Reading is, by no means, a passive process. In fact, readers are active and participating members that utilize their own experiences and consciousness when consuming a publication. They unknowing collaborate with the author in the portrayal of the final project, and essentially decide whether a piece earns applause or disdain. Of course, the balance of responsibility is unequal between a reader and an author, with the former carrying most of the weight. Even in the case of an author of inarguable and unparalleled esteem, such as William Shakespeare, it is ultimately up to the reader to decide how to interpret his musings. Consequently, Shakespeare's own notions only go so far. Furthermore, the limited extension of Shakespeare’s power is especially …show more content…
Consequently, Iago conjures up one of his craftiest concoctions yet, which consists of him enlisting yet another malleable woman, a local prostitute named Bianca. Aside from being a prostitute, she also occupies the role of being a clingy companion of Cassio. Therefore, the ever-brilliant Iago is aware of how of a women such as Bianca is regarded by society, and capitalizes on this disdain to lead Cassio into a conversation of degradation. Of course, in classic Iago fashion, he has carefully placed Othello nearby, and when Othello hears Cassio state, “she hangs and lolls and weeps upon me, so shakes and pulls me. Ha, ha, ha!”, he assumes they are conversing about his beloved Desdemona(181). As a result, Iago’s ingenious inclusion of Bianca effectively affirms Cassio and Desdemona’s affair. This singular scenario alone can illustrate Iago’s craftiness, from which my apparent adulation stems. The sheer fact that Iago could simultaneously, and flawless, maneuver the presence of three separate individuals is impressive in itself. Simply to pull off this stunt, Iago had to recognize Othello’s tragic flaw, jealousy, and he had to understand the relationship between Cassio and Bianca. If even one aspect of Iago’s observations was incorrect, his entire scheme would have fallen apart. Furthermore, if he was unable to control the way Cassio would speak …show more content…
However, he can not simply just be brushed off as being ‘bad’. Instead, Iago is highly dynamic, immorally charismatic, romantically grotesque, and is by far among the most compelling literary characters that I have ever studied. Iago possesses an unparalleled brilliance that allows him to infiltrate the minds of others in a warfare-like tactic, that ironically likely would have made him a superb lieutenant in the Venetian army. He demonstrates this ingenuity is a series of sinister schemes where he malevolently manipulates various women in the play, including: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. After reading these scenarios, the only sentiment to describe my reaction is “awe”. I truly adulate Iago and his mind, but out of fear of ending up similar to Emilia, I will maintain my distance. Nonetheless, Iago will always occupy a connotation of greatness in Othello and my
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
Iago is the perfect villain in the sense that he is a true outsider from humanity. You can almost respect him in the fact that he can do such wrong with absolutely no recognition of the destruction he has caused. Plus he is able to manipulate people’s good qualities such as trust and love and use them for his own immoral benefit. It may be that Iago himself does not possess any of these good qualities so he cannot understand goodness or it might be that he is merely jealous of the beautiful relationships and noble people surrounding him and he has had enough. Whatever the reason, Iago purposely puts himself outside of humanity because he is egotistical in nature and feels that he deserves to disrespect everyone.
Iago was all the contrary, he was intimate with his victims, he knew how to manipulate each person and take advantage of their weakness with the security and determination in his words. Iago is extremely brilliant and creative while undermining Desdemona’s integrity, creating a tense environment for everyone so he made them sensible enough to believe his lies.
In the first scene, he expresses his anger toward Othello for not choosing him to the position of lieutenant and instead choosing the much younger and unexperienced Cassio. Jealous and resentful Iago wants everyone else to feel how he does so he plans to manipulate the other characters. He manipulates Othello by using his own fears against him and he also takes advantage of his insecurities. Iago makes groundless accusations toward Othello, for example by saying “It is thought abroad that ’twixt my sheets / He has done my office” (I.iii.369–370). Claiming that Othello slept with his wife, Emilia. Later on in the play Iago mentions that he wants to go after Desdemona because Othello went after his wife, he wants to get even he expresses this by saying “wife for wife”
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.
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.
