Describe the course of Iago’s deception of Othello, showing which incidents were planned and which were opportunistic. Does Iago succeed by skill or by luck?<\/p>\n
Iago is a master of manipulation. Throughout Othello, he elaborately convinces other characters to believe whatever suits his machinations. His primary goal is to displace Cassio, who he believes was wrongly promoted ahead of him, and his first act of vengeance is opportunistic; Cassio confides that he has \u2018poor and unhappy brains for drinking\u2019 (Shakespeare, 2005, 2.3:33-34) so Iago pressures him into drinking and ultimately brawling, which disgraces him. At the end of this scene, Iago soliloquises, having formed his plan to \u2018play the villain\u2019 (Shakespeare, 2005, 22.3:337) and \u2018turn[Desdemona\u2019s] virtue into pitch\u2019 (Shakespeare, 2005, 22.3:361) by convincing Othello that Cassio is sleeping with her. He artfully builds Othello\u2019s suspicion of Cassio, first by simply implying that Desdemona should not be talking to him – \u2018Ha! I like not that\u2019 (Shakespeare, 2005, 3.3:24) \u2013 though he pretends to be reluctant to speak against Cassio or Desdemona, he works to undermine their honesty: \u2018she did deceive her father in marrying you\u2019 (Shakespeare, 2005, 3.3:206). Othello demands \u2018ocular proof\u2019 (Shakespeare, 2005, 3.3:360), which culminates in a scene where Iago carefully positions Othello out of sight as he elicits a specific performance from Cassio: beforehand, he has primed Othello to believe that Cassio will confess to sleeping with Desdemona, so when Iago questions him about his liason with Bianca (a prostitute), he cheerily responds with ribald remarks: \u2019I marry her! [\u2026] Prithee, bear some charity to my wit: do not think it so unwholesome\u2019 (Shakespeare, 2005, 4.1:119-121). This careful staging is the epitome of Iago\u2019s planning and is what leads directly to the tragic conclusion of the play: Othello\u2019s jealousy leads to Desdemona\u2019s murder. While luck certainly aids Iago in some instances, careful planning and manipulation of others ultimately results in the success of his diabolical plan.<\/p>\n
Shakespeare, W. (2005). Othello. St. Paul, Minnesota: EMC\/Paradigm Publishing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Describe the course of Iago’s deception of Othello, showing which incidents were planned and which were opportunistic. Does Iago succeed by skill or by luck?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n