Iago's Language

Iago’s Manipulation: Rhetorical Strategies Othello, believed to be written in 1603 by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy that follows Othello, the Moor of Venice, and his wretched ensign: Iago. Iago, a war veteran, has vowed revenge on Othello after Othello awarded the position of lieutenant to an undeserving man named Cassio, and allegedly slept with Iago’s wife. Throughout the play, Iago exploits almost every character to ruin Othello, specifically his marriage. In order to manipulate Othello, Iago uses rhetorical strategies and techniques, such as irony and apostrophe, in a passage from Act III, scene iii of Othello.

We are presented with one of Iago’s many soliloquies; this being about his cunning plan to sabotage Othello. Shakespeare utilises iambic pentameter in order to represent this lust to destroy Othello in his turmoil; Iago affirms, “If I would time expend with such a snipe / But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor”. Shakespeare would often write in iambic pentameter to represent structure not only within the scene, but also within the person.

Additionally Othello’s language begins to break down into blank verses, and we can see this through his actions as he grabs Iago by the throat, which is significance in terms of the change of his personality and communication. “I’ll tear her all to pieces!” (3.3. 433). “Arise, black Vengeance from thy hollow hell” (3.3.456). Othello Kneels

Language and words are powerful tools that can be used to communicate with other people, and share our inner thoughts or destroy the happiness of others. A few words can cause the monsters of fear and doubt to protrude a person’s mind and rescind their happiness. “Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt (Shakespeare). This can every so often destroy the serene mindset of a person once the slightest bit doubt is placed before them. Iago enjoyed twisting his words to fabricate a story to achieve what he desired. He begins to make his hatred for Othello known once the general promotes the inexperienced Cassio as lieutenant instead of himself. By expressing his talents for understanding, manipulating and taking advantage of the desires of his friends proves that he is an austere character. Iago lied to everybody for his own selfish ways. Lying goes against the very nature of man and destroys the relationship between men. “Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships” (CCC

Iago is not an honest man but he is not silly either. His repetition in the play is the way he talks to each character in the play. He made up a lot of different

The third and final sub-topic that will be analysed is the fact that language is a medium of self-expression. According to Damascelli (2012) “The important or predominant personality of one character over the others can be brought out in several ways for example through the use of soliloquies. In the play Othello Iago uses soliloquies to reveal and express his malicious intentions. Iago is not the only character in Othello that uses language and language devices to express himself effectively. At the beginning of the play Othello speaks in verse and this is an indication of his state of mind being healthy but as the play progresses Othello uses prose to express himself. When Othello moves from verse to prose it shows us that there is a degeneration of

Iago’s manipulative nature is shown here, with his rhetoric a key feature he uses to deceive and exploit characters In the play which enables him to gain mental control over his

Numerous times in Othello, the characters believe the reputation of Iago to be honest, often calling him “honest fellow” or “honest Iago." With this reputation,

Throughout this passage, Iago’s main techniques of deception include lies, syntax and diction, and hoodwinking Othello into thinking his way. By quickly averting his conflict with Othello at the start of the scene, he easily avoids confrontation

In Othello, Shakespeare forms the villainous character, Iago through his complex language. Iago shows his evil nature towards Roderigo through his use of demeaning animal imagery. Iago also uses an extended metaphor to try and trick the ignorant Roderigo and (unknowingly to Roderigo), insults him. Lastly, Iago uses repetition to beguile Roderigo to keep paying him. Iago’s slyness is clearly seen through his deceiving language towards the end of Act I.

Iago's manipulative nature has a profound effect on the decisions made by other characters in Shakespeare's ‘Othello’. Through his relations with those around him Shakespear characterizes him as a man full of malice, vengeance and dishonesty that is wholly inspired by jealousy. Furthermore it would appear that Iago has an exceptional ability to scheme, a talent which he uses to snake his way into the lives of others and exploit them through their weaknesses. Whether he does this for profit or for pleasure is a separate issue.

Honesty isn't the only deceptive word used in this drama. Many other words are used deceptively that affect the play, such as good. the word 'good' is used to describe Iago most of the time. Once more, it's being used for the wrong person because he's anything but

Iago plants ideas in Othello’s head, uses the innocent actions of others as his proof; and Othello, who is not practiced in worldly matters, believes his the misnomer of the “honest Iago”, and eventually is consumed by the lie.

At the end of act one, Shakespeare wrote a private soliloquy for Iago. Its purpose is for the audience to know what he is planning, as it sets the stage for the rest of the play: the plot is based upon Iago’s plan. This creates tension and anticipation as we are waiting to see whether the plan works or not, and what the consequences of the plan are. Throughout the soliloquy, Iago speaks in Blank Verse as opposed to prose. Blank Verse is what was used for the important people, for example the Duke would speak in blank verse. Iago may not be as powerful as the Duke, but to highlight his importance as he’s the main villain, Iago speaks in Blank Verse. It also highlights Iago’s self-importance, because Iago feels as though he is above everyone else, Shakespeare wrote is lines in Blank Verse.

The form and structure of both speeches are somewhat alike. Shakespeare writes both in iambic pentameter. In Othello’s case, this mimics a pattern of regular, composed speech, showing that Othello is a confident, poised public speaker, not like the previous impression he gave of himself as ‘rude’ of speech. Apart from showing Othello as civilised and self-possessed, this could imply a slight duplicity about Othello, maybe hinting at less truthful and honourable aspects of his character. For Iago, the structure of iambic pentameter, rather than the more deranged and less orderly prose shows that Iago is perfectly calm and emotionless when plotting to destroy Othello’s marriage. This gives the audience an impression of his complete, chilling villainy, and establishes him as a character to whom the audience take a disliking.