Iago's Manipulation Essay

A major question that no one has been able to answer about William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, is what motivates Iago to go against those closest to him – namely Othello. Though the play is named “Othello”, Iago has the most lines, and the most soliloquies of any character, making the story more his own than anyone else’s. The only issue is that the reader never gets the answers to the questions they have about Iago and his deadly game of manipulation. I propose that Iago is motivated by five main factors - work, friendship, love, otherness, and power - all of which are directly related to Othello, who proves to be a vulnerable and insecure character, making him the perfect target for Iago’s self-proclaimed revenge. The very first issue Iago

The whole relationship he has with Othello is entirely one sided. In act one, Iago admits to hating Othello, and yet he remains by Othello’s side until the end of the play – until his own death. Othello’s trust in Iago is what brands him as easy to manipulate. In addition, it helps that Othello himself is insecure about Desdemona’s feelings for him. As such, Iago exploits Othello’s weak spot. He makes Othello question little things in his relationship with Desdemona. He says things like “Did […] Cassio […] / know of your love?”, “beware, my lord, of jealousy” and even concocts a story about Cassio sleep talking about his “[s]weet Desdemona” (3.3.92-92,163,415). In order to make Othello doubt his relationship with Desdemona, he needs someone else to manipulate, to make the fictitious relationship appear palpable. Who better than Cassio, a man Iago already resents for being chosen over him for a job? The fact that Cassio was the first person to know about Othello’s relationship with Desdemona makes the situation even more complex, because Iago makes it appear that one friend went against another. Being an expert at deception, Iago also effectively manages to use the volume of his voice to stage a conversation between himself and Cassio while Othello observes in secret. Iago is so good at leading the conversation with Cassio, that he simultaneously manages to

Iago refers to Othello as a “Moor” on several occasions throughout the play, which tells the reader that Othello, unlike all the others, is black (1.1.38). Iago also says, in a wide variety of ways throughout the play when alone, or in the presence of Roderigo, that he “hate[s] the Moor” (1.3.363). Given that the play takes place in Venice, historically, this creates a sense of geographical otherness because Othello is, presumably, a foreigner. Cassio is also a foreigner to Venice – he is a “Florentine” (1.1.18). Iago, however, is a Venetian, which makes it understandable why he is bitter about Othello and Cassio holding such high positions in his own homeland’s army, when he, a native, is just as qualified. While playing with Othello’s mind, Iago mentions that he fears Desdemona will “[recoil] to her better judgement / May fall to match you with her country forms / And happily repent” (3.3.235-237). Essentially, Iago plants a seed of self-doubt in Othello’s mind that because he is not Venetian, he is not worthy of Desdemona. As such, she may regret marrying Othello and chose to leave him, or seek her pleasures elsewhere. Given that Othello already has the insecurity of otherness due to his race, Othello becomes warry, and though he brushes the comment off, he tells Iago to “set on [his] wife to observe” (3.3.239). Othello also questions why he