Iago, during the play, displays a notable lack of remorse or guilt for the many horrendous deeds he commits. This is seen twice in the scenes where Iago is confronted about his devilish plan. (2.) After Othello kills Desdemona and reveals to Emilia that it was Iago who convinced him about the affair. This causes Emillia to start to realize her husband’s plans. (3.) As Iago enters the scene of the murder, Emilia openly asks Iago if he told Othello that Desdemona was cheating on him; Iago responds thusly: “I told him what I thought, and told no more than what he found himself was apt and true” (V.II.212-213). (4.) Iago is stating that Iago just told Othello what he knew and what made sense (which is obviously not true). The fact that he could so blatantly lie about what had occurred when it resulted in the death of an innocent person goes to show how unremorseful he was about his actions and about taking an innocent life. (3) Later, when Iago is promptly caught after fleeing the scene, he is interrogated by Othello about his scheme. Iago arrogantly responds with the following: “ Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word. (V.II.355-356).(4.) Iago is, for as unusual as it is for a Shakespearean villain, refusing to reveal his motives for his evil plan. This final act of defiance does nothing
Iago uses very clever methods of persuasion and manipulation aimed to use Othello’s hamartia against him, pointing out that “ “She (Desdemona) did deceive her father, marrying you,” so much so that Brabantio “thought ’twas witchcraft”. Through this, Iago is subtly raising the issues of Othello’s cultural differences with Desdemona; a root cause behind Othello’s insecurities with his wife – along with inadequacy due to race, degree of sophistication and age. As Iago prompts Othello to think the worst, his utterances are short and uneasy, revealing the beginning to his downfall, whilst Iago’s dialogue is at length highlighting his growing power of
Iago is filled with hate,jealousy and envy. He would do anything to get Desdemona away from Othello and to have her himself .It is clear that Iago is jealous because he goes out of his way to tell Desdemonas father Brabantio a lie. He tells him that she is having an affair with Cassio so that she is having intercourse with Othello. Iago shows signs of fixed mindset. His mind is fixed on getting revenge on Othello so he comes up with a “evil” plan to destroy Othello’s life. Iago is motivated by hate because he didn't move on from the thought that Othello is doing wrong by Desdemona.“ I hate the moor” ( Act 1 Scene 1 Line 171-174) . This shows that Iago have real hatred in his heart for Othello and that he is fixed on getting revenge . Iago would not tell the truth . Carol Dweck states “ when you enter a mindset you enter a new world “.
The cruelty Iago is able to incite in Othello and Roderigo reveals their deep passions and overwhelmingly trusting natures. The fact that Othello is so vulnerable and susceptible to Iago’s poisoning sheds light on his lurking insecurities about age, race and appearance, which Othello is ultimately unable to ignore. Likewise, Roderigo’s willingness to sacrifice all money and morals by Iago’s bidding reflects his naive passions and an overall lack of personal strength. In stark contrast with Othello and Roderigo, Desdemona, the primary victim of Iago’s cruelty and yet the only one who dies completely unaware of it, turns out, somewhat ironically, to be the only one whose inner self is completely unaffected by Iago. On the eve of her death, even after being horribly mistreated by Othello, she firmly upholds her values of loyalty and obedience, and her belief that no woman would ever wrong her husband. This reveals in part her naivety to the point of foolish ignorance that she met her downfall with, but more importantly, the incorruptible purity and innocence that Desdemona
Othello starts off as a strong leader who loves his wife. Iago begins to plant lies in his head, and shortly after, his mind is corrupted by jealousy and revenge, which turns him into a monster. Othello wants revenge on Desdemona for being unfaithful as Iago has been telling him. At night Othello goes into her chamber to murder her saying “Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men/ put out the light and then put out the light “. He is so corrupted that he truly believes he is doing a good deed by keeping others from being deceived by Desdemona.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello the two main characters are Iago and Othello. The entire story centers around Iago 's plan to achieve revenge on Othello for not promoting him to lieutenant. Throughout the story Iago tries to convince Othello that his wife Desdemona has cheated on him with his lieutenant Cassio. Iago’s plan is successfully and easily executed. Othello is tricked into believing that desdemona has been unfaithful and in the end he kills her. The men in Othello mistrust the women and always quick to associate them with being deceptive and unfaithful.
