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
To Othello, Iago is more reputable now causing Iago is, at this point, reputable, meaning Othello will to believe anything that Iago says even if it is a lie. Iago’s psychopathic manipulations of Cassio then ultimately cause his downfall once Othello discovers that Iago has been dishonest, his punishment of torture and imprisonment at the end of the play is his downfall. Iago’s Throughout the play, since Iago is trustworthy to Othello, Iago plants seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind. In Act Five, scene two, Othello shows the audience how he believes that Iago is “most honest” (Shakespeare 1302). After he kills Desdemona, Othello explains his reasoning to Iago’s wife, Emilia, justifying that “Cassio did top her, ask thy husband else” (Shakespeare 1360), meaning that he killed his wife because according to Iago, Cassio and
Lastly, devil and hell imagery are used, revealing Iago’s evil nature, hoping for the destruction of others for his own self-interest. Iago calls on the devil and talks about monsters several times throughout the play. One instance being after he had concocted a plan to make Othello jealous with Cassio, saying “... Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” (1.3.340–41). Iago calls upon the forces of evil, being Hell and night, to help him carry out his plan. While he knows that his actions are immoral, he embraces it fully by calling for evil forces to help in his plans to destroy Othello’s life.
Some people believe Iago is simply, but purely, evil, doing immoral things merely to be bad” (Hacht, 2007, p, 657). In Shakespeare’s (1610-11/2014) “Othello, the Moor of Venice” we find a variety of clues alluding to “Iago’s sense of self or self-image through his demonstrations of jealousy and revenge emerging from his perceptions of loss of power associated with a missed promotion (pp. 611-655). Power and Jealousy
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
However, positive or negative factors may influence the development of someone’s character. Throughout the play, Iago portrays himself as malicious, while Othello portrays himself as affectionate through his own use of diction, but everything changes as Othello is baited by Iago’s lies and begins to mirror, in his actions and words, the evil Iago embodies. Toward the beginning of the play, Iago and Othello appear to be complete opposites. In terms of good and evil, Iago depicted himself as evil through his harsh word choices, while with sentimental word choices Othello conveyed the good. Immediately, Iago reveals his monstrous character, full of hatred, without a drop of shame as he declares, “I hate the Moor” (1.3.386).
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.
‘Iago is such a disturbing villain because he seems to have no real motives for his evil.’ How far and in what ways do you agree with this view? Iago is nothing more than a devious mastermind and Machiavellian of the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello. Whilst Iago does try to communicate multiple reasons for his motives in wanting to destroy Cassio and Othello these are mere rationalisations and excuses to provide justification for his evil actions and can only be accepted when analysing Othello on a surface level. Looking into Othello further we can see that Iago is a power thirsty character that dwells in his corruption and evil which makes him such a disturbing villain. Iago gives a sheer numbers of excuses to try and prove his ulterior motives, conveniently adding new reasons for his hate every time he needs to encourage Roderigo to do something for him.
Throughout the play, he would often talk about Iago in the same manner as in Act 2, scene 2, “a man he is of honesty and trust”( II,ii. 323-324). Given that Othello trusted who he thought was his best friend, it was easier for Iago to bring Othello down. The root of Iago’s evil intentions is jealousy, which he describes to be like a “green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (III,iii. 196-197).
In the play Othello, written by William Shakespeare, Iago appears to be a clever and manipulative character from the beginning. He attempts, and succeeds, to sabotage the Othello’s, relationship with his wife Desdemona. Throughout the play, he conceals his true character and as a result, other characters see him as honest, reliable, and trustworthy. He gains Othello’s lieutenant Cassio’s trust, then backstabs him. He also uses Roderigo, a Venetian, as a piece in his puzzle to ultimately take down Othello.