Manipulation And Conceit In Shakespeare's Othello

Iago’s Plan In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, manipulation and deceit are prevalent throughout the play, and the use of these tools causes multiple characters to become more and more violent as a result. Through the use of verbal and physical manipulation of others combined with the use of irony, simile, and metaphor, Iago progressively shifts Othello’s positive mental attitude towards his peers into one more similar to that of the cold blooded and vicious killer that he is deep down which can be seen through his actions. At the beginning of the play, in Act 1 Scene 1, Iago can be seen verbally communicating with his peers in which his lying spree begins. Iago begins by speaking to Desdemona’s father Brabantio, in which he proclaims that “...your

The start of this scenario begins with Emilia stating that “I will bestow you where you shall have time / To speak your bosom freely” when speaking to Cassio, allowing him to wait to speak to Desdemona (Shakespeare 3.1.62-63). This is followed by Desdemona meeting up with Cassio and explaining that “Be thou assured, good Cassio, I will do / All my abilities in thy behalf” in order to show that she cares about his well-being and wants to help him out of his situation (Shakespeare 3.3.1-2). However, Iago utilizes this conversation as a way to deceive Othello by planting multiple seeds of doubt in his head, such as when he states “I did not think he had been acquainted with her” when referring to Cassio and Desdemona’s prior relationship, in order to make Othello nervous and possibly jealous (Shakespeare 3.3.110). Following this, Iago states that “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss” in which Iago utilizes a metaphor in order to compare jealousy to a green-eyed monster, and insinuates that Othello should be wary of being jealous, while also planting ideas in Othello that would lead him to possibly be jealous of Cassio and Desdemona (Shakespeare

Iago plants Othello’s handkerchief with Cassio in order to prepare his next step, which is a moment where Iago is utilizing physical manipulation as opposed to verbal manipulation. After Iago explains to Othello about the possible unfaithfulness of Desdemona, he faints. In this time, Iago speaks to Cassio and plans to speak to him about him and a prostitute, Bianca’s, sexual doings. However, when Othello wakes up he is led to believe Cassio will be talking with Iago about Desdemona and Cassio’s love affair. When the conversation is occuring, Bianca walks in and screams at Cassio about how the handkerchief he had given her was some random girl’s, and that she was done with him. Othello, then, states “By heaven, that should be my handkerchief”, in which he begins to believe that Cassio and Desdemona had truly been having an affair, as Desdemona must have given Cassio the handkerchief in his eyes (Shakespeare 4.1.178). This leads to more ideas of violence from Othello, as he states “Ay, let her rot and perish and be damned” when referring to how he feels about Desdemona at this point (Shakespeare 4.1.202). We can clearly see that he has deteriorated into his offensive, militaristic mindset. Continuing on, it is stated that he is seen “[striking her] Devil!” which is the first act of physical violence that Othello commits towards Desdemona