Feb 24 2008
Analysis of Othello Act 2 sc. 3, Lines 356-382 (pg. 103-105)
This passage contains a soliloquy spoken by Iago after he advises Cassio to ask Desdemona to attempt to convince Othello to reinstate Cassio as his lieutenant. In it he states that the audience may believe he is a kind man and a supportive friend of Cassio. However, he remains the true villain of the play. He goes on to say that he seems like a good person because he gave Cassio good advice: Desdemona is such a sympathetic and kind-hearted character that she would help anyone, and Othello loves Desdemona so much that he would do anything she asked him to. Iago then reveals his true plan: while Cassio urges Desdemona to help him and Desdemona urges Othello to forgive him, Iago will convince Othello that she “repeals him for her body’s lust,” meaning that Desdemona is helping Cassio not out of sympathy, but because she is in love with him. He believes that this will result in the downfall of all the other characters.
This passage is important because in it, Iago reveals another phase of his ongoing plan to destroy Othello. It foreshadows what will happen in the next scene. It also demonstrates Iago’s duplicity and the multi-sided aspect of his personality—he seems like a good man for helping Cassio but reveals himself to the audience as a villain in disguise.
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