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Character analysis of Iago of William Shakespeare's Othello
Character analysis of Iago of William Shakespeare's Othello
Character analysis of Iago of William Shakespeare's Othello
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In Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the reader is shown an illustration of how someone manages the ability to corrupt others vulnerability and the aftereffect resulting from this type of behavior. The personality of Iago, the merciless adversary within the mishap of the play, influenced disorder, dishonesty, and trickery. Iago alone is the root of every evil issue that happens within the play. By doing what he does best, he utilizes his ability to mislead people by demonstrating a doubtless authentic outer appearance. By doing this, it gives him the power to implant trustworthy thoughts inside of the surrounding people. In consideration that nobody recognized the deceptive and malicious person that Iago actually is, he achieved the power to trick …show more content…
He is completely aware of Roderigo’s vulnerability of being entirely dedicated to Desdemona and having a fascination of trying to regain her back as his lover, therefore he manipulates it adequately. Iago was the person who exploited Roderigo’s feelings towards Desdemona and ultimately influenced his behavior. Essentially, when Roderigo was in a state of desperation and gloom, Iago seized the moment and persuaded him that Desdemona’s fascination and sexual desire with Othello will become diminished in order for him to be able to become closer to her. Thereafter, he manufactured a lie saying that Desdemona had a love encounter with Cassio, which supplied Roderigo with enough reason to overthrow and murder Michael. Iago further instills lies inside of Roderigo’s head by telling him that Desdemona and Othello are going to pack up and move to Mauritania and as a result, he wouldn't be capable of gaining her love once again. He reassures him that if Cassio was dead they’d be able to remain living in Cyprus. Since Roderigo is childishly ignorant, he ultimately relies entirely on all of Iago’s advice. Soon after their little talk, Iago detests that Roderigo is a “poor trash of Venice, whom I trace for his quick hunting” (Act II Scene I, pg. 774). Resulting from his lack of using his …show more content…
Likewise, the Moor gave Iago his total faith when Othello and Desdemona got married and when a war was happening. As a result of his automatic trustfulness, it partially leaves him open for attack at any time. Since Othello and Desdemona have a relationship together and because he’s older than she is, Othello is afraid that she will venture away to find a much younger man. Thus, once again allowing Iago to maneuver his way into the exposed area of his feelings. Iago decides to take it into his own hands by invoking lies because he knows that it would put Othello in his feelings. Just like he had hoped, when Iago constructed the gossip associated with Cassio and Desdemona, Othello’s self-doubt began to rise and he began to ease into the place where Iago wanted him to be. Along with his apprehension about his age, he is also concerned with the color of his skin. He is a colored man who exists alongside non-colored men that occasionally spew judgmental things about his melanin. Alongside Othello’s fears, he also possess a loving personality that will not allow him to consider the words he hears twice, he automatically lets his envy overthrown his thought process. The reader finds out that Othello is right where Iago wants him when he asks him “how shall I murder him, Iago” (Act IV Scene I pg. 817). He has
	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.
Iago has a close friend named, Roderigo, he loves Desdemona and wishes she loved him back. Iago starts his scheme by saying “I am not what I am”(I.i.71). This is one of many warnings that Iago gives the people that he schemes against. This warning is telling him that what you see is not what you are going to get. One can also elude from this warning that he will only let you see what he wants you to see. One can see that Iago is clearly going to lie to Roderigo by that single statement. The statement alone should shoot red flags up in anyone’s mind. Once Roderigo gets Brabantio out of bed; Iago says something strange to Roderigo, “Though I do hate him as I do hell, yet, for necessity of present life, I must show out a flag and sign of love”(I.i.171-173). Subsequently warning Roderigo about how he lies to people, Iago expects Roderigo to trust him. Unfortunately Roderigo falls into the trap and trusts Iago. Well along Cassio loses his lieutenancy Roderigo is discombobulated. He begins complaining about things Iago asked him to trust him with; corresponding his money, him getting into a ...
Iago has everyone fooled into believing that he is a noble honest man. Without this
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,
Roderigo is an emotional and fool-minded Venetian man that is in love with Desdemona. Roderigo’s life is tortured by his unceasing and unreciprocated love for Desdemona. After Iago tells Roderigo of Desdemona’s secret marriage to Othello, Roderigo feels there is no longer a will to live and says, “It is silliness to live when to live is torment.” (Othello. Act 1 Scene 3: 350.). Iago takes advantage of Roderigo’s sadness and assures Roderigo that if he does as Iago tells him, he will get Desdemona’s love. Iago does not in any way help Roderigo attain the love that consu...
As much as Iago was using Roderigo, Roderigo was using Iago to try and separate Othello from Desdemona. Roderigo’s extreme feelings make him easily manipulated and unable...
