Topic > Iago's use of language in William Shakespeare's Othello

"IAGO: Stand aside for a while. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned "? Get an original essay Confine yourself but to a patient list. While you were here, overcome with your grief - a passion very unfit for such a man - Cassius came here, I took him away, and found a good excuse for your ecstasy, I told him to come back soon and here he speaks to me, the one who promised. Do nothing but dig yourself, and notice the sly, the sneers and the notable scorns that live in every region of his face. For I will make him tell the story again, where, how, how often, how. long ago, and when has and is again to face your wife I say, but observe his gesture Bride, patience, otherwise I will say that you are all in all despicable , and nothing of a man" (Othello 4.1). .72-87). Over the course of Othello, the title character suffers several metaphorical downfalls. Indeed, just compare his social status in Act I and Act V: at the beginning, Othello commands respect for his great military successes; by the end of the play, otherworldly jealousy has reduced him to murder, stripped him of power, and ultimately led him to stab himself. Rather than a meteoric decline, as in Oedipus Rex, however, it seems that Othello falls a little with each scene. The most significant of these lapses in honor occurs in Act IV, Scene I (immediately after Othello literally faints, not coincidentally), when Iago tricks Othello into believing he has seen the "ocular proof" (3.3.365) of Desdemona's infidelity. , thus leaving him, once and for all, destined for a tragic end. The obvious inconsistency of this evidence must force us to ask two important questions: Why is Othello so willing to trust Iago? And why is he so hasty and careless in condemning his wife? For answers, just look at Iago's words to his master, in which he outlines his plan - which we know is deceitful - to trap Cassio into a confession. Our understanding of Iago's state of mind at this moment depends on our interpretation. of his character as a whole. More specifically, there are two popular ways to think of Iago: as a human or as a devil (or even Lucifer incarnate). If we think of him as a devil, and therefore as an entirely evil entity, the very term "mood" is irrelevant; a character whose being is constantly tilted in a particular direction does not have mood swings, but rather, in Iago's case, remains mischievous throughout. This view of Iago, while popular, is overly simplistic; to do the play justice, we must think of Iago, as we would any other character, as a human being. According to this interpretation, his condition at this point in the play is one of relief and, one might assume, rekindled optimism for his plan. The recent entrance of Cassio, had Othello been conscious, would probably have spelled doom for the ensign, for the Moor would have had the opportunity to openly question his lieutenant and thus dispel Iago's deception; instead, Cassio's appearance offers Iago the perfect opportunity to cement his master's fury, and thus his downfall. Othello's fainting - caused by Iago's deception - allows that deception to continue, to reach its climax, leaving the ensign in a state of barely controlled relief and renewed vigor when he delivers this short speech. Iago's language in these lines adheres to his speech patterns throughout the play. The lines closely follow the form of iambic pentameter: nine of the fourteen lines (the first and last are incomplete) have exactly ten syllables, while.