“Communication to a relationship is like oxygen to life without it…it dies.” This quote, once said by Tony Gaskins, a motivational speaker and author, relates to Shakespeare 's play, Othello, because the lack of communication between Othello and his wife, Desdemona, causes him to kill her. Othello’s motivation to kill his wife was manipulated by Iago’s manipulation into believing she was having an affair with Cassio, Othello’s second in command in the military. Iago’s relationship with his wife, Emilia, also contains this similar lack of communication because he believes Emilia has been unfaithful to him multiple times. The men not communicating their beliefs to the women around them, leads the men into believing other’s rumors. This miscommunication …show more content…
Othello, through Iago’s manipulation and Desdemona’s compliments to Cassio, starts to mistrust his wife because he is convinced she is having an affair and becomes convinced to the point he can not believe his wife’s faithfulness. Iago’s disrespect and cruel views towards women enables him to manipulate Othello because he does not care about the fates of women and would rather not deal with them. Also, Iago hurting his wife both mentally and physically illustrates his mistrust towards his wife because he does not believe his wife is faithful and he hurts her, in efforts to prove his superiority. Lack of communication between spouses in relationships can bring many arguments because they are unwilling to admit their mistakes or admit something bothering them and once it all these emotions boil up inside it can lead to the argument becoming worse. These intense arguments can lead to spouses acting upon emotions, which they will later regret their actions during these fight, but in the moment they are too blinded by emotions realize their mistakes. Miscommunication can also lead to others being labeled based on other’s perspective of the person, which is bad because they might not act that way, but if the person does not confront them then they will always assume the other person’s view of a person is correct, instead of learning the truth by meeting the
This is shown through the manner in which they are both turned away from the truth, the scope of who was being manipulated, and the extent of the manipulation. In Othello, Othello is manipulated by Iago, someone he thinks is his friend, into thinking his wife Desdemona is unfaithful to him. Iago aims to torment Othello until he is able to steal Othello's position of governor. Eventually, this leads to Othello not trusting his wife at all, and saying: “Why, so I can, sir: but I will not now. This is a trick to put me from my suit:
Iago's honest betrayal has left Othello pondering over Desdemona's faithfulness. Believing the words of his most honest ancient, Othello gullibly succumbs to his insinuations of his wife, Desdemona, as being unfaithful. Through Othello's soliloquy, he is not the self-confident General formerly portrayed as. Instead, his indecision over his wife's infidelity has caused him to explore his flaws as a human being, showing signs of appearance versus reality.
Othello, a play by William Shakespeare, tells the tragic tale of the black Venetian general, Othello, and how he is manipulated by his ambitious friend, Iago. Iago becomes angry at Othello when he promotes Michael Cassio rather than Iago to the lieutenancy. Iago then schemes a plot to take down Othello. Iago uses Desdemona, Othello’s new wife, to take down the great general. He leads Othello to considering that his wife is cheating on him with Michael Cassio. This causes Othello to become suspicious and eventually drives Othello into killing Desdemona. In the end, Othello learns that his wife was faithful, and Iago had lied to him. This upsets Othello and causes him to also kill himself. Iago’s many motives are never revealed to the audience or the characters as in the last scene he states, “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word.” (Othello. Act 5 Scene 2: 355-356). In the play Othello, Iago is the master manipulator that formulates devious plots against the characters of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello by using their desires to his advantage to reveal their underlying weaknesses.
Othello is such a gullible character with so much trust in the wrong people. He trusts Iago before he trusts his own wife, Desdemona; he let Iago get into his mind. Iago arises any doubt Othello has for anyone he ever trusted making them all seem untrustworthy. More then anything Iago uses pathos to appeal to emotion. “ But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at. I am not what I am” (Othello, Shakespeare, Act I Scene I Line 65-66). Iago talks about being open and honest; although this is not true it makes the other characters feel secure. Othello is a strong character, but Iago is his downfall. Blinded by jealousy and questions Othello will no longer trust Desdemona nor Cassio, because of this he will meet his
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 more Othello realizes how much would value his future with Desdemona, the more betrayed he feels. Othello begins to think that his entire investment in Desdemona is for naught, transforming Othello’s passion into spite. Iago exploits the underside of deep devotion - jealously. The emotions Othello feels - attachment, jealously, and hate - drives him mad, obscuring the logic of the situation - that Iago is only spreading fantasized rumors about Cassio and Desdemona. Instead of confronting Cassio, Othello accepts Desdemona’s treason as truth. Iago may have mastered Othello’s emotions, but Othello allows his emotions to consume him. People need to confront their feelings and not lose track of logic. Otherwise, even something as sincere as Othello’s fondness for Desdemona can turn one into a
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 The Tragedy of Othello, William Shakespeare tells the tale of the “noble Moor” whose honor and innocence bring about his downfall. Shakespeare writes of the power of jealousy, and the art of masterful deception and trickery. The story primarily takes place in Cyprus, during a war between the people of Venice and the invading Turks. In this play Shakespeare shows the feelings of Othello’s embittered right-hand man of, Iago, who feels he is passed over for a promotion and swears his revenge. He proceeds to manipulate his friends, enemies, and family into doing his bidding without any of them ever realizing his ultimate goal. He makes Othello believe that his new wife, the innocent Desdemona, is committing adultery with his newly promoted officer Michael Cassio. After this seed of jealousy has been planted, Othello’s mind takes its course in determining the true outcome, with a little more nudging from Iago. The course of action he proceeds to follow is one that not only ends his own life, but also the life of his wife and others. In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, Othello is a man who is still truly honorable, despite the course of action he takes to resolve his perceived problem.
