Seeing is Believing
Proof is something that all human beings seek. Without proving something in order for it to be valid we would have nothing to tell us when something is false. Everyday people use proof as a part of reason; it has been used to turn a hypothesis into a theory, a rumor into fact, without proof we would have nothing. There are many different ways to prove something, some more affective than others; having a person simply tell you something is true or false does not always do the job, but in simplistic matters it may be all they have to work with. More complex matters involve a type of proof that is the most concrete type of proof; ocular proof. Ocular proof exemplifies the saying “seeing is believing” by stating that something cannot be proven unless it is seen by the person wanting proof. If a person is relayed ocular proof, it is not ocular proof to them but becomes word of mouth either to confirm or falsify what one has thought. When one seeks ocular proof, it requires a sort of maneuvering depending on what they are trying to validate. In Othello's case, he wants ocular proof that his wife is having an affair with Cassio; which means he would have to catch them in bed together. Othello is convinced by Iago that Desdemona must being having an affair as he saw Cassio with her handkerchief. In order to make what Iago is saying true, Othello demands ocular proof. Othello gives Iago another option, telling him that he needs to see Desdemona and Cassio in the act, or it needs to be proven so there are no other possible explanations for the actions of his wife. This is a loop hole Iago has been given in order to further control how Othello sees things. Iago's sly and deceitful behavior and language lead Othell...
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...other man; let alone with Cassio who is Othello's lieutenant. Iago's anger towards Othello leads him to play with the Moor's emotions and manipulates what he sees by using language as his weapon. Iago also uses Othello's trust in his ensign to further put his revenge into reality. He uses trustful language to make Othello have faith in him, also Iago talks about things he does not care about, but knows that Othello finds them important. When Othello “sees” that Iago has hurt Cassio, he feels the urge to get his own revenge on Desdemona by killing her. By this point, Iago has convinced Othello that his wife is guilty of infidelity and he no longer needs that ocular proof he has been seeking throughout the play. All because of Iago's sighting of Desdemona's handkerchief, Othello begins to doubt his marriage and in turn puts more faith in his “friend” than in his wife.
Othello sees Cassio as the man most Venetian women in Desdemona 's position would like to marry and, therefore, as the man she would turn to if she ceased to love her husband. In a way, he is waiting for the dream to come to an end, for Desdemona to decide that she has made a mistake in marrying him. Othello being outclassed in intellect is his lack of self-knowledge; this is with regard to how his military background has affected his logic. He constantly commands Iago to bring him proof of Desdemona’s disloyalty “Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore”
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 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”
Two individuals may be the best of friends but when one individual is taken in by jealousy over the other he or she will do anything in his or her power to ruin the other individual’s life; this is where the dilemma arises. William Shakespeare, the playwright of Othello portrays a story about a highly honoured character Othello who is the general of the state of Venice. Iago portrays himself as very loyal and true friend to Othello while his other side is much more ruthless and cruel towards the general. Othello gives Michael Cassio a position as his personal lieutenant, but Iago is highly jealous of this situation because he is the one that is closer to Othello and should acquire the position. Soon Iago plots a malevolence and wicked plan against the protagonist, Othello. When Othello flees with Desdemona to Cyprus, Iago begins his insinuations to Othello by telling him Desdemona’s intimacy relationship with Cassio. Othello becomes envious and suspicious of Desdemona and returns to the castle to kill his innocent wife. He eventually chokes her to death and Emilia, Iago’s wife, tells Othello the truth. Iago murders Emilia and Othello severely wounds Iago and then commits suicide. Iago the master puppeteer deludes his victims Othello, Cassio, Desdemona and Roderigo by being dishonest and deceitful.
Iago is the treacherous comrade. Angered that Cassio has been appointed Othello’s lieutenant, a post Iago wanted, Iago plots his revenge. He warns Othello that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. Brilliantly manipulating Othello’s jealousy and rising anger, Iago has his wife Emilia, who is Desdemona’s serving maid, steal a handkerchief that Othello gave his bride at their wedding.
Throughout the novel, up until his insanity, Othello is described as a temperate man whose honor does not allow him to believe assumptions unless he has been shown proof. Firstly, when the men of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, confront Othello’s men, Othello calmly says, “Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.” (10). Othello is confronted on the matter of his elopement with Desdemona with force and with words. Not only is he very cool about his dealings with violence, but also when he is asked to tell the story of how he had Desdemona fall in love with him he states the truth, and he doesn’t leave out any details of how he accomplished it. He openly admits that had any other man told his story, that man also would have won her heart. Only a truly honorable man can admit that it was a story, and not his personality that truly won the woman’s heart. Othello’s honor is shown by his trust in the people he knows and loves. When Iago tells Othello that he believes Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair, Othello does not believe Iago initially.
