Iago's fiery rhetoric embellishes the reality of his groundless hatred. The sly Iago represents the very irony that encircles Othello. Appearing as an ally, Iago's vengeful nature transforms him into the ultimate foe of Othello. Iago's anger is initiated by not being chosen as Othello's military lieutenant. This fuels his deceitful calling of Brabantio, Desdemona's father. "You have lost half your soul. Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!" (I.i.96-98). Iago awakens Brabantio with this metaphor of the ram and the ewe, referring to Othello and Desdemona, in order to enrage him. Othello represents the "black ram," exhibiting

With the branches of his scheme progressing, Iago maintains a confident composure in his speech. Iago not only employs his speech tactics on others, but on himself as well in order to fortify his self-esteem. While in Cyprus, after observing Cassio and Desdemona interact, Iago states in a soliloquy, "With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio" (II.i.183-184). Here Iago thinks in metaphor to reinforce his belief and motivation in his schemes. He plans to exploit Cassio's friendly nature towards Desdemona as a web to capture him in. According to Iago, he is the spider and Cassio is the fly. This makes Iago feel as the stronger, dominant, and eventually the victorious challenger. Iago exercises a similar, self-fortifying tactic when speaking with Othello in order to provoke self-confidence in his plan, " [He] will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are ... hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the worlds light" (I.iii.444-447). Iago sees Othello as a donkey waiting to be led in a desired direction. The rhyming of "night" and "light" in Iago's remark bring a feeling of sweetness to the plan. The deceitful villain further reinforces his confidence in his scheme while saying the following to himself, "O, you are well tuned now, but I'll set down the pegs that make this music" (II.i.218-219). Iago refers to Othello and Desdemona's love as the music of a string instrument that he will soon "set down." By incorporating metaphor, Iago represents himself as the one in control of the situation; he is the one turning the pegs. By portraying his enemies as minute flies, inept donkeys, or tunable instruments, Iago makes himself appear superior. By doing so, he boosts his self-esteem and further buries himself in cruelty and envy.

In contrast to the revitalizing of Roderigo's emotions, Iago strives at debilitating those of Othello. Iago hints at the suspicion that Cassio and Desdemona are involved in a love affair, but he then goes on to note that he is not completely sure. This causes Othello to further contemplate upon the subject and spark even deeper jealousy. As they converse, Iago repeats, in

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1457
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)