Act Three: Iago's Deception Of Othello '

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Essay Act Three: Othello

POINTS POSSIBLE : 60 points
DEADLINE : Monday, 02/13 by end of day TURNED IN on Google Classroom

In a short essay that contains…

(1) a brief introduction and thesis
(2) two body paragraphs (2 pieces of evidence per paragraph at minimum)
(3) a brief conclusion (2-3 sentences)

...discuss the following:

Over the course of Acts 1-3, Othello dramatically transforms from a husband who trusts his wife implicitly - so much so that he says to Brabantio in Act 1, “My life upon her faith!” (1.3.335) - to a man who is driven so mad with jealousy that he claims “I’ll tear her all to pieces” (3.3.490).

As we will in class, both Iago and Othello play a role in Iago’s deception of Othello.

Select the two factors that you …show more content…

Iago has been working with Othello for a long time, so they have a certain level of loyalty to each other. Because of this, Othello believes most of the things Iago says, especially when Iago is trying to help with Othello’s relationship with Desdemona. Iago brings up that he was in Cassio’s house while he was sleeping and he heard Cassio speak during a dream and say, “Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary; let us hide our loves” (219). This evidence that Iago brings up is enough to get Othello angry that Desdemona has been spending time with Cassio and it truly makes Othello believe that there is something romantic happening between them. By Cassio supposedly saying, “Let us hide our loves,” in his dream, it is evident that he wants his relationship with Desdemona to be secret and he doesn’t want Othello to know (219). This makes Othello even more suspicious about Cassio and Desdemona spending time together. By Cassio being so secretive, Othello believes that Desdemona is being secretive as well and this leads to extremely jealousy as well as hatred. However, the final straw that breaks Othello is when Desdemona isn’t able to produce the handkerchief that he gave her. This angers him greatly because that was the most sacred token of their love. When Iago is talking to Othello, he says that he saw “a handkerchief-I am sure it was your …show more content…

When Iago attempts to turn Othello against Desdemona and Cassio, he brings out a jealous and insecure version of Othello; this side of him has always been there, but he tried to hide it in order to be strong and confident. After finding proof that Cassio has been seeing Desdemona, Othello becomes hateful towards Desdemona and he loses all respect and love for her. These situations show that even the strongest of relationships can be harmed when others get involved and attempt to manipulate feelings. When Iago gets involved in Desdemona and Othello’s relationship, he makes Othello jealous and causes him to lose his trust in

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