In Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago deceives others, mainly Othello and Roderigo, due to his desire for revenge, an improved reputation, and power. Throughout the play, Iago uses his desire for revenge to deceive others, like Othello. Iago’s desire for revenge shows when he states, “For “Certes,” says he, / “I have already chose my officer.”/ And what was he?/ Forsooth, a great arithmetician, / One Michael Cassio, a Florentine” (1.1.17-21). Othello’s choice reveals Iago’s jealousy of Cassio earning the position which fuels Iago’s desire for revenge on not only Othello, but also on Cassio. Another time Iago deceives someone to build up his plan is when he tells Roderigo, “When she is sated with his/ body she will find the errors of
Thesis: Iago, from Shakespeare's Othello, is one of the most memorable villains in all of literature. Iago deceives, steals, and kills to get everything that he wants. The play is centered on Iago's dislike for Othello, however, it is not that Iago pushes aside his conscience to commit these acts, but that he lacks a conscience to begin with. Iago's amorality can be seen throughout the play and is demonstrated by his actions against not only Othello, but Desmona and Emilia. Iago is able to manipulate the other characters of the play because he is a villain who doesn't understand the morals of society.
Iago Iago, the triumphant villain within Othello is a perplexing character, his true intentions are buried deep in deception and deviance that help create who he is. The heinous goals he sets out to achieve are unfathomable, yet without his presence Othello would be nothing more than a romantic drama. Iago is the villain we love to hate; he is the sole instigator of the tragic events that take place within Othello. And yet still Iago is one of the most complex characters within Shakespearean tragedy. In order for Othello to be as effective as it is, the depiction of Iago as the perfect example of evil itself was essential, and is accomplished with his particular characteristic traits.
An embodiment of evil, with no moral compunction, and therefore while he does initially provide reasons for his wicked intentions, his motives are unsubstantial and merely excuses to cover up his inner evil and Machiavellian ways. Iago is an incredibly intelligent, cunning villain, who throughout the play uses his ability to think quickly and to play multiple roles to clutch on to every opportunity that will further his cause. At first, his motives are revealed to be based upon his lack of promotion, later he changes this to sexual jealousy and finally on the belief that his own made up affair between Cassio and Desdemona is true. Iago seems to be ever altering and modifying his motives, indecisive as to what his real motive is making it seem as though he is indeed nothing but a motiveless disturbing
Iago who is known for always being true and honest towards others has easily earned the trust of everyone around him, thus giving himself an advantage on his schemes. Among some of the crucial characters who were targeted by Iago’s manipulative plans are Othello, Cassio, and Rodrigo. Due to everyone trusting in him he is able to know their feebleness and specifically their personalities. Each of these male characters have different personalities and knowing them can be useful to Iago in his hope of completely fooling them in thus ruining their names and making everyone turn on each other. Othello who has always
“Iago belongs to a select group of villains in Shakespeare who, while plausibly motivated in human terms, also take delight in evil for its own sake” (Bevington, 2014, p 607). Understanding his sense of self might reveal another tragedy regarding how egos across the human condition demonstrate unique frailness. “Critics often debate Iago's motives. What drives him to act as he does? Some people believe Iago is simply, but purely, evil, doing immoral things merely to be bad” (Hacht, 2007, p, 657).
Iago had a great deal of influence in shaping Othello’s identity. He could almost be considered the main character simply due to the amount of lines he has. Iago “employs his comic verve to try to destroy his virtuous antagonist and whose colloquial intimacy with the audience often half-succeeds in winning the audience over” (Greenblatt 427). Although, Iago’s devious actions transform his character into a villain his style of speaking help spectators and readers to easily identify with him. Iago provides the first description of Othello before the protagonist is even seen.
The differences of these quotes are that in one point of the story he was still cool, calm, and collected, but at the end of the play he is talking like a deranged murderer shows that iago had a large effect on his mental status and his plan had worked which was to basically ruin othello's life. The way that Iago manipulated the situation is quite genius, he was able to use things like the handkerchief and mention it to othello by saying. “Her honor is an essence that’s not seen,They have it very oft that have it not.But for the handkerchief” By saying it this way he made it sound like desdemona and cassio would have gotten away with their affair and their undeserved reputations would not be tarnished if it wasn't for the handkerchief, this is the deciding factor in iago's plan because the handkerchief is the symbol of love and loyalty in othello's marriage and to “have given it to her lover” would destroy othello's trust and willingness to listen to reason so he did something crazy and that was to kill her. So he did and in the end othello killed desdemona and then himself, and while he is killing himself emelia figures it all out and iago kills her as well so in the end iago is the one who is really the sole factor in all of this, if it wasn't for him wanting his revenge none of this would have happened and 3 people would not be dead. On top of all the evils he had done to othello iago also manipulated Roderigo from the beginning of the play to the end.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is often portrayed as one of the most atrocious characters in a literary work. His plan for revenge unfolds gradually and surreptitiously, as he keeps his victims under his belt. On pages 126-128, he executes his plan for the first time in Cyprus and gets Cassio drunk. This example gives insight to the rhetoric Iago uses in order to manipulate his ‘victims.’ Similarly, through this monologue, he has deeper intentions: intentions to ruin Cassio. In the beginning of his monologue to Othello, Montano, The Drunk Cassio, and other officers, Iago begins with a paradoxical statement “I should have this tongue cut from my mouth than it should offence Michael Cassio (126).” Through further inspection Iago’s soliloquies
When considering the ego of a human being, the influence of jealousy is very strong. For instance, in the beginning of the story, Iago finds out that Cassio has been granted the lieutenancy by Othello instead of him. Iago is infuriated by what he considers to be a poor decision on Othello’s part, and he claims to have deserved the position more than Cassio. Therefore, Iago plots to ruin Othello’s life whom he blames for this struggle by destroying his relationship with Desdemona. For example, he alerts Desdemona 's unapproving father of the eloped couple.