From the three fates in Greek literature, to the Holy Trinity in Christianity, and to the triadic relationships and repetitions in Othello, the number three signifies the domination of a deity or a deity-like character. For instance, Iago’s verse in lines 296 to 320 in Act 2, Scene 3 provides an introduction to his plan on how he is going to manipulate the circumstances of three of the most important characters in the play, other than himself – Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio. In that same verse, Iago mentions his plan to set up Cassio and Desdemona to destroy Desdemona’s reputation before Othello, which Iago believes to be the key in inflicting a traffic fate to the three characters. However, in order for Iago to succeed, Iago believes that
…show more content…
Iago first mentions reputation as less painful than a wound to establish a connection with Cassio. Clearly, in his first attempt to bring up the idea of reputation, Iago is trying to establish a common ground with Cassio to make it easier for him to manipulate Cassio. In his first mention of reputation, Iago sympathizes with Cassio to grab his attention so that he can eventually condition Cassio to follow his plan. As his prose continues, Iago suddenly explains the nature of reputation to maintain the attention he has gotten from Cassio. Iago continues to sympathize with Cassio so that he can impart his beliefs to Cassio and influence him to do what he wants to do. After explaining to Cassio that reputation can be lost easily, Iago suddenly provokes Cassio to prove to him that Cassio does not have a reputation as a loser. Iago’s quick shift from being a sympathizer to a provoker shows his understanding and manipulating human will. Iago’s immediate change of stance on the situation is deliberate to propel Cassio to act, instead of whining, on behalf of his reputation. The transition from comforting to challenging Cassio indicates a well-crafted plan and a psychological analysis from Iago. Clearly, Iago has analyzed the motivation and motifs of Cassio, and he uses his gained information to make Cassio obey his will. Overall, Iago’s utilization of his and Cassio’s reputation enables him to execute the first step of his plan, which ultimately allows him to use disgrace Desdemona to inflict pain upon
Iago first mentions reputation as less painful than a wound to establish a connection with Cassio. Clearly, in his first attempt to bring up the idea of reputation, Iago is trying to establish a common ground with Cassio to make it easier for him to manipulate Cassio. In his first mention of reputation, Iago sympathizes with Cassio to grab his attention so that he can eventually condition Cassio to follow his plan. As his prose continues, Iago suddenly explains the nature of reputation to maintain the attention he has gotten from Cassio. Iago continues to sympathize with Cassio so that he can impart his beliefs to Cassio and influence him to do what he wants to do. After explaining to Cassio that reputation can be lost easily, Iago suddenly provokes Cassio to prove to him that Cassio does not have a reputation as a loser. Iago’s quick shift from being a sympathizer to a provoker shows his understanding and manipulating human will. Iago’s immediate change of stance on the situation is deliberate to propel Cassio to act, instead of whining, on behalf of his reputation. The transition from comforting to challenging Cassio indicates a well-crafted plan and a psychological analysis from Iago. Clearly, Iago has analyzed the motivation and motifs of Cassio, and he uses his gained information to make Cassio obey his will. Overall, Iago’s utilization of his and Cassio’s reputation enables him to execute the first step of his plan, which ultimately allows him to use disgrace Desdemona to inflict pain upon