Dishonesty And Irony In Shakespeare's Othello

It seems captivating that an interesting and clever character in a play, would be the villain, such is the case in Othello. At first Iago seems to be unprovoked. However, the motivation behind his actions lies more in Iago's quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being sinister. Iago's covetousness can be validated by examining his manipulation of Cassio, Roderigo and most importantly, Othello. Shakespeare explores universal ideas throughout the play through the characterization of Iago to bring to the fore the complexities of humanity and the duality of man. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Iago to evoke many emotions from the audience; this is composed through elements of theatre and literary discourse. Othello was set in the
Honesty is the most continually reiterated idea explored in Shakespeare’s Othello and is used to reinforce to the audience what happens when you go looking for dishonesty. This is conveyed consistently throughout Othello through the use of repetition and dramatic irony. Shakespeare addresses the question of honesty, deceit and treachery through the use of repetition of “honest Iago”; the characters do not seem to notice Iago’s dishonesty. On the contrary, they praise him for being so honest.
Short dramatic exclamatory sentences such as “o monstrous, monstrous!” are used to emphasise Othello’s lack of control and the power Iago has through the use of prose, reflecting the darker more sinister aspects of his
It is due to his obsession with his pride, his self-esteem and his self image which leads to his loss of self control and his fall from a position of control. The climax occurs at the end of Act 3, this is symbolically represented in the stage directions He kneels to emphasise Iago’s powerful ability to bring the downfall of the once high stature and well respected man, Othello. Iago is not questioned ever of his honesty towards Othello, unlike Desdemona who is continuously, that even though he still loves Desdemona he will still only believe what a man says over his wife “why? what art thou?”. This brings forth to the audience the Elizabethan era in which the Venetian society men held all the power and women were considered to be of low intellect, Therefore we find it a challenge to accept the patriarchal society today as it seems unfair and unjust, where as the Elizabethan audience may respond to play quite differently. Due to the changes in values and attitudes, the idea that it’s Desdemona’s fait to be unfaithful is widely accepted by the Elizabethan audiences, and therefore, she must pay her