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Beneath every person lies a deeper meaning of a person's characteristics. Their intentions are desired to bring down anyone or anything that stands between them and their goal. Iago, the monstrous of any Shakespeare's character, has intentions no different than those cruel and evil people. Iago best describes the theme of appearance vs reality, as he appears to be honest and helpful, vs his reality, a manipulative character who causes mayhem and confusing between characters for revenge. Iago uses his skill set of manipulating people, just to determine their weakness, so he can exploit them later. He takes advantage Cassio's friendship and Roderigo's love for Desdemona and converts Othello's mind into a confusion machine. Iago uses his skills throughout the story to manipulate his enemies by using their weaknesses: Cassio's trustful nature, Roderigo love for Desdemona, and Othello's uncertainty, against them.
Firstly, Iago uses Cassio trusting nature by pretending to be his friend/adviser, while trying to guide him in wrong way. Once, Iago suggest Cassio to drink, which gets him dr...
Iago would most commonly be referred to as dishonest, however beyond that he is also downright amoral and uses other’s weaknesses to manipulate them into doing what he pleases. From the very beginning we see how Iago manipulates Roderigo by pretending he is looking out for his best interests in the matter of Othello’s elopement with Desdemona. He makes Barbantio angry with Othello and Desdemona by telling him about their elopement then lying about the consummation of their relationship. He then leaves Roderigo to take responsibility for his (Iago’s) actions. In the meantime he goes off to inform Othello that Roderigo is accountable for telling Barbantio about the relationship and saying horrible things about Othello. Iago later brings Roderigo back into his quest for revenge when he tries to get Cassio fired from the position that Iago originally wished to obtain. Although Cassio knows it is against his better judgement to drink, Iago manipulates him into getting drunk then stages a fight between Roderigo and Cassio. He even goes as far as to try to make Cassio look bad by telling Montano that he gets drunk regularly. Upon Iago’s explanation of the situation Othello promptly fires Cassio from his position and Iago becomes more respected in Othello’s eyes. Roderigo is a prime example of how Iago uses people to fulfil his desires. Iago convinces Roderigo that he could win Desdemona’s love away from Othello and the only man that stands in the way is Cassio. In this way when he plans to humiliate Cassio it seems as if he is doing it to help out Roderigo when, in actuality, he is seeking revenge on Cassio for taking his position.
Iago and Othello plan to murder Desdemona and Cassio. Instead, Iago once again betrays his word and sets Othello up for failure and the evil that lurks within this stage devours Othello. The mighty dragon which the hero must slay at the end of the journey proves to be Iago himself all along which kills Othello ending his journey before he can even finish it. Manipulation is Iago’s ultimate power, “he frequently takes the audience or reader into his confidence, manipulates his prey, and watches his deceptions wreak havoc”
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.
most evil characters and he is a character who stands out among all of the
The desires of Othello, Cassio, and Roderigo allowed Iago to develop his deceitful plots by either offering, in the cases of Roderigo and Cassio, or taking away, in the case of Othello, what they want most. Iago used the weaknesses of others to complete his horrifying mission of destroying those above him. Iago manipulates Roderigo by using him as a pawn in his game to gain power. He also manipulates Cassio by using his flaw of becoming angry when drunk against him, a secret Cassio believed he told to a trusting friend. Othello is most clearly blindsided by Iago’s plot and no longer desires to live when he realizes he has killed his truthful wife after being told a lie. These characters all shared the common fatal flaw of trust, which lead to their downfall.
Throughout the mind bending play Othello we are deceived from the characters and their innocence and the tragedies that set out to do. During the play Othello by William Shakespeare, we meet a few iconic characters. Iago, the mischievous man who deceives everyone into believing he is the good guy and is there to help when all along he is trying to bring Othello down. Continuing through the play Iago takes charge into his plan, using anything he can get his hands on. Further bringing us to the scene that Iago gets a hold of Desdemona’s handkerchief from Emilia. Iago tries to use that to his advantage to turn Othello and Desdemona on each other. The archetypal perspective helps the audience understand what Shakespeare is trying to accomplish
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
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.
