scenes ii-iii, when Senator Brabantio accuses Othello of using witchcraft to woo his daughter. Othello replies calmly and eloquently in contrast to Brabantio’s hysteria, explaining that he did not use any sorcery except that of his presence. He tells Iago, when Iago urges him to hide,
“My parts, my title, and my perfect soul/
Shall manifest me rightly.”
Othello is a man who is in control of his emotions, and is seen as a strong, respectable man in such whereas Brabantio’s is not.
Iago attempts to discredit Cassio is the eyes of Othello (II.iii). He enables Cassio to become intoxicated and then later Roderigo picks a fight with him. Othello finds Cassio at fault for the fight, which he seems to be at first glance., and removes him from his office. Even after it is done with, neither have any idea they were manipulated by Iago, but think he is a wonderful person, better, in fact, because of this incident.
Iago drives a stake in between Othello and Cassio, one that he slips in to break them apart. Once Cassio is relieved from his post, he is no longer present
Cassio's trust in Iago stems not only from his impeccable reputation of sincerity, but again from Othello's influence. Othello simply states; "Iago is most honest." [Act II, scene iii], when conversing with Cassio. Once more, if Othello feels this way, then Cassio, who admires Othello and follows his leadership, will also believe that Iago is an honest man. When Iago pretends to help Cassio, he comments; "I never knew a Florentine more kind and honest", [Act III, scene I].
Evil masterminds are always successful in their diabolical schemes, but each one does it in their own special way. Some may be highly ranked and powerful, but some may be simple people in a simple community. In the play Othello, the simple ancient, Iago is very successful at his schemes. Iago is able to get the trust of everyone around him, and to appear honest. He is also driven to continue with his schemes and to never quite.
determine as to which one will win, so that is why one cannot exist without the other. However, there are some whose emotions are unbalanced, which causes them to near towards one side more than the other one and many times the side a lot of people prefer to lean on is evil. Shakespeare’s play Othellois set in 16thcentury Venice and Cyprus. Othello, a noble black general from the Venetian army has secretly married Desdemona, daughter of Venice senator Brabantio. Othello chooses inexperienced Cassio to be his lieutenant, while he decides to give the ensign position to Iago, a malicious but very experienced man who, with his stealth and knavery, will ultimately ruin almost everyone’s life since for a long time, he was desiring the position of lieutenant just like Cassio. At the end of the play, Othello, Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia, and his sidekick Roderigo die due to his revenge against Cassio, for obtaining the position he wanted and Othello, for being the man who he hates the most. The play ends with Iago being told that he will be punished and tortured for his actions. However, despite the fact that Iago is punished at the end of the play for doing all of the malicious things he did, he still manages to wear down Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, get Cassio demoted from his lieutenancy, and cause Othello to show his cowardness by
Iago's interpretation of Cassio's exit, combined with Desdemona's vigorous support on Cassio's behalf, creates suspicion in Othello's mind even before Iago prompts him. Othello manifests his confusion
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
Once a seed of suspicion or doubt is planted in a person’s mind, the noxious effect of jealousy is soon to ensue. Jealousy and suspicion are Othello’s flaws hubris throughout the play and foreshadow to the audience his imminent downfall. He believes what Iago tells him so strongly that he compromises his close relationship with his best friend and his love for his wife. Iago manipulates Othello through the use of extortion, literary techniques, and his keen judge of character. His syntax and diction are so simple yet so powerful because he uses the correct rhetorical questions and addresses Othello with respectful terms such as “my lord.” He allows Othello do most of the talking
Later on in the play, Iago lies to Roderigo when he tells him that Othello will be taking Desdemona with him to Mauritania. He suggests that if Roderigo ever wants to see Desdemona again he has to make sure that Othello extends his stay in Cyprus. To do so, he suggests that Cassio must be killed, “Why, by making him uncapable of Othello’s place—/ knocking out his brains.”(4.2.226-227). If Othello goes to Mauritania, Cassio will be assigned Othello’s place. By killing Cassio, Iago gets his revenge and Roderigo would have a chance to win over Desdemona. Roderigo’s character is used to portray the theme of manipulation. He is persuaded into doing Iago’s ill deeds. Iago is only after one thing, to be appointed lieutenant, and he will do whatever is necessary to reach his goal.
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
Iago is a powerful predator who exploits those around him by infecting their perceptions of truth with carefully chosen fallacy. His skill in finding the proverbial chinks in others' armor allows him to skillfully weave his machinations of destroying Othello into their minds and actions; by manipulating character's perceptions of Desdemona, Iago gains the leverage he needs to exploit each character. No one is impervious to Iago's seething purpose; even Othello falls prey to Iago's suggestions and insinuations about Desdemona. Iago's constant presence as the stager, as well as his ceaseless - but subtle - reinforcement of events through narration, allows him to be the pivotal force that directs
Iago persuades Roderigo to kill Cassio while Othello smothers Desdemona. Emilia then reveals to Othello Iago's manipulation. As Emilia continues to divulge Iago's actions he kills her and flees. When Iago is returned to Othello, Othello wounds him and upon realizing the tragic actions he has brought about, kills himself.
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.
355,] By playing on his hopes, Iago is able to conjure money and jewels from Roderigo, making himself a profit, while using Roderigo to further his other plans. He also thinks stealthy on his feet and is able to improvise whenever something unexpected occurs. When Cassio takes hold of Desdemona's hand before the arrival of the Moor Othello, Iago says, "With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio." [II, i, 163] This language demonstrates the evil inside Iagos goals of retrieving absolute power. He actually even says of himself, "I am an honest man...." [II, iii, 245] Iago slowly corrupts the characters thoughts, creating ideas in their minds without implicating himself. His "medicine works! Thus credulous fools are caught...." [II, i, 44] "And what's he then that says I play the villain, when this advice is free I give, and honest," [II, iii, 299] says Iago. In turn, people rarely stop to consider the fact that old Iago could be deceiving and manipulating them; yet they are convinced that he is "Honest Iago." From these quotes from Othello it is proven that the dialogue used between Iago and the others is manipulative causing an evil outcome.
Iago’s jealousy and hatred prompt him to plot revenge, and dishonor Cassio. A cloud of hatred so thick settles into Iago’s mind, compromising any shred of humanity he has left. This is proved when Iago convinces Roderigo to try and assassinate Cassio, by telling him “none can be so determinate as the removing of Cassio” (4.2.227).
The play “The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice” by William Shakespeare is often listed among the greatest stories of tragedies which explores numerous controversial topics including Inter-racial marriage, racism, jealousy and revenge. While the titular character Othello is the protagonist of the story and definitely does occupy a large part of the play, the real focus of the play is on the ‘ingenuous’ Iago who makes everyone dance on his fingers and successfully manipulates them. The “Honest” Iago is someone who genuinely hates the moor. There have been numerous people who have disliked Othello, but none like Iago. Iago swears he will break Othello. He swears he will bring about the fall of Othello. During moments where Iago reflects on his actions he convinces himself he has a cause of action based on 3 ideas. Namely, the rumor of his wife sleeping with Othello, the selection of Cassio based solely on favoritism and just plain jealousy. While an average person just might confront Othello about a rumor of this kind, Iago slyly manages to destroy Othello’s life through lies and manipulation. Iago sees his actions as legitimate and necessary and believes what he is doing is reasonable. But even though, throughout the play, everyone adores Iago for his loyalty and honesty, it is only in the end where his true nature is revealed and he is disclosed to be responsible not only for killing his own wife, but also for almost murdering Cassio and successfully manipulating