Since the dawn of time, people have always manipulated others for their self-absorbed needs. Some did it to gain wealth, fame, or power and some for the sake of doing it. In William Shakespeare’s play, “Othello”, a character named Iago manipulates the people surrounding him for his twisted purposes of gaining higher status and for entertainment. He tries to convince Othello that his wife is cheating behind his back; he brands Cassio as the cheater, fools Roderigo into believing him, which leads to his death and finally, kills his own wife, Emilia. Iago’s motive for controlling these people is to plot out revenge for the enjoyment of doing so, making him a schadenfreude, and also to gain higher status. The word schadenfreude refers to people that enjoy watching others misfortune, and gets pleasure out of it. There isn’t a better word to describe Iago other than this; he is the pinnacle of evil as he feeds Roderigo lies in order to get his help and money, but in the end, Iago does what he we expected him to, stab Roderigo in back. In Act I Scene III, Iago states,
I have told thee often, and I retell thee again and again, I hate the Moor.
In the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare, a character named Iago thrives to a great extent, not to better himself, but simply for enjoyment. He successfully convinces his general, Othello, that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him, which leads Othello to kill her. His attempt at getting rid of Cassio by branding him the cheater was ultimately unsuccessful, and he tricks Roderigo into giving him money in exchange for Desdemona’s love. Though, we all know it did not happen as Iago back stabbed Roderigo. And lastly, he kills his wife, Emilia for no apparent reason. The play goes to show how corrupted we can be without have a hint of motivation other than boredom. As they say some people like to watch the world burn, and so did
Iago is not an irrational, mentally unstable sociopath who goes around killing people for pleasure. Yet, it also can’t be agreed that Iago is quite physiologically sound. He is an extremist who has reasons for his misdemeanors, though they aren’t necessarily the ones he claims. Some of his faults can be connected/traced to environmental factors, his life lived unloved and self-doubt as a result.
Othello by William Shakespeare was given the wrong name; this play is about Iago and the many tricks he uses to get his revenge. Othello is a powerful and important man, but Iago, Iago is one of a kind. He is a manipulative character that ruins the lives of people close to him, people who trust him. The lives of important key roles are ruined because of the hatred and jealousy Iago has for Othello. How does Iago manage to manipulate so many people in Othello? While successfully controlling the lives of everyone Iago manages to use ethos, logos, and pathos to get his revenge.
Ways that Iago Manipulates Othello in Act Three Scene Three in Othello by William Shakespeare
Language and imagination are among the most dangerous weapons Iago has at his disposal in Othello. Jealous and angered by Othello’s - his commanding officer - passing over him for a promotion, Iago develops a fierce, antagonistic perspective the aforementioned character; this sentiment quickly corrupts his volition, and he subsequently concocts a plot bent on destroying Othello. He renders this revenge scheme credible by concealing his true feelings behind a facade of loyalty and trustworthiness, and fabricating a fictitious story concerning the infidelity of Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Until the play concludes, Iago utilizes purposeful rhetoric to drive his agenda, and also a mastery of deception to mislead the minds of his targets.
The events that occur in the first half of Act 1 are all in anticipation of the lead character Othello who we are not immediately introduced too. We learn Iago’s name in the second line of the play and Roderigo’s soon after, but Othello is not mentioned by his name once. Instead he is referred to as ‘he’, ‘him’ and is frequently described as ‘the moor’ (1.1.58) he is also described as having ‘thick lips’ (1.1.67) and later as being a ‘Barbary horse’ (1.1.111) is continuously described by his critics, mainly Iago, as a ‘moor’, demonstrating Iago’s frequently concerning nature of race and also portraying Othello as something of an alien. From this reference we are able to immediately understand Iago’s true feelings and motives for Othello.
In Othello, Iago uses his fine reputation as an “honest man” and Othello’s insecurities to manipulate him and carry out his master plan of destroying Cassio, Othello, and Desdemona. Iago’s insight towards the other characters’ weaknesses enables him to let them know exactly what they want to hear, which helps him gain their trust. He plays upon the insecurities of others to maneuver them into carrying out the actions he needs done in order to fulfill his own desires. In looking at Othello, we will consider the Othello’s blind acceptance of “the truth” as it is presented to him and find that when we blindly take another’s “truth” and accept it as our own, we merely become tools utilized by the person who gave us that supposed truth and give up the power of being ourselves—we fail to assert a self. Iago is angry because Othello chose Cassio to hold a position which he thinks he deserves, so he seeks revenge by playing upon Othello’s main flaw—his lack of trust—and putting Cassio in a position that would turn Othello against him.
