Iago as Clever and Manipulative and Othello as Brave by Gullible
To decide how far I agree with this assessment of the characters I
will analyse their language and behaviour throughout the play to help
me draw a conclusion.
Iago can be seen as very clever as he uses events as they occur to his
own benefit. When Emilia finds Desdemona’s handkerchief Iago takes
advantage of her and forces her to give it to him so he can plant it
in Cassio’s room to provide evidence of Cassio’s and Desdemona’s
affair. This is a very ruthless action and the quick wittedness
confirms a very intelligent character.
The audience know Iago is very manipulative from the very opening
scene as he manages to manipulate Roderigo into telling Brabantio
about Othello’s and Desdemona’s secret marriage. Iago tricks Roderigo
into thinking that he is helping him although it is the other way
around, and these actions are only to benefit Iago.
Iago can be seen as a villain as he is totally evil. He is willing to
sacrifice anyone for his own ends. He is will even kill his own wife
so not to be exposed of all the malicious things he had done to
Othello, Desdemona, Cassio and Roderigo.
Before the audience meets Othello it is known that he is a brave
soldier as the Duke calls he valiant and the senators call him brave.
The audience then meet Othello and again see the image of him being
brave as Othello tells the Duke that he won Desdemona’s heart when he
shared all his victorious war stories.
Othello can be said to be a gullible fool as he is a bad judge of
character concerning Iago. Initially Othello can be seen as a good
judge of character because he gives Cassio his second lieutenant and
Iago third. Although as “honest” Iago sets to work making Othello
doubt he is very convincing and giving the evidence I think even the
least gullible person would begin to doubt their relationship.
Desdemona helps Iago unwittingly by constantly pushing Othello to give
In Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago Is shown to be the villain. With the cunning use of his brilliance and manipulation, he is able to orchestrate an entire plot to take his revenge on Othello the center of all his ill tempered aggression. By lying to characters like Roderigo and many others, including his wife, in order to
Othello is such a gullible character with so much trust in the wrong people. He trusts Iago before he trusts his own wife, Desdemona; he let Iago get into his mind. Iago arises any doubt Othello has for anyone he ever trusted making them all seem untrustworthy. More then anything Iago uses pathos to appeal to emotion. “ But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at. I am not what I am” (Othello, Shakespeare, Act I Scene I Line 65-66). Iago talks about being open and honest; although this is not true it makes the other characters feel secure. Othello is a strong character, but Iago is his downfall. Blinded by jealousy and questions Othello will no longer trust Desdemona nor Cassio, because of this he will meet his
In Othello, Iago is Shakespeare’s most malicious character and serves as a vehicle to these two themes. Iago despises Othello; he has a strong will to destroy Othello’s life, yet the motive behind his plan goes unexplained. Iago is a great manipulator of the tongue and lies to everyone in order to advance his plan; however, every character in the play considers Iago an honest character, and Othello even associates Iago with light and eyesight. Othello continuously asks Iago to explain or make something clearer. Until the very end, Iago appears to be honest and helpful to the other characters, but underneath this seemingly harmless façade, Iago is a demon with the strongest will; he will stop at nothing until he ruins Othello’s life. Iago uses a positive appearance to enact his
Iago has everyone fooled into believing that he is a noble honest man. Without this
...g all the evidence, it is clear that Iago demonstrates numerous Machiavellian traits. He is strategic in the way he structures his delivery of information and in his timing. He is well-spoken and able to quickly devise convincing arguments. He is deceitful, using people against one another and pretending to be a loyal friend to disguise his own ambitions. Finally, he has a clear understanding of the psychology of other characters and the ability to manipulate this knowledge. While Iago may be a Shakespearean villain, he is undeniably Machiavellian as well.
