A Cruel Game Unknown to Othello, Iago was motivated by a cruelty that demanded the utter destruction of Othello’s public and private life. In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, Iago is the main antagonist to the protagonist of the story. Iago is motivated by cruelty; his final goal is see all of his adversaries suffer. Cruelty is an especially crucial theme to any story, for it reveals the ugly truth about a character who is primarily motivated by cruelty. The social and political gains of Iago’s cruelty display how the theme functions in a work of literature and what it reveals about both the perpetrator and victim. In the case of Shakespeare’s Othello, cruelty serves as the main source of motivation in Iago’s wicked plan. To illustrate, Iago begins the story by complaining to …show more content…
If this, alone, was the motivation for his plan, the book would have ended as soon as Cassio falls from lieutenancy and Iago takes his place. However, his real goal was to watch Othello suffer, since he had dared to let Cassio outrank him in the first place, and because of the
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Show MoreRhetoric is an incredibly powerful tool capable of seducing even the most obdurate of people. As one of the most illustrious playwrights ever, Shakespeare was no stranger to the power of rhetoric. Rhetoric served as the fountainhead of Shakespearian allure. We watch the dramatic works of Shakespeare because we enjoy having our emotions manipulated; we enjoy the catharsis and self-reflection that accompanies a trip to the theater. Shakespeare truly was a master manipulator, but his manipulation was generally beneficial.
Othello’s confidence for a loyal man to maintain honesty and morals are contradicted through Iago’s actions: “in a man that’s just / They are close dilations, working from the heart, / That passion cannot rule” (3.3.123). Iago, due to the understatement to his name, is not perceivable as hateful. Othello’s willingness to sense Iago’s distress, and to believe his accusations, is because of the lack of awareness Othello has for his vengeance. Iago is of such little power and relevance within societal ranking that if he were to have intentions to sabotage anyone, which he does, are not considered, thus making him easily trustworthy to those of greater dominance. Society’s view of an individual determines how others consider and surmise their persona, though these conclusions may be false.
Iago contributes to the tragic downfall of Othello, playing him like a fiddle. The human nature of Iago manipulates the trust
Natalie Harvey Mrs. Hudson Comp II 14 February 2023 A Tragedy of Othello: The Psychology of an Evil Person Shakespeare's Othello concentrates not only on the story of the titular character, but also the antagonist, Iago. Through Iago and events in the story, the playwright shows that people who lack empathy for others tend to be prideful, manipulative, and evil.
In the book Othello, Iago is a very manipulating man, throughout the book he manages to manipulate three main people, Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello. He uses all their weaknesses to bring them down. Iago wants revenge on Othello, because Othello overlooks Iago and his abilities, so Iago manipulates these three characters to get back at Othello in the long run. He comes up with a very good plan to get each other to turn against one another. So in the end he ends up getting what he wanted, revenge.
Discuss Shakespeare 's Use of Imagery in Othello to Reveal Character A lack of empathy makes for a true villain. In Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello, the nature of Iago’s character is revealed through the use of animal, plant, and devil imagery. Iago is revealed to view others as less than him, manipulating them with a lack of conscience, and having a desire for the destruction of others.
Jozlynn Nichols Virginia Rogers Eng-102-W61 4 April 2023 Othello Othello, written in 1604, is often considered one of Shakespeare’s most tragic pieces. Many believe that the play contains one of the most evil characters in literature, Iago. Iago is thought to be an honest man, but it is too late when the other characters realize how deceiving he truly is. Only the audience is aware of Iago’s plans because of his multiple soliloquies and asides.
If Roderigo exposed Iago when he said he would, a lot of misfortune would not have occurred. Therefore, Roderigo demonstrates the dark side of human nature by being jealous and unintelligent. To conclude, the dark side of human nature is demonstrated by Iago who is selfish, Brabantio who is doubtful, and Roderigo who lacks cleverness. William Shakespeare’s Othello shows how easy it is to let emotions take over one’s mind.
In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.
Individuals are often blinded by the need for revenge. In the play Othello, written by William Shakespeare, Othello, the main general, promotes one of his best friends, Cassio, to be lieutenant. Iago, who strongly thinks that he is the one that deserves the place of lieutenancy, seeks retribution by planning to ruin the lives of everyone who gets in his way in order to obtain the place he thinks he deserves. As the story goes on, it is apparent that both Iago and Othello will destroy themselves and others to satisfy their own selfish needs for vengeance, it is only when it is too late that they realize that the outcome of their revenge is not worth the price paid. Iago, the main antagonist of the play, is a cunning man who can manipulate his
“Othello” written by William Shakespeare revolves around this protagonist who is depicted as strong and powerful. To everyone he is known as Othello or the Moor. Throughout the play, Shakespeare portrays numerous counts of jealousy and manipulation around many of the characters. It is mainly illustrated through Iago, the antagonist of the play, who manipulates other to their downfall. 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.
In many stories, there are villains who seem to control how the characters act by manipulation. These kinds of villains use multiple techniques to get what they want and to execute their plans. The techniques are used to affect the characters in a negative way in favor of the villain. In Othello, the antagonist Iago, plays that role. Iago affects the characters’ lives in a negative way by his honest reputation, his ability to “read” people, and how he “proves” to be Loyal.
The following passage is significant to the play ‘Othello’ in retrospect to the plot progression, as it reiterates themes and introduces important facets to the plot development. Through Iago’s cunning manipulation and Shakespeare’s crafting of language, this passage is constructed as a pivotal point of the play, marking the transition of Othello’s personality and revealing his deepest insecurities that eventually lead to his downfall and tragic ending. Iago wields a lot of power over all the characters throughout the play, but in this passage in particular he is presented at his most powerful. The passage is riddled with subtle suggestions and insinuations by Iago to raise Othello’s suspicions of his wife’s fidelity, opening with the admonition to “beware, my lord, of jealousy!
William Shakespeare’s “Othello” was a great example to showcase sacrifices made by characters to accomplish revenge or obtain power. Shakespeare told the story of Othello, a tragic hero, who was manipulated by Iago, which motivated him to kill his own wife. From this story, Shakespeare’s main goal was to portray characters making sacrifices for their ambitions. From this play, Shakespeare puts forth the idea of sacrifice through pointing out the importance of reputation and how sacrifices must be made to silence the truth.
Iago’s powerfully disruptive insinuations torment Othello to fall precipitously into his intricate trap, believing in the prospect of Cassio and Desdemona’s fictitious affair. Through the use of linguistic techniques such as elliptical speech, subservient vocative choices and a hesitant tone, Iago is able to construct artful innuendoes to deceive and manipulate Othello. Supplementary to linguistic techniques, dramatic techniques such as dramatic irony reinforces Iago’s role as a two-faced villain, who is making a pretence of being Othello’s loyal ensign. Eventually, Iago’s villainy nature sows a seed of doubt in Othello that germinates into the murder of Desdemona. Through the characterisation of Iago as a notorious villain, Shakespeare is able to hold Iago’s actions accountable for the play’s tragic downfall, establishing a sense of powerlessness amongst the