Iago the Pimp

Iago is like a pimp because he tries to whore Desdemona out to Roderigo (thought he doesnt deliver) and he uses
others to profit himself.
Masters and Slaves Speech
It is foreshadowing because it basically flat out warns Othello that Iago will soon have everyone wrapped around his
finger, the master of the whole shady thing.
Master of Manipulation
Iago has Roderigo barrage Brabantio with a bunch of things at once, waking him up from his sleep. Tells him
exaggerations such as how his daughters been stolen and things like that. It sends Brabantio into an angry panic,
he isnt really able to process these things clearly in that disoriented state.
The Devil Himself
Iago keeps himself anonymous, putting all the blame onto Roderigo.
Manipulating the Top Dog
Iago lays dumb with Othello, but innocently insinuates that Desdemona may be impure. Has Othello thoroughly
convinced that hes only looking out for him. This is how it begins.
What Comes Next
Somehow, Othello completely believes all that he says, even without checking with Desdemona first, and even
without any real evidence.
Iago and Janus
Janus is the god of two faces. He couldnt have made it more obvious. He literally referenced the god of
backstabbing and it flew right over Othellos head. Freakin Othello.
Unless he was saying that because he was implying Cassio was two-faced, not himself. Then you can forgive it.
These Accusations
Brabantio accuses Othello of thievery/kidnapping of his daughter, also witchcraft.
Military Council and Brabantio
The military councils workings are similar to Brabantio and Othellos fight because they do go through a questioning
and possible punishment process.

Othello Escapes the Trouble

Because it is revealed that Dessie and Othello are actually married, he didnt steal her at all. Desdemona even said
she must obey Othello because he is her husband.
Iagos Opinion

He thinks that love doesnt actually last, that women are unfaithful and ready to throw you away the moment a
younger, more attractive or successful person comes along. He probably feels this way due to his own insecurity in
his relationship.
Iagos Soliloquy
In Iagos soliloquy act the end of act 1, he explains his plans to the audience from the very beginning. He admits that
Othello is easy to manipulate because hes gullible and trusting towards men who seem honest. Iago also mentions
toward the end of the soliloquy that he will get help from the devil.

With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio

Important quote from Iago. Out of nothing Iago plans to wreak havoc upon Cassios career and life. He was talking
about his plans after being told that Cassio was taking his job. This plan will result in great damage upon not only
Cassio, but to many others.
Iago convinces Cassio that he should go to Desdemona and beg her to help him get his job back, consistently.
Which works perfectly to Iagos advantage because it helps to make Cassio look more guilty.
Pontification
Pontification is when you speak highly of yourself in a way that comes off as pompous. An example of this is when
Iago refers to himself as honest Iago and when he puts himself on a pedestal above Emilia.
Iago Wants to Get Krunk
Iago convinces Cassio that it would be rude to not drink in celebration of the wars end. Iago encourages him with
cheerful songs about alcohol and a happy attitude.
Drunken Cassio
Cassio is an angry drunk, and Iago knew this. He gets Roderigo to antagonize Cassio, Montano tries to interfere,
and Cassio attacks him.
Go Get That Job Back, Honey
Iago suggests to Cassio that he should plead with Dessie, and have her convince Othello to re-hire Cassio.
Just as Planned

The scheme mentioned above will increase Othellos suspicion towards Desdemona. Iago will use it as a tool to
create imaginary situations in Othellos head about how Cassio and Desdemona are having a secret affair.
Devil/hell References Within Act 2
Cassio believes wine is a tool of the devil to lead men astray, Iago refers to Cassio as a devilish knave.
Cassio and the Musicians
Cassio enters with musicians who can play a pleasing tune, an attempt at making amends with Othello and asking
for the job back.
Rising Suspicion
Again Iago incites more paranoia from Othello, purposefully putting Othello into a situation where he would catch a
glimpse of Cassio and Desdemona secretly meeting.
Chaos Will Come Again?
Othello tells Desdemona that chaos will come again if he ever stops loving her. This was after her trying to convince
him to allow Cassio back his job.
Uncertain Vocabulary
Iago uses words such as I think and seems in order to feign uncertainty, as if he does not know that Cassio is
trustworthy or not. These uncertain words incite more sparks of doubt in Othello.
Insecurity
Othello is insecure because Desdemona is beautiful, kind. And he believes he is undeserving of her love.
Memento
It is special handkerchief which Othello gifted upon Desdemona. The gift was an important possession of his, the
only remaining memento of his deceased mother.
Jealousy, Cruel Jealousy
The worst thing about jealousy is that it makes everyone involved feel awful. It can cause paranoia, sadness and
anger in the person experiences, and often clouds their judgement.

Important Quotes!

