Cassio

Play

Othello

Summary

Othello's lieutenant and the primary object of Iago's professional envy, Cassio is a Florentine soldier who is courteous, well-liked, and genuinely loyal to both Othello and Desdemona. Iago exploits Cassio's weakness for drink to engineer his cashiering, then uses his innocent friendship with Desdemona as the supposed evidence of adultery; despite surviving Iago's attempted assassination, Cassio's very decency makes him an unwitting instrument of the tragedy around him.

Notable Quotations

"Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial." *(2.3)*

Cross-references

• Othello — the play
• Tragedies
• character_othello — his general
• character_iago — who envies and targets him
• character_desdemona — whose friendship is used against her