Iago

Iago, one of the main characters in William Shakespeare's Othello, is always viewed by others as "honest Iago, a supposedly honorable, reliable individual. However, in his goal to get revenge on those who he believes have wrongfully taken his position, or the woman he desires, he does not hesitate to abuse this trust to his advantage. In the play, Iago manipulates three minor characters in differing ways for his own purposes, but each one reacts differently to his trickery, and thus each have a different outcome.

Iago first incites Desdemona's father, Barbantio, to hate Othello and destroy his secret marriage to Desdemona, but the start of his plan to slowly ruin Othello is not so successful. For example, after the crafty Iago and Roderigo stir up trouble at Barbantio's house with his speech, the father angrily accuses Othello of putting his daughter under a spell and performing witchcraft to make her wed him(I.ii.63-83). The crafty and antagonizing words Iago uses brings direct shame to Brobantio's family name, and this causes him to turn his wrath against Othello even thought he knows Iago is a rouge who is not totally trustworthy. He uses the power of his words to verbally stir up emotions and turn them into violent reaction, merely by the strength of his persuasive speech. In addition, however, after Othello explains to the Duke how Barbantio always thought of him as loyal and trustworthy, and Desdemona admits that she is genuinely in love with him by her own free will, her father reluctantly acknowledges their marriage(I.ii.96-108). Iago's initial plan to first turn Barbantio against Othello in his master plan is not fool proof, as Barbantio realizes his foolishness and comes to his senses after listening to Othello's sound reason. He may be skillful when it comes to using his words for persuading people, but Barbantio realizes that Iago is not to be trusted by merely his own words. As a result, Iago fails to sway Desdemona's father into destroying Othello's marriage and killing him, but will the other characters fall more easily for his emotional, but misleading words?

Iago uses Roderigo, his next victim, as his personal "piggy-bank", pretending to be his friend while he uses his money for his own intentions. For instance, while devising his plan to ruin Othello, he says to himself, "Thus do I ever make my fool (Roderigo) my purse...[and] expound with such a snipe for my sport and profit" (I.iii.384-387). Iago uses his cunning sophistry to trick the foolish Roderigo, and sees him merely as a way to gain profit by using his skillful deviancy. He has the ability to totally disregard any feelings of remorse when he is intent on carrying out his plans, even if it means abusing a friendship in the name of furthering his own personal good. In addition, Iago dupes him again by changing the subject when Roderigo confronts him about the money, and devises a strategy to "remove" Cassio, supposedly his main problem, while Iago knows it will lead to Roderigo's death (IV.ii.181-252). Once again, Iago has the ability to verbally get himself out of a tough situation, and also trap Roderigo into a fateful decision. He is a cunning manipulator of those not wise enough to realize his lies, and when confronted about his actions, Roderigo once more falls for his trickery. As a result, Iago finds a way to fund his devious exploits, manages to cover his tracks along the way, eradicates those who are no longer of use to him, all with no signs of remorse.

of all the minor characters Cassio is seen as Iago's biggest threat, so he is more careful in properly devising his destruction, and over the course of the story he slowly turns Othello against him, without him realizing Iago's deception. For example, while in Cyprus, Iago comes up with a plan to get Iago into drunken brawl, because he knows Iago can easily be enraged under the influence of alcohol(II.iii.42-58). He knows the Lieutenant's weakness, and Iago capitalizes on the opportunity to disgrace him in front of Othello and the entire island. Iago uses the faith that Cassio has in him as being "honest" to his advantage, and during the time of celebration he get Cassio totally off guard. In addition, when Cassio is desperate to get his position back, Iago supposedly gives Cassio sincere advice on how to plea with Desdemona, and get her to change Othello's mind, while he uses it to make Othello believe they are secretly having an affair (IV.i.76-91). Iago once again takes advantage of Cassio in a time of weakness by luring him into another trap, but Cassio does not realize that this will cause him more harm. He has the ability to now dispose of his close competitor, so utilizes his cruel cunning to get rid of him, and provides the setup for ruining Othello's marriage. As a result, Cassio does not realize the entire time that "honest Iago" his trusted friend, is responsible for his troubles, and Iago with his cold heart slowly destroys his life.

Thus, it is Iago's crafty speech and cruel cunning that allow him to easily manipulate most of the characters in the story. Even though he was not totally successful with Barbantio, Iago menages to coax the other two characters fall for his deceptive bait without the slightest hesitance. In the end, the devious Iago is successful at fooling his oppenents, but at the price of own his life after he destroys them.

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