Othello 5

"'Tis he. O brave Iago, honest and just,
That hast such noble sense of thy friend's wrong!"
-Act V.i.31-32

The amount of dramatic irony in this play is insane. Shakespearre literally writes the book on dramatic irony with Othello. This quote comes from Othello towards the beginning of Act V, when he hears Cassio cry out for help. Othello believes that Iago went out of his way to kill Cassio because he was so loyal to Othello and wanted to help him. For one, Iago cowardly used Roderigo to attack Cassio. Two, he did not even end up killing Cassio. And three, Iago was wanting to kill Cassio for his own benefit, not because he wanted to help Othello out. Iago's deceitfulness has caused an epithet to be attached to his name. He is known as Honest or Brave Iago. The irony plays in because Iago is the opposite of honest or brave. Iago is able to trick people because he tells them exactly what they want to hear, so in turn, they believe what he says. This epithet either proves that Iago is an extremely talented liar or that the other characters are very gullible. I think it is a little bit of both. I do give Iago credit for being the mastermind of deceit and wittiness.