Deception in Othello

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Deception in Othello

Deception is a reoccurring theme throughout the play which touches all protagonists at various levels. The plot is based on the dishonesty and delusion of the characters.  It is difficult for the audience to judge who is deceiving whom.  the audience Often becomes part of the trickery and remains unaware that they themselves are being deceived. Deception is performed by all characters, however to different extents and purposes., The three main characters in scene one, Iago, Othello and Desdemona, become involved in a mutual.. Iago is a character which leaves the audience dubious about his true intensions.  Nevertheless, Desdemona and even Othello himself can be found guilty of trickery. Deception is perceived as a powerful and destructive force. In the first scene it becomes the main source of tension between the protagonists, and continues to degenerate their mental state throughout the play and eventually leads the final downfall of the characters.  Throughout the first scene deception becomes a method applied by all characters in order to establish their power and control over others.

The structure of the plot is based on Iago’s self-centered plan, which aims to promote his position. He intends to trick other in order to achieve his plan. He announces to the audience that he will follow Othello “to serve my turn upon him”, which prove his dishonest and wicked side. As a result we learn that Iago’s motives and words are false and should not be trusted, hence we begin to question his proposal of being deceitful in the first place. We wonder ourselves if we should trust his judgment once he declares “I am not what I am”. Iago reveals his plan to the audience in the presence of Rodrigo, who is also deceived later in the play, so it is possible that Iago also wants to veil his real aims from the audience too. In the first scene Iago seems to be successful, as he manages to convince Othello that he is still his faithful soldier, this will enable him to gain Othello’s trust in the future. Othello falls for Iago’s deception and hands over his wife to him take care on her. Iago is also involved in deceiving other charters and stirring their emotions. He exaggerates the situation between Desdemona and her father and forces Rodrigo to follow him. Iago declares Othello as a “thief” who has taken away Brabantio’s daughter, whereas in reality she has chosen to go herself. This is another example how Iago carefully manipulates the scene to evoke a reaction he wants. Iago introduces Othello to the audience as “an old black ran” who is “ loving his own pride and purposes”.

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Iago’s presentation of Othello would seem convincing to the Shakespearian and perhaps contemporary audience as it is something they would want to believe, due to strong racial stereotypes that were believed.

At the beginning of the scene, Iago is bitter that Othello has no promoted him to his Lieutenant; soon this becomes his obsession and the driving force behind all his trickery. Iago is determined to prove himself as a worthy soldier and part of his s plan is to demonstrate it to the audience . Iago tells the audience that he is in control, make reference to the ...

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Deception is an interesting and complex topic to explore for any Shakespeare tragedy and this essay does try and explore the different ideas thrown up by this theme in 'Othello'. There is a good understanding of the characters; however the points are not always related to the text and they require more support. When analysing a text through a particular theme it is important to relate points back to the theme and use a question that allows for this.