Who Is Iago Use Of Irony In Othello's Jealousy

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Have you ever been wronged by someone; who you thought was a friend? In William Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago pretends to be everyone's friend; they believe every word that comes out of his mouth even though most of it was a lie. Iago goes to great length to pass his lies off as truth; however, he doesn't always succeed.
Iago applied many rhetorical devices to convince his so called “friend” Othello that his beloved Desdemona was having an affair. Iago implied that these erroneous transgressions were occurring with Othello’s lieutenant Cassio, who believed he was God's gift to women. Iago states, “Though I perchance am vicious in my guess - As I confess it is my nature's plague to spy into abuses, and oft my jealousy. Shapes faults that are not - that your wisdom, then, from one that so perfectly conceits, would take no notice” (III.iii.146-151). It was Iago’s intent to make his evidence seem less credible, in an attempt to portray himself as more plausible. Even if Othello sees that Iago's evidence is flawed, he must nonetheless believe Iago even more for his honesty has been augmented by such admission. Iago never stops making logical arguments and allows his appeal to logos to lessen in an attempt to heighten his appeal to ethos.
Iago tends to use pausing as a persuasive …show more content…
One example is, “I will withdraw, to furnish me with some swift means of death; for the fair devil.”(III.iii.477-479). In the end, when Othello smothers Desdemona for her false commitment of adultery, Iago has won. Although Othello finds out that Iago deceived him he cannot take back what has already been done. In return, Othello kills himself after stabbing Iago, but chose to let him live his remaining years imprisoned. One lesson to take is “Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see” (Benjamin Franklin). Even the closest of friends can turn out to be the worst of

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