In Act 3 Scene 3, how does Iago persuade Othello of Desdemona’s supposed infidelity?
Act 3 Scene 3 is, arguably, the most important scene in the entire play, for it is the point of no return. It is as if for the entire beginning of the play you were pushing a huge boulder up a steep mountain, and in this scene you reach the top, and push it down the other side, helpless to stop it. This is how I see the action in Othello. Iago spends the whole time plotting, and conspiring with the audience, and in this scene you can actually pinpoint the line where he finally pushes Othello over the edge. Iago manages this in several ways, through imagery, ‘sewing the seed’ in Othello’s mind, and reverse psychology. However all of these ways boil down to one thing, Iago, throughout the play, plays on Othello’s own insecurities about race, and Desdemona.
Iago’s language throughout the scene is very rich and amazingly descriptive so much so that it actually acts as a projector, projecting vivid, clear pictures into the audience’s, and more importantly, Othello’s mind. This is more evident in the later part of the scene, and there is one particular speech I wish to isolate. Iago’s speech, lines 407 to 423, is where the richest image is created in the scene. He is describing a night through which he lay with Cassio, and witnessed a so-called dream. In this dream, Cassio is meant to have said “S...
Patterson, Thomas C. "Tribes, Chiefdoms, and Kingdoms in the Inca Empire.” Power Relations and State Formation (1987): 1-15,117-127.
Iago’s Use of Rhetorical Strategies to Manipulate Othello in Shakespeare’s Othello. Rhetorical strategies are continually used to get a point across, or to manipulate another. Iago uses many devices to put false accusations into Othello’s head. In lines 330-447 in Act 3 scene 3, Iago uses rhetorical questioning, imagery, and sarcasm.
Iago is, in my opinion, the main character, creating the most depth and interest throughout the entire play. Iago is often funny and quite charming throughout the play, but the most captivating part of his personality is his sheer lack of reasoning behind his hatred for Othello. The only two reasons he outwardly conveys in his speech is his anger towards Othello for not allowing him the lieutenant position. Later in the act he believes Othello slept with his wife and proclaims that he must get even. He seemingly seeks revenge on everyone around him and apparently takes joy and pride in whatever havoc he wreaks.
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
	The first scene of Act I illustrates Iago's use of manipulation. Iago knows that Roderigo is upset about losing Desdemona to Othello. Iago himself is angry at Othello for being passed over for promotion to lieutenant for Michael Cassio. Realizing that by playing on Roderigo's jealousy he can gain an ally to work against Othello. Iago does this in a subtle manner. He explains to Roderigo that he was passed up for promotion by Othello. While doing this he makes Othello look inferior by reinforcing the fact that he is a Moor. By pointing out that Othello is a Moor Iago causes Roderigo to become even more jealous, because of the fact that he lost Desdemona to someone who he feels is of a lesser race. It even seems that Iago is toying with Roderigo when he reveals that he is a fraud when he says, "I am not what I am." (I.i.62) By using these tactics, Iago has almost gained total control of Roderigo.
Ways that Iago Manipulates Othello in Act Three Scene Three in Othello by William Shakespeare Othello is a Shakespeare tragedy. I know this because of the convection’s used in the. For example, death, the main characters have good Christian values with a fatal flaw. Othello is a play about a black man.
In the play “The Tragedy of Othello” by Willian Shakespeare, Othello Changes from an intelligent and confident person to a senseless and insecure person. This change in his personality occurs mainly because: Iago plans to ruin his relationship with Desdemona, he was an Outsider, he had bad judgement when it came to trusting people and failed to see reality, his negative thinking about himself and his relationship with Desdemona.
