Wednesday, February 3, 2016

How does Iago's treachery finally work itself out in Act 5 of Othello?

Iago's treachery plays out throughout Othello. We see it working to disrupt relationships, poison attitudes, etc. This comes to a peak in Act V. That's when he tries to kill Cassio, and when he does kill Roderigo. He smears Bianca almost as an afterthought.Acting on Iago's manipulations, Othello kills Desdemona. There's a huge upheaval, and the truth comes out about Iago's lies. Othello tries to kill Iago, but fails. Iago stabs his own wife (cold!), and Othello kills himself in despair over what he's done.

In short, everyone is either dead, has a ruined reputation, or both.  

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