Iago can be seen as manipulative and cunning which is one of many aspects of a psychopath. In
Othello is tied to Iago by strings of doubt, jealousy, and anger towards this woman who emasculated him by supposedly sleeping with another man. Had Othello refused to immediately believe Iago’s accusations, not only verbally, but mentally and physically as well, he would have figured out that they were lies and it was actually “honest Iago” who was deceitful, not his wife. In this world we must be prepared to question everything and everyone because everybody has some selfishness in them and will be willing to go to great extremes to reach the top, even if it means objectifying others and using them to their advantage. When we blindly believe others, we give them a power over us that only we should have, therefore it is best to keep their “truth” in consideration, but remember never to fail to at least attempt to confirm that truth and create our own. When we do fail to attempt this is when we give up our individuality and become as equally inanimate as a tool that those who do choose to create truth will use and toss away.
In the play, Othello, written by William Shakespeare Iago is one of the most unique and interesting characters. Not only is Iago a main character, but he is also one of the most controversial, causing more drama and quarrels than any other character in the play. Shakespeare does a good job with the character of Iago by creating an atmosphere where Iago can keep the reader's attention on each and every individual scene throughout the entire play, as one tries to figure out Iago's true intentions. When reading the play it is easy for an individual to view Iago as an evil person who gets pleasure from malicious acts he inflicts upon others around him.
One of the main reasons Iago is so successful at manipulating others is because they are too guileless to realize that he is taking advantage of them. Cassio still comes to Iago for advice after Iago rats him out and gets him fired.
What makes a good villain? What qualities make one villain stand out from another? Is it their demeanor, ruthlessness, or the methods that they employ to accomplish their tasks? In any case, a great villain must leave the reader with a respect for their methods and a question about their motives. In Shakespeare's Othello, there is one character in Iago that fulfills all of these qualifications. Iago is a wonderful villain because he gains other's trust, relentlessly takes advantage of his peers' flaws, and unapologetically causes the deaths of his counterparts in order to achieve his goals.
Iago, manipulative and complicated depicts the villain in the play Othello. He sucks the resources out of the characters in a non literal sense planting seeds in their mind allowing them grow by using lies and deceptions. Throughout the play he gradually gains more power through the cultivating of ideas in the characters minds within the play using what he has planted and going off that. Although, Iago didn’t plan his actions in a personal planner or a step by step table he did structure a strategic sketch that formulated into a brilliant scheme.
On closer examination, throughout the play we see Iago manipulating all the characters in turn; this shows that he is an expert master manipulator for everyone to be deceived by him. When reading this play we don’t expect Othello to be as easily manipulated by Iago as he was.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the antagonist and villain who causes all the trouble and disorder. Othello is the protagonist, and is the main person Iago’s destruction and revenge is aimed towards. Othello is nave and gives everybody his trust even though he may not know them or they haven’t earned his trust yet. He often refers to Iago as “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289).
Iago’s magnificent intelligence and superiority make him a very intriguing character. Iago is not just any villain that comes into a town, with a black cape and knife that scares everyone, he destroys and “kills” by using creative tactics that could only be thought of by someone who is brilliant. He deceives, strategizes, and twists the truth with amazing ease. Iago maintains his on point intelligence by staying completely unconflicted about being evil. Iago is completely committed as he states, “[He will] turn her virtue into pitch, / And… make the net / That shall enmesh them all” (II. Ii. 366-368). Iago is considered a cross between God and the Devil, as shown in the, “Divinity of Hell!” (!!. ii. 356)
Iago is a very cunning and mischievous person and his words reflect his character. This speech is when Iago begins to speak about his devious plot. Iago very bluntly says, “I follow him to serve my turn upon him”(Shakespeare), and this quote perfectly sums up Iago’s tone. He is very proud of his nature and had no problem with detailing his plot to others. This shows just how confident Iago is in his actions. He feels like he can boast about his plot before he knows how the situation will end. Iago is also very proud of his unfaithfulness when he says, “In following him, I follow but myself”(Shakespeare). Iago thinks his two timing qualities are something to be proud of. What Iago takes pride in shows just how flawed he is as a human being.