Question

In Othello, why does Iago carefully observe the way Cassio greets Desdemona?

Accepted Answer

The answer to this question can be found in Act II scene 1, which is when Iago observes very closely the kind of body language that Cassio displays when he greets and talks with Desdemona. In an aside, he reveals to us why it is precisely that he is paying such close attention to such activity, and what he plans to do on the basis of it:

He takes her by the palm: ay, well said,whisper: with as little a web as this will Iensnare as great a fly as Cassio. Ay, smile uponher, do; I will gyve thee in thine own courtship.You say true; 'tis so, indeed: if such tricks asthese strip you out of your lieutenantry, it hadbeen better you had not kissed your three fingers sooft, which now again you are most apt to play thesir in. Very good; well kissed! an excellentcourtesy! 'tis so, indeed. Yet again your fingersto your lips? would they were clyster-pipes for your sake!

He is clearly going to use the very warm way in which Cassio converses with Desdemona to plant a seed of jealousy in the mind of Othello. By doing this, he hopes to get his own back on Cassio for being promoted instead of him and also to get his revenge on Othello by trying to insinuate that his beloved wife is actually cuckolding him with Cassio. The image that he uses of "ensnaring" suggests that he sees himself as a kind of spider that is trying to capture and tie up other characters, like Cassio, who is the "fly" in this example.

Othello

In Othello, why does Iago carefully observe the way Cassio greets Desdemona?

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