Shakespeare, had the major characters referring to Iago as, “honest Iago.” They referred to him as such in relation to his supposed nobility to Othello and others. In reality though, Iago had been plotting against Othello and his loved ones ever since Michael Cassio was promoted to lieutenant instead of himself. With everyone believing he was honest he was able to go through with his evil plot to destroy Othello as well as his reputation without anyone suspecting his intentions. By creating this irony Shakespeare
seen by others. Power debases Iago as how he got the power is not righteous. Within the tragedy, Shakespeare uses the idea of appearance versus reality with Iago, to show how authority can pervert a person. The tragedy starts with Othello naming Michael Cassio the lieutenant of his troops. Suddenly Iago displays jealousy, stating “I am not what I am” (II.i.66), foreshadowing his duplicity. Early on, Iago displays his desire for power by showing anger after Othello does not name him lieutenant. Iago’s
and eventually he says, “...I hate the Moor” (1.3.369). His hatred toward Othello drives him to become deceptive and manipulative. Iago advises Cassio: “confess yourself freely to her; importune her to help you put you in your place again” (2.3.282-284). Although this seems to be sound advice, Iago plans to deceive Othello by leading him to believe that Cassio and Desdemona are in love. In an aside, Iago says, “I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear, / ...So I will turn her virtue into pitch, / And
affair with his good friend and lieutenant Michael Cassio. Othello succumbs to the idea, and decides that Desdemona must die. In the end Desdemona gets murdered by Othello, and Othello kills himself. Othello’s great friend and lieutenant Michael Cassio, is one of the characters that Iago uses many times throughout the play. Cassio
general, Othello, and how he is manipulated by his ambitious friend, Iago. Iago becomes angry at Othello when he promotes Michael Cassio rather than Iago to the lieutenancy. Iago then schemes a plot to take down Othello. Iago uses Desdemona, Othello’s new wife, to take down the great general. He leads Othello to considering that his wife is cheating on him with Michael Cassio. This causes Othello to become suspicious and eventually drives Othello into killing Desdemona. In the end, Othello learns
In Othello, Iago serves as a clever manipulator. He uses his skills on the stupid and naïve Roderigo to get revenge on Othello. Iago’s main reason for his hatred of Othello is because he is passed over for the lieutenant position given to Michael Cassio. Iago also seems to delight in the manipulation and destruction he is causes. One major way Iago uses his manipulation on Roderigo is by jealousy. At the start of the play, we hear a conversation between Roderigo and Iago. Roderigo is angry because
of Venice, Iago shows his waves of indignation, "One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,/ That never set a squadron in the field,/Nor the division of a battle knows/More than a spinster—unless the bookish theoric,…But [Cassio], sir, had the election;" (Shakespeare 1.1.20-27). At that point, Iago criticizes Othello because Othello passes a promotion of a military lieutenant on Cassio instead of him – a more worthy person. He cannot explain why Cassio, who lacks experiences on the field of battle, has a
get revenge on Cassio for stealing away the job Iago wants he comes up with a very dark, deceiving plan. Iago knows Cassio's weaknesses and decides to use this to his advantage. Iago knows that Cassio has a problem with drinking and that he is not good at holding his alcohol. Iago gets the idea that if he is able to get Cassio drunk then Othello will see and think that he is unable to carry out his duties as a lieutenant. In order to get Cassio drunk, Iago has to persuade him. Cassio says to Iago,
Desdemona’s love. Iago tricks Othello into believing Othello’s wife has cheated on Othello using a handkerchief. Iago has his wife Emelia steal the handkerchief and he leaves it for Michael Cassio to find. When Othello sees Cassio has the handkerchief he assumes Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona because Iago has told him that Cassio admitted to sleeping with Desdemona. Othello believes Iago and the reader could interpret Othello as gullible, but
Many older plays or movies are remade to appeal to a different age of people. These renditions often follow the same story line with only subtle differences to be more appealing. Many of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into movies to enhance the studying or understanding of his plays. An example of this would be Othello which has been created into a movie called “O”. Othello and “O” both follow the same story line. The similarities between them make "O" an excellent rendition of the play. Othello
