In The Time Of The Butterflies And Othello Essay

The above passage from Shakespeare’s “Othello the Moor of Venice” encapsulates the irony of Iago’s character; but, also foreshadows the deceptions and betrayals that he will orchestrate on each person that is involved in his life. Othello at its core deals with appearances versus reality: shown through racism parallels and paradoxes. Honest and just are not qualities Iago possesses, but this is his appearance to his social circle; when in reality he is a manipulative, deceitful, double crossing, backstabbing man. He cares for no one but himself; and will destroy and pervert innocence to serve his own ambition and darkness.

Iago contributes to the tragic downfall of Othello, playing him like a fiddle. The human nature of Iago manipulates the trust

be true, /But for mere suspicion in that kind, /Will do as if for surety” (I, iii, 324-327) to give another reason for his hatred. Iago admits that he has no proof of Othello’s crime against him, but he still states it as a reason for his hatred. Iago contains too much hatred to be led by a near suspicion which causes the audience to believe that this reason has no truth behind it, and it appears as an excuse. Shakespeare continues to craft the mystery behind Iago’s motives when Iago describes Othello as a man with “constant loving noble nature/

(Shakespeare, I. i. 30-31). Thus Jordan explains Othello’s decision by arguing that “Othello chooses to believe the one he has known the longer” (Jordan, 1950). Therefore Iago’s deception takes advantage of the strong trust Othello has for Iago based upon their longstanding

Iago is a unique and complicated character. He is intelligent in that he is able to manipulate people and events in his favour, which he thrives on throughout the play, classifying him as the antagonist of the play. Driven by jealousy and hatred, Iago plots against Othello to destroy his character and reputation. Knowing that if he foolishly attacked such a respected man directly, he would be sentenced to death. As a result, he devises to use other people to obtain what he desires by influencing the characters in the play to suit his plan.

During the Elizabethan Era, drama began to flourish in Western Europe. Plays have become more violent and dramatic as well as new ways of driving a performance. William Shakespeare’s Othello involves a man named Iago who wants to get revenge on Othello who is known as ‘the Moor of Venice’. Iago is able to get Othello to fully trust him and manipulates Othello to believe in false claims which eventually brings both of them to their downfall. A soliloquy acts as an aid to the audience in order to understand a character’s internal thoughts. Shakespeare utilizes this technique frequently throughout the performance especially for the antagonist for the play, Iago. The soliloquies enhance Iago’s villainous characteristics by giving him moments to

As humans we all have been where rumors have been spread about us or where we do the opposite. They, however, all tend to do some harm to us and it can cause certain conflicts to occur during the process. Death can be the outcome of something like this because this did happen to three innocent people. They were all wrapped up in a bed of lies that ended their lives sooner than expected.

In many stories, there are villains who seem to control how the characters act by manipulation. These kinds of villains use multiple techniques to get what they want and to execute their plans. The techniques are used to affect the characters in a negative way in favor of the villain. In Othello, the antagonist Iago, plays that role. Iago affects the characters’ lives in a negative way by his honest reputation, his ability to “read” people, and how he “proves” to be Loyal.

Kolin observes that Iago stands out among Shakespearean villains since he is the only one to survive his own monstrous acts (25). Unlike Richard III, apart from telling stories, Iago carries out a downright fraud through other means of manipulation, which makes him the most evil and intelligent character. To be exact, Iago is a puppeteer who sets up scenes to deceive the “credulous fools”—Othello, Cassio and Desdemona (4.1.45). Iago talks to Cassio about Bianca while telling Othello that the subject of their conversation is the Moor’s wife. He is so smart and careful that he even gestures Othello to come closer when Cassio is about to illustrate how Bianca entangles him.

He is manipulative and tells Othello to “observe her [Desdemona] well with Cassio” (Shakespeare, 3.3:197). Iago feeds Othello with countless lies and makes him miserable with something that is not factual. He is determined to get revenge and he does not realize Iago stands insincere. Furthermore, Iago is selfish when he tells Othello, “I am yours for ever” (3.3:479). He betrays Othello yet still let’s him depend on him for his own

Iago’s motive for betraying Othello is jealousy and revenge, resulting in Iago betraying several characters to quench his thirst for

In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare we are introduced to Othello who is the protagonist and faces a lot of obstacles, one of them being betrayal. Throughout the whole play we witness betrayal from many of the characters through their irrational behavior and actions. However the biggest betrayal we see is from Iago, who is the antagonist, in other words, the villain of the play. Iago plans on having his revenge and betraying Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Rodrigo and even his wife, Emilia. Betrayal is wrong and something that can’t be forgiven, at the end betrayal breaks friendships as well as lives and trust which never works out well in the end.

For example, he claims that Othello made him a cuckold. The rumor about Othello making him a cuckold is false and Iago knows this but he decides to use it anyway. He uses a number of other non-specific motives to explain his action but in the end he chooses to remain silent because he has no true motive at all. 8. I agree with this statement, Iago is what many people believed was a trustworthy person.

While he knows that his actions are immoral, he embraces it fully by calling for evil forces to help in his plans to destroy Othello’s life. This imagery shows Iago’s true nature to the audience, one that wishes for the corruption of people’s lives and actively acting it out. Moreover, Iago refers to himself as a devil in a soliloquy after Cassio drunkenly --------, saying "When devils will the blackest sins put on, / They do suggest at first with heavenly shows, / As I do now" (2.3.351-353). He reveals his intentions to harm Othello to the audience, showing that he does not have empathy for Othello or those his actions would affect, showing his ------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Iago is by far the sneakiest character in Othello. By using an (act innocent and blind) approach to seek revenge on his commanding officer and colleague who took his place. Iago’s deception can be spotted as early as act two. “I do love Cassio well and would do much to cure him from this evil” (Shakespeare 2.3.150-151). This is where Iago tells Montano how much he loves Cassio and wants to help him, but as the reader you know that he hates Othello and Cassio bit tricks Montano and others to get his revenge.