In this first scene we see Othello, a general of Venice, has made Cassio his new lieutenant. Iago feels he truly deserves his promotion as he says "I know my price, I am worth more than a place." "(l.i.12) Iago over here is confused why Othello has made such a stupid decision. Iago is a man with a tremendous ego who knows, sometimes overestimates, his worth. Roderigo, a Venetian gentleman, understands Iago when Iago said that he is "affined to love the Moor. " (l.i.41-42)
Iago’s power of language shines here in that not only does he save Roderigo from killing himself, but he gains his trust to let him be used by Iago however he likes. Although Iago is ultimately caught of his treacherous acts, he nevertheless, stops showing his “power of language”. In front of Othello, who he has manipulated and exploited, he says “From this time forth I will never speak word”(5.2.356), hurting Othello with words for the last time, not speaking the reason for his revenge against him. Iago, shown through his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello, illustrates his mastery of language by manipulating them to let them be exploited for his revenge plan.
Iago has been excellent at saying the what is needed to get to people, he misleads them to get a reaction he wants out of them. He is clever with his words to avoid confrontation that can easily happen. “Othello 's confusion is the human experience of language. In other words, language itself, not the outside world, determines meaning” (Christofides 2). Iago uses his words against Othello to get him to do Iago’s doings. Iago has an eloquence with
The tragedy, "Othello" by William Shakespeare, is not just a play of jealousy. It is a drama about the collision of two worlds. One of them is a world of an absolute cynic, Iago the manipulator. A second world is a world experienced by all the other characters of the tragedy. The ability to understand the true nature of people around Iago makes him quickly navigate the situation. Given by nature, the psychological technique of manipulation, Iago is a master to wear different masks, because he can predict the further course and he is proficient of destroying everything to achieve success.
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.
Iago was the main character who caused all the destruction at the end of the play, however there was always some worries going along in the play because Othello was a black man and he was married to the young, very much younger than him, Desdemona. Who also is a white lady. Neither the less this essay is not about Othello and Desdemona. Iago had Othello believe that Cassio was having an affair with Desdemona. There isn't really any conclusion or reasoning for Iago's doings, perhaps besides the only reason which he knows. And that reason none of us know of. The only conclusion i can come up with on why Iago has done what he done is because he was looking out for himself. This reminds me of a saying i use to always hear. "Nothing is going to happen for yourself unless you make it happen yourself." I don't know if Iago knew what the outcome of his doings would be, which was death for him, but i do believe he did the things he did because he was looking out for himself.
Iago can be viewed as the narrator of this play. He is left alone on stage several times trough out the play to more or less speak to the audience. One such instance is the last part of the first act where Iago devisee’s his plan of attack on every character in the play. At this point the only reason we have seen for his anger is that he has not been appointed Othello’s lieutenant, despite his recommendations. “But for my sport and profit, I hate the moor…”(1.3.365). It is obvious that Iago is the villain in the play. But this line is very important. Iago hates Othello it seems because of his unapointed position. This line asks us, the audience, a good question: does Iago hate Othello enough to go trough all the trouble creating enemies of the entire cast? There could have been much simpler ways to get at Othello without dragging everyone else into the picture. Also after Rodrigo lost his luetiency it would have been simple for Iago to fill the newly vacant position. I believe, as the line says, Iago hates Othello only for amusement. “But for my sport and profit…” (1.3.365) Iago engages in the act of hating not because he has a disregard for Othello. Iago engages in the act of hating only to hate, whether it be Othello or his own mother. Iago hates for his own “sport and profit.” thus understand this concept of Iago puts a whole new spin on the evil which consumes him.
The turning point of the play Othello resides in Act 3. This key point consists of Iago slyly tricking Othello into believing that his own wife Desdemona was betraying him. Up until this event Othello had continually been portrayed as a intelligent, strong, and confident man. While the former two still stand true, the latter has been proven false throughout the entirety of Act 3. One of the most significant reasons for Othello to so quickly trust Iago and his manipulative nature is his lack of confidence socially. While Othello is a strong military man with many tales of battles he’s fought in, he lacks the confidence he possessed in those scenarios when he is engaging with the other characters in the play.