unfaithful towards because Iago established himself as a honest, trustworthy ancient who could never harm his friends. For example, when Iago is told to narrate who instigated the fight between Cassio and Montano, he says “I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth/ than it should do offense to Michael Cassio” thus causing everyone to assume that his story is the truth (II.iii.236-237). Throughout the play, Iago continues to poison Othello mind by acting as a dependable friend who is concerned for
care about others. The problem with the Iago's lack of empathy is that he is the reason there are conflicts in the whole play. The life of Othello and Desdemona as well as Cassio and Roderigo would be without problems if it were not for Iago. Since the beginning of the play Iago explains his hatred for Othello for making Cassio lieutenant and he would go to far lengths to take his rightful position just as an average sociopath of our time would. Iago demonstrates no empathy in the acts that he commits
suspicious of Cassio. Othello knew that he saw Cassio leaving the room when he arrived, so that made him suspicious and now his wife is begging for Cassio to be reinstated as the lieutenant. This would have never happened if it weren’t for Lago making sure that Othello walked into something that would make him suspicious. Then when it’s just Lago and Othello by themselves, Othello starts to ask a lot of questions and Lago gives him almost sarcastic comments or things that would make him dislike Cassio even
his wife that which he has previously committed with other women? Does this love of Desdemona feed into his hatred and jealousy of Othello? Back to Emilia and Iago's relationship, however, Iago indicated above that he suspects that both Othello and Cassio have (or will) seduce(d) his wife and that the jealousy thereof wracks his mind and causes him to want to get even. When Iago deceives Othello, and begins to plant distrust in his mind, he says a few things that may mirror his own inner truths. Iago
such as jealously and hatred. Iago’s main reason for his hatred of Othello is that Othello gave the position of lieutenant to Michael Cassio instead of to him as was expected. Iago believes that he was far more qualified for the position and asserts that the only information Cassio knows about warfare is what he has read in books. The jealously that Iago feels toward Cassio deepens his hatred for Othello. In Act 1, scene 1 Iago states, “I follow him to serve my turn upon him.” This shows the reader
Roderigo. To begin with, Iago is jealous of the fact that Cassio is now second in command, as he believes that he is more fit for the job as he says: One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, A fellow almost damned in a fair wife, That never set a squadron in the Iago also creates a new profound hate for Othello for not recognizing that he is more worthy and has more qualification for the job, resulting in the start of his plans to destroy Othello and Cassio. This was the start to the downfall of many characters
feeding the seeds of doubt and suspicion he has already planted. With his faux surprise, and his seemingly unwillingness to speak out of turn, Iago manages to make Othello begin to doubt Cassio’s character. Iago knew that if he had outright accused Cassio of sleeping with Desdemona, Othello would have immediately dismissed his words, simply because of how much he trusted his wife. But, because of his tone of voice and his way of saying things without actually saying them, he is able to begin to weaken
physically. Michael Cassio is faced with numerous challenges that develop after an envious man, Iago, becomes upset over Cassio’s new role as a lieutenant. As a result of Iago being devious and vengeful, he develops a plan to destroy the marriage of his enemy, Othello and ruin Cassio’s life and reputation in the process. Cassio is naive to the fact that he is being targeted by Iago and tries to regain his position back after he suffers the loss of it. By seeking the help of the general’s wife, Cassio naively
Although the reasoning behind why Iago does the things he does is never fully revealed to the audience it is made known that he was upset over the fact that he was passed over for the lieutenant position Michael Cassio received. This perceived slight causes a deep resentment and anger towards Othello. Though, this is not the true motivation for what he does; rather, it is more due to Iago’s wanting everyone to feel the pain, jealousy, and anger that he does. According to Marcia Macaulay, [Iago]
Venetian and Othello’s good friend, clearly has power over Othello. This is reinforced as he manipulates his emotions by implanting thoughts engulfed of jealousy: “I cannot think it/That he would steal away so guilty-like/Seeing you coming”, “Did Michael Cassio, when you wooed my lady/Know of your love?” and “She did deceive her father marrying you”. Each of these quotes connotes to Desdemona being promiscuous, therefore causing Othello to become jealous. Given that Othello was referred to as an “old