Briana Ruiz. Ms. Milliner . Ees21Qh-03. January 20Th, 2017.

Othello’s love for Desdemona was so deep he could not bear the thought of another being with her; “If she be false, O! Then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe’t.” Iago uses the characters of Cassio and the obsessive Roderigo as his weapons in his cunning plan. Iago drives the idea into Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful, inciting him into a state of jealousy. “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again.” Othello growing insecurities about his wife’s faithfulness only adds to his psychological suffering which in turn acts as a catalyst towards the suffering of other characters involved in the play.Iago tells these lies with the intention of driving Othello insane as well as establish his dominance and influence the situations of those characters close to Othello. Evidence of this comes in one of Iago’s soliloquies from act two, scene one; “That Cassio loves her, I do well Believe’t: That she loves him, ‘tis apt and of great credit.” This section shows that he is trying to convince himself that his own manipulative lies are true and is trying to reassure his motives by justifying his own actions. By convincing Othello

Othello is a frank and straightforward, honorable people. He believed that life is good, and society is fair; he treat people with sincerity, and believed that he can be received with honor. He wholeheartedly loves Desdemona, his own honor and dignity of all their faith in the awful happy marriage. Yet just at this time Igon told him that Desdemona has affair with its own honorable lieutenant Cassio, he was overwhelmed by this sudden blow, psychology began to lose balance, Othello caught in the pain and contradiction, a moment that Desdemona is chastity, and the next minute

determine as to which one will win, so that is why one cannot exist without the other. However, there are some whose emotions are unbalanced, which causes them to near towards one side more than the other one ­­ and many times the side a lot of people prefer to lean on is evil. Shakespeare’s play O​thello​is set in 16th­century Venice and Cyprus. Othello, a noble black general from the Venetian army has secretly married Desdemona, daughter of Venice senator Brabantio. Othello chooses inexperienced Cassio to be his lieutenant, while he decides to give the ensign position to Iago, a malicious but very experienced man who, with his stealth and knavery, will ultimately ruin almost everyone’s life since for a long time, he was desiring the position of lieutenant just like Cassio. At the end of the play, Othello, Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia, and his sidekick Roderigo die due to his revenge against Cassio, for obtaining the position he wanted and Othello, for being the man who he hates the most. The play ends with Iago being told that he will be punished and tortured for his actions. However, despite the fact that Iago is punished at the end of the play for doing all of the malicious things he did, he still manages to wear down Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, get Cassio demoted from his lieutenancy, and cause Othello to show his cowardness by

     Iago told Othello that he would discuss Desdemona with Cassio, and that he would talk about the affair. Iago does not do this, and instead he talks about Bianca with Cassio, and Cassio laughs at things Iago says. Othello sees Cassio laughing and just assumes he is laughing at Desdemona, which in return upsets him very much. Iago used several tactics to set up Othello for deception in this case.

By the middle of the play Othello’s mood and demeanor seem to shift from being peaceful and patient to very anxious, paranoid, and gullible. For example when Othello is talking to Iago and Iago suggests that maybe his wife is not being faithful to him, it becomes Othello’s obsession to get down to the bottom of it and catch her. “I have been talking with your suitor here, a man that languishes in your displeasure / Who is’t you mean / Why, your lieutenant, Cassio. Good my lord” (III.iii.41-43). In this dialog between Othello and Iago, with just two sentences Iago causes Othello to lose trust in his wife and believe she is being unfaithful to him which grows stronger and stronger each scene of the play. Because Iago is extremely cunning and manipulative, he is able to control almost anyone he chooses and he is in control of Othello’s emotions because he knows the things Othello fears. Iago is pretending to be Othello’s friend but secretively is going behind his back and bringing him down. Iago convinces Othello that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. “I humbly do beseech

This quote by Iago puts into Othello's mind that Desdemona may be cheating on him with Cassio. Othello then begins to question whether he was right to marry or not and although without proof, he believes in Iago's words. This is shown in his statement, “why did I marry? This honest creature doubtless sees and knows more, much more, than he unfolds”(Shakespeare 1324), indicates that he quickly turns to doubting his love Desdemona and takes Iago as being credible and true. It also causes him to become jealous and angered with only a simple touch of trickery by Iago. This marks his first sign to a down hill plunge in moral.

Othello, not knowing that Cassio was in fact speaking with Desdemona in hopes of being reinstated as Lieutenant, mistakenly believes that the two are having an affair and that Desdemona has lost her chastity. Iago skillfully capitalizes on the situation by developing his attack further: "She did deceive her father, marrying you" (3.3.220). Othello begins to see Iago's reasoning: if she could deceive her father, she could just as easily deceive her new husband. Once Othello's bliss has been decimated, Iago concentrates on weakening Othello's perception of himself; Iago very carefully and very tactfully chooses words and metaphors that subconsciously pit Othello against the Venetians. Othello begins to perceive himself as an outsider in his own country, "a malignant and turbaned Turk" (5.2.365). A fruitful marriage with a Venetian woman becomes out of the question in Othello's mind. Iago's successful manipulation takes a self-confidant man and reduces him to one at ends with himself and with the woman he loved.

