Iago controls Cassio for most of the play. It is important for Iago to control Cassio in the way that he does because it allows Iago to get exactly what he wants. Iago uses Cassio’s faults to manipulate him, like Cassio’s looks and his flirtatious personality to Cassio’s own disadvantage because Iago gets Othello to think that Desdemona is having an affair with him. It all starts when he persuades Cassio to join in with the festive drinking even though Cassio has a weak alcohol tolerance level ‘I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking’ this shows that Iago can still persuade Cassio to drink a lot of alcohol even though he knows that he cannot take it. Iago implies that he and Cassio have the same friends which makes Cassio think that they are best friends; he does this by calling the other men “our” friends which implies that they too would be friends. Iago also tells Cassio that he will drink for Cassio which makes Cassio think that he won’t be having much. This makes Cassio trust Iago’s decisions even more than he would usually ‘O, they are our friends-but one cup, I’ll drink for you’. He does this because he wants Cassio to become disorderly and chaotic so that he will start a fight with someone and then hopefully get dismissed from Othello’s lieutenancy position ‘I love thee, but never more be an officer of mine.’ Iago does this by telling Cassio that if he does not join in the ‘lads’ will think less of him and also think that he is not one of the lads and that it is fine if he gets drunk because everyone else is as it is a night of celebration ‘Tis a night of revels; the gallants desire it’. ‘The cannikin clink, clink’ is sung to get the men into a good mood. The effect of the song makes the men happy but Iago sings it because he wants to make Cassio insecure and over excited so he becomes aggressive and starts to become quarrelsome with the other men.
Iago uses Othello’s trust to his own advantage ‘The Moor is of a free and open nature that thinks men honest’ here I have chosen a line from ‘Othello’ that shows Iago knows this and is willing to benefit himself from it. This is one of the main points in the play because Othello’s trust is the key to many of Iago’s plots for Othello’s own downfall. Othello must trust Iago a lot because in the beginning of act 2 you learn that Othello has trusted Iago to look after Desdemona for him, this is especially trusting because Othello and Desdemona are only just married and are practically on their honeymoon. Othello makes her go on a different ship in the first place because he is on a battle ship and doesn’t want her to get hurt, but trusts Iago not to get too close to Desdemona, I do not think that Othello would have trusted Cassio to do this job though because he is known to be quite promiscuous, because he is always telling women how beautiful they are and kissing their hands and generally wooing them.
Iago uses his knowledge of other characters to control and manipulate them more easily. This is shown in the play when he is talking to Michael Cassio. Iago knows that Cassio cares a lot about his reputation. ‘I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!’ this line from ‘Othello’ shows us that Cassio is reliant on his reputation because if no one thought much of him he wouldn’t have got the lieutenancy job in the first place with Othello because he isn’t that brilliant at his lieutenancy but his reputation is, but we only hear this from ‘jealous’ Iago so I’m not sure if you can trust his judgement. He even admits in that quote that he is nothing without his reputation. Iago tells him that reputations aren’t that important because ‘reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving.’ Iago is telling Cassio that it doesn't matter because he has lost it for no reason and will soon be able to get it back quite easily. Iago is very hypocritical to say that reputations aren’t important because he heavily relies on his reputation, with everyone calling him ‘honest Iago’. If the other characters in the play didn’t think that he was honest, none of his plans would have worked. Iago controls people with his reputation by getting them to trust him to do jobs that usually would only be trusted to yourself.
Iago sews doubt into Othello's mind by telling him not to be jealous when he isn’t, this makes Othello think that he might be being naïve and this makes him jealous. ‘O, beware, my lord, of jealousy.’ Iago is telling Othello not to be jealous of Cassio wooing his wife (Desdemona) even though Othello isn’t in the first place this also makes Othello jealous, so this is a very
clever thing to say, because it makes him jealous for two reasons making his jealousy even stronger than it would be. To get Othello to really think that he is jealous Iago keeps on telling Othello not to be jealous to make sure that he remembers.
Iago is often provoking Othello’s curiosity so that it seems like Othello is dragging information out of Iago that Iago doesn’t want to tell him but he actually does. ‘Honest, my lord?’ here Iago is just echoing what Othello asks him making it seem like Iago is trying to avoid the question, this makes it seem like Cassio is not honest (that is who they were talking about). Just after this line in the play Iago says ‘think, my lord?’ as if he thinks that Cassio is not honest but does not want to say. This causes Othello to get very annoyed and very interested in what Cassio is up to, and then insists in knowing what Iago really does think. This allows Iago to control Othello because it makes him think that Iago didn’t want to tell Othello making it seem like it really is the truth, this also makes Othello think that Iago is trying to be loyal to Cassio, but ends up telling Othello everything which in turn then makes Othello believe Iago implies things that are untrue; this is very clever because he gets people to think things without actually saying them. ‘Cassio my lord? No, sure I cannot think it that he would sneak away so guilty like, seeing you coming’ here Iago is implying that Cassio is guilty, Iago makes Cassio seem even more guilty by saying ‘sneak’ because this is quite a guilty word, you would only ‘sneak’ around if you are guilty or doing something that you shouldn’t be doing, and also by saying ‘I cannot think’ implies that he wouldn’t think someone (Cassio) would leave like that unless he really is very guilty. Iago crucially uses a handkerchief that Othello had given Desdemona as a present. Iago managed to persuade Emilia to steal it for him and then he placed it in to one of Cassio’s pockets so that it would appear as if Cassio was sleeping with Desdemona. This is crucial because it is the only piece of real proof that Iago produces for Othello.
From my essay, I would imagine that you would have a pretty clear view of what Iago’s personality is like. Shakespeare portrays Iago as a jealous, manipulative, scheming, devilish person. Iago symbolises evil in everyway, though not the typical evil of a school yard bully, but a very advanced clever sort of evil that is much more productive with its methods. Getting others to act for him, and pretending to be everyone’s friend are amongst the ways he controls and builds up a web of manipulation. No doubt, his whole character is built on reputation for being honest. However, as we discover in the play, the word ‘honest’ doesn’t have a very clear meaning to it because it is always used to describe the wrong people (Iago). Either way, all these techniques work in alliance with one another. A rogue like Iago is hard to get the better of because his methods are very Machiavellian – he is seen as ‘honest Iago’ by all, but talks to all the characters individually, according to the necessary way to manipulate them. Iago managed to kill many people (including him). I would say that a merciless and persistent scoundrel is the only way to describe Iago.
