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Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare
Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare
Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare
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In Shakespeare 's Othello, Iago persuades Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful by manipulating multiple characters in the play. Iago is a very crafty character who succeeds in using the power of language to carry out his plans without revealing his true intentions to other characters. In the play, Iago puts the seed of jealousy and suspicion in Othello’s mind by playing with everybody’s emotion. In the process, he ends up causing the death of all major characters, including the protagonist. Iago’s scheme starts off when Cassio was given a higher position as lieutenant. His main plan is to get the position and take revenge over Othello. Iago’s plan to destroy Othello begins with a conversation to Roderigo in the streets of Venice. …show more content…
Iago took advantage of the situations and made Othello enraged. After persuading Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him, he manipulates Othello into killing Desdemona in her bed. “Work on, My medicine, work! Thus credulous fools are caught, And many worthy and chaste dames even thus, All my guiltless, meet reproach. What, ho! My lord! My lord , I say Othello!” (4.1). Othello is now out of his mind; he was clouded by Iago’s lies. After tormenting Othello, Iago moves into tricking Roderigo to kill Cassio. “ I mean knock his brains out, so he can’t take Othello 's place”(4.2). Roderigo once more falls into Iago’s scheme. At this point of the story, Othello is now mad and enraged; he is subjected into killing Desdemona with desperation. Finally, act V comes into play, where Iago’s plan is in the critical stage. Iago and Roderigo are submitted into killing Cassio. However, Iago is planning to kill Roderigo and Cassio at the same time. As Cassio and Roderigo are brawling, Iago takes the opportunity to strike and kill them both at the same time. Killing both Cassio and Roderigo is a benefit for Iago because it does not make it obvious that Iago killed them. In the end, the other characters in the story finally recognize Iago’s motives and he was arrested for committing such heinous
Cassio, and so in act 3 scene 3 Iago puts his plans into action and
Iago elaborates a master plan to get Cassio position as a lieutenant. Iago get Cassio drunk so he could fight Roderigo. Othello then discharge Cassio from the lieutenant position when he says, How must poor Cassio have felt? To lose all he had worked for, working up his reputation that any half-hearted human can tell he earned and deserved. Iago know that Othello who ask him about the deed because of he fame of being a honest man. Iago tell Othello about the deed winning his trust that is when Iago starts to crab Othello by his weak point his Love for Desdemona.
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,
Iago uses this to convince Rodrigo to kill Cassio, and both of them ultimately are killed. Othello then tells Desdemona that Cassio is dead and wants her to admit to cheating with him, but she denies it all. Othello’s jealousy and trust in Iago is too strong and he doesn’t believe her and kills her before Emilia realizes and tells Othello what Iago has done. Iago in the end is jailed and refuses to give his reasoning for his actions.... ...
As early as the first scene of the play Iago shows us strong motives for his actions. In this first scene we see Othello, a general of Venice, has made Cassio his new lieutant. Iago feels he truly deserves his promotion as he says "I know my price, I am worth more no worse a place."(l.i.12) Iago over here is confused why Othello has made such a stupid decision. Iago is a man with a tremendous ego who knows, sometimes overestimates, his worth. Roderigo, a Venetian gentleman, understands Iago when Iago said that he is "affined to love the Moor."(l.i.41-42) What Iago really means is "I follow him to serve my term upon him."(l.i.45) Iago wants to use Othello for his personal goals. We also must put ourselves into Iago's shoes. He is a man whose self-esteem and professional carrier have just been torn apart. Iago makes his actions of revenge toward Othello almost immediately by informing Brabantio, a Venetian senator and father of Desdemona, that "an old black ram (Othello) is tupping (his) white ewe (Desdemona)."(l.i.97)
For him this was going to be easy- he would prey on the weaknesses of people around him and use them to his own advantage. This tactic of Iago's is extremely effective. He uses Roderigo, `whom love hath turned almost the wrong side out' to `put our Cassio in some action'. Now, you must remember Iago's initial motive, here: to `strip' him out of his lieutenancy. He believes Cassio has also slept with his wife; an absurd suspicion- but nevertheless allows Iago to continue with his plan. I believe, Iago here does have some conscience of what he's doing- he constantly tries to reassure himself of what he's doing is right; he himself is a victim of his own devise. He allows himself to get carried away with accusations he can't prove. But how would he accomplish such an act?
