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Examples Of Manipulation In Othello

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Manipulation is often times blinded by the amount of trust in an individual. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the contrasting ideas of trust and manipulation are portrayed through the characters in “Act 2.” Although Iago and Othello appear to be similar in the beginning of the play, Iago reveals himself in “Act 2” by manipulating and destroying the lives of others. Shakespeare uses symbols to represent how the characters are completely oblivious to Iago’s actions. The idea of manipulation is seen in this act through references to plants. “Though other things grow fair against the sun, yet fruits that blossom first will be ripe” (Shakespeare,2,3 , 349-50). The knowledge that Iago has of everyone’s vulnerability expands his limits to manipulate them to a level that they themselves do not notice. Shakespeare uses botanical references that also concern poison, portraying his manipulation. Iago’s symbol of poison contributes to the idea that he cannot be trusted. “I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear” (Shakespeare, 2, 3, 330). The character of Iago has many symbols to show the reader how he manipulates others, while the characters in the play never suspect him to be dangerous. The symbols used by Shakespeare clearly show how Iago is very knowledgeable and knows exactly how to manipulate …show more content…

Even though Iago is seen as a good guy to the other characters, the imagery in “Act 2” gives a different perspective to who he really is. Knowing of Roderigo’s anger, Iago still pushes him more by stating, “Do you find some occasion anger” (Shakespeare, 2, 2, 78). Iago seems to make Roderigo angry by telling him lies about Cassio and Desdemona. Roderigo believes that he can trust Iago. Therefore, he becomes very angry and plans to kill Cassio, immensely satisfying Iago. Humans seek to seek revenge when they are in great anger; though they do not think to question the evidence they’ve been

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In Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the Moor of Venice, Iago is an interesting character. Throughout the play we see Iago manipulate the other characters and use the different circumstances to his advantage. Iago is a cunning, manipulative, and divisive character that will stop at nothing to get back at Othello for passing him up for promotion. The first time we see Iago alone is at the very end of Act 1 Scene 3 when after speaking with Cassio, he tells of his plans to use Cassio to get between Desdemona and Othello as well as take his position as lieutenant. He tells how he wants to use Cassio’s good looks to drive a wedge between the two lovers and how his own words will penetrate Othello much like a disease which will poison him (Beier, 2014).

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I know not if 't be true,/But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,/Will do as if for surety” (Shakespeare 1.3.429-433). Iago does this by manipulating all those important to Othello in hopes of ruining the perception and honor of Othello himself. Iago is playing with the other characters since the first act. The audience sees his first plan to disturb Othello’s father in law in the middle of the night, saying, “Call up her father,/Rouse him. Make after him, poison his delight,/Proclaim him in the streets; incense her kinsmen,/And, though he in a fertile climate dwell,/Plague him with flies.

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In Othello, the villain, Iago, consistently manipulates the other characters to act in accordance with his ultimate plan to get revenge for Othello’s choice of lieutenant and to pay Othello back for supposedly sleeping with his wife. As the action of the play unfolds, Iago delivers a solliloquoy describing his devious plan: “After some time, to abuse Othello's ear/That he is too familiar with his wife./He hath a person and a smooth dispose…And will as tenderly be led by the nose/As asses are.” Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony in exposing Iago’s plan to the audience serves to build interest among the audience within the completion of the plot. Observers in the play become fully invested in understanding if another character discovers Iago’s plan or if Iago completes his revenge. Since the audience’s emotions are highly invested in the storyline, the climactic ending and ultimate reveal of Iago’s actions is much more dramatically tense.

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According to a literary article “An ontological transgression: Iago as representation in its pure form” by Agnes Matuska states “From one point of view Iago is a villain, while from another he is doing nothing but what is necessary for all play and theatre: he is creating a world. And to make him even more intriguing, he is willing to comment on his machinations” ( par 3). Iago is being whoever he must be to get his plan going either to be Othello’s friend to giving Cassio advises and to being Roderigo partner in crime. Iago manipulated Othello a person who is a general rank level to believe his wife was cheating on him thus he ended up

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Manipulation and revenge were present throughout the story of Othello from the work of Iago; a trained military man who was confident in his skills and knowledge. When Othello’s promotion was given to a younger and less skilled man named Michael Cassio, Iago became a villain capable of destroying trust, faking friendships, and compulsively lying with every chance given to ruin Othello. In addition, Iago was successful in taking away everything that was important to Othello such as his wife, Desdemona, and his image creating Othello into someone he wasn’t. In the end, Iago never stayed the same. In other words, Iago was constantly growing his hatred and revenge with each plan plotted against the Othello, allowing his manipulation to escalate

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In Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello, the play centers around the calamitous ruin of the marriage of Othello and Desdemona within Venice, Italy perpetrated by the villainous, vengeful Iago, a malicious man who vows to do anything within his power to destroy Othello’s state of being through psychological tactics of manipulation and dishonesty. Although, Iago was the sole mastermind in orchestrating the plot to bring Othello down, ultimately other characters within the play played a significant factor in the doleful death of Desdemona, centered around the commonality of deceit, jealousy, and miscommunication of the likeness of Othello, Michael Cassio, Roderigo, Emilia, and Desdemona. This was assisted predominantly by their own oblivious nature

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In the last act of William Shakespeare's Othello plenty of things go wrong starting with the way Othello treats Desdemona. In this part of the analysis, I will be focusing mostly on the way everything in the is all a cause of manipulation. Not only will I be talking about the different ways that Iago has manipulated the characters throughout the story to get his way but I will also be talking about or mentioning throughout this analysis is how much hate led up to all the manipulation. In this act of Othello by William Shakespeare, it begins when Iago and Rodrigo wait outside a brothel in order to kill Cassio but Iago does not want to get hurt or caught so he leaves but he is still able to watch the situation play out in front of.

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