Logan Glaze Mrs. Cramer-Cumins College Credit English 19 November 2014 Iago’s Revenge In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, evil is portrayed through the character of Iago. Iago takes advantage of his title, “Honest Iago”, to manipulate all of the other characters for his own, personal gain. Iago initially seeks revenge because of his greed to be Lieutenant. Although this may be his ultimate goal, Iago does not blink twice at the damage he causes trying to obtain this goal. Iago seeks revenge by breaking trust with the only other man that has any influence on Othello, making him jealous, and causing him to make drastic decisions. Iago uses Othello’s impetuous nature against him so that he may enact his revenge. In the beginning, the …show more content…
Iago knows that Othello will react irrationally. Iago tells Othello that he has suspicions of Cassio sleeping with Desdemona. His plan consists of him planting this thought in Othello’s mind, while trying to allow Othello to catch Desdemona and Michael Cassio together. Othello begins to become very jealous, merely based on what Iago has told him. Iago further tries to make Othello jealous, then slyly changes his ways and begins to warn Othello of jealousy, only to result in Othello becoming even more jealous. Iago warns Othello of jealousy, he claims that “it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on” (3.3.167-169). Iago says that jealousy makes fun of the victim it consumes, that jealousy will only devour you further, if you choose to allow it to do so. Othello’s impetuous nature plays against him at this point, because he has believed what Iago has told him without confronting Michael Cassio, nor his wife, …show more content…
Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her, damn her! Come, go with me apart. I will withdraw To furnish me with some swift means of death For the fair devil. Now thou art my Lieutenant. (3.4.476-479) Iago’s plan seems to have been successful because Othello appoints him as his Lieutenant. Although Iago has achieved his primary goal, he cannot stop all of the trouble that he has caused without the blame falling back on him. Iago is not only causing pain to Othello, but many other characters around him. Iago’s companion, Roderigo, is killed and Cassio wounded. Iago brings upon himself the death of his wife, Emilia. Othello’s impetuous nature leads to the demise of his wife, Desdemona, and also his own: Iago’s manipulation of Othello causes Othello to kill the woman he loves, then commit suicide. Iago does not know what he has caused until it is too late. His punishment of jail time does not compare to the lives and love that has been lost due to his plan for