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Another device Iago uses is pretence Emilia quickly departs, Iago says to Othello “One of this kind is Cassio in sleep I heard him say Sweet Desdemona let us be wary, let us hide our loves and then sir would he gripe and wring my hand” Iago does this to make Othello believe that Desdemona is unfaithful and feel insecure. Othello’s response is “O monstrous! Monstrous!” this shows us that he believes what Iago is saying and he feels betrayed and angry. At this stage the audience may feel sorry for Desdemona because she is being accused of being unfaithful when she is completely innocent and the audience may feel pity for Othello because he trusts Iago completely and doesn’t know that Iago is trying to isolate him and make him feel such hatred towards his wife, Desdemona. This device is paticularly clever because no-one can argue against it not even Cassio because he was asleep when he said it, so even if he protested that he did not say that, he couldnt really be sure as he was asleep when he was to have supposedly spoke about the "hidden love" between him and Desdemona.
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Iago also uses reverse psychology right after he has told Othello a terrible lie about Desdemona he adds on pressure to Othello by saying “Nay this was but a dream” By doing this he makes Othello feel so insecure and so in doubt about Desdemona that he doesn’t know what to believe anymore. Othello responds by saying “But this denoted a foregone conclusion: tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream. This shows us that Othello is know in doubt and is willing to believe Iago over his wife this tells us Iago is slowly manipulating him and fuelling Othello’s rage. The audience at this stage now know that Iago is no friend of Othello’s he is simply a hateful villain who will do anything to get what he wants.
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Iago tends to through out the play repeat the same type of question over and over again, Iago says “Is’t possible, my lord”. By doing this Iago confuses Othello and leaves Othello speechless and not knowing how to respond or say, by doing this it makes it easier for Iago to manipulate Othello because Othello doesn’t know what to believe or what to say. The audience at this stage feel sympathy for Othello because he doesn’t know what to say or who to believe and it leaves him susceptible to Iago’s devilish plan.
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Iago also withholds information, by doing this he makes Othello impatient and wanting to know what Iago is desperately hiding from him, Iago makes Othello feel this way by saying “ Out of his scattering and unsure observance it were not for your quite nor your good nor for my manhood honesty or wisdom, to let you know my thoughts.” Othello desperately wants to find out we know this when he says “What does thou mean? This shows that us Othello wants to find out the bigger picture and find out what Iago knows. At this stage the audience feel unsure and want to know what Iago knows just as much as Othello does.
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Iago also uses flattery so he can manipulate Othello more easily and get Othello trusting in him, Iago does this by saying “I am your own forever” Iago uses dramtic irony here because by saying this he is blowing things all out of poportions as he doesnt intend on being Othello's forever he simply just wants to use him as a stepladder almost to get where he wants and to get what he wants also by saying this Iago gains Othello’s complete trust as this is the final line in Act 3 Scene 3 he has know convinced Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful and should be punished for her terrible crime. The audience know see a completely different Othello one that is full of rage and hate.
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Othello’s behaviour is very erratic and changes every scene, he behaviour tends to get more aggressive and we a bit more hate and decent coming from Othello, we see this by his language. In the beginning of the play Othello is very calm and assured when is talking to the duke of Venice and he uses the iambic pentameter beautifully “ I meet the captains at the citadel” however by the time it reaches the end of act 3 scene 3 his language is no longer in iambic pentameter and he is shouting and his language become more aggressive “ O Monstrous! Monstrous! This shows us Othello loses control of his language and just explodes into a vocal frenzy. We see a completely different Othello as the play goes on.
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Iago could be blamed for this tragedy because he was the one who manipulated Othello and tricked his mind into believing that what he said was the truth and that Desdemona should pay the price and that resulted in her death however Othello could be blamed because he never questioned Iago’s thoughts or ideas thoroughly and when he did question Iago’s judgement it was by far to late he only heard one part of the story from Iago and never asked Desdemona if this was true and never really gave her any time to explain or deny the atrocious claims.
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The place where Othello was set, really shows us what the play is about and adds to the drama and action of the play, Othello (The Play) starts off set in Venice and Venice in the sixteenth century was renowned for its music and its calm assuring atmosphere and it was were many found love and lived happily in Venice which really shows us what Othello felt for Desdemona and the atmosphere backed up the happiness Othello felt with Desdemona and as the set changed to Cyprus which is a small country almost isolated from any other countries. Othello began to feel rejected, annoyed and almost like he was cut off from others as if they didnt understand what he was going throught or how he felt after Iago manipulated him and twisted his mind. Othello felt as though he was in a world of his own and was isolated because no-one really understood how he was feeling, it showed us main objective of Iago’s plan was complete to make Othello feel weak and make his mind fill with rage against Desdemona. The set tells us a lot about the storyline and how Othello felt, it plays a big part in the play.
By Igor Gouveia
