Using the character of Roderigo, Iago manipulates him into doing everything he wants. At the beginning of the tragedy, Iago and Roderigo are talking poorly about Othello. Roderigo, who is in love with Desdemona, is upset due to hearing that Othello and Desdemona have recently married. Iago, who just found out Othello did not give him
Iago will continue his lies and deceptions as long as Desdemona and Othello’s marriage is intact. The use of dramatic irony reveal includes Iago’s claims that, “Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor/ At least into a jealousy so strong/ That judgment cannot cure” (II.1. 300-302). Iago believes that placing Othello into a pit of jealousy and paranoia will make him feel better. Iago believes he has to destroy Othello, because he believes that Othello committed adultery with his wife, Emilia.
However, what Roderigo doesn’t know is that Iago is a two-faced hypocrite that only performs actions for his own benefit. Roderigo repeatedly relies on Iago for his assistance to persuade Desdemona to love him, however Iago betrays him. He pushes Roderigo off a cliff through an emotional turmoil. He lives to have “this poor trash of Venice, whom I trash / For his quick hunting, stand the putting on, / I’ll have our Michael Cassio on the hip.” (2.1.301-303) Basically, if Roderigo can perform what Iago wants, then power can be brought over Cassio and his wrath can be brought to justice. In the OED, ‘hunting’ is a term that can be defined as ‘to go eagerly in search of or seeking something.’ Roderigo is constantly in search for Desdemona’s love, asking around for approval from Brabantio, and advice from Iago.
For instance, Roderigo could not distinguish that Iago was using him for his own gain. Roderigo is so jealous of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage that he would do anything to destroy their marriage and win Desdemona for himself. Iago sees an open window and convinces Roderigo to accompany him so that they could both take revenge on Othello and Iago would help Roderigo win Desdemona. In reality, Iago is only with Roderigo for financial stability and does not care to help Roderigo. Roderigo cannot see through Iago’s lies because he is too busy being jealous of Othello and Desdemona’s love.
All these traits that Othello exhibits lead him to be known as one of the most well-known tragic heroes in all of literature. And Iago is person who is full of hatred and jealousy towards anyone who is in a position higher than him; he can’t control his jealousy and begin doing actions which is not suitable to his position. This leads to destroy all the people whom around him even the people he
Iago uses manipulation to turn the moor into a murderer. The main reason for Iago's success was based on the social differences between the two. In that time interracial marriage between a black and white person was unacceptable, giving Iago the chance to enrage Brabantio. To begin with, Iago told Roderigo,” I will follow him to serve my turn upon him.” The quote means Iago's intentions are to mislead Othello by gaining his trust and turning him into a killer beast. Once Othello's trust is gain, Othello confides in Iago about Desdemona.
Iago lies to Othello and at first he doesn 't believe him, but Iago is a close friend so, Othello lets Iago convince him that he is telling the truth. Othello believes Iago is a dear friend and he completely misses the fact that Iago is manipulating him. When a stranger telling someone things that they don 't believe, they are less likely to believe them, but if a friend tells them something, why wouldn 't they believe it, they are friends. When Iago starts lying to Othello he doesn 't have any proof, so the says things like this, “Did Michael Cassio, When you wooed my lady, know of your love” (Shakespeare 3.3.105). Iago planted the seed, so when Iago brings Othello “proof” he does not doubt him.
Although the audience is well aware of his hatred for Othello at this point, this soliloquy begins to delve into the mind of Iago. For example, Iago states “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” (1.3.375-8). Because Roderigo is in love with Othello’s wife Desdemona, Iago is just using him in order to achieve his goal. While Iago continues with discussing his thoughts, he brings up many reasons behind why he is planning to get revenge. First, he uses derogatory terms to describe Othello such as a moor.
Villains prevail throughout all forms of literature, thought to be characters whose evil actions influence the driving plot. Most notorious of villains is Iago, a character who seeks to ruin marriages and reputations with no clear motive — other than it is simply his wicked nature. In the first Act, Roderigo complains to Iago, stating that he lives only for Desdemona’s love and it isn’t in his “virtue” to stop his love for her. Iago, of course, believes this to be preposterous, who then goes on to explain how love can be controlled, just as easily as one tends to a garden. In Othello Shakespeare demonstrates Iago’s artistry as a manipulator and as a villain through the speech in Act I scene iii, revealing Iago as the driving force of the play.
When Iago informs certain characters that he knows have fallen into his trap, the characters will not doubt what he has to say. While Iago fills the characters’ minds with lies, the characters will act according to the lies thinking he is honest. Although his lies are sometimes subtle it affects the Othello is one of the victims who believed Iago. You can already tell that Othello has been fooled when he calls him “a man [of] honesty and trust”. The audience already knows that Iago is a liar and loathes Othello, so the audience can tell when Iago is being two-faced and that Othello truly believes in him.