.... Bianca’s timing with the scarf and Cassio’s reaction to marrying Bianca are opportunities not created by Iago. He is shown to possess amazingly quick wit when manipulating his environment around him. Iago’s sly ways of manipulation are what changes him from a dislikeable villain to an almost anti-hero type of character.
Implicitly targeting Othello’s doubts about marrying Desdemona and insecurities about her actions with infidelity, Iago eventually impacts Othello enough that the General himself confides in Iago about his own wife. Earlier in the play, ‘honest Iago’ needs to first gain Othello’s confidence and he does so by expressing his loyalty to Cassio, “I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth/ Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio”, while Othello is present in a conflict (2.3. 203-204). Then, later in the play Iago baits Othello by suggesting that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Immediately, Othello wants more information; however, Iago nervously responds with, “…vicious in my guess-/ As I confess…” and tries to calm Othello by saying, “My noble lord-” (3.3 46-47, 93). When voicing his devotion to Cassio, Iago immediately begins to play on his false reputation as ‘honest Iago’. He enables Othello, and his fellow characters, to think highly of him and to respect that even when his partner, Cassio, has not been following orders, Iago would even endure physical pain and have his “tongue cut from [his] mouth” and proves his locality (2.3. 203). This leads to when Iago responds to Othello’s queries, about
Iago is one of the most complex characters in William Shakespeare’s Othello. To most of the characters, he is “Honest Iago” (Shakespeare, 5.2.73). however, the audience knows that Iago is the furthest thing from honest. Iago is a devil bent on destroying the lives of everyone around him. At the beginning of the play, the audience learns that Iago is determined to ruin Othello’s marriage to Desdemona. He has appointed a new lieutenant, Michael Cassio. This angers Iago because he feels that he has much more military experience and should be the lieutenant. Iago has also heard rumours that both Othello and Cassio have slept with his wife Emilia. He concocts a malicious plan to ruin the lives of all who have wronged him, and consequently establishing
of being an honest man. Iago knew that an important man like Othello couldn’t ignore. the possibility that his wife was cheating on him. Nobody suspects that Iago is a deceitful man and would plot and plan to destroy Othello, Cassio and Desdemona in such a way. cunning way to go.
Iago has a sophisticated way of deceiving the characters of the play, making him a very intelligent person. Early in the play Othello introduces Iago to the Duke of Venice as, “My ancient / A man he is of honesty and trust” (!. iii. 284-85). This is but one of the times in the play that Iago is referred to as honest and true. Throughout the play Iago is considered to be honest, but is actuality the villain. In order to maintain this false image one has to have a beguiling character. After Othello and his lieutenant, Michael Cassio, return from the war against the Ottomans, there is a celebration. At this celebration Iago puts his manipulation to work. He knows that Othello and Desdemona’s love for each other is very true, but he tells Rodrigo that Desdemona had love for Cassio: “With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. / Ay, smile upon her, do…” (II. I. 164-65). This quote shows that Iago deceives Roderigo into believing that Desdemona loves Cassio, when in Roderigo’s eyes it is virtually impossible. Iago basically controls Rodrigo because Iago deceives him into believing that he can have Desdemona, by both Cassio and Othello.
Iago is very determined and emotionless. He brings negative outcomes to every character he comes in contact with. Although Iago characterizes himself as noble, the reader can see him for the villain he is. Throughout the play Iago’s every decision is on how
Her jealousy made her angry, and she demanded proof that Cassio still loved her by asking him to dine with her. Since Iago knew that Bianca and Cassio dined together before Cassio got stabbed, Iago tries to pin the blame on Bianca. If Iago had not been exposed as the real culprit, her jealousy would have allowed her to become another victim of Iago’s plan. Iago had tricked Othello into believing that Desdemona cheated on him with Cassio, thus causing him to become jealous.
Iago, the villainous character of the play Othello uses his soliloquies to reveal what he has in store for the other characters. From the view of the other characters Iago is an honest and trustworthy person who they all seem to confide in and take advice from. Yet by the end of act 1 scene 3, the audience is informed that he appears to be quite the opposite. He is a two faced character who appears evil on the inside and wants to trap the other characters in his destructive web of lies and hatred. While reading the soliloquy it becomes evident as to how evil Iago is;