In contrast to Othello’s good nature, Iago is portrayed as a character that is extremely two faced and an extreme liar. We can tell this from the first and second scene: in scene one, we see him talking to Roderigo, sharing his hate for Othello, for example, when he says “Despise me if I do not!” This is when he is telling Roderigo that he hates Othello. We then see in scene two that he is telling Othello that Roderigo had been bad mouthing him when in fact it was Iago bad mouthing Othello. The way that Iago is able to lie directly to his face later comes in very helpful when Iago plans to get his revenge on Othello. It has been noticed
When comparing the two characters at the start of the play, it has been noticed by a critic that in the first act, Iago has eight diabolical references and Othello has none. In act two, he has six, and Othello one. The change them comes in act three when where Iago drops to three and Othello rises to nine. In act four, Iago has only one and Othello has ten. In act five, Iago has none and Othello has six. This is a very good over view of how the play goes on and Othello’s loving attitude and high morals change, and he can’t even use correct words, he has to make diabolical references.
As the play progresses, we see Othello fall under the influence of Iago even when he is not physically present. For example, when Othello is being told that he is to return to Venice and that Cassio shall take his place and Desdemona seems to be pleased, we see Othello’s mind thinking the worst. Because of what Iago had already hinted to him about Cassio and Desdemona, that he begins to believe the lies that he’s been told. We see Othello gradually become even more paranoid and suspicious.
In the penultimate act, we see Othello really fall for Iago’s lies and we also see his character deteriorating even further into a point of no return. For example, in scene one, act four, we see Othello take a major turn for the worst. Not only is he already suspicious of Desdemona and Cassio, he is now being lied to by Iago about seeing Cassio and Desdemona in bed together. This breaks Othello and he falls into a trance because of what he is hearing. Here, we see Othello really lose it, and we see the opposite to his earlier noble attitude when he says to Iago “First to be hanged, and then to confess—I tremble at it. Nature would not invest herself in such shadowing passion without some instruction. It is not words that shake me thus. Pish! Noses, ears, and lips. Is ’t possible? Confess!—Handkerchief!—Oh, devil!—“ Not only is Othello talking about killing Cassio which is very extreme, he is also using the diabolical language that has been noted earlier on. I feel that this scene shows Othello right on the point of carnage. The language used in this scene is a clear example that Othello is about to tip over the edge due to Iago’s lies.
In conclusion, it’s clear that Iago’s lies played a huge part on the deterioration of Othello. We can tell that there is a clear decline in Othello’s language from the start of that play when he has a compassionate nature and at the end when he is a brutal, deluded killer.
