Iago: The “Prince of Peace” The character of Iago, from Othello, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, is one of the most despicable villains in all of Shakespearean literature. Iago seeks to exact revenge on his general, Othello, after he is passed for the position of lieutenant, by a much younger and less-experienced soldier, Cassio. Iago uses manipulation as his tool for revenge, and is very successful in ruining the lives of the two men. While the audience is aware of Iago’s deception and use of cunning, the characters are oblivious to his genuine motives. Through his love of power, ability to manipulate others, and his self-destructive lust for revenge, Iago betrays all who are close to him and gradually entangles himself within …show more content…
After learning of Othello’s decision to give the lieutenant position to the much-younger Cassio, Iago vents to his friend Roderigo: “One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,A fellow almost damned in a fair wife, That never set a squadron in the field, (1.1.21-24). He explains that Cassio is very inexperienced in the field of battle and offers no real wisdom when it comes to being a lieutenant. Although troubled by this news, Iago immediately shuts down Roderigo’s idea that he should just quit. Iago believes that if he remains patient, he can still turn the situation back in his favor: “And, throwing but shows of service on their lords, Do well thrive by them. And when they have lined their coats, Do themselves homage.” (1.1. …show more content…
By first identifying a weakness in another character, Iago is able to then talk the other person into self doubt. After Cassio loses his position of lieutenant due to a drunken brawl, he seeks Desdemona’s help to get him back in good graces with her husband, Othello. As he is talking to Desdemona, Cassio sees Othello approaching and is too ashamed to even face him, so he quickly leaves. Othello sees Cassio flee as he and Iago enter, and Iago begins to play with Othello’s suspicious: “Ha! I like not that”. (3.3.33). Iago then denies that he had any suspicion of Cassio and gives false assurance to Othello, “Cassio, my lord? No, sure, I cannot think it, That he would steal away so guilty-like, seeing you coming”. (3.3.37-39). It was Iago who advised Cassio to go to Desdemona for assistance, and he knew that Cassio’s conversation with Desdemona was harmless, but Othello knew nothing. Iago was able to manipulate Othello’s curiosity and suspicion to plant a seed of doubt in his trust of Desdemona By manipulating all of those around him, Iago’s enemies grow closer to him and reject those who should be
In Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago Is shown to be the villain. With the cunning use of his brilliance and manipulation, he is able to orchestrate an entire plot to take his revenge on Othello the center of all his ill tempered aggression. By lying to characters like Roderigo and many others, including his wife, in order to
Othello by William Shakespeare was given the wrong name; this play is about Iago and the many tricks he uses to get his revenge. Othello is a powerful and important man, but Iago, Iago is one of a kind. He is a manipulative character that ruins the lives of people close to him, people who trust him. The lives of important key roles are ruined because of the hatred and jealousy Iago has for Othello. How does Iago manage to manipulate so many people in Othello? While successfully controlling the lives of everyone Iago manages to use ethos, logos, and pathos to get his revenge.
The greatest and best villains in literature are those who possess the ability to manipulate others in order to further their own causes. In Othello, Iago has the insight and tact to manipulate the other characters, such as Cassio, Roderigo, Desdemona, and in this case, Othello. The methods by which Iago works the other characters are varied, and one prime example of his cunning ability to manipulate can be seen in Act III.iii.333-450. In this passage Iago utilizes many rhetorical strategies to his advantage; in particular he uses tone and simile. These rhetorical strategies are instrumental in the deception of Othello.
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
The play "Othello" by William Shakespeare is based on an Italian story in Giraldi Cinthio's Hecatommithi (Groliers). In "Othello" we encounter Iago, one of Shakespeare's most evil characters. Iago is an ensign in Othello's army and is jealous of Cassio's promotion to Lieutenant. Through deception and appearance, we see unfolded a plethora of lies and clever schemes. The astonishing thing about Iago is that he seems to make up his malicious schemes as he goes along without any forethought. Noted writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes Iago's plan as "motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity" (Scott 413). Iago seizes every opportunity to further advance his plan to his advantage. Greed plays a major role as a motive for his various schemes. Throughout the story, Iago portrays himself as a Satan figure. In many ways, Iago can compare with Satan.
