When it comes to Iago, he is constantly using others in the story as “pieces” in his larger game. He knows how to trick others into thinking that ideas that are completely absurd and very unrealistic are true. The only thing is that nobody realizes his intentions until it is too
Iago “empathizes” with others and reveals himself as desperate sycophant to develop strong relationships, which lead to his ability to control the situation that he is in. Iago tries to appeal to the emotions that others are feeling, so he can convince them to do what he wants. An example of this is when Iago tries to persuade Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him Cassio, even though this is not true. “And may; but how?
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.
By exploiting societal attitudes towards women, Iago is able to manipulate the men around him, ultimately furthering his own
As Iago's plot goes on he gets closer to Othello leading up to him hurting Othello by feeding him lies. To begin one example of Iago being completely corrupt is that he is able to seem humble to Othello because he serves under General Othello. Along with that Iagos capacity for cruelty is limitless, including killing his friend and back stabbing his friends. With no motivation shows how he is a sociopath without emotions.
“Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.” (Criss Jami). In Othello, Iago is one of the most deceiving throughout the book. Similar to the quote, Iago is a master at manipulation.
In the book Othello, Iago is a very manipulating man, throughout the book he manages to manipulate three main people, Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello. He uses all their weaknesses to bring them down. Iago wants revenge on Othello, because Othello overlooks Iago and his abilities, so Iago manipulates these three characters to get back at Othello in the long run. He comes up with a very good plan to get each other to turn against one another. So in the end he ends up getting what he wanted, revenge.
In a tragedy such as Othello by William Shakespeare, the character, Iago, falls not from an excess of evil but from an excess of good. In the beginning, Iago just wanted to get the justice he believed he deserved. The difference between the audience and Iago is the character traits that make Iago the villain. Iago need for justice and the way he goes about obtaining said justice reveals his true character: bitter, hateful,
Through the examination of Iago and his evil motives against his friends, we can see that he manipulates the truth and turns his friends against one another. Iago also has no remorse for his evil actions and actually gloats about them throughout the play. His victims were completely oblivious to his crimes and suffered due to his obsession with himself and having control of everyone around him. Iago’s first two victims who fell for his trap were Desdemona and Othello.
Iago is a manipulative person motivated by self-riotousness, greed, and jealousy. He craves control over everybody he comes in contact with. He finds each character’s passion or motives and uses it to drive his scheme. His most effective weapon is his words. He poison’s the other characters mind with misleading thoughts, which gives him more power over them.
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.
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 is a unique and complicated character. He is intelligent in that he is able to manipulate people and events in his favour, which he thrives on throughout the play, classifying him as the antagonist of the play. Driven by jealousy and hatred, Iago plots against Othello to destroy his character and reputation. Knowing that if he foolishly attacked such a respected man directly, he would be sentenced to death. As a result, he devises to use other people to obtain what he desires by influencing the characters in the play to suit his plan.
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.
Iago convinces Othello of false information, convincing him to kill Desdemona. Easily manipulated by Iago, Othello’s inherent character flaw, irrational jealousy, directly interferes with his common sense, driving him into a murderous rage. The result, the unjust murder of Desdemona, also leads to Othello’s own suicide. In the case of Othello, the audience watches as his tragic flaw destroys Othello’s life and brings about his fall from grace.