The play 'Othello' is an epiphany of the ultimate battle between appearance versus reality in the respect that Iago is the complete opposite from what he appears to be. Everyone involved with him separately thinks that he is doing them favors, when actually he is a backstabbing, conniving person who is the essence of evil and is often referred to as half-man, half-devil. Contrary to Iago, Othello is often referred to as a God-like figure, innocent in every way: trusting and naïve. Unfortunately for Othello, this serves as his eventual downfall helping Iago play Othello like a harp, which results in Desdemona's death. Iago's two-sided face and the other characters' readiness to believe him before thinking twice is the driving force of the play and its plot.
In Shakespeare’s play Othello there is a main character named Iago. In this play, Iago is the instigator. From the very beginning the readers can see that he is single minded and determined. Iago portrays an act of being persuasive and helpful to the other characters in the play, yet as the audience we see his hatred, selfishness, and jealousy. He succeeds in fooling the other characters with his “loyalty” and “honesty” and this is what makes him one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains.
Iago continues masking his pure identity, until his genuine self is revealed once tragedy strikes. Iago pretends to be Cassio’s best friend but really ends up using him to prove to Othello that Desdemona is ...
Iago has a sophisticated way of deceiving the characters of the play, making him a very intelligent person. Early in the play Othello introduces Iago to the Duke of Venice as, “My ancient / A man he is of honesty and trust” (!. iii. 284-85). This is but one of the times in the play that Iago is referred to as honest and true. Throughout the play Iago is considered to be honest, but is actuality the villain. In order to maintain this false image one has to have a beguiling character. After Othello and his lieutenant, Michael Cassio, return from the war against the Ottomans, there is a celebration. At this celebration Iago puts his manipulation to work. He knows that Othello and Desdemona’s love for each other is very true, but he tells Rodrigo that Desdemona had love for Cassio: “With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. / Ay, smile upon her, do…” (II. I. 164-65). This quote shows that Iago deceives Roderigo into believing that Desdemona loves Cassio, when in Roderigo’s eyes it is virtually impossible. Iago basically controls Rodrigo because Iago deceives him into believing that he can have Desdemona, by both Cassio and Othello.
Iago character in William Shakespeare’s Othello is truly the definition of the nature of evil. He portrays such a strong character describing this nature of deceit throughout the play taking full capability of characters; Desdemona, Othello, Cassio, and Rodrigo. His ability to master the nature of good first before plotting his schemes, allows Iago to become successful in each of his evil plots. Iago would not be successful if it was not for his mastery in being good. Not only does he achieve his goals in scheming, but he also understands human nature, that allowed him to understand thoroughly of good people and was able to take advantage of the cause. Iago, alone, represented both the nature of good and the nature of evil in Shakespeare’s’ Othello.
Cassio trust of Iago is what makes Cassio get fooled by Iago so easily. His character is trusting and kind, and Iago uses this to the best of his abilities as seen throughout the play. His anger towards Cassio is what gives him the drive to start the plan and eventually remove Cassio from his role as lieutenant. Cassio has no doubt and automatically assumes responsibility without questioning anything. His trusting character is what Iago uses because of how unsuspecting he is and easy to fool. Together all of these explanations create a perfect combination for Iago to take advantage of, and trick Cassio throughout the
Iago’s cunning strength lies in his ability to undermine every single character through their weaknesses. Specifically, Othello and Roderigo are the main victims of his lies and deceit. The trait Iago abuses in Roderigo is his naive nature. From the very start of the play, Iago cheats Roderigo of his money and later tricks him into attempting to kill Cassio: “I have no great devotion to the deed, / And yet he hath given me satisfying reasons. / ‘Tis but a man gone. Forth my sword! He dies!” (5.1. 8-10). Evidently, this gullible character is manipulated through the words of Iago as he attempts to kill Cassio for a chance at Desdemona. After his failure in doing so, Iago stabs Roderigo, as he is of no use anymore. In giving his trust to the misleading antagonist, Roderigo leaves himself completely vulnerable. This demonstrates how ruthlessly Iago uses this foolish character, as his longing for Desdemona is the cause of his death. The other victim, Othello, is the main target and falls furthest into this manipulative villain’s layers of lies. Iago is very strategic in his attacks and notices that Othello has a great deal of trust in him which can be easily torn apart. Iago uses this trait to get Othello to believe everything he says and begins by planting the seed of suspicion that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio because of his understanding of