William Shakespeare's Othello is a tragic drama that shows the overwhelming power of deception and the damage it can lead to. Othello's right-hand man is Iago; on the surface a die-hard friend and confidant, in reality comparable to the devil himself. Iago uses other characters as though they were his puppets, planting lies and watching the sorrowful fruit born. Iago deceives virtuous, yet weaker men (such as Cassio and Roderigo) with ease, but feels greatly threatened by the most powerful, virtuous general in the land - Othello. Othello's only flaw is jealousy, and Iago exploits this to no end, using him to get what he wants. Iago's talent to manipulate the truth and control other people with his lies is what gives this play momentum.
The situation above leaves an opening for Iago to fulfill his vital plan to bring down Othello through Desdemona. Cassio was a mental wreck and told Iago that his reputation was ruined. Iago told him that he can get his rank back through Desdemona and get back on Othello's good side. "Confess yourself freely to her, importune her help to put you in your place again (p. 54)." Once Cassio talks to Desdemona, Iago will speak with Othello and get him to think of his wife's trust. In Act three Scene three Iago is speaking to Othello and warns him to look out for Cassio and Desdemona. Othello asks Iago if it was just Cassio that left from speaking with his wife.
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).
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the antagonist and villain who causes all the trouble and disorder. Othello is the protagonist, and is the main person Iago’s destruction and revenge is aimed towards. Othello is naïve and gives everybody his trust even though he may not know them or they haven’t earned his trust yet. He often refers to Iago has “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289). Iago is so angry that Othello didn’t give him the promotion that was given to Cassio that he plans to seek revenge against Othello. He seeks his revenge against Othello by manipulating and lying to all of the people around him including his closest friend Roderigo, Cassio, Othello’s wife Desdemona and even his own wife Emilia. In the end, Iago’s lies and manipulation led to the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, Othello and Desdemona. This isn’t the first time many of these individual characteristics have shown up in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
Iago knows very well that trust and deceit must go hand in hand in order for him to achieve his vengeance on Othello and Cassio. Hence, as he plans the downfalls of them, he is continually trying to obtain their undoubting trust. 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 Othello was an act of many evil traits, including betrayal, manipulation and jealousy. Evil can be described as an act of someone who causes grievance, destruction, or impairment for one owns satisfaction; Iago, unquestionably, fits the description. Othello represented these traits through character, Iago, as he reveals his true nature of evil by diminishing people lives and becoming the downfall of many people around him. “Hell and night/ Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” (I, iii, 394-396). Though Iago may not have a purpose of participating in many of his act of evil, he presents it as a self-obsessed driven supremacy. He plots to destroy Othello and to gain dominance by observing each weakness from Othello, and takes advantage of it. He uses his aid of human nature to help with his evil schemes and plots throughout the play. Because he identified Othello’s weaknesses and was able to use verbal persuasion to not only gain Othello’s trust, but to also use that as a benefit to what he wanted to accomplish. It is great importan...
Othello has had Iago as his ensign for many years. They have gone to battle many times over. In war, every little thing can affect the outcome, everything is vital information. During this time, Othello, when he was upset or unsure of what to do, has learned to trust and listen to Iago’s insights about strategy and war. Othello shows that his trust in Iago extends beyond the battlefield when he asks Iago to take care of his wife during the voyage to Cyprus. It’s this trust that backfires on him. When Othello hears Iago’s off hand remark about Cassio, he trusts that Iago would not have said anything if it wasn’t something to worry about. Then, Iago, knowing how Othello thinks of his character, makes Othello think there is more to his thoughts than he is willing to speak of. Iago knows just what to say and how to articulate it to make Othello think the worst. He even manages to look like a friend who wants to keep...
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.
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.
Iago’s objective with Cassio is to have him be the bait with which Othello is drawn in to second guess the trust he has with his wife and good friend. Iago is able to easily give proof of this admiration between Desdemona and Cassio, by creating a situation in which Cassio seeks the help of Desdemona to talk to Othello in his place. Through Iago’s persuasion both Cassio and Desdemona feel that by consulting each other privately about how to move forward with the matter of Cassio’s loss of lieutenant and rank, that they can more thoroughly show Othello what a good leader he makes. This is of course the hope of Iago; through Desdemona’s and Cassio’s meetings and this general idea of secrecy, through their mere gestures of hello, Iago is able to fully convince Othello of their