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Iago's role in Othello
Explain Iago role in the play of Othello
The theme of manipulation in othello
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Recommended: Iago's role in Othello
Iago’s Scheming in Othello
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 Shakespeare's Othello.
In the opening scene, Iago provokes Brabantio against Othello by means of his pawn, Roderigo, and constantly stages the scene, ensuring that everything goes according to his plan. Iago realizes that Brabantio is very susceptible to attacks on his daughter; Iago uses Roderigo as a dummy, through whom he makes such antagonizing claims: "An old black ram / is tupping your white ewe" and "your daughter and the Moor are now / making the beast with two backs" (1.1.90, 121). By inflaming Brabantio's protective nature as a father, Iago directs Brabantio's wrath towards Othello while using Roderigo as a front. Iago successfully bends an unwitting Brabantio to the common goal of destroying Othello.
The climax of Iago's power occurs during Iago's successful attempts to convince Othello - against the poor Moor's better judgment - that Desdemona fails to be loyal and that Othello differs too greatly from his fellow citizens to be a part of the Venetianworld. Iago craftily inflames Othel...
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... that Iago felt compelled to engineer to perfection and totality; and once Iago's plan falls short of his mark, his pawns grow out of his control and finally expose his dark scheming.
Fragility permeates Iago's liminal existence and, as shown, he has to be omnipresent in order to execute and oversee every aspect of his plan. His ambition leads to his downfall; modest desires for revenge blossom into extravagant and uncontrollable machinations which necessitate the deaths of all those involved. Iago finds it impossible to manipulate everyone at every moment, and for this sole reason, fails to bring his plan into full fruition.
Work Cited
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice (from Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, sixth edition. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.
“I am not what I am,” proclaims one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most enigmatic villains, Iago, in the tragedy Othello. Iago’s journey for revenge enables him to become capable of immoral acts, and whilst his malevolence excites us, we are no more intrigued by his attributes than we are of the play’s tragic hero, Othellos’. Rather, both characters’ confrontation with jealousy and their subsequent moral demise as a result of failing to control such an emotion provides the true excitement for audiences. Iago’s spiteful manipulation of Othello makes him a multifaceted character — whose corrupt attributes make the audience examine their own morality. However, the same can be said of Othello; his failure to withstand Iago’s ‘pouring of pestilence’
The events occurring in other scenes in Act I lead Brabantio to speak that mind-morphing line to Othello. Brabantio wakes up abruptly by Roderigo and Iago telling Brabantio that his daughter, Desdemona, marries Moor Othello without Brabantio's blessing. Iago yells, “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe [. ]” (I.i. 90-91). The. The harsh wording creatively constructs nefarious imagery in both the audience’s and Brabantio’s minds.
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
Like with many evil personalities in history and literature the question is always asked did he really plan to make this happen or was it just luck and convenient circumstances, was it intentional or just circumstantial. To determine how good Iago really is at plotting and whether it is really his own influence or just lucky circumstances that cause events I will examine his asides, soliloquies and interaction with key characters because they give an extra insight into his character.
This paper will prove that Iago has one clear motive and reason for his madness. Iago is not looking for justification that causes him to act the way he does. There is much more to Iago. He is not a man of only excuses, he has goals with his motives, which causes him to act the way he does. As early as the first scene of the play, Iago shows us strong motives for his actions.
Iago and Othello plan to murder Desdemona and Cassio. Instead, Iago once again betrays his word and sets Othello up for failure and the evil that lurks within this stage devours Othello. The mighty dragon which the hero must slay at the end of the journey proves to be Iago himself all along which kills Othello ending his journey before he can even finish it. Manipulation is Iago’s ultimate power, “he frequently takes the audience or reader into his confidence, manipulates his prey, and watches his deceptions wreak havoc”
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.
If there is no control, food will be an issue. If the United States cannot grow twice the amount of food that it is right now, than the U.S. will have more starving people. With overpopulation in effect, the human race would not have to worry about food shortages. Mr. Andrew Sharpless [sic] states,
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, Iago demonstrates a mastery of manipulation over people who had previously trusted and confided in him. His sudden turn from Othello’s loyal ensign to rage-filled villain seems indicative of a man who can no longer accept his position in life. Iago’s plotting of Othello’s demise starts as idle talk of a disgruntled 28 year-old career military man passed over for promotion. Iago believes that such a promotion may never come after Othello rejects his candidacy and makes it clear that he did not believe him suitable. He sees Othello is only concerned with personal and political gain with his choice of Cassio as lieutenant. When Iago teams with love-scorned and desperate Roderigo, he begins to construct Othello’s downfall. Iago is declaring an all-out covert war on Othello, Cassio, and anyone else who gets in his way. In Iago’s first speech in Act I Scene II, he proclaims hatred for Othello and lays out his plan for seeking vengeance. “After some time, to abuse Othello’s ears that he is too familiar with his wife (Shakespeare 1473).”
... that people, who all along look up to him and call him "honest" Iago, realize this. Being a Shakespearean tragedy, Iago and—ultimately—evil, triumphs.
Despite the negative foregrounding of Othello’s character by Iago, our first impressions of Othello in Act 1 are of a noble and well-spoken man, his nobility is conveyed through his speech ‘most potent grave and reverend signiors’(1.3.76) to his future father-in-law Brabantio of Othello’s love for his daughter Desdemona in Act 1 Scene 3. This is a very different character to what we expect from Iago’s preparation for the introduction of Othello. Where we are expecting an angry and possibly violent character, we instead are met with something completely surprising, a quiet and calm man who dismisses Roderigo’s insult and even avoids the prospect of a conflict.
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.
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).
Humankind will always have to overcome challenges. Three key challenges that we are currently facing and require immediate action are overpopulation, land use, as well as cultural conflicts. These issues have been prevalent topics in the media in recent years. Unless we start taking the steps to address these concerns, we will continue to see these topics in the media for years to come.
Iago, the evil villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is more than just a villain. In many ways he is the most intelligent and appealing character in the play. Iago shows superiority over the rest of the characters in the play. He has the ability to manipulate the characters in the play, therefore controlling the play with every sequence of events. His intelligence shines through his ability to deceive, his ability to strategize, and his ability to twist the truth. Iago is appealing to the characters of the pay because he gives them what they want. Iago is appealing to the reader as well. His character is totally unconflicted about being evil, making him known to some authors as the villain of all villains. Iago is, in many ways, the most intelligent and appealing character in the play.