Act II takes place in Cyprus on the sea port.
"With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio” (2.2) |
In the quote Iago is saying with little effort he can bend Cassio to his will and use him to his advantage to continue with his plans. Iago says this to himself and the audience without any other character hearing. The quote is about how he is going to get Cassio fired, so Cassio has to talk to Desdemona about getting it back and then Iago can use that to manipulate Othello into believing that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. This will create a domino effect in the play that ends in tragedy.
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Iago's Use Of Pontification
Iago uses pontification, a method of persuasion on Cassio to get him extremely drunk. Pontification is when you fire off a lot of small, weak points all at once not allowing your opposition to get a word in leaving them confused and speechless.
Getting Cassio DrunkIago gets Cassio drunk in a few ways, he first convinces Cassio he should be celebrating with a drink because all of his friends want him to. Iago then gets him involved in a drinking song, which ultimately leaves him drunk.
Iago uses his drunkenness to get him angry enough to fight with Rodrigo, he also fights the governor and ends up getting fired for it.
Iago tells Cassio he should go talk to Desdemona and tell her to tell Othello to give Cassio his job back.
Iago is planning on telling Othello Desdemona is cheating on him, with Cassio and Desdemona talking secretly and Desdemona bugging Othello to give Cassio his job back it makes Iago’s story more believable.
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All Devil/Hell References In Act II“...duck again as low As hell’s from heaven! If it were now to die, ’Twere now to be most happy” (2.1) |