Play Othello: Arrogant Iago
Iago is also known as “honest Iago”, is a character that has a reputation of honesty which is an act of his many manipulations and lies. Iago is a compulsive liar; he invents lies in order to manipulate people. He treats others as fools and has no time to be gentle, Iago is a man of pride who places himself above others. Iago has built a good reputation for himself and earned Othello’s trust which allows him to cover up his true villainous character. Iago uses Othello’s relationship to improve his own false reputation and appear honest in front of others including Cassio. Iago is very thoughtful when it comes to his schemes in order to get Cassio stripped off his rank, Iago gets Cassio drunk by convincing him to drink a glass to celebrate Othello. Iago cleverly plants an idea that Cassio is guilty of something in Othello’s head without directly saying it by adding that he cannot believe that Cassio would do such a thing, Iago appears to be loyal to Othello while allowing Othello to come to his own conclusion. Iago is determined to carry out his revenge on Othello and is committed to seeing his plan through despite the obstacles and setbacks he faces.
“But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at. I am not what I am.” This line reveals Iago is deceitful, dishonest, and sly nature. Although, his outward actions give him the appearance of a man who is a respectful and loyal friend to Othello. His blackened heart on the inside is filled with malicious and revengeful plans of manipulation, if he were to display his heart of evil upon his sleeve revealing his true motives and feelings others would be able to see his duplicitous nature and he would become vulnerable to Othello's power. Therefore, he chooses to keep his motives hidden while convincing those around him to open up completely.
“I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear: That she repeals him for her body’s lust. And by how much she strives to do him good She shall undo her credit with the Moor.” Iago uses strong diction and metaphors in this quotation to contrast an image of death and disaster with an image of intimacy and seduction. This imagery and alliteration represent Iago's attempts to entice people in and gain their loyalty while slowly poisoning their lives, with the contrast process focusing on his character's duplicity and deception.
Iago’s idea was to drive a wedge between Othello and his beloved wife Desdemona when he convinces Cassio to seek Desdemona’s aid, Iago tells Cassio to beg Desdemona for help in regaining Othello’s trust. Unknown to both Cassio and Desdemona, Iago plans on using their interactions to draw Othello’s suspicion. Iago leads Othello to believe his wife Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Iago’s effective use of language ensures that Othello arrives to that conclusion on his own. Ultimately, this is what leads to the downfall of Othello, isolating Othello with Iago as his only companion. At this point, after a heated dialogue with Othello, Iago professes “I am your own forever.”
In conclusion, throughout the course of the play, Iago manipulates people in order to gain their trust and leads them to act in his favor. Leading to mistrust, chaos, and lastly, death. Iago is self-righteous, he thinks extremely of highly himself and believes he deserves everything he wants and believes.
