However, Iago usually stuck to plan so he could count precisely upon the results. After all, he was a military man, schooled in the tactical planning and execution of battle plans and motions. This planning and execution reflected the aspects of his personality that flourished well in the military and political world of the Italian city states. A Machiavellian schemer, he manipulates all around him and stays in character so that no one suspects him. All around him count on him as a person most likely to be truthful. A.C. Bradley, a Shakespearean critic, remarks that "evil has nowhere else been portrayed with such mastery as in the evil character of Iago (Bradley 169)." This manipulating, evil and unremitting character is precise and stays with the plan. Only when the plan falls apart does he fail. This manipulative character is at the center of William Shakespeare's manipulation of the plot to move things along and keep the action constant.

As in Shakespeare's other plays, a tight plot keeps the action going and keeps the audience engaged and on the edge of their seats. It keeps the audience caring about the characters and keeps everything a reflection of reality, even though superficial. This connection with reality and the personal lives of the audience is as much a manipulation as much as Iago's machinations. These machinations and manipulations power Othello as much, and probably more than Shakespeare's other plays.
Works Cited:

Bradley, a.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. 1974. Basingstone: Macmillan Press, 1904.

Raatzsch, Richard. The apologetics of evil: the case of Iago. Princeton: Princeton

University Press, 2009.

Shakespeare, William. Othello. Naperville: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2005.