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!

It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock

The meat it feeds on.

Iago warns Othello of jealousy, even though he is trying to bring it out of him. He compares it to a monster which
consumes the people who experience it. Its effect on the rest of the play is foreshadowing, because Othello falls
victim to this exact thing.

And, for I know thourt full of love and honesty,

And weighst thy words before thou givst them breath
Othello speaks highly of Iago, believing that he truly has good intentions and is his best friend. The quote has a great effect
over the whole play, because othello believes Iagos lies all the way to the very end, when the truth was revealed.

Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore!

Be sure of it; give me the ocular proof;
Or, by the worth of mine eternal soul,
Thou hadst been better have been born a dog
Than answer my waked wrath!

Othello speaking to Iago, threatening him that if he is not being 100% honest, and does not bring Othello real, solid proof,
Othello will make him wish he was born a dog. It is an important quote because Othello nearly catches on to Iagos tricks, but
then Iago quickly gets himself out of it.

Excellent wretch, perdition catch my soul

But I do love thee! And when I love thee not,

Chaos is come again.
Othello praising Dessie, the quote means that he loves her so much, and if he were to stop, everything would be in chaos. It
is relevant to the entire play because as soon as he stops trusting her, 3 people end up dead.

Witness that here Iago doth give up

The execution of his wit, hands, heart
To wronged Othellos service.
Iago to Othello, he pledges his service to help Othello take revenge on his lover and Cassio. Iago is merely going to help
Othello wreak more havoc, and make the whole situation far more painful for Othello than it already is.

Preciousssss Handkerchieefffff
Iago plants the handkerchief in the room of Cassio, so that Othello will think that Desdemona was there.
Othello Flip Flops
Othello finally gives in entirely to his jealousy, pledging with Iago to make sure Cassio and Desdemona die. He goes
from doubtful to utterly hateful within the same day.
Dessie Dont Know
Desdemona blames herself for how Othello is acting, she thinks perhaps she was not a good enough wife.

Hypothetical Scenarios
Iago makes up hypothetical scenarios in order to make Othello more paranoid, he asks if doing a certain thing is
cheating. Othello would suspect that Iago is asking because it is something Desdemona has done.

Guilty

Iago sets up a situation in which Othello is listening in on he and Cassios conversation. Cassio begins to talk about
his lover, Bianca, and Othello thinks he is talking about Desdemona. Also Iago tells Othello about Cassios sleep
talking in which he admits to his affair, supposedly.
Value The Cloth Which I Have Given You
Iago has Othello listen in to another conversation between him and Cassio, where Bianca enters with the
handkerchief. Iago twists it to make Othello think that Cassio doesnt even care for Desdemona, enough to simply
give away the handkerchief she had supposedly given him.
Up Close and Personal
Iago likely recommends strangling over poison because he wants the death of Desdemona to hurt Othello as much
as possible, and likely the strangling of your lover in your bed is poetic to him.
Serpents Curse
The serpent's curse was a reference from within the old christian creation story. Lucifer had deceived Eve in the
form of a serpent, and then was cursed by God to crawl on his belly in the dirt.
Cursed Husband
Iago started having bad luck because of it, he was nearly caught red-handed, his plans almost foiled.
Oh How the Tables have Turned
Two examples of this reversal of fortune would be when Roderigo arrives to confront Iago, questioning where his
money had went and why Iagos advice hadnt worked. Another example would be Emilia realizing that something
was wrong. She knew that someone was tricking and lying to Othello about sweet Desdemona.
Foreshadowing, Scene 3
When Desdemona said to Emilia, requesting that if she die she is buried in her marriage sheets. It is a significantly
powerful example of foreshadowing. Dessie was simply remembering the joy of her marriage, and yet was telling a
dark truth of her near future.
When In Doubt, Blame the Husband
Because, she believes the husbands refuse to give their wives the love and attention they deserve, and therefore in
return the wives seek those things in someone else.

Holy hell! Thats a lot of references!

In act 4 there are numerous references to the devil and hell, mainly coming from Othello. When talking to
Desdemona about her promiscuity, he cries out to the devil. Bianca mentions the devil when Cassio gives her
Desdemonas handkerchief. Desdemona did not know about such a thing, and Othello