Iago wanted Othello’s position and used others to shame Othello and gain stature. Iago dressed himself up a trustworthy man and worked his way into Othello’s trust with tricks and lies. He wore a very convincing mask; often temporarily defending the person he was trying to ruin to further his honest visage. He says to Othello, “Men should be what they seem…” (3.3.127) through these methods, Iago convinces Othello that Cassio, an officer, was having an affair with Othello’s beautiful wife Desdemona. As a vicious result, Othello is driven mad with anger and sadness and throttles Desdemona in their bed. The death and want left by Iago’s deception is vast hurting everyone involved most frequently on a mortal level. When the truth finally comes out, Othello, in his grief and remorse, ends up stabbing himself with a dagger. In the end, many die due to Iago’s deception, through villainy or despair, and none gain what they truly want because of it. This just goes to show that the mask of deception that a man wears can cause an unbelievable amount of harm, bodily and worse,
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 naïve 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 has “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289). Iago is so angry that Othello didn’t give him the promotion that was given to Cassio that he plans to seek revenge against Othello. He seeks his revenge against Othello by manipulating and lying to all of the people around him including his closest friend Roderigo, Cassio, Othello’s wife Desdemona and even his own wife Emilia. In the end, Iago’s lies and manipulation led to the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, Othello and Desdemona. This isn’t the first time many of these individual characteristics have shown up in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
Is he a heartless man who’s only happiness is to bring sorrow upon others? No, Iago has a just reason for what he does, even though he causes the deaths of Cassio, Emilia, and Desdemona in his search for revenge; Iago is not a heartless fiend, just a man wronged. Fred West addresses the fact of Iago misrepresentation, “It is not sufficient to simply drape Iago in allegorical trappings and proclaim him Mister Evil or a Machiavel or a Vice. Such a limited view of Iago is an injustice to the complexity of his character, since Shakespeare’s studies in personality are acclaimed by psychologists for their accuracy and profundity” (27). West seems to be reminding us that just seeing Iago as the representation of evil within the play of “Othello” is the wrong way to paint him.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago depicted a tragic villain, who, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge stated, displayed a “motiveless malignancy.” As indicated throughout the play, Iago’s actions were fueled by anger and jealousy, but there was never a “good reason” for sabotaging Othello’s happiness because Iago received no benefit for his manipulative deeds. If there was a kingdom to gain or treasures to take, Iago’s actions would have been more understandable, if not reasonable to the readers. Ironically, Iago’s unjustifiable motives were the elements that gave him access to his manipulative journey. From the beginning of the play, it was quite important to note that Iago did not plan to murder Othello, he wanted to serve as the adroit manipulator
what he is going to do. In Act 1 Scene 1, he uses animal imagery such
In this tragedy, Othello, Shakespeare, has created a villain who behaves in this manner. Iago’s hatred, method of revenge, and vengeful hatred are the reasons for the lives lost in this play and the reasons that led to Iago’s downfall. Iago’s hatred of Othello and Cassio causes him to seek revenge, and he is able to succeed because his victims are too innocent to suspect him. Iago is a Machiavellian Shakespearean character who cunningly convinces his victims of his full moral support and proves his innocence in a way that his victims do not suspect him. When Cassio finishes his conversation with Desdemona about how he will not have his job back, Iago unfolds his mischievous plan against Desdemona when he says that, “so will I turn her virtue into pitch, And out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all” (Shakespeare, 49).
William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, addresses how an individual's identity shapes his or her actions, and how an identity can be manipulated in order to fit one’s agenda. We see a great deal of identity manipulation with the character of Iago. Spurred by jealousy and revenge, Iago, a master manipulator and the villain of the story, juggles multiple identities in an effort to tear two lovers, Desdemona and Othello, apart. Iago lies to, and influences many characters in the play, however he manages to never be confronted about his manipulative actions. When Iago is first introduced, he forebodes that his actions will not blatantly reflect his intentions during the play. In order to establish that he is not what he appears
Corruption overcomes the Venetian society as Iago uses his crafty skills of deceit. The plan to have Othello turn against the ones he loves is the perfect example of evils nature. The power struggle is evident between these two. This situation is the start to Iagos plan to corrupt the society and take Othellos place. The root of Iagos evil is jealousy indeed, in turn changing into a power hungry manipulator. Iago is tired of acting like one "courteous and knee-crooking knave" like he always appears to be [I. i. 46]. Since Iago is reluctant to choose to be a master, he is the servant that bites off the fame and "keep yet their hearts attending on themselves," still showing his service to his master but instead is more self-preserving with no attachments at all towards the master [I. i. 52]. Irony is used diligently in Shakespeares unique language style.
Manipulation is viewed in a negative light in society, but if used correctly, such as advertisement, can be quite effective. Despite the fact that Iago is considered to be Othello’s right-hand man, he uses conniving and manipulation to get revenge, shaping every odd occurrence and event to his own cowardly schemes. Iago gets inside of Othello’s mind and uses his jealousy and persecution as the Moor against him. He controls Rodrigo and ultimately destroys his reputation as well as influences Cassio when he is depressed. Iago figures out ways to manipulate multiple characters in Shakespeare’s play Othello using their faults - jealousy, control, and pride – to obtain his wants and desires.