Iago takes on many different persona’s to enact his plan of revenge upon Othello. He plays the friend, a trustworthy and credible source of information for Othello in his feat of drama with his innocent wife, Desdemona. He also plays the wingman for Roderigo who is madly in love with Desdemona, encouraging him to make advances towards her to woo Desdemona away from Othello. Iago even persuades Roderigo to kill Cassio with his lies about Cassio and Desdemona’s affair. “...you may take him at your pleasure: I will be near to second your attempt, and he shall fall between us.” Iago promises to assist Roderigo in the murder of Cassio and he will be rewarded with Desdemona’s love (Navigators.) Iago’s true persona, though, is a heartless, woman-hating villain who would go to great lengths to get revenge against Othello for preferring Cassio over him for the military promotion.
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
Iago intends to orchestrate the demise of Cassio and Othello. On the surface, winning a promotion was the catalyst for Iago’s rage but bringing down only Cassio does not satisfy his bloodthirsty rage. Although Iago is cunning and ruthless in his pursuit to ruin Othello, the plot spins out of his control and only gains traction when his wife, Emilia unknowingly helps him. At this point Iago is poised to fail but the possession of Desdemona’s handkerchief provides a key piece of “ocular proof (Shakespeare)” that Othello requires to be convinced of Desdemona’s infidelity. Iago loses control of the situation. His stated purpose is to suppl...
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.
Making so to seem what he wants them to appear as. Othello is an important pawn to Iago, making it seem like he’s on his side and even though deep down inside he hates “The Moor”, Othello. He diminishes Othello’s insecurities to bring about his downfall and comes to a point in time where he is able to begin pushing through with his devious plot using the “noble” black man to invoke the feeling of jealousy. One of his devilish manipulation occurred when he and Cassio were exchanging words about Bianca, however to Othello it’s about Desdemona after his prior conversation with Iago. He uses Cassio as his pawn as well in his deceitful scheme, because while Cassio is still clueless, Iago goes on to state “I never knew a woman to love a man so.” Iago expresses this to Cassio about Bianca, knowing that Othello is listening in on this conversation and will most likely believe to think it’s of Cassio and Desdemona’s relations. Distorting the meaning, knowing that Othello is already more than anything believing his deceitful lies he has already told him. He then adds on to his unstable mind by choosing the words he say in a different tone. The testimony of the two being accused of being together has been unlawful because even though Desdemona is only trying to help Cassio as a friend, it’s looked upon as more so a love
Throughout the drama, Othello let Iago control him as if he was a puppet under his master’s hands. When Iago first brought up the idea that Desdemona and Cassio might be having an affair, Othello did not believe him, he had faith in his wife. After many lies that Iago planted in Othello’s ears, Othello started to believe him and he dropped most of the faith that he had in Desdemona. Iago told Othello that in his sleep, Cassio said “Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our love”. Cursed fate that gave thee the Moor” (III.iii.416-417).
The tragedy "Othello" by William Shakespeare is a story based upon the revenge of two characters, Othello and Iago. These two characters help to prove Murphey's Law which states that if something wrong can happen it will: for Othello it is the wrongful killing of his wife and friend, for Iago it is getting caught for his actions and finally being tortured. Many historians, actors, and readers would like to argue that Othello and Iago are very complex but at a closer look you will notice that their actions are purely based upon revenge for their iniquities.
“Othello” is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. The play focuses around a core group of characters that includes Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Michael Cassio, and Barbantio. These characters shape the story. The protagonist is Othello, who is a high ranking member of the Venetian army. Othello falls victim to betrayal by his “right-hand man,” antagonist Iago. Iago gives Othello the impression that he is trustworthy and a close friend, but this is a mask of his true feelings for Othello. Throughout the play, Iago repeatedly expresses his hate for his general. He devises plans to try to humiliate Othello. His first plans center around Michael Cassio, who is Othello’s lieutenant. When this scheme falls through, Iago then focuses on Othello’s
Written by William Shakespeare, “Othello” is a twisted tale of deceit and betrayal that turned a beautiful love into a murderous plot due to outside jealousy. The play begins in with Iago and Rodrigo arguing in Venice. Iago is a soldier who is under Othello’s command and Rodrigo has been paying him to spy on Othello because he wishes to be with Desdemona, Othello’s lover. Rodrigo believes that Iago is loyal to Othello and has not been keeping up his end of the bargain due to his lack of information . Iago reassures Rodrigo that he has a strong hatred towards Othello because Othello had recently passed over Iago for a promotion to lieutenant in favor of Cassio, a less experienced soldier. In order to keep Rodrigo’s trust, and his money, Iago decided to inform Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, about her relationship with Othello. This angers her father because Othello is considered “The Moor”, which indicates that Othello is a black man. An upset Brabantio sends his men out at night to capture Othello because he believes that Desdemona would never be with Othello willingly. Hoping to disguise what he had done, Iago runs and tells Othello to warn him, saying that Rodrigo was the one who told her father about their relationship. Othello does not seem phased because he believes that he has not done wrong and that his good reputation will help clear up the matter. In all the commotion, we learn that Othello and Desdemona had just been married.