Iago Act II scene 3 Analysis After Cassio is rid of his position in Othello’s army, Iago’s villainous plan slowly begins to show promise. He is again given the chance to perform a soliloquy, both to revel in his own villainy and also as a way for Shakespeare to engage the audience in regards to what Iago has done and what he intends to do. Throughout the soliloquy, Iago attempts to justify himself and his actions, from the very beginning: “And what’s he then that says I play the villain, when this advice is free I give, and honest”. He claims that he can’t be labelled as a villain or ‘a bad person’, as he’s giving legitimate advice. This puts the audience in a situation, where they’re aware of Iago’s malicious intent, however, simultaneously acknowledging the fact that Iago’s advice appears to be pure; therefore, putting the audience on Iago’s side. This is purposefully done in this format by Shakespeare, as soliloquys are commonly used as a way for characters to engage with the audience. This could also be a representation of Iago’s manipulative personality, considering he makes the audience reconsider Iago’s intent, as to whether his advice would prove beneficial …show more content…
This gives reference to one of the many themes of the play, i.e. Reality and appearance. He makes the situation appear similar to stage production or performance, further highlighting his easy manipulation of others; the fact that he can easily position the characters of the play, similar to the props and furniture of an actual stage production. The word ‘honesty’ is used ironically throughout the soliloquy. The play, up to this point, had made it blatantly obvious of Iago’s malicious intent and the matter of his awareness of his villainous role in this story. His villainy revolves around his manipulation and change in appearance in context with other characters, so how could he possibly call anything he does