To be suspected, ....... as asses are. | Othello By William Shakespeare | Eureka Study Aids

To be suspected, framed to make women false.
The Moor is of a free and open nature
That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,
And will as tenderly be led by the' nose
As asses are.

To be suspected, .......... as asses are.

REFERENCE

(i) Drama: Othello 

(ii) Dramatist: William Shakespeare

CONTEXT

(i) Occurrence: Act I, Scene III

(ii) Content: Iago plots against Othello and sends Roderigo to tell Brabantio that Othello has seduced Desdemona, Brabantio's daughter. After convincing Brabantio that he has won Desdemona's love, Othello is sent to Cyprus for a military command. Iago plants a handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona on Cassio to convince Othello that Cassio and Desdemona have an affair. Iago also convinces Roderigo to make an attempt on Cassio's life. He frames the courtesan Bianca and murders Roderigo. Mad with jealously, Othello smothers Desdemona, Iago's wife Emilia stumbles upon the murder and exposes Iago's plots, for which Iago kills her. Othello, realizing his error, kills himself.

EXPLANATION

     These lines are spoken by the antagonist Iago. In these lines Iago says that suspicion leads to destruction and honest people are easy to manipulate. Iago has made a plot to destroy Othello. For this purpose, he wants to make Othello believe that Desdemona, Othello's wife, is having an affair with Cassio. He plans to plant the seed of suspicion in Othello to make Desdemona false. Moreover, Iago has openly recognized Othello's good nature. He knows that Othello is generous and straightforward. He thinks any man who seems honest is honest. These people are gullible and easy to handle. They are just like asses who can easily be led by the nose. We can control them so that they do exactly what we want them to do. In short, Iago implicitly suggests that he himself has none of the virtuous attributes which Othello does have.

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar