Othello Appearance Vs Reality Essay

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Recommended: Theme of appearance and reality in William Shakespeare

In the Shakespearean play Othello, Shakespeare starts off the very first Act by introducing the theme appearance versus reality through one of the villainous characters named Iago. Iago has the tendency to manipulate other characters in the play so that he can get his revenge on Othello because he dislikes him. There are three major characters in the play that Iago manipulates so that he can use them for his own purpose and desires. The first major character is Roderigo. In front of him, Iago leads Roderigo to believe that he is his close friend and that he is willing to help him get revenge on Othello for marrying Desdemona who Roderigo is in deeply love with. But after Roderigo leaves the scene Iago reveals his true nature and expresses his true feelings towards Roderigo by calling him names,
Thus do I ever make my fool my purse
For I mine own gained knowledge should profane
If I would time expend with such a snipe
But for my sport and profit. (I.iii.320-323)

In this quote Iago is essentially showing us that he is using Roderigo’s lust …show more content…

Iago then proceeds to insult Brabantio by slandering his bloodline by relating them to horses and donkeys and refers to Othello as an African horse who is having sex with his daughter. This really seems to aggravate Brabantio and he becomes very angry with Othello which benefits Iago because Brabantio has power in the city of Venice (almost as powerful as the duke) and he can use the position that he’s in to get rid of Othello because he’s frustrated about his daughter which will ultimately benefit Iago. In the next scene when Iago is speaking with Othello, he repeats the same actions as before but this time he abhors Brabantio in front of Othello by

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