William Shakespeare’s 16th century play Othello is a duplicitous and fraudulent tale set alternatingly between Venice in act 1, and the island of Cyprus thereafter. The play follows the scandalous marriage between protagonist Othello, a Christian moore and the general of the army of Venice, and Desdemona, a respected and intelligent woman who also happens to be the daughter of the Venetian Senator Brabantio. Shakespeare undoubtedly positions the marriage to be viewed as heroic and noble, despite Othello’s hamartia and subsequent downfall that inevitably occurs. Their marriage is then sabotaged by the jealous Iago, Othello’s ensign and villain of the play. While Iago’s ostensible justification for instigating Othello’s demise was his failure to acquire Othello’s position as lieutenant, Iago’s motives are rarely directly articulated and seem to derive from an obsessive, almost aesthetic pleasure in manipulation and destruction. Through the genre of the play, being a Shakespearean tragedy, and the structural devices employed by Shakespeare such as plot development, exposition, foreshadowing, dénouement, dramatic excitement, and catharsis, the key ideas of jealousy, appearance vs. reality and pride are developed and explored.

While the readers, read the play, they feel a suspense, for Othello to just ask his wife is what Cassio speaks is true. Othello choices to believe Iago, someone who till recently he did not know that well rather than the women he married. Desdemona constantly asks, “what is the matter my love,” to which Othello never gives an answer. He feels that she does not deserve one in the sense he believes she has cheated on him with Cassio upon Iago's words and description of their relationship.

Othello is one of the first black heroes in English literature. As a general in the army he has risen to a position of power and influence despite his race and his status as a foreigner in Venice. Othello constantly faces insidious racism from other characters such as Iago, Brabantio and Roderigo. The racism focuses on his sexual relationship with a white woman Desdemona. Othello himself defies many stereotypes but it’s no coincidence that he’s a tragic hero. Being a Moor he comes from a different culture. Othello’s race and outsider status are central to his vulnerability to Iago’s plotting and the racism towards him.

In Shakespeare's Othello, Othello's pride prevents him from finding the truth, eventually leading to his demise. Initially, Othello and Desdemona are deeply in love, despite her father's disapproval of their marriage. However, when Othello promotes Cassio instead of Iago to Lieutenant, Iago has his revenge by convincing Othello that Desdemona cheats on him with Cassio, destroying the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. Othello grows to meet his downfall when his trusted friend Iago causes him to think that his wife Desdemona is unfaithful.

All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven” (3.3.489-90). In this quotation, Othello is saying how Iago helps him sees the truth and makes him lost his love toward Desdemona. Ironically, Othello does not know the truth, but it is his gullibility of trusting the “honest Iago” (2.3.175) makes him believe anything he said, despite whether he had any physical evidence or not. In addition, Othello’s gullibility leads to a bigger problem, which is his jealousy of think Desdemona and Cassio is having an affair, which makes him impulsive and blindly believing anything that Iago says. Othello is so gullible that even at the end of the play he still believes in Iago so much that he thinks “Iago knows that [Desdemona] with Cassio hath the act of shame a thousand times committed; Cassio confess'd it” (5.2.211-213). In Othello’s speech, he is saying how Iago also know that Desdemona and cassio is having an affair, and Cassio confessed it. The truth is that Cassio does not confess the affair between Desdemona, he and Iago is talking about Brianca. This emphasize how gullible Othello is of trusting anything that Iago says. Moreover, it is

You have told me she hath received them, and returned me expectations and comfort of sudden respect and acquaintance; but I find none” (IV, ii, 186-190). Roderigo started to see that Iago is cheating on him, but Iago is smart enough, and Roderigo is dumb enough for Iago to confuse him. In the second act during the party after the defeat over the Turks, Cassio becomes very drunk and easily taken advantage of. He then runs into the room where everyone is and attacks Roderigo. Montano intervenes and is then wounded by Cassio; Othello is forced to demote Cassio from his position of Lieutenant. With Cassio devastated he asks for advice from Iago, he then informs Cassio the only way to gain his position back is to talk to Desdemona. Cassio then leaves “good night, Honest Iago” (II, iii, 306). Shakespeare put in those two extra words on purpose; he is trying to show how Iago is already able to play with people’s minds and how manipulative he can be. Us, the audience knowing what Iago really wants to do, but Cassio puts trust into Iago with his position and future. The last person to believe Iago is honest and to trust him is Othello. Iago started to tell Othello of how Desdemona might be sleeping with Cassio, and how she is cheating on him. Othello does not believe him as there is no proof, “I’ll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove; and on the proof there is no more but this” (III, iii, 190-191). Othello knows

Othello is one of the greatest plays due to its variety of character and themes. The immorality seen in Iago, the gullibility in Othello, and the desperation of Desdemona make the story. The theme of social status plays a huge role in the story. In addition, the theme of appearance versus reality also plays a huge role in how each tragedy happens. In the critical essay “Othello” it discusses the idea that the characters are cast as outsiders due to false interpretation of what is happening or what is being said. On the other hand, the piece “Othello Character Analysis” emphasizes how characterization reflects the greatness of the piece.

Othello’s immediate trust for Iago’s speculations demonstrate the truth of the matter that Othello is not close with his wife to be able to hear the truth from her. Othello exhibits assurance in Iago and goes to him for advice. In return, Iago deceives Othello by pointing out Desdemona’s actions saying “She did deceive her father” by marrying a Moor (III.iii.206). Iago is implying that Desdemona is not to be trusted because she lied to her father. Othello now disregards Desdemona and changes his attitude towards her. Othello believes that if she was able to lie and hide a relationship from her own father, she is capable of hiding her cheating ways from him. Othello is persuaded that Desdemona has what it takes to go behind the backs of the people she loves and this creates