Roderigo has been giving Iago money to help him into Desdemona's favor, and he assumes that Iago knew about the elopement. Iago didn't know, which must have been embarrassing. He says about Desdemona, “Now I do love her too; Not out of absolute lust, though peradventure I stand accountant for as great a sin, but partly led to diet my revenge” (2.1.291-294). He wants revenge for his own suspicion that Othello has gone to bed with Emilia. It's eating at him
Iago's manipulative nature has a profound effect on the decisions made by other characters in Shakespeare's ‘Othello’. Through his relations with those around him Shakespear characterizes him as a man full of malice, vengeance and dishonesty that is wholly inspired by jealousy. Furthermore it would appear that Iago has an exceptional ability to scheme, a talent which he uses to snake his way into the lives of others and exploit them through their weaknesses. Whether he does this for profit or for pleasure is a separate issue.
As a result, he uses his craftiness and his “power of language” to take revenge on Othello. Although his plan foils, he causes Othello to kill his wife Desdemona and commit suicide, all the while he deceives and exploits other characters for his plan. In Othello, Iago demonstrates his power of language through his manipulation of Roderigo, Michael Cassio, and Othello, for his use and liking. After witnessing Desdemona proclaim her love to Othello and Brabantio, her father, acknowledging their marriage, Roderigo, suitor of Desdemona, tells Iago that he is going to drown himself.
Iago uses Roderigo to drive a wedge in Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Iago simply tells Roderigo the best way to get Desdemona to end her relationship with Othello: "It cannot be that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor – put money in thy purse – nor he his to her,” (1.3. 383-387). The fact that Roderigo is
All Iago had to do was hint at Desdemona being unfaithful and Othello’s becomes very bothered it and eventually starts believing it. The author of an essay does an analysis on Iago and says “He slowly poisons people’s thoughts, creating ideas in their heads without implicating himself. Iago even says himself that the advice he gives is free and honest and thus, people rarely stop to consider the possibility that Iago is fooling them.“ (Shakespeare’s Othello – Honest Iago). So Iago would hint at something going between Desdemona and Cassio so that Othello would become bothered and ask him what he means by that, it was like a game that Iago was playing, he would drop a little hint and then expect Othello to pick up on it and start questioning it and become more even suspicious. Brabantio tells Othello “Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee” (I.ii.286-287), So In this scene Brabantio warns Othello that Desdemona has already fooled him and she might fool him too, so be careful, and it turns out, Othello believed in him after all and that’s part of the reason of why he thinks that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him. It leads him to start questioning Desdemona in a very suspicious way. At one point he even hits her in front of a nobleman and that was very shocking to the nobleman because he believed him to be a very calm and collected gentleman but obviously he was a changed man. The nobleman even expresses his shock by saying that “My lord, this would not be believed in Venice, though I should swear I saw’t. ‘Tis very much make her amends; she weeps” (IV .i.217-219). This negative thinking and insecurity was one of the main reasons to Othello’s change in a negative way. A lot of this was Iago’s doing but it was also Othello’s fault to fall for Iago’s
One person Iago deceives is Roderigo. Throughout the play, Iago tells him that he hates Othello and that Roderigo should make some money so he could give gifts to Desdemona, who he admires from afar. Thinking that this is sound advice, Roderigo does just that. However, Iago is actually keeping the gifts that Roderigo plans to give Desdemona for himself. Eventually, Roderigo begins to catch on to the act and confronts Iago, but he falls right into Iago’s trap again when he tells him that killing Cassio will help him win over Desdemona. Roderigo is then lead to his death by the hands of "Honest Iago."
Roderigo believed that Iago would be able to help him end up with the love of his life, Desdemona. Iago tells Roderigo that if he gives Desdemona jewels it will impress her and make her slowly fall in love. Roderigo, like other characters, trusted Iago. Roderigo ends up giving Iago all of his money in jewels when he thought it was going to Desdemona. This is only the beginning of the deception.
His plan is to continue giving Roderigo unfulfilled promises. Iago continues to manipulate Roderigo. He convinces him that Desdemona will soon grow tired of Othello and begin to search for a younger, handsome man to fulfill her desires. Continuing to build on Roderigo’s rationality, Iago tells him that Desdemona will fall for Cassio, and the only way to win Desdemona is by taking Cassio out of the picture.... ...
Roderigo blindly follows Iago’s lead and while his contribution to the disaster is minimal at best, he still is able to feed Iago’s desire for revenge, as all the characters do. The only difference between Roderigo and the other characters is how he does it. Roderigo is madly in love with Desdemona and wants her for himself. The first sign of Roderigo’s desires comes from Barbantio when he speaks: “I have charged thee not to haunt my doors:/In honest plainness thou hast heard me say/My daughter is not for thee…”(I, i)