Shakespeare’s Othello chronicles the downfall of a noble Moor, Othello, who is deceived by a man he considers his friend, Iago. Throughout the course of the play, Iago toys with Othello and eventually leads him to murder and lose his love, his new wife Desdemona. Iago exploits the unquestioned trust Othello places in him to achieve evil ends. As such, trust is a central theme in the story. In this paper, I will explore the contributing factors as to why Othello places more trust in Iago than he does his wife. The interactions in Act 1 quickly establish Othello's implicit trust of Iago. He holds firm belief and reliability in Iago's statements and thoughts, and confides in him regularly. This is evident in how Othello continually refers to Iago with positive modifiers such as "honest Iago" (2.3.177; 2.3.6; 5.1.31). When the Duke tells Othello he must leave immediately for military duty in Cyprus, Othello tasks Iago with delivering important documents from the senate because "A man he is of honesty and trust" (1.3.284). Othello also trusts Iago so implicitly that he stakes not only his reputation on it, but also his wife. He holds such great faith in "thy (Iago's) honesty and love" that he relinquishes the care of his dear wife, Desdemona, to him, "I assign my wife to thee" (1.3.294-297). Othello’s open trust in Iago …show more content…
Desdemona is a white, Venetian debutante that chooses to marry a black man, a Moor, over the wishes of her father. At the beginning of the play, merely six hours after being married, Desdemona’s father attempts to stop her from accompanying Othello on military duty. He relents when Desdemona pledges her allegiance to Othello by telling her father, “But here’s my husband, And so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess due to the Moor my Lord”
While Iago has resentment to othello for not promoting him othello cannot see him as untrustworthy, Because of this othello never questioned him. Iago is good at manipulating people to do his bidding even if they don’t reason this. An example is when Cassio followed Iago advice and petition Desdemona to get othello to forgive Cassio for his mistake. Iago uses that to make Othello wrongfully read this event as deception– Ha!
The most influential, important, and critical relationship amongst humanity is a trusting and attentive friend. A friend is anyone who is supportive of one 's best and compassionate at one 's worst. A friend is an absolutely essential connection to maintain throughout a lifetime. According to the Huffington Post, lack of friendship has been associated with higher chances of a premature death than obesity. Consequently, friendships are required not only for mental health but for longevity.
Untruths and misdirection’s are normal in the public eye, and numerous people veil their actual goals with a lacquer. In Shakespeare 's play Othello, the character Iago is the same as those tricky people. Behind his façade as a dependable ensign and companion, Iago is a multilayered, tricky and manipulative scalawag, coming up with disarray and bringing about setbacks toother characters for requital. Iago utilizes his deft and shrewd key demonstrations of control to undermine each character’s shortcomings. He misuses Roderigo’s love for Desdemona, Cassio under the appearance of companionship, and toys with Othello’s mind by playing on his self-question.
Iago knew that Othello trusted his character to the point that he would believe essentially everything Iago told him. "I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin, And let him find it. Triffles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writs. This may do something. "(III.iii.320-324).
The following passage is significant to the play ‘Othello’ in retrospect to the plot progression, as it reiterates themes and introduces important facets to the plot development. Through Iago’s cunning manipulation and Shakespeare’s crafting of language, this passage is constructed as a pivotal point of the play, marking the transition of Othello’s personality and revealing his deepest insecurities that eventually lead to his downfall and tragic ending. Iago wields a lot of power over all the characters throughout the play, but in this passage in particular he is presented at his most powerful. The passage is riddled with subtle suggestions and insinuations by Iago to raise Othello’s suspicions of his wife’s fidelity, opening with the admonition to “beware, my lord, of jealousy!
One of Othello’s tragic flaws is his tendency to trust others too much, particularly Iago and Desdemona. Just because Othello is so trusting of Iago, Iago actually manages to get Othello to kill his own wife. Iago gives his idea of a solution to Othello, “Do it not with poison; strangle her in her bed, even the bed she / hath contaminated” (IV.i. 195-196). Othello happily agrees with this solution when there are so many better solutions. If Othello had just tried to investigate the problem himself, instead of having Iago do it for him, Othello may have come to a better solution of solving the problem.
Unfortunately, he trusted the wrong person due to his growing lack of self-esteem. Iago, a hypocrite who hid his evil thoughts by appearing as a man of extreme honesty, saw that he could erode Othello’s self-esteem because of who he was, a moor living in European society. He realized he could manipulate Othello for his own evil ends. He slyly used pathos to gain his trust, saying, “My Lord, you know I love you” (III.iii.118) to convince him of his honesty and reliability. Then he suggested the unpredictable nature of Desdemona by saying, “Ay, there’s the point: as, to be bold with you, not to affect many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion, and degree, whereto we see in all things nature tends - Foh!”
Iago contributes to the tragic downfall of Othello, playing him like a fiddle. The human nature of Iago manipulates the trust
Othello falls for Iago’s lies because he sees Othello as a trustworthy man. The reason Othello’s trust in Iago is high, it is because of his honesty, giving him the name “Honest Iago,” and Othello has also known him for years. Throughout the whole story, Othello is lead to believe Iago’s lies and would trust him more than anyone else even his wife Desdemona. With Iago trying manipulate Othello, it works well causing him to do things leading to disbelieve the close people around him.
He states, “the demi-devil Iago has ensnar’d my soul and body” Othello feels bad that Iago betrayed him into believing the worst of his wife. Betrayal can be harmful, it can not only cause emotional pain but physical as well. We witness the death of characters and broken bonds. Betrayal can destroy one’s life and have an immense impact on others. If Othello would have been a rationalized man he would have discussed his concerns and fears directly with his wife, rather than speculating
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.
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.
Othello’s confidence for a loyal man to maintain honesty and morals are contradicted through Iago’s actions: “in a man that’s just / They are close dilations, working from the heart, / That passion cannot rule” (3.3.123). Iago, due to the understatement to his name, is not perceivable as hateful. Othello’s willingness to sense Iago’s distress, and to believe his accusations, is because of the lack of awareness Othello has for his vengeance. Iago is of such little power and relevance within societal ranking that if he were to have intentions to sabotage anyone, which he does, are not considered, thus making him easily trustworthy to those of greater dominance. Society’s view of an individual determines how others consider and surmise their persona, though these conclusions may be false.
In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.
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