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Mastery In Othello

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Mastery In Othello
William Shakespeare is an exquisite English poet from the late 1500’s. In the play Othello, The Moor of Venice, a jealously filled man named Iago set out a complex plan to ruin the life of his commanding officer Othello with the help of other’s foolishness. In this play the aspects of a master-slave dynamic shows us a different side to societies’ perception. The traditional view is that the master is strong and has a higher social status then the slave but Iago explains that not everyone is cut out to be a master and even some masters weren’t made for the job by saying “We cannot all be masters, nor all masters/ Cannot truly follow’d” (Oth. 1.1.43-4). It leads us to wonder who the real master in this play is. Othello was born into power and …show more content…
I believe that masters are not put on a throne but rather hidden like Iago. He is an unknown man to most except for a few people which helps them believe that whatever happens is natural and not a part of Iago’s plan. All he has to do is say a few key words and Othello does what Iago wants him to do with the information like when Iago told Othello that Desdemona might have cheated on him. Iago didn’t stay it straight forward but he had Othello beg like a peasant and Iago even said “Nor for my manhood, honesty, and wisdom, / To let you know my thoughts” (Oth.3.3.153-4). Telling Othello that is would be better if he didn’t tell him what he thought about Cassio and because it “Were not for your quiet nor your good” (Oth.3.3.152) meaning it would disturb his peace of mind if Othello knew Iago thought his wife cheated on him. All of this is making Iago the master because he is controlling what Othello is doing as if he were a slave. Slaves are dependent on their master, due to lack of resources and the strength to leave. Othello has become vulnerable and need Iago to share whatever information he has, even if he doesn’t realize that Iago has been giving him false accusations. He decides that from that moment on he is “Bound to [Iago] for ever” (Oth.3.3.212) meaning he is officially owning him all of his trust. Iago used his fragile emotional state to mess with him further and it shows that
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