othello
Othello : EXPLORE IAGO’S INTERACTION WITH OTHELLO IN ACT3 SCENE 3. HOW SUCCESSFUL IS HE IN CONVINCING OTHELLO OF DESDEMONA’S INFIDELITY? ... Perhaps the most interesting and exotic character in the tragic play Othello, by William Shakespeare, is “Honest” Iago. ... His dramatic actions in this play push Othello and the other characters towards their tragic ends. The ‘poison’ that Iago injects into Othello is most evident in Act 3 Scene 3, but he has already proclaimed his intent in Act 2. ... Othello, "holds me well;/the better shall my purpose work on him. ... He makes Othello start to think uneasy thoughts by commenting, “I like not that” about Cassio’s exit; Othello immediately seizes the bait, his jealousy playing off of Iago’s calculated insinuations. ... Of course Desdemona means well, but she gambles too much on Cassio’s honour and this spurs thoughts of Desdemona’s possible infidelity in Othello’s mind, due to Iago’s half voiced suggestions. ... Iago begins to echo Othello, which makes Othello uneasy. In Othello’s state, he believes Iago’s reluctance to speak to be a real attempt to hide the truth about what is going on; he does not realize that Iago’s statements are all feigned to make Othello jealous. “Thou echoest me, as if there was some monster in thy thought, too hideous to be shown” (Act 3 Sc 3 Ln 106); Othello creates this simile based merely on Iago’s echoing and unrelated questions, showing how Othello begins to feed off the insinuations of Iago’s words. Iago says that he believes Cassio is “honest”; yet again, this word sets Othello off, and Iago’s uncertainty in tone makes Othello think that Cassio has seduced his wife. ... (Act 3 Sc 3 Ln 138)” In the context in which it is spoken, Othello takes it to mean that Cassio is flawed, which is true; but Iago says no names, and doesn’t explicitly apply the statement to any one person, it is a generalisation. ... Othello takes the statement to mean that Iago is protecting Cassio’s good name by not telling Othello all; but Iago is not strictly saying more than his statements suggest, and all the connections are done by Othello’s insecure mind. Specifically Iago addresses jealousy, a major theme, especially with regards to Othello.