Iago Manipulates Othello, Cassio and Roderigo

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Othello, Roderigo and Cassio Effectively Manipulated by Iago

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" is a quote that very well describes how two-face Iago really is. In William Shakespeare's play, Othello, Iago's hatred toward the Moor, Othello, leads him to devise a plan against him. As a result, Othello goes from truly loving his wife to hating her with a passion. Othello's hatred and anger proves fatal for Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo, and Othello, himself. Iago effectively manipulates Othello, Roderigo, and Cassio by; presenting himself as an honest individual to Othello, lying to Roderigo about getting him married to Desdemona and helping Cassio with his problem to obtain the lieutenant position from him.

Iago's …show more content…

For example, "I'll send her to you presently; and I’ll devise a mean to draw the Moor out of your way, that your converse and business may be more free"(III, I , 35-38). Dramatic irony is displayed because we as the audience know that Iago wants Cassio to speak with Desdemona in private so that he can draw suspicion to Othello that his wife is cheating on him. Cassio on the other hand does not know this and thinks that Iago is being a good friend to him and even says that Iago is an honest and kind man. Another example of dramatic irony is when Cassio says to Iago "You advise me well"(II, iii, 304). This is dramatic irony because Iago tells Cassio to talk to Desdemona about his loss of lieutenant position due to the fact that she is Othello's wife. Cassio agrees to do so because he knows that Othello loves Desdemona truly and will listen to anything she says. Iago wants to make it seem like Desdemona is cheating on Othello with Cassio and that is his only purpose in telling Cassio to talk to Desdemona. Cassio is easily trapped in Iago's plan when he desperately needs help in order to save his job as lieutenant.

Iago convincingly manipulated Othello, Roderigo and Cassio by being two-face, lying and portraying himself as a helpful person. This left Othello and Roderigo dead and Cassio injured as a result. Iago's manipulations were driven by a basic desire to get back at those who had hurt

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