Iago In Shakespeares Othello Essay, Research Paper

Possibly the most interesting and alien character in the tragic drama & # 8220 ; Othello, & # 8221 ; by William Shakespeare, is & # 8220 ; Honest & # 8221 ; Iago. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to pull strings others to make things in a manner that benefits him and moves him closer toward his ends. He is the chief drive force in this drama, forcing Othello and everyone else towards their tragic end.Iago is non your ordinary scoundrel. The function he plays is instead alone and complex, far from what one might anticipate. Iago is smart. He is an adept justice of people and their characters and uses this to his advantage. For illustration, he knows Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and figures that he would make anything to hold her as his ain. Iago says about Roderigo, & # 8220 ; Thus do I of all time make my sap my purse. & # 8221 ; [ Act I, Scene III, Line 355 ] By playing on his hopes, Iago is able to victimize money and gems from Roderigo, doing himself a significant net income, while utilizing Roderigo to send on his other ends. He besides thinks quick on his pess and is able to improvize whenever something unexpected occurs. When Cassio takes clasp of Desdemona & # 8217 ; s manus before the reaching of the Moor Othello, Iago says, & # 8220 ; With every bit small a web as this will I entrap as great a fly as Cassio. & # 8221 ; [ Act II, Scene I, Line 163 ] His craft and craftiness make him a genuinely dastardly villain indeed.Being every bit smart as he is, Iago is speedy to acknowledge the advantages of trust and uses it as a tool to send on his intents. Throughout the narrative he is normally known as, and normally called, & # 8220 ; Honest Iago. & # 8221 ; He even says of himself, & # 8220 ; I am an honest adult male & # 8230 ; . & # 8221 ; [ Act II, Scene III, Line 245 ] Trust is a really powerful emotion that is easy abused. Othello, & # 8220 ; holds [ him ] good ; /The better shall [ Iago ‘s ] intent work on him. & # 8221 ; [ pg. 1244, Line 362 ] Iago is a maestro of maltreatment in this instance turning people & # 8217 ; s trust in him into tools to send on his ain ends. His & # 8220 ; med & # 8217 ; cine works! Therefore credulous saps are caught & # 8230 ; . & # 8221 ; [ pg. 1284, Line 44 ] Iago slowly toxicants people & # 8217 ; s ideas, making thoughts in their caputs without implicating himself. & # 8220 ; And what & # 8217 ; s he so that says I play the scoundrel, when this advice is free I give, and honest, & # 8221 ; [ Act II, Scene III, Line 299 ] says Iago, the maestro of misrepresentation. And therefore, people seldom stop to see the possibility that old Iago could be lead oning them or pull stringsing them, after all, he is & # 8220 ; Honest Iago. & # 8221 ; Iago makes a fool out of Roderigo. In fact, the drama starts out with Iago holding already taken advantage of him. Roderigo comments, & # 8220 ; That 1000, Iago, who hast had my bag as if the st

rings were thine.” [Act I, Scene I, Line 2] Throughout the play, Iago leads Roderigo by the collar professing that he “hate(s) the Moor” [Act I, Scene III, Line 344] and telling Roderigo to “make money” [Act I, Scene III, Line 339] so that he can give gifts to Desdemona to win her over. During the whole play however, Iago is just taking those gifts that Roderigo intends for Desdemona and keeps them for himself. Roderigo eventually starts to question Iago’s honesty, saying “I think it is scurvy, and begin to find myself fopped in it.” [Act IV, Scene II, Line 189] When faced with this accusation, Iago simply offers that killing Cassio will aid his cause and Roderigo blindly falls for it, hook, line, and sinker. “I have no great devotion to the deed, and yet he has given me satisfying reason,” [Act V, Scene I, Line 8] says the fool Roderigo. And with this deed, Roderigo is lead to his death by the hands of none other than, “Honest Iago.”Cassio, like Roderigo, follows Iago blindly, thinking the whole time that Iago is trying to help him. And during this whole time, Iago is planning the demise of Cassio, his supposed friend. On the night of Cassio’s watch, Iago convinces him to take another drink, knowing very well that it will make him very drunk. Cassio just follows along, though he says, “I’ll do’t, but it dislikes me.” [Act II, Scene III, Line 37] Iago is able to make him defy his own reasoning to take another drink! Crafty, is this Iago. When Roderigo follows through with the plan Iago has set on him, Cassio is made to look like an irresponsible fool, resulting in his termination as lieutenant. After this incident, Iago sets another of his plans in motion by telling Cassio to beg Desdemona to help his cause, saying, “she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested.” [Act II, Scene III, Line 287] And thus, Cassio is set on a dark path which leads to trouble and mischief. Yet, Cassio follows it blindly telling Iago, “You advise me well.” [Act II, Scene III, Line 292] With this, Cassio is eventually led into a trap where Roderigo maims him, and all that time, Iago – his friend – is behind it all.Lowly Iago, is capable of anything – not even Othello is safe from this villain. Othello holds Iago to be his close friend and advisor. He believes Iago to be a person, “of exceeding honesty, [who] knows all qualities, with learned spirit of human dealings.” [Act III, Scene III, Line 257] Yes, he does know all about human dealings, but no he is not honest. He uses the trust Othello puts in him to turn Othello eventually into a jealous man, looking everywhere.