Win-Win Situation
Cassio and Roderigos fight is a win - win situation for Iago, it would either end with Roderigo dead and Cassio
unscathed, or Cassio could die and Roderigo live, but Roderigo would just go to jail in that case. Or whatever their
equivalent of that was. No one would know Iago was behind it.
Gratiano and Lodovico are Scared of the Dark
There was the possibility of the noise being a trap, also they cannot tell who is fighting because of the darkness that
shrouds them.
Bianca?
Iago insinuates that Bianca has something to do with Cassios injuries because of the fact that she was nearby
when it happened, because she could hear the struggle. He also mentioned the fact that she was a prostitute, using
that as a claim that she wasnt trustworthy.
A hell of a lot of references
Othello references hell when asking Desdemona to confess her sins before she dies. Emilia calls Othello a devil for
killing Desdemona. Othello references an old fable where the devil cannot walk on earth after being banished by
God, so his feet dont touch the ground. But Iagos feet indeed touch the ground.
Irony at its Finest
Othello compares Desdemonas life to a candle flame before he kills her. The put out the light speech is ironic,
however, because unlike the candle, her life cannot be relit.
Smooth Move, Wise Guy
Desdemona had said in her dying breath that Othello was innocent, but he decided to cry out against it, calling
Dessie a liar, and admitting to his crime.

Obituary
Brabantio - Death by heartbreak after finding that his daughter had left to elope with the Moor.
Emilia - Stabbed by her husband, Iago, as an attempt to be silenced
Desdemona - Othello smothered her to death
Roderigo - Injured by Cassio, mortal blow by Iago
Othello - stabs himself in the heart with a concealed dagger, dying next to his lover and her best friend.
Othello Spares Iago?
Because Othello believes he is going to hell, and he does not want to see Iago there.
Othellos Downfall
His extreme insecurity and self doubt leads to his downfall. It not only caused the paranoia, but it also made him too
afraid to actually talk to Desdemona about it.
Moral of the Story
Honesty and communication is key in a relationship. You absolutely have to get all sides of the story before jumping
to conclusions and doing something you will regret.

Elements

A variety of literary elements can be identified throughout the text, beyond this point is where
we will discuss and cover these uses.
Allegory - Emilia wishes a curse on the man who slandered Desdemona, but it turns out to be a
curse on her husband.
Allusion - Iago swears to Janus, the god of two faces, perfectly fitting as Iago is manipulating Othello.
Catastrophe - Desdemona is smothered to death by Othello, he realizes the truth soon after and
commits suicide. They die together in the same bed.
Catharsis - Othello clears all of the love from his heart to make room for bloodlust and hate.

Characters - Othello, Iago, Roderigo, Brabantio, Desdemona, Montano, Lodovico.

Comic Relief - Roderigo and Iago calling upon Brabantio in the middle of the night, very comedic
towards the beginning.
Conceit Effect - It is supposed to teach a lesson of knowing when youre being manipulated and how to spot
it. Also, dont jump to conclusions.
Hamartia - Othello believes Iago's awful lies about Desdemona.
Invocation Socratic Irony - Iago constantly pretends to be ignorant but its part of his plan all along
Verbal Irony - I think hes honest Iago says specifically in order to get Othello considering that he
may well NOT be honest.
Mood - Sinister, Tense, Melancholy
Plot - The story of William Shakespeare's Othello is set in 16th-century Venice and Cyprus. Othello
the Moor, a noble black warrior in the Venetian army, has secretly married a beautiful white woman
called Desdemona, the daughter of a prominent senator, Brabantio. When he finds out, he is
outraged, and promptly disowns her.
Othellos ensign, Iago, harbors a secret jealousy and resentment towards the Moor, partly because
another soldier, lieutenant Cassio, has been promoted ahead of him, and also because he suspects
that Othello has had an affair with his wife. Intent on revenge, Iago hatches a devious plan to plant
suspicions in Othellos mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio. He orchestrates
a street fight, for which Cassio is wrongly blamed, and is then dismissed from his post by Othello.
Desdemona takes up Cassios case with her husband, which only further inflames his suspicions that
the pair are lovers.
In the meantime, Iago manages to procure a treasured handkerchief from Desdemona that was given
to her by Othello. He plants it on Cassio so that Othello sees it, then concludes that it is proof of their
affair. Maddened by jealousy, he orders Iago to murder Cassio, and then he strangles Desdemona.
Immediately afterwards her innocence is revealed, and Iagos treachery exposed. In a fit of grief and

remorse Othello kills himself. Iago is taken into custody by the Venetian authorities.
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Crisis - When Othello swears to kill Desdemona.
Climax - As Othello is circling Desdemona while she lies on her bed. He tells her to pray.
Denouement Recognition - When Othello finds out that his wife was never cheating at all
Reversal - Iagos plan starts to almost fall apart towards the end, and Othello almost finds the truth.
Sadly, he gets it back together pretty fast.
Setting - Venice, Greece. Cyprus as well
Tone - Serious
Tragedy - Othello is a tragedy
Tragic Flaw - Othello's self consciousness.
Tragic Irony - Cassio dies even though he has truly done nothing wrong, because of his high status