The play of Othello is a tragedy that exposes the characters in several ways, causing conflict and envy, eventually leading to a tragic end. To achieve this tragic end, Iago uses manipulation in order to change the views of, and bring out multiple personalities in the characters.
By telling Othello this, Iago makes Othello even more jealous and curious. Othello starts to become irrationally jealous and extremely violent, especially around Desdemona. In this scene, we see the exchange between the couple:
Emilia is Iago’s wife as well as Desdemona’s maid, he lacks attention and sympathy towards her. It is very obvious that he does not care about her. Iago also betrays his wife during the play. Iago used his wife as a tool in order to make it seem like Desdemona and Cassio had an affair. Emilia later in the play no longer wanted to be his accomplice so she accuses Iago of criminal behavior in order to save Desdemona’s reputation. Of course, having Emilia around is no good for Iago so he decides to betray his wife and literally stab
Throughout Othello Shakespeare is able to pontificate about how it is often found that appearance is more highly valued than character, yet character is far more significant. This concept is epitomized when the Duke says to Brabantio, “And, noble signior / If virtue no delighted beauty lack / Your son-in-law is far more fair than black,” (1.3.284-286). In this quote the Duke is saying that if it is by the soul which people are judged then Othello is far more beautiful then he is black, for his virtue is far more prevalent than the color of his skin. When Brabantio goes on to ignore this advice, it is obvious how the characters of Othello ignorantly allow their perceptions of appearances to outweigh the true nature
First of all, the first person Iago manipulates is Roderigo, his so-called “best friend”. Roderigo pays Iago to be his wingman and try to get Desdemona to be with Roderigo instead
When he does not get the position he wants and also heard that Othello has been sleeping with his wife Emilia, Iago’s manipulation increases. Iago plans his scheme based on, “[Othello] has done my office, I know not if’t be true/ But I, for mere suspicion in that kind/ Will do as if for surety” (I. III. 431-433). This use of manipulation is all based on an assumption that Othello has slept with Iago’s wife, and this assumption leads to even more horrible events. Iago also manipulates Othello with jealousy. When Othello is gone at war, Iago tells him that Cassio and Desdemona were getting too close. At first Othello does not believe him, but by Iago saying “nothing,my lord; or if- I know not what” Othello starts to question if it is true (III. III. 39). Iago constantly uses his “innocence” to make Othello jealous and start to assume that it is true. These actions eventually lead to a tragic event. Iago’s manipulation has driven Othello insane, leading to Iago’s plans on his last night. Othello tells Iago to go get some poison to kill Desdemona, but Iago refuses and just tells him to strangle her in her bed (IV. I. 223-229). Iago’s manipulation has not only lead Othello to believe the rumor is true, but has lead him to kill his own wife as well. Iago even manipulates Othello to strangle her, which is a much personal and vengeful death than poison. All of this manipulation results in Desdemona’s death,
Iago’s powerfully disruptive insinuations torment Othello to fall precipitously into his intricate trap, believing in the prospect of Cassio and Desdemona’s fictitious affair. Through the use of linguistic techniques such as elliptical speech, subservient vocative choices and a hesitant tone, Iago is able to construct artful innuendoes to deceive and manipulate Othello. Supplementary to linguistic techniques, dramatic techniques such as dramatic irony reinforces Iago’s role as a two-faced villain, who is making a pretence of being Othello’s loyal ensign. Eventually, Iago’s villainy nature sows a seed of doubt in Othello that germinates into the murder of Desdemona. Through the characterisation of Iago as a notorious villain, Shakespeare is able to hold Iago’s actions accountable for the play’s tragic downfall, establishing a sense of powerlessness amongst the
Tragic heroes always meet their demise in the end. They have characteristics that result in their tragic deaths. In William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Othello, the protagonist Othello exemplifies the characteristics of a tragic hero.
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.