How Does Iago Manipulate Othello

A manipulator someone who controls the choices made by someone and their life. Iago the antagonist in Othello tricks everyone into doing what he wants. Iago a pathological liar at heart uses his excellent knowledge of the human mind, jealousy, trust, and emotions to manipulate all the characters in othello most notably, Othello into killing his own beloved wife because of an affair that never even happened.

Starting off, Othello allows Iago to tamper with his mind and does nothing to stop it. Othello puts all of his trust in him, but Iago is just hiding behind a mask and only wishes to torment Othello. Othello is not aware of his surroundings and the people there, making him vulnerable. If he paid more attention to Desdemona and not Iago than he would not have thought to kill his loyal wife. Othello jumps to conclusions too quickly

Iago also knows that Roderigo will do anything for Desdemona’s love. Iago says, “Thus I do ever make a fool my purse” (1.3.355). Iago tells this to Roderigo which means that he is willing to manipulate anyone as long as he gives him jewels and money. This quote makes him look brilliant because he knows that Roderigo has a lot of money and will do anything to be with Desdemona. I agree when D. Madison says, “In Othello, he knows just what to say to sound innocent. Iago is the ultimate master of manipulation”. Iago uses his knowledge wisely and uses it to manipulate others for his own satisfaction, and knows how to manipulate them because he has analyzed them before, and that is what makes him so good at being evil. Iago is fully aware what he is doing and has no sympathy for anyone like he says himself; “And what’s he then that says play the villain, When this advice is free I give, and honest” (2.3.299).

Perfect people do not exist in this world of temptations, failures, and suffering. In fact, every person has weaknesses, and there is always a possibility that someone will use those feeble points against that man. Shakespeare's play Othello shows an example of how one can control others exploiting their weaknesses and the consequences of such actions. The character of Iago, the antagonist in the tragedy Othello, instigates chaos, deception, and gross manipulation. He is the center of all the evil events in the play. He manages to completely deceive everyone by displaying an honest facade. Thus he is able to instill trust in all those around him. Since no one sees him for the evil and deceiving man that he really is, he manages to

To begin with, analyzing Iago’s character is an important part. One article mentions that Iago, “… can play a number of roles convincingly, and is able to adapt his tone and style to suit any occasion.” (“Villainous Role of Iago in Othello”). This is a big factor of how Iago so easily manipulates the other characters by being able to realize the person he is talking to and alter his personality. As the

Iago is introduced in the first scene of the play as a foil character or one who is not the main antagonist, but a character who is against the protagonist, Othello, but throughout Othello the readers see how quickly Iago becomes one of Shakespeare’s worst villains compared with the likes of Satan. Iago indirectly kills Desdemona, Othello, and Roderigo. Each character in Othello believes that Iago is a benevolent and kind person, “Honest Iago,” and is impervious to his actions that destroys Desdemona and Othello’s life. The question remains: is Iago pure evil?

Once a seed of suspicion or doubt is planted in a person’s mind, the noxious effect of jealousy is soon to ensue. Jealousy and suspicion are Othello’s flaws hubris throughout the play and foreshadow to the audience his imminent downfall. He believes what Iago tells him so strongly that he compromises his close relationship with his best friend and his love for his wife. Iago manipulates Othello through the use of extortion, literary techniques, and his keen judge of character. His syntax and diction are so simple yet so powerful because he uses the correct rhetorical questions and addresses Othello with respectful terms such as “my lord.” He allows Othello do most of the talking

He uses his language and he self-awareness to create a false perception of himself, one he wishes others to believe. Othello often takes Iago’s words with great face, often referring to him as loyal and honest. It is Othello who is the fooled by this perception pronouncing him “ Honest Iago”. Iago seems to know how he should act in society, what the proper rules and protocols are however he disobeys them without hesitation. He has a wife Emilia, and although to me it seems that he doesn’t care for her why does he keep her around, perhaps to blend in with the others, as to not drawl attention to himself.

Othello depends on Iago too much. He expects Iago to get him all the answers to the questions Iago raised in his minds. He depended on Iago to get him the ocular proof that there is a relationship which is more friendship between the two of them. If Othello wanted he could’ve got the proof himself or even got to know the truth by simply asking Desdemona, but he didn’t because he relied on Iago to do the job which caused more problems because Iago was already trying to cause a drift between the two of them or to be more precise he wanted Desdemona dead “do it with not poison, strangle her in her bed-even the bed she hath contaminated”, Iago is telling Othello how to kill Desdemona. This again shows that Othello really trusts Iago and will do anything he says.

Iago’s methods of manipulating Othello and others around him serve as a key attribute when considering his role as a silent antagonist. We see different ways that Iago manipulates Othello, and even utilizes the other characters in order to build more trust between he and Othello. We know by Othello’s reaction to the unmasking that he truly trusted Iago, which results in the deaths of various characters. Shakespeare uses Iago in order to develop the idea of evil and mistrust. Othello initially strongly believed that Iago was his friend, but we see throughout the play how much Iago went through in order to deceive Othello.

Iago’s reasons for wanting Othello to murder Desdemona are never satisfactorily explained. As Iago himself says, "What you know, you know" (5.2.306). He gives various reasons for wanting to destroy Othello, but none ring completely true. He is disgruntled because of Cassio’s promotion over him. He suspects Othello of bedding his wife. But why is he determined to have Othello murder Desdemona? His plot seems based on sport rather than reason. Iago truly hates the Moor, but his hate is not grounded in any firm reason. As the play progresses, Iago’s motive never fully crystallizes, but his determination to dupe Othello into murder, thereby destroying his sense of honor, grows stronger.

In the prompt response see how Othello is easily manipulated, overpowered by rage, blinded by jealousy and how his foolishness caused Desdemona’s tragic death and soon after his own. Body Paragraph 1: Throughout the story Othello’s jealous ensign Iago is plotting to ruin Othello marriage and reputation. Iago plans to manipulate Othello through Desdemona by getting Othello to believe

Iago is reminding Othello that Desdemona is a good liar and good at deceiving her father who she was supposed to be loyal to. This proves that planted more doubt in Othello's mind, which ultimately led to Iago being responsible for Othello's tragedy.

Another great section of the play that depicts Iago twisting things that play into in his favor is found in Act 3 Scene 3. Iago shows me he is a master of manipulation, picking out the one true vulnerability of Othello, which is his marriage. A quote that confirms my observation is as follows: “She did deceive her father, marrying you, and when she seemed to shake and fear your looks, she loved them most (P.578).” This quote stood out to me as a perfect example of Iago planting an evil seed into a characters head. Iago seemed to somehow take the scenario of Desdemona lying to her father and relating it to Othello, which made him see

At the beginning of the play, Othello is in love with Desdemona and soon marries her, however, due to Iago’s actions, this takes a terrible turn. Since Iago didn’t get the promotion to lieutenant, he decided to get revenge on Othello in order to get back at him. Iago’s goal in this is to spread false allegations against Desdemona to enact his full revenge on Othello. The first thing that Iago orchestrates in