Iago's bad behavior sets the tone for all other interactions in the play. He has no need for honesty or affiliation; he uses his wife to further his plot, betrays Roderigo, cares nothing for Cassio, and loathes Othello. He is a foil for characters who may know right from wrong but are not passionately committed to acting for good or evil. Shakespeare mirrors this noxious model in other characters' relationships. Desdemona rebels against her father; the Duke takes Othello's side; Roderigo is so lovesick that he will stoop to any level to win Desdemona. Even in the primary romantic relationship, Othello's and Desdemona's, the love is flimsy and easily broken.
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.
We see Iago beginning his plans at the very start of the play. “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at, I am not what I am.”(Oth 1:1:64-65) He immediately tries to start trouble with Brabantio and Othello over the marriage to Desdemona. Iago want to get in Othello’s way because he was passed over for general and Cassio was chosen instead. We see from the start how he plots against Othello and he involves several characters in his plans.
Iago is a very strategic and clever person, and he despises Othello because Othello appointed Cassio as a lieutenant over Iago. He plans to ruin Othello’s life by ruining his relationship with Desdemona. He starts off by telling Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, of Othello and Desdemona’s secret marriage. Iago goes to
Iago is willing to prattle on Othello and Desdemona for animosity. Iago's poisoned language builds up Brabantio's fearness of mixed race marriage and especially his pure daughter. Iago's manipulation of Roderigo and Brabantio sets up the battle between Othello and Brabantio. Later on in the play Iago still seeks help from Roderigo by forcing him to kill Cassio whom is drunk with just a few words. Montano which is the governor of Cyprus stepped in to resolve the problem between Cassio and Roderigo. Unfortunately Cassio stabs Montano since he lost control of himself from Iago's...
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). Iago plans to destroy Othello and Desdemona’s marriage by using Desdemona’s kindness toward Cassio against her and make her look unfaithful in front of her noble hu...
During the last scene, after knowing and proving all his commitment in showing that Othello can get in raged once he gets suspicious, he then incorporates another informal trial . After carefully planting all the foundation of the suspicion he embeds of Cassio and Desdemona step by step making questionable comments and supplying “evidence” when he believed it was needed, he then goes on during Act V where he has made a plan to “ambush” Cassio in order to kill him, as he makes that appear to Roderigo. Roderigo has been Iago’s little pet through the entire play from the scenes of making him awake Desdemona’s father to tell him his daughter has deceived him to the time he made Roderigo provoke Cassio which resulted in Cassio losing his job and that 's how the story begins. So as Act V begin, Iago and Roderigo has been waiting on Cassio to come from where he meets Bianca. Iago to start the end of his plan gets some distancing before the clash between Roderigo and Cassio begins. Deceiving Roderigo making him believe he’ll help, however to avoid being caught on the other end he keeps his distance and as he hears the commotion of his pet and Cassio, he darts out and stabs Cassio in the leg as soon as Cassio stabs and wounds Roderigo then returns to the shadows. As two venetian men join to the streets, barely being able to see anything because of the darkness of the
... sake of his reputation, Iago persuades Roderigo to kill Cassio. In doing so, Roderigo only injures the lieutenant. Iago sees his plan collapsing and rushes in to kill Roderigo. Betrayed by his friend, Roderigo died in pursuit of Desdemona’s love.
Shakespeare uses Iago and Othello as the main characters of the play, showing how Iago manipulates Othello into believing his wife is cheating on him. Iago, or “honest Iago”, the villain of the play, a perfectionist at manipulation, that manages to influence people into thinking his deceitfulness is an act of honesty. He spends all of his time plotting against Othello and Desdemona, eventually convincing Othello that his wife has been cheating, despite the fact that Desdemona has been completely faithful. Othello, Venice’s most competent general, and the protagonist of the play. He was a noble and respected war hero, and a loving husband, however he was the target of Iago’s atrocities, which lead him to become an irrational, violent, and insanely jealous husband who murders his own wife at the end of the play.