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
As Othello is seen being manipulated by mere scandal, his path to betrayal has just begun. In the beginning, Iago’s determination to become a lieutenant drove him to deceive Othello in order to prove Othello’s wrongdoing for not choosing him—resulting in the fall of Othello and his love ones. In Act Ⅳ, scene ⅰ, Iago keeps Othello focused on the disloyalty of Desdemona, in which made Othello get mad by the idea of his wife with another man. The constant support of
The Importance of Language in Othello In the extract being analysed there are numerous instances where
When things get rough people like to avoid talking things over for the fear of finding out the truth and instead keep things locked up, hoping to avoid the pain that could occur. This is true in both Othello and 1984 where the main characters avoid communication and find themselves in many unnecessary, grave situations because of it. Shakespeare's Othello demonstrates the indicated wholly. Othello begins the story with strong communication with his wife, Desdemona, for he trusts her and loves her dearly. However, when Iago, the main antagonist of the play, begins communicating to him that his wife is having an affair, Othello shuts off communication to his wife. Often only acknowledging her to yell or question her over falsified facts that Iago had told him. Othello eventually kills Desdemona, out of jealousy, and then he learns that all Iago told to him was untrue. His communication, and trust, with Iago, makes Othello blind to the communication of others. However, if one character spoke up for what they knew to be false, the entire situation could have been avoided. Primarily Emelia, the main cause for Othello's jealousy was by the missing, and rediscovered, the handkerchief that he had given to his dear Desdemona. Desdemona had misplaced her handkerchief and Emelia had picked it up, “And give 't Iago. What he will do with
Conflict is a major issue in Othello, the source for all the problems in the story all lead back to love and jealousy. Love can be an extremely powerful thing in life. It can easily draw two people closer together or simply destroy something that could have been great. Ironically similar, jealousy can tear something apart just as fast as love can. This timeless tragedy starts out in Venice, with a plot to attain revenge on Othello. Iago and Roderigo are simply jealous with the fact that Othello has promoted Cassio to his lieutenant instead of Iago, along with the bitterness they both shared towards Othello to begin with (Shakespeare for Students, Othello). Together, Iago and Roderigo have come up with a plan to ultimately push Othello over the edge. For starters, Cassio unwillingly has told Iago that he is capable to be easily intoxicated and well obviously Iago uses this information against Cassio. Long story short, Cassio has stirred up a brawl to which in the long run costs him his new status as lieutenant. After all of this goes down Iago, trying to seem like the concerning friend, convinces Cassio to speak with Desdemona, Othello’s new bride, about the situation. Luckily, so Cassio thinks, Desdemona does such and tries to talk with Othello to have his dear friend reinstated. It is possible for people to make mistake. Once again Iago uses Cassio’s ignorance against him. All through the story almost every little detail and event all leads back to the scheme of Iago. Iago is thinking this could not work out better for me, so his next thought of process is that this conversation between Othello and his dear wife Desdemona will make Othello’s mind play tricks on him. Soon there after Othello is advised to keep closer watch of hi...
The problem with Othello is he does not trust his wife but he places all of his trust in Iago. "Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter, making it light to Cassio. Casio I love thee; but never more be officer of mine". (863) He does not see the deception because of the many mask Iago wears. Iago is crafty, smart and witty and with these attributes comes a dangerous man with a dangerous game. Othello, on the other hand, is noble and honest but his jealousy and insecurities is the dominating factor that caused him to not trust his wife.