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To what extent is iago responsible for the tragedy of othello
Iago's role in Othello
Iago's role in the play othello
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Themes of Deception in William Shakespeare's Othello
Deception is one of the main themes running through Othello, along
with love, pride and society. Indeed, it is deception that provides
the fuel for the plot and deception that is leads to the classic
downfall of the 'hero' as is common in Shakespeare tragedies. We see
Macbeth and Hamlet both succumb to downfall.
perhaps the most obvious deception is Iago's deception. The principal
method that Iago uses to convince Othello of Desdemona´s infidelity is
by using one of Othello´s most treasured possessions and telling
Othello that his wife, Desdemona, has given it away to her lover,
Cassio. This treasured possession of Othello´s is a handkerchief,
which "Did an Egyptian to my mother give". The handkerchief is hugely
important to Othello because it is a link back to his mother who also
told Othello to give it to his wife. "She dying gave it me, And bid me
when my fate would have me wive, To give it her". So to Othello this
handkerchief symbolises their perfect union with an almost divine
quality, stating that it has "magic in the web of it". Iago tells
Othello that he saw Cassio wiping his mouth with it, much like a rag.
" I know not that; but such a handkerchief- I am sure it was your
wife´s- did I today. See Cassio wipe his beard with". This crass act,
enhanced by Iago's crass recounting of it, is deliberate to enrage
Othello. Deception can be subtle enough to filter into one's mind
where it grows until the mind is turned over and deceit rules.
Shakespeare is telling us that deception is a seed that must be
planted carefully but has the potential to grow monstrous.
Iago doe...
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...n to see that, in Iago's deception of Othello he is motivated
by his jealousy and subsequent bitterness. In conclusion, it's evident
that Iago is evil for greed's sake, as opposed to evil for evil's
sake. His craving can be seen in his clever manipulation of Roderigo,
Cassio, and Othello. He uses Roderigo for his own financial benefit,
as well as support his master plan; the destruction of Othello. Cassio
was unfortunate enough to be chosen ahead of Iago as Othello's
second-in-command, and was reduced to a deteriorated state by Iago
because of it. Lastly, driven by his bitterness towards Othello for
choosing Cassio over him, Iago takes it upon himself to ensure
Othello's demise. Iago is an extremely complex character, and far from
ordinary. His complexity and uniqueness makes him one of Shakespeare's
greatest villains.
be easily manipulated and influenced by love can take a toll on the weakest and the strongest people living on earth. Manipulation fueled by love is something that is invariably unrecoverable from. Like the rest of society, Othello, a fictional and heart-struck character in the play Othello, let his heart and the people around him manipulate his mind and take advantage of his authority. Dependent on the thoughts of others, Othello is a gullible person with an emotionally unstable nature that would shatter his love for the innocent and graceful Desdemona.
Shakespeare's Use of Deception in Much Ado About Nothing. In the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ the role of deceit is an. important one that is played to its fullest. The play is based upon deliberate deceptions and numerous schemes that are used to manipulate The thoughts of nearly every character and the characters deceive themselves by putting on a different public facade instead of showing their true feelings and personalities.
The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello. Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy, which should have been a love story, speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source of the tragic action in Shakespeare’s
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 is a story of trust, and tragedy. A story of love, and loss. Who caused the aforementioned tragedy, and loss? Why, ‘honest’ Iago, of course. Iago is begrudgingly an ensign in the Venetian military, Under the command of The moor, Othello. Iago loathes the moor, for he chose Michael Cassio, a far younger, and less experienced man to be his lieutenant. Iago vows revenge on Othello, and swears to ruin his life. Now, Iago’s need for power is what drives him to do the awful things he does to Othello, Cassio, and all the others around him.
This paper contains 237 words of teacher’s comments. What one perceives is influenced by one’s environment. The setting and commentary surrounding events changes our perception of them. Any innocent gesture can be perceived in the wrong way with enough persuading from someone else. Even if someone has total faith in another person's innocence, they can be persuaded to doubt them through the twisting of events. Once just a small amount of doubt has been planted, it influences the way everything else is seen. This occurs throughout the play, Othello. In this play, Iago influences Othello's perception of events through speeches and lies, making him doubt Desdemona's fidelity. Iago uses his talent of manipulating events to exact his revenge on Othello. Iago's twisting of events in Othello's mind leads to the downfall of Othello as planned, but because he fails to twist Emilia's perception as well, he facilitates his own eventual downfall.
In the play Othello, the “aha” moment, the epiphany, and when the truth is revealed is when Othello discovers that all ideas that Iago put into his head about Cassio sleeping with Desdemona, the handkerchief, her being a whore were all just a lie and Iago, his so called “best friend” lied to him. . This scene takes place in Act five scene two, Emilia quotes “By heaven I do not, gentlemen. O mud’rous coxcomb! What should such a fool. Do with so good a wife.” This is the truth moment in which it affects Othello. Tension is released because of this since Othello now comes to the realization that he was lied to and we see how he is affected by the truth in this act when he quotes “ Are there no stones in heaven but what serves for the thunder?
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.
All humans wear a mask of some kind; whether it is a false representation varies from person to person. This reality is revealed in poetic fashion in the piece “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar; the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the play Othello by William Shakespeare. While all in different genre’s, they all contain the similarity of deception and creating a mask for the rest of the world to see in order to hide their true self. In the story “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown experiences everyone around him wearing the mask of Christianity and holiness, and he therefore loses his own faith. In the Shakespearian play Othello, the antagonist, Iago, deceives the Othello by maintaining a mask of honesty
Everyone at some point in their lives lies even when they know that they should be telling the truth. Deception is a key element in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet are both deceptive to their parents when they do not tell them about their marriage. They then continue to lie, Juliet telling her parents she would marry Paris when she secretly arranged to fake her death and Romeo deceiving Friar Laurence by going back to Verona. All of the deceiving in the play leads to conflicts, which eventually ends in death of both Romeo and Juliet. By showing how Romeo and Juliet being deceptive to their parents and role models led to pain and conflict, Shakespeare shows that you should always be honest if you want to maintain
The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play we see his dramatic flaw sink him deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his love of his life but also himself.
Examine the role of jealousy, love, and/or betrayal in Othello. You may want to pick one character (Iago or Othello perhaps?) and focus on one issue.(O) 15
... rises to the occasion and refutes the lies of her husband – at the price of her life. Her martyr-like example inspires Othello to sacrifice his life next to the corpse of Desdemona; for he “Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away / Richer than all his tribe [. . .] .” He dies a noble death, just as he has lived a noble life. Michael Cassio’s evaluation of his end is our evaluation: “This did I fear, but thought he had no weapon; / For he was great of heart.”
The play, Othello is one of the most famous tragedies composed by William Shakespeare during the Renaissance period. It powerfully portrays a world where the acts of evil ultimately vanquishes fidelity, nobility and integrity. The central themes jealousy and manipulation embodies the foretold tragedies and the downfall tragedies of the characters due to one’s insecurities. Through the use of literary techniques and figurative language, Shakespeare has effectively explored the themes of jealousy and manipulation.
Gardner, Helen. “Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from “The Noble Moor.” British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.