Othello: Dramatic Irony 5 key examples

The frequency of such remarks on Iago’s honesty— “honest Iago” becomes somewhat of an epithet in the play—is also an example of hyperbole, with Iago’s reputation for honesty being exaggerated for dramatic effect. Iago himself also ironically refers to his own honest character as part of his method of deceive others. “I am an honest man,” he says; “I protest in the sincerity of love and honest kindness.” Likewise, Iago constantly criticizes the supposed dishonesty of others. To Roderigo he berates Othello’s “fantastical lies” while emphasizing Desdemona’s supposed deceitful nature to Othello. That Iago lies about how others lie is, of course, greatly ironic.

By stressing Iago’s honest reputation, Shakespeare highlights how deceiving appearances can be, with this idea being a crucial theme in the play. The audience’s awareness of Iago’s actual dishonest nature while the other characters sing his praises—with Iago telling the audience as much in his soliloquies—is an example of dramatic irony, ensuring the discord between appearance and reality is obvious to the audience.

The use of dramatic irony also draws attention to the calculated nature of Iago’s plotting and allows the audience to see just how effective a villain Iago is. That almost exactly what Iago says will happen does happen allows the audience to see how it is Iago who holds the control in the play, making him an even more fearsome villain. Indeed, the drama of Shakespeare’s plays rarely relies on the tension of suspense, but instead the tension of dramatic irony. That the audience can see all the mechanics at work behind the play’s final tragedy is what makes the drama so poignant.

The play’s use of dramatic irony also highlights the fatal role of miscommunication in the play. When Iago sets up Cassio in earshot of Othello to make it appear as if he is talking about an affair with Desdemona, the audience’s awareness that he is in fact talking about Bianca allows them to witness how easily things can be misconstrued. Once again, appearance is shown to be untrustworthy, one of the play’s most crucial themes. 

It is also possible that the audience’s greater knowledge in this scene may be intended to create a sense of frustration, with the audience being able to see the relative ease with which Iago is able to mislead Othello. Such a factor may serve to emphasize Iago’s mastery, but it may also serve to expose Othello’s weakness. That Othello is so willing to trust Iago gives him partial responsibility for his actions. Indeed, that Iago’s lies take root so easily suggests that there is also an innate capacity for jealousy and violence in Othello that is responsible for his downfall.

Indeed, the articulateness of Iago’s soliloquies highlights his mastery of language and indicates his capacity for storytelling. This is evident in Iago’s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 3, for example, just after Iago convinces Cassio to ingratiate himself with Desdemona. It ends:

I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear:
That she repeals him for her body’s lust;
And by how much she strives to do him good,
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all. 

Cite this Quote

As this section of the soliloquy shows, Iago has a natural flair for language. Even in private, his speech is filled with figurative language and evocative images. Iago’s use of verse further highlights his sophistication, and the regular meter of his speech, written in iambic pentameter, reflects the measured and calculated nature of both his language and temperament. 

Iago’s frequent soliloquies also emphasizes his isolation as a character. Iago does not confide his plan in anyone else; he devises the plot on his own terms, something which indicates his cynical and suspicious nature towards others. However, it also works to create an intimacy with the audience, Iago’s lone listeners. Such intimacy draws the audience in as Iago’s accomplices, with only them being privy to the machinations of his deceit. The resultant dramatic irony creates an imbalance of knowledge between the audience and the other characters in the play who will become Iago’s victims, a perhaps intentional attempt to implicate the audience themselves in the actions of the play. By telling the audience what he is going to do, Iago forces the audience to shoulder some of the burden. The audience itself cannot avoid Iago’s manipulation.

The last part of this speech, when Othello says Chaos will come again when he loses his love for Desdemona, foreshadows the play’s ending, when chaos and mass tragedy will ensue as a result of Othello’s turn to hatred. 

The effectiveness of such foreshadowing as a device is strengthened through the simultaneous use of dramatic irony. Though Othello is unaware how prophetic his words will prove, the audience at this point has already been privy to Iago’s private plottings and knows that he plans to tear Othello and Desdemona apart. This dramatic irony ensures that the audience can spot when Othello’s words are foreshadowing the play’s ending and heightens the play’s dramatic power. Othello’s obvious ignorance to the ending that will befall him elevates the tragedy of the play and creates sympathy for him. 

That the audience knows more than Othello also complicates the audience’s relation to the play, as they feel forced to become part of Iago’s plotting yet helpless to stop it. This feeling of helplessness reinforces the exploration of the idea of fate in the play, with the use of foreshadowing presenting the play’s tragic ending as inevitable and predetermined. Othello’s speech has a prophetic quality, even if Othello himself is not aware of it. That what he says will come to pass potentially alludes to the idea that language is determinative. Such an idea proves central to the play, not only in it being Iago’s mastery of language that determines the characters’ actions, but also in a broader, meta-textual way. The actions of the play have, of course, been predetermined by Shakespeare himself. The use of foreshadowing reminds the audience that the play has been carefully and deliberately constructed, an awareness that reminds the audience of the power of language.

Here, Emilia emphasizes the irony of Othello falsely calling Desdemona a liar. Her comment “the more angel she, and you the blacker devil” emphasizes this, with Othello’s misrepresentation of Desdemona’s honesty actually making him the more dishonest. Emilia’s remark that Othello “dost belie her,” meaning to give a false impression of her, further stresses that it is Othello who is the dishonest one. Furthermore, Emilia’s linguistic mirroring of Othello in the final part of this exchange— “she was false as water,” “thou art rash as fire”—turns Othello’s rhetoric back on itself in a way that inverts its meaning and further emphasizes the irony of his insistence of Desdemona’s falsity. That the truth of what has happened is revealed by a woman, Emilia, at the end of the play further stresses the proven honesty of women, adding an extra hint of irony.