Blog 10- Othello

I humbly thank you for ’t. Iago exits. I never
knew
A Florentine more kind and honest. (Shakespeare 113).

This line from Cassio in act 3 honestly made my heart sink a little as it represents how fooled Iago has everyone. From the beginning of the play it is evident that Iago could not care less about anyone but himself. We have seen him manipulate almost everyone in this play, including the ones who have put their trust in him, such as Roderigo and Cassio. The worst of Iago’s manipulation thus far in my opinion has been seen in act 2 scene 3 where we witness him purposefully get both Roderigo and Cassio drunk in order to fight each other. Here, and throughout the play, Shakespeare makes use of dramatic irony as these two characters both trust Iago and think that he has their best interest in mind when this is not the case. While readers/watchers are very aware that Iago is the master-manipulator, I am still confused as to exactly why Iago is doing all of this. Regardless of his reasons or intentions, the scene on page 113 is so heart-wrenching because at this point Cassio genuinely believes that Iago is a great man. This is clearly not the case due to everything already mentioned, but especially because Iago took advantage of the naive Cassio and causes him to lose his job, yet Cassio still believes that Iago is a stand-up man. All of this being said, I do believe that Iago makes a great antagonist since readers/watchers are the only ones who recognize that he is the villain. I am excited for the moment when the characters finally realize what we have already known all along.